Interesting. Folks express opinions in favor of something other than a Taurus, and that makes them "gun snobs"? The man asked for opinions on 1911's, not just about the Taurus... My preference, as a competitive shooter, is for a hi-cap, and I've had very good performance from both of my P14's. They've each had thousands and thousands of rounds through them and have proven extremely reliable. The only complaint that I've had is that the original mag releases were made of synthetic.