springfield 1911

Let me answer this way.....$400 buys a lot of ammo and even more components if you load your own.
Pete

I've owned all of the above from 1st to last generation. With the TRP operator vs a TRP you get a bushingless bull barrel and adjustable night sights. The LW has an aluminum frame. There is no noticable difference with accuracy with any of the three. There is a major difference in weight. Steel frames last longer than aluminum. But I doubt you will shoot enough to wear out either frame. It all depends how much weight you want to carry and what holster. Also do you plan on leaving the light attached? I carry the TRP Operator in a Bianchi X-15 with the light on or a "tac" drop holster. The LW with light rides in a belt holster. Either way they are one of the best choices for the money.

Cheers,

ts

One note on the bushingless bull barrel full size Operator - it's not legal for IDPA, and in USPSA you get bumped into Limited instead of Single Stack.

Pete D. said:

Let me answer this way.....$400 buys a lot of ammo and even more components if you load your own.
Pete

Click to expand...

That $400 would supply primers and powder for about about 4,000 rounds. Cast my own bullets from berm-mined lead and have decades worth of range pickup brass.

in 1969 I made one of the best decisions of my life to get into hand loading.

If you haven't already, take a look at the Range Officer too, unless stainless is essential. The machining is supposedly the same as the TRP for about half the cost. I've yet to be able to look at one though since they're always out of stock...

Thumbs up on the Springfield decision though, I have three (all 9mm 1911s) and even the ten year old one that didn't work right got fixed for free.

Let me answer this way.....$400 buys a lot of ammo and even more components if you load your own.

Click to expand...

I'll simply second PeteD; he's got it right.

I'd not want the lw frame. I'd get the all steel TRP between the two; they are very nice. What's $400 going to matter to you over the course of your lifetime? But, consider at the TPR price range you can get an even better 1911 for just a bit more.

If you're in the TRP price range, look at a Dan Wesson Valor, it's a much nicer gun than a TRP. I have both. Bought the TRP first and the DW about 6 months later, the DW is a step up from the TRP.

The posts conflating buying a gun with spending money on ammunition always make me laugh. You buy a gun one time - make it the one you want and the best you can afford at that time. For me, ammunition is a totally separate cost from a different budget and is NEVER a tradeoff factor in buying a gun as that is truly false economy.

buckhorn_cortez said:

You buy a gun one time - make it the one you want and the best you can afford at that time. For me, ammunition is a totally separate cost from a different budget and is NEVER a tradeoff factor in buying a gun as that is truly false economy.

Click to expand...

+1 A gun is equipment; an investment. Ammunition is a consumable; it comes and goes. Kind of like buying a truck and then the gasoline to run it.

Got to have both, but I'll just be hanged if I've going to buy something I don't really want because of the marginal increase in a consumable's cost.

I have the colt rail gun and love it!

My point about the difference in price being a way to buy ammunition was a way of saying that the OP will most probably not find such a difference between the two guns that the expense is worth it.
As another poster wrote, the accuracy is there in both guns and I much doubt that either gun will be in danger of being worn out in his lifetime given the projected use.
One factor, however, that is not arguable is the legality of the gun in match competitions.
That may determine choice more than other factors.
Pete

Very pleased with my SA LW Champion Operator. It's as accurate as the MC.

EAJ do you think the extra accuracy comes from the longer sight radius, or do you feel the MC operator has a mechanical advantage.

Click to expand...

I think it’s very reasonable to believe that the longer sight radius would aid in increased accuracy, however in practice they’re both about equal in my hands. A better marksman might perceive a difference. Both are equally reliable mechanically. I also have a Micro Operator. IMO, out of the 3, the Champion provides the best balance with respect to concealment, accuracy and reliability.