1911 .45 opinions

I am also looking for my first 1911 for use primarily as a range gun. The three that are in the running are (not in order) are the SA Loaded, PT1911, and Kimber Custom II. I doubt this helps, but maybe. SA customer services is alleged to be the tops and that is very important to me. Life is too short for after sale hassles.

I would go w/ & recommend Colt over Tauri all day long. I have had great luck w/ Colts & my luck w/ Taurus has been spotty at best.

Why do you feel the need to buy new. You can probably get an excellent used 1911.

I bought a PT 1911 about 4 months ago. I was going to get a Rock Island mil-spec for 349.00 but the guy who was showing me the RI said that if it was his money, he'd spend another 150.00 and get the Taurus. He then proceeded to show me feature after feature that is built into the Taurus.

When he told me to dry-fire the Rock Island, then dry fire the Taurus, I was completely sold. Read the reviews. You can't find a bad one and the Taurus has a LIFETIME warranty. (providing you don't modify the pistol)

I've put 700 rounds through mine, all 230 grain ball and have had no failures of any kind. Look on Gunbroker or Guns America. If you can find a PT1911 for 350.00 I'll buy everyone they have. I got mine for 500.00. Now the shop sells them for 550.00 and they can't keep them for more than a day or two.

Dan Wesson, hands down, best bang for the buck.

Lots of good advice too be found in the above post's; but here is MY take
on the situation. While the Taurus PT 1911 is a very fine introductory type
1911; I would go ahead at this time, and upgrade to another level firearm.
If your current budget is $1200 for a 1911, then I would seriously look at
the offering's from Springfield Armory. I have always like the MC Operator
model, as it has all the bells and whistles found on more expensive firearms;
such as Pachmayr wrap-around rubber grips, factory Trijicon night sights,
excellent slide to frame fit, and a lifetime warranty. I sell these NIB for the
attractive price of $950.

Or, if interested I just put out a brand NIB Kimber "Covert" 5" 1911 with
Crimson Trace Grips (digital camo pattern), Meprolight night sights, ambi-
safety, etc. for $1299~!

Have you tried looking online for guns? If you have the proper permits and such, you can buy one and have it shipped to a FFL liscensee (your gun shop would almost certainly be one) for probably 25 dollars or so on average. It looks like you already picked out a gun, and its a good choice in my opinion. However, if your still looking i'd say that like the above poster mentioned you should check out a Rock Island Armory. They're probably around 400 or so, and very basic. However, you said that you wanted to use it for Home Defense and carrying when you walk out in the woods. Really any new gun SHOULD run well regardless of the name on its side, but if for some reason that isn't the case, both Taurus and Springfield have warranty's. Keep us updated on how it goes, and welcome to the forum.
Gunbroker seems to have good prices heres a springfield G.I. for 449.00 http://gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.asp?Item=67638789#PIC adding the 20 dollars for shipping and the other 25 (thats just an average) for FFL transfer your still only paying 494.00 for a brand new gun, which is about 200 dollars more you can use for ammo

Springfield...

If you're going the Springfield route, I've heard (and noticed) that stainless models seem to get more attention in the factory than parkerized models.

I have a Loaded 1911 in stainless and a GI in parkerized. The Loaded has a better fit, the trigger is better and there are far less tool marks.

The GI model ejects brass right into the shooter's forehead and really smacks up the cases. It's reliable though, just not pretty.

I can put a 5 gallon bucket in the right spot with the Loaded and catch most of my brass.

Both pistols are about as accurate as you can expect for a mass-produced 1911. My Loaded has a slight advantage due to it's better sights, but I'm pretty sure they'd look about the same from a bench rest.

Charles Daly is probably worth a good hard look now that they're owned by CZ. I'm not familiar with the CD products, but I am a big CZ fan. CZ makes fantastic stuff and is reasonably priced. I would expect the same from Charles Daly now that they're part of the family.

For what it's worth, I've never owned a more reliable autoloader than the CZ P-01... we have two of those (wife and I) carried daily.

Steve

Colt series 70 reproduction STS.

Charles Daly is probably worth a good hard look now that they're owned by CZ. I'm not familiar with the CD products, but I am a big CZ fan. CZ makes fantastic stuff and is reasonably priced. I would expect the same from Charles Daly now that they're part of the family.

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You're thinking of Dan Wesson. Dan Wessons are hands down the best value out there. You basically get an Ed Brown for $850. Dan Wessons will smoke any Kimber.

The Pointman Seven is a 5” series 70 style 1911 featuring a stainless steel frame and forged stainless steel slide. Like all Dan Wesson 1911s, Pointman models incorporate top quality parts from the best names in the industry

· Forged, one piece match grade barrel and bushing.
· Round top slide with Bo-Mar style adjustable target sight
· Hand polished flat surfaces with contrasting bead blasted rounds
· Flat, all steel 20-LPI checkered mainspring housing
· Front and rear cocking serrations
· Beveled magwell
· All sharp edges dehorned by hand
· Lowered and flared ejection port
· Hand polished feed ramp
· Ed Brown slide stop
· Ed Brown memory groove grip safety
· Tactical extended thumb safety
· One piece full length stainless guide rod
· Commander style match hammer
· Match grade sear
· Aluminum trigger with stainless bow
· Extended serrated magazine catch
· Wolff springs used exclusively
· Diamond checkered coco-bolo grips
· Tuned, machined, internal extractor
· Test fired for reliability
· 38 ounces unloaded

If you're willing to go for $700 I'd say go for another $150 and get the best 1911 value out there.

I can't help but think the Taurus PT1911 is the best value out there. For 525.00 or so, you get a loaded 1911, 2 mags and lifetime warranty. Of course, this is all based on the price point. I was looking to get into a .45 cheap and the Rock Island seemed to fill that bill nicely. The reviews on the pistol were good and reports of excellent CS were common. I was going that way till I saw the Taurus, all it's features, it's excellent trigger and warranty. It was a no-brainer for me to jump up from 350.00 to 500.00 and grab the pistol.

At 500.00, no other 1911 comes close to the Taurus. Now if you're willing to spend another 200 to 300 dollars, it seems you are in a whole other world and have a lot of different choices. If you're in the market for a 1911, I think the first thing you do is determine exactly how much you're willing to spend, add another hundred or so to that number... and then start looking at firearms in that price-range. I wish I would have been honest with myself because I spent a good deal of time researching the mil-spec 1911 base models, settled on buying the Rock Island and walked out of the store with the Taurus...

I did OK because this was a shop I've bought from in the past I have total trust in the man who sold me the pistol but it just struck me funny I went there to buy that Rock Island and all the research, time and thought I had put into the purchase went flying out the window when I saw the PT1911.

40% depreciation I don't think so. I see the Taurus holding it's value because it is not over inflated to begin with. Just the fact that currently the supply cannot meet the demand is evidence that they did something right. Granted time will tell, but I have yet to read a negative reveiw from an actually PT1911 owner. The Taurus products get tore up one side and down another on THR and other sites mostly from "past" experience with older models or from the ELITE group of Les Bear,Wilson combat owners who would drive a ferrari because it's elite when a ZO6 vette will blow its doors off.

ahh if your looking to keep your value i'd say avoid the Rock Island then and get yourself a colt, which probably holds its value better than any other 1911.

Rock Island's probably hold a higher resale value percentage-wise than any other .45 since they are only 349.99 MSRP, they'd literally have to give them away if they depreciated any significant amount

Springfield Armory makes good guns. I like Colt myself, but I wont poopoo a Springfield.

Not only will the 1911 bug bite you, but so too will the 1911 accessory bug bite you. You'll soon have a drawer full of grips, holsters, and small parts.

Check out VZ Grips. I like the texture of John VanZyck's Micarta grips. I have a set of slim canvas "Gator" grips for my Colt Commander.

I like wood grips the best, but Micarta is more durable while not looking like cheap plastic or rubber.

Very nice looking gun JHunter, be sure to tell us how it shoots once you get it to the range

My gunsmiths (Dick Williams Gunshop and the Accurizer) both dislike the Taurus and that is good enough for me. I would point you toward the Rock Island Armory or Springfield Milspec 1911s. Regards, Richard

Get one that has the features you want.
It's less expensive than adding on later.

For me that means night sights and front strap checkering.

Kimber TLE fits that bill.
I just picked up my 2nd TLE in stainless for $930 +tax.