The 1911, man o' man. Given your criteria above, I would start by looking at the Springfield Armory TRP in a production gun. Stepping up the ladder, I would look to Les Baer, Ed Brown or Wilson Combat.
Good luck on your search,
Murphy
The 1911, man o' man. Given your criteria above, I would start by looking at the Springfield Armory TRP in a production gun. Stepping up the ladder, I would look to Les Baer, Ed Brown or Wilson Combat.
Good luck on your search,
Murphy
If I should depart this life while defending those who cannot defend themselves, then I have died the most honorable of deaths. Marc R. Murphy '2006'.
Thinking a bit more I agree with Murphy. Maybe the best move is to save a bit more money. The next level is not that much further up the line.
Basically all of todays mid price range 1911s are production guns, and as such the "leading" brands are all pretty much equal. Prices will vary with features in most cases, and they all will suffer from a lack of any hand fitting, or serious test firing, post production. So there is some risk of break in hiccups and typically a need for throating and a simple "fluff and buff" to get to 100% reliability with a variety of ammo types.
They are far better than they used to be, but you still should take a new 1911 apart and give it a close inspection and lube prior to use, then run a couple 100 rounds of hardball through it to confirm reliability, before you bet your life on it.
I have a Kimber Team match and have had years of flawless operation with it. It feeds everything I have loaded for cast and jacketed. Just my 2 cents.
"Yes or no will almost always suffice as the answer"
Well I've decided to go with Les Baer. I found one online new for less then $1800 so I decided to jump on it! It's hard to argue with the 3" at 50' accuracy guaranty. Not to say I'm at that level but at least I know the pistol is. Thanks for all the input! Hopefully it will live up to the hype.
I look forward to posts on how you like your Les Baer. Sounds like you got a sweet deal.
I would have sworn I had a post here yesterday that magically disapeared.
My thoughts and maybe they won't be removed today.
None of the cheap 1911's are worth consideration in my opinion.
My thoughts on 1911's worth looking at would be the older Colt Gold Cup National Match series 70's. The reason is they were hand fit, had good triggers, and they shot very well. Mine would shoot with the Wilsons in competition. I still have one national match 70 series that I would put up against a $3k custom 1911. With the more expensive guns you get better fit, better triggers, and simply better all around feel when you shoot them.
My recommendations would be to look for a used Wilson, or Les Baer. I always see them at gun shows for less than 2K used. My thought for a New off the shelf production gun would be the S&W 1911 out of the custom shop. I have one and its got a great trigger, is hand fit, and its very accurate at least in my hands.
I personally wouldn't and couldn't recommend anything under say $1400 that one could purchase off the shelf. I've owned great Kimbers but the newer ones simply don't have either the accuracy or the great triggers that the older ones did. Currently own several Kimbers and they spend a lot of time on the shelf.
As a LEO I carried a Colt’s Series 70 5” blued magnificent .45. It was all lowered, extended, checkered and gone over hand fitted by Wilson. A sore back prompted me to buy a lightweight 5” .45 Colt’s. I didn’t do much to the lightweight but shoot it. Just before I retired I had to shot a bad guy. Ident measured the distance at 82-84 yards. That Colt’s 1911 worked.
Nice find. Let us know how it works out for you.
Yes! Please come back and post range results! Additionally some (me!) may want to know what exactly and where exactly you found. I am looking for the next step up from my Dan Wesson.
I think you made a fantastic choice by the way!
I’d be hard pressed to say anything other than a Les Baer. I love mine, and it will be more than likely the last gun I’d ever sell other than the shotgun my Dad gave me for graduating hunter safety many moons ago. All of my 1911’s are excellent, but my Colt and Springfield can’t hold a candle to it. However, it would be an Orange to tomato comparison.
Of all places I found it on Gunbroker. A dealer out of Kansas had a Shooting USA model and a Premier 11 for sale. I bought the Premier 11. Both are NIB. I will do a full range report when it comes in.
Oh man--I am excited just hearing about somebody getting a new Les Baer. Congratulations!
As far as the break in period goes.......it helps if you whisper a few sweet nothings to the gun before you try racking the slide for the first time. They are crazy tight and usually require a "break" out of battery with your hand before you can pull the slide back. I have found that it never hurts to tell my LB how beautiful she is.....or how curvy her beaver tail looks.
Yes..........I need a lot of help.........the cure? More Les Baers!!!
BP | Bronze Point | IMR | Improved Military Rifle | PTD | Pointed |
BR | Bench Rest | M | Magnum | RN | Round Nose |
BT | Boat Tail | PL | Power-Lokt | SP | Soft Point |
C | Compressed Charge | PR | Primer | SPCL | Soft Point "Core-Lokt" |
HP | Hollow Point | PSPCL | Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" | C.O.L. | Cartridge Overall Length |
PSP | Pointed Soft Point | Spz | Spitzer Point | SBT | Spitzer Boat Tail |
LRN | Lead Round Nose | LWC | Lead Wad Cutter | LSWC | Lead Semi Wad Cutter |
GC | Gas Check |