Kahr / A-O 1911A1 durability Q's?

[vanfunk]

Hi There Everyone,
I'm contemplating the purchase of the Auto-Ordnance 1911A1 to use as a bare-bones, GI-style 1911 for carry and range plinking. My USGI 1911's are getting a little too precious to keep shooting every weekend, so I'm looking for a worthy replacement. Initial reaction seems to be positive, and the posts here to date have reflected good performance. My concern at this point is how the new A-O's are holding up after a few thousand rounds - any broken bushings, safeties, wierd peenings, etc.? All things considered, I'd probably prefer a Springfield GI, but they're not available in my state . I'd always prefer a Colt over everything else, but I can't afford another pony at the moment.

I plan on shooting this gun alot, maybe 200 rounds a week, so what I'm really after is how these pieces are standing up to extensive shooting (not torture testing, just a lotta gunfire).

Thanks in advance for sharing your experiences!
vanfunk

 

[Cousin Mike]

I also own the bare bones 1911A1 by AO, and I would have to say I am incredibly happy with mine. I would also go as far as to say that it performs just as well as any 1911 that costs twice as much. In the 800 or so rounds I have put through it so far, I HAVE had 2 FTE's on one occasion. in fact the day after Thanksgiving at a local range - but that was due to using low-cost aluminum cased ammunition (CCI Blazer) that I bought on sale at a local store.. The aluminum casing was getting stuck in the ejection port due to friction (what the RO said was his honest opinion, nothing with my gun he insisted). The casings that did jam were seriously stuck.. both times, the RO had to remove the weapon from the range and use some type of tool to remove the stuck casings.

They gave me a pre-Karh takeover AO1911 to use while they took care of the FTE issues, and THAT gun was a piece of you know what... Almost half the time it simply failed to fire - even though the firing pin would leave a VERY clear mark on the primer. I couldnt wait for them to return my pistol, and when they did I threw away the CCI Blazer stuff, and just paid a few bucks more for some good ol brass jacketed ammo.

I am aware that some people might disagree, and say it should shoot whatever ammo you put in it, but it's a 1911 and those are known to be kinda picky about things like what ammunition you choose to feed it. It feeds most JHP's reliably, but I stick to the Speer Gold Dot as it seems to have more of a "hardball" type of profile. My only advice, stay away from anything cased in aluminum, and you'll be fine... Let me know how it turns out for you.

 

[vanfunk]

Thanks Cousin Mike!
Sounds good so far. Have you noticed any unusual wear patterns on the gun after 800 rounds, ie rounded over barrel lugs, frame peening, etc.? The one big thing I worry about with "bargain" 1911's is the fit of the parts, and how they "wear in" or "wear out" with shooting. Were the sights regulated well from the factory?

Thanks,
vanfunk

 

[Cousin Mike]

So far nothing in wear to report... Everything is fine with the barrel, no peening, nothing... My sights fit me well, as I can shoot a nice group about as far as I can see, and the bullet pretty much goes where the sights point. I DO have 2 complaints.. The parkerization job seems to be less than wonderful, as some areas of the gun have started to show a little wear in finish.. and also, it's not the most pleasant gun I have ever owned, due to the fact there's no beavertail - I have quite an impressive scar in the web of my hand - and the kick... The parts fit extremely well together - it doesnt make a noise no matter how hard you shake it, but because of that the kick seems to be a little more impressive than other 1911's I have fired.

All and all I plan to have a tiny bit of work done to it to make it truly what I want.. I want new sights, although they're set perfectly they can still be hard to see, and in the dark it would be next to impossible to see them. I also want new grips and a beavertail, to make shooting a little more pleasant.. That shouldnt hurt the pockets too bad, and I think with those simple modifications this gun would be a dream come true...

 

[WillBrayJr]

Their good guns, I would and did go for Springfield's GI which was around $30.00 cheaper.

 

[Cousin Mike]

Something I forgot to mention...

... is the trigger and the magazine. At first, the trigger pull was not that great... I have described it as "crunchy" - but after a few days of dry firing and a trip to the range, it smoothed out incredibly, and has the smoothest, easiest trigger of any gun I have owned. I don't have any devices for calculating trigger pull, but to mee it feels like around 4.5 - 5lbs even. The magazine was also pretty tough to work with at first, making loading a 7th round almost impossible at first. Unloading was even more difficult, at first requiring two hands to unload the first two bullets from the mag. This problem also went away very quickly - I simply left the magazine fully loaded for a night or two, and had no more problems with it's NIB stubborn-ness.. Also, the Kahr - AO magazines are kind of expensive, and all are 7 shot only, but the pistol seems to accept most single-stack .45 mags just fine, even 8 rounders.. IMHO, keep the facory mag as a backup, but go get a cheap 8-shot mag as well.

Don't hang anyone on this info, but I think my friend uses an EAA Witness magazine with his. If I find that I am not correct, I will be back to set the record straight. Take care!