Best Self Defense 1911?

All of the recent Colts I've seen have been legit, but they aren't exactly the prettiest guns.

In your budget, I'd look at Dan Wessons or if you don't mind deviating a bit from the classic 1911 design, the Smith & Wesson E-series guns.

Sounds like my Norinco except for the part about made in America. It's absolutely reliable, has a forged frame, no bells or whistles and shoots 3 inch groups at 25 yards.

Nothing wrong with Colt's.

They have replaced the worn out tooling with new CNC milling centers and are making fine guns.

For that matter, I'm surprised you had such trouble with a Springfield.
All the ones I have messed with were pretty nice guns.

And I'm even more surprized Springfield didn't make it work if you contacted them.
Did you try that?

rc

A 5" Colt. I've had several since 1982 and never had a bad one. My Commanders have been great too. I would and have bet my life on them.

for a self defense 1911 i wouldnt be looking at the $2000 guns. at that price, you are getting up into some pretty custom stuff. for that price bracket of 1911's, the only experience i have had was with les baer and his stuff is top notch; i would not hesitate to bet on one of his guns. for me though, i would be much happier (for a defensive gun) with a kimber or a smith and wesson.

I hear a TRP calling out to you.

The S&W 1911's are the best for the money I've found. My one and only Kimber has never given me a moments problem, but after buying the S&W it has not been out of the safe much. I've owned almost all of the mid-priced guns such as Colt and SA with mixed results.

Unless you want to get into the $2,500- $3,000 semi custom guns I don't think you will beat one of the Smiths. You can probably buy 2 with your budget if you shop carefully.

Try to get a Combat Commander!

In your price range I'd look at Dan Wesson and Les Baer.

I may not be the right person to ask as I really never have problems getting my 1911s to run, heck I've even got a Para hi-cap that runs like a scalded dog. For a SD gun I like my Colts very well they run very close to JMBs original specs. My 1911a1 armed forces and my LW XSE feed anything even empty cases.

My S&W1911PD has been flawless after 600+ rounds of UMC, TulAmmo, WWB, Hornady XTPs, and Federal Champion ammunition.

I did some minor polishing and added a Wilson spring kit, it runs fantastic.

S&W 1911 guns are certainly the best kept secret in American made 1911s.

-Jake

Best and budget go hand in hand?

Try Chuck Rogers or Stan Chen if you really want the best..

Get yourself a 70 Series Colt like this. Shoot your 2,000 rounds and then determine what you want to change about it. Send it to a professional smith to make those changes. This way you can get a pistol that is built exactly the way you want it to be built. No compromises. You can get a 70 series for about $900 and still have $1100 + to get is customized.

If you are looking for something out of the box I would look at a Dan Wesson or a Custom Carry Les Baer.

Was it not running right out of the box?

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It ran perfect out of the box.

I did a few things for purely personal reasons.

-Jake

BluedRevolver said:

Best Self Defense 1911?

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The one that works!! I'm not trying to be facetious but you can find examples of $500 1911s that are 100% reliable and $2,500 1911s that are finicky. My $2,300 Ed Brown Special Forces Carry has been problematic until recently and yet my $1,200 Kimber Tactical Entry II worked fine with every factory load I tried and only had issues with a specific lead semi-wadcutter bullet from Western Nevada.

I put about $600 of parts into the Kimber and ended up with a pistol that works 100% with every type of ammunition that I've tried in it over the last two years including that 185gr LSWC from WN. I improved the durability as well by choosing quality aftermarket parts. I've shot numerous 150+ round matches with the Kimber without any issues and I would grab the Kimber before I grabbed my Ed Brown Special Forces Carry ... sad but true. The slide to frame fit is the least tight of all my 1911s but the barrel (Ed Brown) locks up tight and it's very accurate. I also have two Dan Wessons, a Valor and V-Bob, but would grab either my Ed Brown Special Forces or Special Forces Light Rail before either of the DWs. My 5" Ed Browns have been perfect with a wide variety of ammunition but the Valor has been problematic and the rear sight fell off the V-Bob. Of my seven 1911s that include a Kimber Tactical Entry II, Kimber Stainless Pro Raptor II, Dan Wesson Valor, Dan Wesson V-Bob, Ed Brown Special Forces Carry, Ed Brown Special Forces and Ed Brown Special Forces Light Rail, the only ones that I would consider to be 100% in terms of function are the Kimber and both 5" Ed Brown pistols. I'm working on issues with the others. I think the Ed Brown Special Forces Carry is on the verge of being resolved after sending it back to Ed Brown. They recut the chamber and I replaced the extractor and now it seems to be running very well. If only Ed Brown finished their pistols using a salt nitride process like Dan Wesson rather than a CERAKOTE type finish.

I bought a Colt series 70 close to 40 years ago, had a local smith trick it out and I would put up to any of the custom makers today, however the price would be equal in todays market. I now own a Kimber ULTRA CARRY ll a 3'' barrell .45acp and I also recommend this as a SD defense gun, Its what I carry. The 1911 is a awsome self defense gun, its your life or loved ones, your choice.
Jim

Check out Sig Sauer. They make really nice stuff. I am in love with my Sig p238(mini 380 1911) I don't have a Sig 1911 yet, but plan to in the future.