Moving to include 45acp

[William Yanda]

Partially at the urging of my son, I am considering the purchase of a semi-auto in 45 ACP. I've been looking online and spent an hour at the lgs.
Offerings there ranged from the High Point to $1K+ guns. I'm thinking of looking again at an AMT @495. I don't need/wouldn't benefit from the high money gun. Would probably go for a new gun, possibly of offshore origin in the same price range. I understand that reloads may invalidate the manufacturers warranty.
Any thoughts?
Bill

[GREENCOUNTYPETE]

my neighbor has a Ruger SR45 he was at the range the other day same time I was , he needed to borrow a screw driver to adjust the sight , I helped him with the sight and he let me take a few rounds
the gun shot nicely seems good I had no problem holding the 10 ring at 10 yards with the sight adjusted

if I was charged with purchasing a budget priced 45 this would be my choice for dependable with good customer service at a fair price http://www.budsgunshop.com/catalog/p...1+45ACP+4.5%22

the SR1911 is also nice I have shot that some also it's as a 1911 should be but with a Ruger emblem

[RobS]

This one?
http://www.highstandard.com/index.ph...irearms/amt-45

[jcren]

I have a rock island that I love. We were shooting clays at 50 yards off hand this weekend. Mind you not hitting every shot, but the gun will out shoot me.

[Bonz]

for a non-1911, you can't beat a Sig Sauer P220

[Sax.45]

Can't go wrong with a Rock Island 1911, The price is in the range you want to pay, Plus there customer service is exellent if ever needed. They have quite a good offering of styles from plane jane GI models to one's with all the bell's and whistles in various cals.

[Freeandcold]

1911s are wonderful. The design does require a little more attention to detail for optimizing accuracy and reliability. Therefore, with a 1911 you generally get what you pay for... Meaning, a little more money "generally" gets you a feature (checkering, pretty finish, ambi safety, etc...), accuracy or reliability (either in function or durability). That being said, there is a point of diminishing returns and I would not argue with those MANY that have bought lower end (price) 1911s and been thoroughly satisfied (while saving hundreds or thousands of $).
When I was in the same boat I strongly considered the Springfield Range Officer - really well thought out features for most at a competitive price with a solid warranty.
If I bought less, I felt I would likely end up "customizing" in short order and likely spend more money and have less of a gun...
I did look at Les Baer and Ed Brown, but for me... at that point in time... I saw the point of diminishing returns.
I ended up with a Dan Wesson Heritage and a big smile on my face...
Decide your intended purpose and how much you are willing to spend and there is likely a perfect new 1911 for twice that amount!

[xacex]

Stay away from that Ruger SR-45 if you ever intend on breaking your gun down to clean it. It is the worse engineered pistol I have encountered as far as design of internal mechanisms. Worse than their mark II .22 pistols. Sure, it works great, but something goes wrong it is a bear to fix and put back together. This is coming from someone who has built his own 1911's.
The High point is not bad for a truck gun. The pins that hold the thing together go through the plastic frame so take that for what it is worth. I have never seen one break or with egged out holes so that is good. People find the magazines on them are not the greatest, but you can modify 1911 mags for them that would be more reliable. There are bricks! If you run out of ammo with one you can use it as a blunt object to pulverize an assailant.
You cant beat a Rock Island, or even some of the other Philippine 1911 manufactures out there as far as bang for the buck in a 45. ATI, and some other are available for cheap on Buds. Nice thing with those is you can upgrade them with standard 1911 series 70 parts if you feel the need.
It might be out of your price range but you can find some decent deals on trade in police glock 21's as well. I have a trade in glock 30 that has been my winter carry gun for a while now, and it shoots cast great.

[twc1964]

+1 on the glock 21. I bought mine at a local cabelas for around 350.00, and im thinking it was a police trade in. A bit of finish wear and a nebraska state police engraving on the slide but still shoots great. I wouldnt trade it off for much else.

[Tackleberry41]

Don't get me wrong I like a 1911, but there are so many other guns out there to look at. I saw a S&W M&P in 45 other day in the LGS for under $500. And of course there is the old favorite glock.

Not sure how I feel about hi point, I have a 9mm carbine. But the pistols can be junky. They work, thats usually not the issue. I was hanging out at the range my friend worked at, guy came in said his 45 was all over the place, 12in groups would have been conservative. A hi point, just would not group at all. Next one might be fine, but you generally have to buy to find out.

[runfiverun]

my favorite 1911 is made by norinco.
if you can find a used one they are well worth picking up. [they don't import them no-mo... thaaaanks Bill]
my second favorite one is made by auto-ordinance.

they are both plain jane MIL-SPEC pistols and shoot like it. [except the norinco is waay over built]
the ain't 1" guns but are reliable and accurate enough to pick off water bottles and pop cans at 25 yds easy enough.

[mold maker]

Yep 1911s have been in production for over 100 years, by every major gun maker, and more new makers ever year. New prices starting at $380. and the sky is not the limit. Everybody ought to have at least one.

[RobS]

Don't get me wrong I like a 1911, but there are so many other guns out there to look at. I saw a S&W M&P in 45 other day in the LGS for under $500. And of course there is the old favorite glock.

Not sure how I feel about hi point, I have a 9mm carbine. But the pistols can be junky. They work, thats usually not the issue. I was hanging out at the range my friend worked at, guy came in said his 45 was all over the place, 12in groups would have been conservative. A hi point, just would not group at all. Next one might be fine, but you generally have to buy to find out.

The 45 hi points can have large groove diameter bores.......shoot a .453 or .454" boolit and things come together nicely. I loaded for a friend and .452 boolits just didn't do it.

[Joni Lynn]

If I were looking for a 1911 and wanted to spend as little as possible for as good a gun as possible I think I would first go with RIA, then Ruger, Springfield Range Officer and then Dan Wesson. There are other guns in the RIA range, some even made by them.
Best wishes on finding one you will enjoy that will do what you want it to do.

[Joni Lynn]

One of the reasons I single out RIA in their price range is the reputation they have for excellent customer service. You may never need it but if you do, it's nice to know they are going to back up their product.

[Tom W.]

I loved my Colt GM when I had it, but my Glock 30 will shoot anything I put in to it, and it is so easy to fieldstrip...

[DougGuy]

The Ruger 1911 is a great value backed with solid workmanship and materials and Ruger customer service is second to NONE. My LGS keeps a stainless Ruger 1911 Commander in stock for about 700.00 and if I didn't build an Auto Ordnance 1911 with some WWII parts I would buy the Ruger.

Any really decent 1911 is going to run you around 700 at the low end. There are cheaper ones, but again, you get what you pay for. I wouldn't go out and buy the cheapest 1911 I could find for a carry gun, I would buy the most practical 1911 I could find and then make SURE it is utterly reliable even if I had to tweak some things like the extractor, ejector, trigger, etc. For my money, I would buy the Ruger Commander length 1911.

I have a Kahr CW45 for an edc at this moment but should I need to replace it, either my parts built WWII era 1911 A1 or a new Ruger Commander would be my choices.

[pretzelxx]

XDm are nice if you want a higher capacity at a good price!

[gwpercle]

You can get a brand spanking new Rock Island Armory 1911 Standard G.I. 45 for around $450, maybe even less, I have an old AMT Hardballer, it's one of the ones that works fine, but, not all do, some people have had problems . It might be a gamble.
Before I would spend $450 on a used AMT, I would spend that money on a new RIA ( they even have nickel finished ones) any problems and the factory is there for you.
Unfortunately AMT is gone, no parts and no service.
Gary

[Deep Six]

The FNX-45 is a nice option. Polymer frame, but single/double action with a real hammer. Best in class 15+1 capacity and still fits an average hand. 4.5" barrel and accessory rail. Plus it's an FN and runs like a switch watch. Mine is worth every penny of the $700 I paid for it.