New 1911

Para Ordnance is out of business.

They are all reasonably good choices, including Springfield, S&W, etc. Make sure you pay attention to sight cuts and decide if you want adjustable sights or fixed sights. Unlike Glock's or Beretta's, not all 1911 sight cuts are the same. If you choose wrong expect some grinding or welding to get what you want.

If you like Ruger, they have a pretty good 1911 reputation and pretty good customer service.

I have a Kimber 1911 and would stay far away from Kimber. Para went out of business. Colt's run well. Maybe not a show piece but the Colt's will run. I have a Colt Wiley Clapp Govt with 25,000 rounds through it that is the best 1911 money I have ever spent.

Look at the Rogers in both 45 and 9mm. I have the Lightweight Commander (4.25 inch as opposed to 5 inch standard) in 9mm. Think they run about $750.

Can’t speak for the 45 but my LW Commander is a soft shooting and accurate 1911. Good trigger out of the box, fit and finish are really nice - stainless steel slide and aluminum frame. Comes with checkered rubber grips which are pretty nice, but I’ve put on some cocobolo wood grips that make it look as good as it shoots.

The Rutgers are worth a look.

+1 on the Ruger, though tough to beat the price of a Rock Island for casual plinking. The Remington R1s have a surprisingly good reputation as well, considering how their other recent products have gone, though support may be an issue with their bankruptcy filing.
Colts are nice, but pricey and they are ALWAYS on shakey financial ground, as far as factory support goes.

If you are at all concerned about warranty repairs, go with the Ruger.

DaddioDan said:

Look at the Rogers in both 45 and 9mm. I have the Lightweight Commander (4.25 inch as opposed to 5 inch standard) in 9mm. Think they run about $750.

Can’t speak for the 45 but my LW Commander is a soft shooting and accurate 1911. Good trigger out of the box, fit and finish are really nice - stainless steel slide and aluminum frame. Comes with checkered rubber grips which are pretty nice, but I’ve put on some cocobolo wood grips that make it look as good as it shoots.

The Rutgers are worth a look.

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I concur. My 9mm Commander (not necessary to call it Lightweight; there is only the one 9mm Commander model) is my favorite pistol. It made me a much better shooter than all the striker-fired guns I have tried before it.

Read a lot of reviews. Everyone will say their brand is the best. Pick the brand that is least mentioned on the reviews with problems. Sometimes what is not said is most important.

There is nothing wrong with the Filipino or Turkish 1911's. As Nightlord said, they are perfectly fine for casual plinking or non-competition range shooting. It's worth it to pay extra for good sights. My Turkish 1911 has never malfunctioned, but the tiny GI sights really limit how well I can shoot it. My FiL got a Filipino Metro Arms with upgraded sights that is more useful at longer ranges. I think mine cost $399 and his only $369 (he got a great deal). My stepbrother really likes his RIA, which cost about the same as ours.

The OP could easily get a good-shooting 1911 for $500 or less OTD... and spend the rest of the money on some other great classic like a Browning High Power, Beretta 92, CZ75, etc.

I'm pleased with the Sig Target version. Not traditional in that 1911 sense though out of the box I've been pleased how nicely it runs and the fit. Later added on the VZ grip panels and Ed Brown mag well. Polished the sear spring then installed a short radius EGW firing pin stop.

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Springfield Range Officer in 9mm for sure. I have the 5” and the 4” Champion light weight and both are super accurate, light recoiling, and cheap to feed. You can’t go wrong with either. If it’s just gonna be a range toy that’s what I’d get(I do carry mine sometimes tho).

Nothing wrong with the Ruger. Mine for some reason didn't want to run with flush fit 8 rounders for the first 100 rounds or so but by it's 2nd trip to the range I had 0 issues with any magazines. Several thousand through it by now.

It's a really great value. I do prefer Colts but I like my Ruger CMD and I plan on keeing it

I'll second the Turkish guns. I bought my first 1911 about a year ago for well under $400. It runs good and is as accurate as I am.






I would think about what features you want first off. Personally I wanted an extended safety, beaver tail, and good sights.

I'm sure Ruger, Sig, RIA, or others would be good as well. But you don't HAVE to spend that kind of money.

Big fan of Rock Island here.

The Full size GI and the compact are both good right out of the box.

HOLY DIVER

Some very good 1911s out there for around $1K: Colt, Ruger, S&W, SIG, and Springfield Armory come to mind. For less money (and still with very good quality and features), you can get a decent 1911 from Rock Island Armory as well.

Me, I'm a big Colt fan; have tried a lot of others and feel that I still get a great "bang for my bucks" with a Colt.

Ruger 1911 is very good for the price.
One thing I don't like is the kinked plunger tube spring, makes thumb safety mushy, too easy to disengage.
Have four different Ruger 1911's and all of them had a kinked plunger tube spring, it is likely intentional to keep it from shooting out in disassembly.
Easily corrected with a new plunger tube spring; I much prefer them with a new spring.
Other than that, no problems.

The Colt may not be the only forged 1911, but it’s definitely the only one with the rampant pony on the slide!

I too am a Colt fan, but I have nothing bad to say about Rock Island. A friend of mine has the full size and officers Rock Island and they are reliable and faithful copies. Both were had sub-$500. For your intended purpose Rock Island is the best bang for your buck. (No pun intended.)

A friend of mine had an RIA 1911 that I worked on for him. He wanted a beavertail grip safety, extended thumb safety, and extended slide stop release. Since the gun was nickel plated, and very evenly plated throughout the entire gun, we used polished stainless parts to match the plating. Did an action job on it and the gun was good to go.

No problems with the spring on my Ruger Commander 9mm.

Colt or DW. That's a tight budget for a 1911.

Dan Wesson A2 is $1100.
http://www.gunsinternational.com/gu...on-pistols/dan-wesson-a2.cfm?gun_id=100988498

For the money, I don't think you can beat SIG or Smith & Wesson model 1911 pistols, outdoor extractors not withstanding.

if your ok with foreign made, Springfield will give you the best value. I would have a Ruger but I don't like the style. I really like the Rem R1, but I guess I got a good one.

Rugers are awfully nice. My son’s is a fine pistol. Gives my DW a run for the money!