Affordable 1911s that aren't trash

I have an RI 10mm, had a lot of trouble with it at first, sent it back to them and they just sent me another pistol that has been 100% so far with 500-1k rounds, their customer service is great.

Kimber target 2 10mm, not a lot of rounds down this one but the insert for the front site came out but no malfunctions so far.

S&W pro series 9mm, E series 45, PC 4.25" and an early billboard 45. All of these have been 100%. I carried the PC all last winter and the bill board 45 is one of those core guns I will not part with. I also had a couple of PC945-1's I don't consider these true 1911's but they were accurate as hell.

Ruger SR 1911 9mm commander and 10mm full size. I can say much on the 10mm as I have only fired about a hundred rounds thru it but I had no malfunctions in that hundred rounds. The 9mm commander on the other hand has about 2500 rounds down it with no malfunctions that I can remember and I carry it occasionally.

Springfield Emissary, I bought this a little over a month ago, had a ton of issues with it. Sent it back to SA and when I got it back last week I fired about 150 rounds thru it with no malfunctions.

I "had" a Para once, it was the biggest jam-o-matic I have every had except.......for the AMT Hardballer I had at one point.

I did have a couple of Colt's at one time, wish I still had them, one in 45 and the other in 38 super.

Oh wait, also had a Auto Ordnance 1911A1, I don't have it anymore because I could not stand the tiny sights and I just didn't want to put any money into it.

One day I may get a Nighthawk just to see what all the hubbub is about.

That's my 1911 Journey so far.
 
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Also... One big thing for me about metal frame pistols is the ability to add a thumb rest/indexing point. Unlike Glocks where you can add some tactical sandpaper tape to the frame bulge and ride the slide, these metal frame guns have a frame thinner than the slide. What's a good route for thumb rests/'accelerator cut'-esque stuff? Don't want the huge fins but perhaps something similar to the competition takedown lever that Beretta offers for their 90 serious guns.
 
I've owned quite a few 1911s. From the little Star BKM, to several Springfield Armory models, a Caspian Arms race gun, and a few Colts.
I kept the Colts. My Combat Commander is easily the best 1911 I've owned.
If I were in the market I'd look for an older Colt. One that is bone stock and completely unmolested by some amateur gunsmith.
Get a stock gun, and if you want to modify it, do it yourself, or hire a top notch smith, like Greg Derr.
www.derrprecision.com

Derr Precision

www.derrprecision.com www.derrprecision.com
 
snax said:
Had my hands on a plain jane GI Auto Ordnance recently. Pretty solid. They owner said was about $600. Not sure when he bought.
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Those, you have to do your homework on. They were apparently excellent in the '90s, less excellent later on, then they got excellent again at some point.

My only direct experience with them was fine: an AO 1911A1 was my very first gun, purchased around 1996. I fired that sucker for years, and the only problem was that hiccup a lot of production 1911s get where they stay about 1/4in out of battery occasionally and you have to smack the back of the slide every now and then. Fun gun, but then mine was from the "good era."

I traded it later to a friend of mine for an Enfield No5 Mk1, all-matching. I always thought I got the better of that deal. My buddy took the AO to the old King's Gun Works in Glendale back when it still did gunsmithing. I think he tweaked it in various ways for a few years and loved it more and more each time. He still has it, I think.
 
steven grammont said:
Is buying a Colt instead of a Cabot "flinting"?
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no, more like when someone who could easily afford something way better chinses out and gets the cheapest thing instead like the $350 ATI special made in “god knows where this month”. Sometimes flints get lucky because the market has the good tendency to kill bad product.

I’m not a flint but I’d never buy a cabot. I’d buy several less costly but high quality guns(DW etc) for that cake. There’s a difference between value prop and flinting. 🤣
 
AKMa3di said:
I see why people like these guns. Commander was too snappy but a full 5" .45 is really quite controllable.. the "insane .45 Auto recoil" is overhyped. I was holding on like it's gonna be a hand cannon the first shot due to what I've heard from others online
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Good for you!

My Randall 1911 has a rib on the slide that really doesn't seem to add much weight, but when you shoot it it feels almost like a .380 to me. Even flatter, probably.

You're right that that extra inch on the barrel makes a difference.
 
Welcome to the Church of John Browning.

Once you shoot a 1911 you'll never forget it, it is a religious experience.

When I was a little boy, back when there were only 4 channels on the TV and the shows were Black and white, my Dad would take his 1911 out and clean it... bottle of Hoppes #9, running a patch in and out of the barrell, some 3 in 1 oil .... oh it was wonderful... eventually I got to handle and shoot one and it was magical.
 
Speaking for Myself, no other hand gun feels more natural and points better in my hand than a 1911, only other pistol that comes close is a Sig 220/226. I feel the same way about an AK, I'm not a fan but when I shoulder an AK it feels like it belongs there, length of pull is perfect and comes on target naturally, Mikhail knew what he was doing!
 
Do you guys know of a slide stop that allows me to have some more purchase with my support thumb? Like an indexing point and to control muzzle rise.
 
ahhh the 1911..... the basic design is over 110 years old, the guy who invented it has been dead for almost 100 years.... he was was born in 1855 died in 1926 ... the year my Grandparents got off the boat from Ireland in NYC

Think about the metallurgy of the time.... no scanning electron microscopes to look at crystal structure of the alloy.... the machine shops of the time... 5 axis CNC wasn't even a dream, guys were turning out parts one at a time on the machines that started the Industrial revolution
 
appraiser said:
Think about the metallurgy of the time.... no scanning electron microscopes to look at crystal structure of the alloy.... the machine shops of the time... 5 axis CNC wasn't even a dream, guys were turning out parts one at a time on the machines that started the Industrial revolution
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Those guys were skilled machinests, a skill that does not exist today like it did then. Today machinests reley on computer aids, which results in consistent hi quality parts, but costs more. So, many 1911 manufacturers turn to MIM parts to meet the price point their customers want. For the vast majority of buyers the MIM parts will outlast them, And their 100 rounds a year torture test. For those demanding shooters who rack up the milage, premium manufacturers use premium parts and premium processes and can sell at a premium price.
 
@andrew1220 Thanks, that's kind of what I'm looking for. More like a "shelf" than a gas pedal. I'm thinking if I was going to get a 1911, may as well get it in 45. Cuz 1911, and I have heard 9mm 1911s can be a bit more fussy, and mags can be very different brand to brand.
 
AKMa3di said:
I see why people like these guns. Commander was too snappy but a full 5" .45 is really quite controllable.. the "insane .45 Auto recoil" is overhyped. I was holding on like it's gonna be a hand cannon the first shot due to what I've heard from others online
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A lot of the myth about .45 recoil started when even military qualification was done one handed, with the weak hand on hip. Also, when the average GI weighed about 130 pounds.
 
1903Collector said:
How bout the Sig 1911's? I've haven't owned one of those, how are they. I would say they are in the "reasonably priced" category. I've heard they won't fit properly in a 1911 holster?
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While it depends on the holster, Sig (with only a few exceptions, which I think are no longer available) uses a proprietary, nonstandard slide profile and that, indeed, may not fit in a holster. Ditto for any gun with a rail.
 

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