RE: I'll be getting my first 1911 soon!
 

I have the same problem with Colt that Wolf killer and most of us had with Smith & Wesson. Colt basically did the same thing. To appease the Clinton Administration they SH*T on their largest group of custumers and basically stopped selling to the civilian market. I also think that their products are $200 to $500 over priced, be it an AR-15, 1911 and especially their revolvers! I don't pay extra for a name! I agree with you that Kimber, Springfield, yes even Colt, STI all make great products. I also have been told that Kimber is on their fourth design with their "external extractors" and my understanding is that it is still kind of iffy. Everything that I have read is that the Smith & Wesson design is a better design and there hasn't been to many problems with it at all. I was going to get a Springfield "Loaded Pistol". I choose the S&W SW1911 over the Springer for two reasons.
1- I like the "Firing Pin Safety" on the S&W. Its not the same design as the Colt series 80, that would be the one that 99% of the people I talked to told me to stay away from.
2- I work for one of the "BIG THREE" auto makers. My livelihood depends on people buying American. The S&W's are made in America. The frames and slides on the Sringer "Loaded Pistols" are forged in Brazil. And most of them are also machined there as well. I always try to buy american if possible.

I also now that there are only four manufactures that Wilson Combat will work on. One of them happens to be Smith & Wesson, they must not be all that bad!
Here's the link, its right under Bill Wilsons name

RE: I'll be getting my first 1911 soon!
 

springfield 1911 GI issue is a NICE shootin lil 45 all for 380bux

RE: I'll be getting my first 1911 soon!
 

I've had a Colt Gold Cup Mk IV Series 70 for over 20 years, and it is great. It coulod probably stand some attention from King's Gun works but it still shoots better than I do.

A couple of months ago I bought a Springfield GI 45. I certainly can't shoot it as well as I can the GOld Cup, but it is accurate if you can manage the trigger pull and actually see the sights.

A friend just bought an S&W 1911SC, and let me shoot it. I can shoot though a single large ragged hole with that one, although he did spend money on gunsmithing. I would buy one of these in a heartbeat if I still had any money left in my toy budget.

RE: I'll be getting my first 1911 soon!
 

SHoNUFF, I wasn't knocking Springfield or any other brand. I just choose to buy American if possible and practical, thats all. By no means does that make me right and someone that doesn't try to by American wrong! I'll give you an example. If I wanted a GI replica 1911, I WOULD buy the Springfield "GI .45 Replica" over the "Colt 1911 WWI Replica", its my understanding and correct my if I'am wrong, their basically the same pistol and the Colt is just about twice as much money! Now if the price of the Colt was within $100 or so of the Springfield, I would buy the Colt! I can't justify spending twice the amount of money for the same product, no matter were it is made!

RE: I'll be getting my first 1911 soon!
 

Rebel Hog - I inspected a Smith and Wesson 1911 pretty thoroughly a few months back and was pretty disappointed. There are some critical dimensions on these pistols - like exactly where the slide stop pin hole is drilled relative to the position of the barrel lug cuts - and the sear pin hole relative to the hammer pin and disconnector holes - also how well the breech face cut in centered on the slide and the width of its cartridge head slot. It wasn't as good as the average Norinco. . . .

I haven't actually inspected a Taurus 1911 - but have looked at a bunch of other Taurus pistols. Particularly the Beretta 92 clones. Very poor quality control overall compared to a genuine Beretta- although they do go "bang" every time . . . or if they don't, Taurus will at least fix it. This is like comparing a Hyundai to an Acura, though.

Although there are occasionally lemons from any gun manufacturer - the Kimber, Springfield, Colt, and STI have been very good overall. Kimber probably gives you the most stuff for the money. Springfield is also very good - and offers a lot a variety in their lineup. Colt is still a good product - and most custom pistolsmiths would still prefer a vintage series 70 as the basis for a custom combat pistol. I build guns primarily for IPSC shooters, and the STI guns virtually dominate this field. The high capacity frames that these folks make are possibly the best that have ever been produced - and are very consistently excellent. I prefer the Les Baer slides (best ever made as well, but pricey) with Schumann AET barrels. These guns aren't cheap - but not outrageous either - around $1600 for a limited gun and $2300 for an open gun.

You get what you pay for on these pistols. I don't drive a Hyundai . . . and don't shoot a Taurus for the same reasonsl.

Disclaimer: These are my personal opinions and are in no way an indictment of any product or manufacturer.

RE: I'll be getting my first 1911 soon!
 

Thanks Roskoe. I was wondering about a working mans Brand. One who can't
afford the best and has to go with the inbetween Brand. Some on the Forum
can afford, but some can't. Any input on this?

RE: I'll be getting my first 1911 soon!
 

If I wanted a "beater" .45 1911, the Norinco is not too bad.

RE: I'll be getting my first 1911 soon!
 

workin man .45, Llama mini compact. My buddy bought one last friday and we put 50rds threw it with no problems, then we went hog hunting saturday morning and put about 200 through it at my range and still no lock up. he paid just over 200 for it at academy

RE: I'll be getting my first 1911 soon!
 

Thanks ShoNuff, I was hoping Roskoe would respond to my question.

RE: I'll be getting my first 1911 soon!
 

Rebel Hog - I guess it depends on what you want to do with it. I would personally rather get a completely stock Springfield Armory .45 at a gun show - for about the same money as a new Taurus with a lot of bells and whistles - and the add some goodies to the Springfield as I could afford. The logical upgrades, in order of priority, would be: decent trigger, beavertail, safety, decent set of sights. Of course it needs to be 100% reliable. Accuracy should be in the 2" at 25 yards range with a stock gun. In the end, however, you might decide it would have been cheaper to have just gotten the Kimber from the get-go - but the "upgrade a little at a time" approach seems to be easier to slip under the wife's radar screen.

The Norinco would be a good "throw under the seat of the truck" gun - but so would a Glock 22 for that matter.