Entry level 1911...

[mritt4]

I have been doing some research since considering my first 1911. I was wondering if anyone had some recommendations or advice regarding the investment. I do not need the latest and greatest, bells and whistles, gadgets and whatchamacallits I just want a good American made tried and true model 1911. My friend has been harping on the new Taurus model but Mil-spec is no problem for me. Opinions, recommendations or condemnations are welcome…Priced 600-800 would be ideal for my budget. I would love to spend more but the mortgage comes first (that’s what the old lady tells me anyway)…

[jonboy20]

Get a rock island, infact, buy 2 for your price range!!

[Hoot]

Get a rock island, infact, buy 2 for your price range!!


I just want a good American made...

It's made in the Philippines, but a great value. I have one and love it almost as much as the two Norinco's (Chinese Made) I let slip through my fingers back in the late 80's, not knowing at the time that their importation would one day be banned. My only issue with the RIA is the smooth, exotic wood grips it comes with. Standard 1911 checkered grips fit it fine, though I wound up with a Hogue wrap-around tactile rubber grip eventually. Very positive grip, wet or dry. The only other after-market accessory I added was a wide spur hammer. I like an easy to feel hammer. The trigger pull on mine is smooth, with no spring crunchiness and breaks cleanly. I'd recommend it for a person not hung up on bragging rights. Spend the rest of the money on some ammo, a brass catcher and modest reloading setup. Damned ammo is going up for the 1911 as well.

Over on the m1911.org (http://forum.m1911.org/forumdisplay.php?f=17) forum, there is a factory rep who frequents the board and who goes out of his way to help members who need support.

If you like the D.A. of a Glock, why not get a .45ACP Glock?

Hoot

[mritt4]

The Glock 21 was just too “bulky” in the grip. The slide is a little wider on the 21 than their smaller caliber pistols and subsequently so too is the grip. It felt like I was wielding a 2x4. I went with the 40 cal model 22; smaller frame and grip, more comfortable and managable. My main consideration in buying a Glock was the reliability and ease of maintenance. I will leave the .45 ACP to the American 1911 manufactures for historical relavance. A great American cartridge for the great American sidearm.

[wandering_ronin]

Personally, I like Springfield Armory. I have two of the basic, plain jane, models (before they came out with the Mil-spec's). Biggest problem I had was a broken extractor, but that was after many, many rounds were put through it. The early Rock Islands were kind of rough, but a buddy of mine got a couple of the more recent ones, and they are every bit as nice as the Springfields. If you are looking for an entry level 1911, I think either would be fine.

[wonderwolf]

+1 for RIA...I got one and did some custom work on it....man its the best non revolver handgun I own :icon_mrgreen:

Out of the box there are a few things you can do to improve this already great gun..Polish the feed ramp and get a beaver tail grip safety. Though they do require hand fitting from time to time.

[pjm204]

I gambled and bought a Shooters Arms Manufacturing S.A.M. Raven. Its a double stack 1911, though they make single stack as well. Uses P-14 mags so I get 15 rounds of .45. Anyway, I got it new off gunbroker for 200 bucks. It needed a new extractor, which Century sent me. Other than that the sites came a little loose after a few hundred rounds, the guy at SAM said this was an issue with only the very early ones. I'd say they are a good pistol for the money, probably on par with an RIA, they to make some higher grade models. I like trying less known companies.

[Arizona Ranger]

I have an older Springfield Armory, built with pre-Brazilian made parts. Great shooter right out of the box. Also, I have owned various Colts including a Series 80 light weight commander and an 1991a1 both great shooters with little to no extra work. If I were looking to buy my first 1911 I would look for a used series 70 Colt, you should be able to find one in your price range. Kimber also makes fine 1911's. I have also heard the new Khar arms Auto Ordinance 1911's are much nicer than the Thompson's. Just my $.02. I prefer to buy American made as well.:usmc:

[Phirebug]

i've heard nothing but good things about the rock islands. i've got two springfield's myself, and swear by them. one is the mil-spec model and i've never had a problem with it. the other is the TRP. The only issues I've ever had with either gun have been mag-related. Get yourself a chip mccormick or a wilson mag and it should run without a hitch.
wonderwolf mentioned the beavertail...i would highly recommend that if you plan to shoot it a lot. my mil-spec model used to dig chunks of skin out of the webbing of my thumb after about 100-150 rounds. After about 250, it starts getting kind of painful to shoot, and then you have to clean blood off of your gun. A decent gunsmith can put one in for pretty cheap, or if you're handy with tools you could probably do it yourself.

[cmidkiff]

Inexpensive, American made 1911? My vote would be for a Smith and Wesson. Perhaps Kimber makes one in your price range... You could go with a Colt, Rock River, or a Wilson, but that blows your 'inexpensive' criteria pretty badly.

Springfield Armory, RIA, and Taurus 1911's are all foreign made, but good quality firearms. I am quite happy with my SA 'loaded' and my RIA... and I've shot the Taurus, it was a fine gun.

'Inexpensive' and 'American Made' seldom go together these days.

[tanstaafl4y]

It's near the top-end of your price range, but have you considered a used Colt...I've saw a Series 80 Government sold for $799 at a local pawnshop.

And I paid less than that for mine just over a year ago.

[kevin]

I like my RIA .45 Got it for 315 shipped on gunbroker i think it was. There is a guy selling them on there advertising as the cheapest on gunbroker. He is right. Pistol runs great!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v469/kevin917z/P3220158.jpg

[wonderwolf]

Ok wow...I just spent the last 10 minutes writing up a nice size post and then the sever kicked me...DANG...moments like make me want to see how some 230Gr hardball would react with the PC..GRRR ok I'll just give a short overview of what I had put down

As far as magazines and please don't flame me for this but I would go with the Milsurp 7 rounds magazines with the stock number stamped on the bottom. I have about 20+ of those and some that are parked as well stamped "COLT 45" those all work well. And you can get 5 or so of those for what a single wilson or mccormick would cost you. I have 2 Randall stainless mags that were given to me as a Graduation gift and they are just as flawless as the milsurps but they tend to be a bit more smooth in dropping out and reloading. The only mags I HAVE had fail on me were some stainless 7rd mags I got off of Ebay Marked "COLT 45". The corner weld came loose and opened up the lips a bit and all my rounds after the 1st shot went out the top of the gun..I though it was kinda funny at the time.

Spend $1 and get yourself several bumber buffer pads. They are those little discs that slip over your plunger and save your frame over time. Esp if your recoil spring is going bad. Polish your feed ramp with some VERY fine grit paper wrapped around a dowel rod or a empy rifle case. You might also want to round off the top portion of the ramp a bit to keep SWC from nose diving into it...


:airtight: Ok gotta go time for class

[drhall762]

Have had several Colts and Springfield Armory models over the years. All were good guns. The only one I know of that I have seen problems with, and it may have been the couple of examples I ran into, were Auto-Ordinance guns. RI and even the Dan Wesson models I have shot were good. Must be something to do with the design.

Hard to believe with current prices I paid a mere $125.00 for my first Series 70 Colt Government. That was new from the local dealer. Actually, $125.00 was quite a bit of money.

Dave :sniper:

[Longhorn789]

Colt has a 1991 that is an entry level 1911A1.

Well under $600 most places...

[RandyCOG3]

I just want a good American made tried and true model 1911.

If you come across any deals like mine, please let me know.
My (then) wife dug it up, under some clothes, in a drawer, at a garage sale. For FIFTEEN DOLLARS. Pretty much NIB,
except that the box had gotten wet, and the rag around the gun must have stayed wet for a very long time, because I've never seen a weapon so rusty. The grooves on the backstrap were mostly invisible due to encrusted rust, and the heads on the grip screws were so far gone that the grooves were barely visible once I knocked all the crap off of them. I still have the paperboard box, cleaning stuff, and I might still have the rusty/disintegrated rag somewhere, too.
YES, it IS ugly, sort of, but I'm more attached to this weapon than any other; if I could only have one weapon, this one would be it.... I guess because I breathed life back into her. She really only wants hardball, and doesn't pattern worth a sh1t, but, she was never meant to, either.
Ordinarily, the word "Ithaca" does not really impress anybody, but, hey, how many people have an Ithaca M1911A1??
The bottom pic is a bit distorted due to the close-up angle; it's really the exact same shape as every other 1911.
Anybody want to try to put a value on this beast?

[okie shooter]

Not sure if a Ithica would be worth much more than a colt WWII built gun, as they both made close to the same numbers if my what I have read is correct, but I love the fact it has the United States Property stamped on it.

[mritt4]

Any opinions on Auto Ordnance?

[k98k792]

I have had one for years.It has shot thousands of rounds since I got it back in 93.
After the break in period it has never jammed. I wanted a 45, made in America,and at the time Colt quality had dropped to an all time low.Kimber was not in the 1911 business yet.

I got it after Guntests could only find one bad thing to say about it,the grooves on the trigger were too sharp. Also THE 1911 Gunsmith in Saint Louis said thats what he was building cutom guns on.

Shoots into three inches at 25 yards with WWB.

Kahr Arms has bought the company,and everyone claims the quality has improved.

[Arizona Ranger]

My brother has had an AO for 15 plus years. It's not a bad shooter. However, the AO's are now being produced by Kahr Arms and have all new parts made by Kahr and not surplus parts here and there. I have always been a Colt and Springfield fan, I own 2 Colts and 1 Springfield. I would not hesitate to buy one of the new AO's made by Kahr. For more info read this. http://www.auto-ordnance.com/pr_swat1102.html

[okie shooter]

I have a basic older Auto Ordnance gun, in park and its been a good gun, like its said, us made.

[M1 Tanker]

Henry had a damn nice auto ordnance 1911 for sale last week in the for sale section for a DAMN good price.

[97th Signalman]

I am on my third Rock Island. I had two standard GI models that were intially toublesome and unreliable. Ivan Wolcott is the sales mgr for Rock Island and he's the guy mentioned on the 1911 org sight. He replaced my first bad pistol with a second that was also trouble prone. When that I sent that second failed pistol back he sent me a free upgrade to their Tactical model that has better sights, an ambi-safety, a match style trigger, and and a beaver tail grip safety. It has functioned perfectly. He also gave me 500 rounds of Armscor ammo for my troubles. I had more trouble than most, but I wanted to give you guys a sense of the kind of support that comes with any Rock Island/Armscor product. These guys will make it right and they have about the most economical 1911 around.

I have since added Champion adjustable sights to my Rock Island but the attached photo does not reflect that change. I will have to shoot some new photos soon.

[knockonit]

I have an RIA in 45 and 38 super, both run as smooth as silk, also own a norinco runs out real well, have a colt 80 series, a taurus pt1911, and just picked up a charles daly, and have an auto ordinance. Of all the pistols of which i shoot at each range visit, i do not enjoy the auto ordinance as much, it seems heavier, and just doesn't seem shoot out as well.
I do favor the RIA's, right out of the box, they were accurate, but the colt and the taurus have the sweetest trigger my pinky has ever set on.
So to answer the question, buy them all, shoot them all, never sell or trade, just add to the long list of shooters.
good luck with your choices
rj in phx.

[JAYG0351]

I traded my XD-45 for a Springfield GI 45. It is a basic 45 but its what I prefer. I did not care for the small sights. They are decent but kind of hard to see so I ordered a set of Hard ball sights from Kings gun works. They are really nice. They took a while to get to me but thats because they did not like the paint job on them so their quality control is excelent.

http://i272.photobucket.com/albums/jj192/jayg0351/1911002.jpg

[Rexican]

"Henry had a damn nice auto ordnance 1911 for sale last week in the for sale section for a DAMN good price."

I sold that auto ordnance to henry for his first pistol when he turned 21( I've always wondered what happened to it). My dad picked it up in a austin gun show from our friend. It was Henry's first pistol, so I gave him an unbelievable deal and put in some nicer parts I had on hand. If anyone knows where that auto ordnance ended up, just tell me it ended up getting used well... I had quite a history with that gun and I still remember fondly the day we brought it home.

I've built six or seven auto ordnances, all turned out really well; the last one I made with a beavertail grip safety, Gold cup slide and barrel. and a crazy a$$ 1.5# trigger pull.

[Player]

"Henry had a damn nice auto ordnance 1911 for sale last week in the for sale section for a DAMN good price."

I sold that auto ordnance to henry for his first pistol when he turned 21...

turned into this:
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y268/baylorhenry/kimber1.jpg
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y268/baylorhenry/3rdintmeetflier.jpg

[Rexican]

well, you definitely got the better end of that deal.
I was just inquiring if anyone was still getting some use out of it. Not everything is about resale value to me: I have guns that I wouldn't sell if someone offered me a hundred times their blue book value. I'd rather have those memories than the money any day of the week.

[Milsurp]

I have the Kimber custom II. I have had not one problem with this gun. It's in the price range you mentioned and is made in the USA like you wanted. Here's a link to AIM which seems to have the best price around.
http://www.aimsurplus.com/acatalog/Kimber_Custom_II_.45acp_1911_Pistol.html

[Patria Povo]

Norinco! :thumbup:

[JustJohn369]

Hey Does the RIA interchange parts w/ colts or are they like the Llama 1911 I have? Does it shoot Colt mags or does it have its own?

[Orlando]

Another budget 1911 is the High Standard. Its the same as the RI but has polished feedramps. I have put close to 1000rds through it in the last year and its never missed a beat

[97th Signalman]

Hey Does the RIA interchange parts w/ colts or are they like the Llama 1911 I have? Does it shoot Colt mags or does it have its own?

Most parts are interchangable with Colt and Colt clones. I have used some "standard" parts in my Rock Island. Obviously some of the trigger group parts that have changed in the various Colt design series might be a problem and some parts like barrels would require fitting by a qualified gunsmith, but generally these pistols are blue print copies of the Colt design. Just about all the standard aftermarket parts can be used as well. And yes, Rock Islands can use standard Colt mags. I have a about four mags with the prancing horse and they fit and work well.

[DAA1]

I bought my first one well over 20 years ago, and it was a colt. Used but well taken care of and then it cost $550.00. Since then I have bought several variations of the GI 45, norinco, llama, AMT, springfield, & Rock Island.

I still love my colt (s), but for the price difference the Rock Island is a good deal. Makes no difference to me where the gun is made, but quality and price do. There are good and bad ones from each company, my rock islands are good shooters.

There are several GI 45's to choose from and tons of other 45 auto's out there. Find one you like. The good thing about a GI 45 is parts and mags are easy to find, not that I have ever had to replace any parts yet. I do have a few mags, and that makes it nice to have mags that will go from gun to gun. Guess I should have bought the auto ordance I saw at the last gunshow from what I have read here, eneded up with my second rock island..

And that was only because I did not see any FN 45's.

[IL DUCE]

I have owned couple of Spanish Llama .45's that were fine shooters for the price and many parts interchange with GI issue auto's.
And on the plus side it's the perfect companion for the Cetme battle rifle.

:g3: