Recommendation for first 1911!

DAVE_M · Dec 6, 2016

For your price range, a Springfield Range Officer.

xobelkcat · Dec 6, 2016

My recommendation is also Springfield all day!

You can pick up a used one under budget and have money for upgrades!

superscar17 · Dec 6, 2016

whats your purpose in buying it? I don't know that your "first 1911" is relevant for anything. Do you plan on carrying it? Will it be a safe queen? Are you taking it out in the swamp?

if youre simply assessing if you like the 1911 ..go to a pawn shop or somewhere similar and buy a beat up surplus colt and go shoot the **** out of it. Buy a case of amerian eagle ammo and shoot through it all. you'll know then if you like your "first 1911."

Honestly, I don't think I've ever heard someone saying they regretting purchasing a 1911 other than I wish I had purchased another one instead... meaning the one that was out of your imagined or perceived budget.

Spend the money now... instead of being $800 behind saving for another one. You do get what you pay for.

A previous poster here recommended a Kimber. I'd have to agree - they have 1911's priced in nearly every budget. I do NOT recommend buying one at academy though unless they have one in a box - the display models are always beat up... apparently due to people whacking them on the glass and whatnot.

Bam Bam · Dec 6, 2016

OK now for a new twist! How reliable are the 10mm models, after talking with a few knowledgeable people on the power of the "10", I'm thinking of going that route! Does 10mm guns run just as reliable as the 45?? This will be a safe queen, but shot as much as time allows.

DAVE_M · Dec 6, 2016

Bam Bam said:
OK now for a new twist! How reliable are the 10mm models, after talking with a few knowledgeable people on the power of the "10", I'm thinking of going that route! Does 10mm guns run just as reliable as the 45?? This will be a safe queen, but shot as much as time allows.

You're getting out of your price range with 10mm.

Bam Bam · Dec 6, 2016

DAVE_M said:
You're getting out of your price range with 10mm.

GoG site has a RIA in 10mm for around $650-700, don't see any Springfields in 10 though. If a 10mm is has good has what I'm being told, it will be worth the slight increase in price!

DAVE_M · Dec 6, 2016

Bam Bam said:
GoG site has a RIA in 10mm for around $650-700, don't see any Springfields in 10 though. If a 10mm is has good has what I'm being told, it will be worth the slight increase in price!

10mm is okay.
RIA is not okay.

Personally, I don't care for 10mm and you will never hear me suggest Rock Island Armory.

Springfield doesn't make a 10mm, because they don't need to. Unless you want to spring for a Colt Delta Elite or increase your budget beyond $1,000, stick with a .45 or even a 9mm 1911.

hoghunter54 · Dec 6, 2016

Bonephish said:
Because you have some gunsmithing skills, learn to tune the internal extractor in a 1911 and buy a Kimber. You can find a Pro Carry II online for <$700.

+1 i have owned all of the above,,sw,,springs,etc..Nothing compares to a kimber in quality IMHO.Buy once,!!!
As far as polishing and making better. a 1911 is a 1911 no matter who makes it.They all break down the same.

Kimber guarantee's hitting target at 100 yards 3 times,with its higher end models..It says in the guarantee,if
you don't ,you can send back kimber and get yo money back !! Don't know of any company brave or built well
enough to offer that !! And yes they make a nice 10mm as well.A 10mm is not a range gun.It is for hunting
and killing what it hits.

Bonephish · Dec 6, 2016

hoghunter54 said:
+1 i have owned all of the above,,sw,,springs,etc..Nothing compares to a kimber in quality IMHO.Buy once,!!!
As far as polishing and making better. a 1911 is a 1911 no matter who makes it.They all break down the same.

Kimber guarantee's hitting target at 100 yards 3 times,with its higher end models..It says in the guarantee,if
you don't ,you can send back kimber and get yo money back !! Don't know of any company brave or built well
enough to offer that !! And yes they make a nice 10mm as well.A 10mm is not a range gun.It is for hunting
and killing what it hits.

I can ring the metal plates at 100 yards with my Pro Carry II (shown.) Kimbers tend to hold value, similar to Colt, a lot better than RIA.

The true 1911 platform is supposed to be .45, except for the Colt Commander 9mm.

drenfro78 · Dec 6, 2016

If you are willing to pony up the cash for a 10mm, then you should look at higher cost 1911s. There is only 1 gun I take with me every time I go to the range, and it's my Colt! I bought a govt model and added the parts I wanted as time and money permitted. Its the only gun I would never part with.

Fred_G · Dec 6, 2016

Have only shot one 1911 in 10mm, it ran like a clock. Does make it a challenge to find all the brass, sucker slings the shells.

SVT Bansheeman · Dec 6, 2016

I didnt know the Ranger officer came down in price so much since it was released. I thought more would push for Springfields mil spec when i opened the thread.

asianpersuasion · Dec 7, 2016

Why not a RI 2011? I have one and it's gtg for me. There's also plenty of smith's that do a reliability work on one for less than $200

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DAVE_M · Dec 7, 2016

SVT Bansheeman said:
I didnt know the Ranger officer came down in price so much since it was released. I thought more would push for Springfields mil spec when i opened the thread.

The range officer is cheap enough now that I would only buy the mil-spec as a collectible type piece.

SpeedRacer · Dec 8, 2016

10mm is an awesome round to shoot when it's a buddy's gun. You shoot it a couple times and go "ohhh ahhh" and then you kinda get over it and are just glad it's not your expensive ammo you are shooting. If you want a 1911, stick with .45ACP. For your first, I wouldn't buy the cheapest out there but you don't need Wilson or Nighthawk either. You don't want to get a bad impression of the platform based on a poor example, but you don't need to pay extra money for features you don't know you need either. As mentioned, a good mid-range Springfield or Kimber would be my recommendation. I've seen way too many guys buy the cheapest one they can and then empty their wallet trying to make it better, ending up with a gun that costs more than something with comparable features out of the box that now has diddly squat for resale value.

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RG43 · Dec 8, 2016

I've seen a number of reviews of different 1911 models, in various price ranges, and the one that seems to keep coming up as the best "high end" for the money is Dan Wesson. Quality on those is apparently 2nd to none, but price is not at the inflated Wilson Combat range. The used Dan Wesson's may be catching on though, and starting to climb in price. So if I were looking to get my "keeper" 1911, I'd be looking for one of those now maybe.

ca survivor · Dec 9, 2016

in your price range, I would look at the Springfield Armory, great CS and warrantee, if you ever need it.

LACamper · Dec 9, 2016

Bam, look at the springfield loaded. its got everything you want and nothing you don't. If you want to try it let me know...

Bam Bam · Dec 9, 2016

I got this one has the front runner right now! The Springfield R/O is a little more than I want to spend and this is a 10mm and besides I have a coworker who has it and I'm going to go shoot it next week! I compared it to a Sig 1911 and the fit/finish was just as good. The Kimbers and Springfield's I've handled were nice but the Taurus and Para I've handled were fine too! I really love the checkering on the front of the grip/frame area but none of the others have these that I've seen. Makes me tempted to get a Taurus!

https://www.budsgunshop.com/catalog...ck_island_armory_51991_tac_1911_vz_8+1_10mm_5
The ballistics of the 10 mil are impressive, so pretty sure I'm going to stick to getting one!

RG43 · Dec 9, 2016

I think the thing with an RIA or Taurus or Para is there could be more variation from individual gun to gun. I've got a Taurus snub 38, one of the best guns I own to be honest. Shoots straight as anything, I can almost shoot as well at 25yds with it as I can my 6" S&W 686 (not really, but relative to the difference in sight picture they aren't that far off). It seems solid and really nothing to complain about it. But I've seen a lot of others who have complained of all kinds of problems with these guns. I think it would be the same with the 1911s, if you get a good one, it can be comparable in most ways to a good Springfield or Colt. But your chance of getting a good one goes up with the Springfield or Colt models. It's like I remember someone who was a retired gun smith was comparing the Colt, S&W and Ruger DA revolvers. He was going down the list of attributes and common issues with each. When it came to accuracy, he said most often, the older Colts would be the most accurate and solid built guns of the 3 (meaning they would hold together the best). But that would be if you were to take 100 of each model and do a side by side comparison of them all. A higher number of those 100 Colts would more likely be more accurate and all around solid guns over an equal number of S&W or Rugers. But, if you just have a few samples of each, any one of the three could be the most accurate and solid gun of the group. It's just a matter of percentages and sample size.

Recommendation for first 1911!

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