SR1911 or a Prancing Pony

I want American made, that's why I'm not considering Springfield.I don't want used, I rarely buy used guns. It's just between Colt and Ruger.

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I don't know I would base my purchase of anything on where it was made. Nothing wrong with buying American made whenever possible. I have been buying Ford trucks for alomost 4 decades, they were all made in Canada.
Besides, Springfield Armory has always had a presence here as an American company.

Can someone elaborate between forged and cast frames, and which one is which, I mean Colt is which and Ruger is which? That comment got my intention.

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Colts cost more because most of their parts are good quality.
Cast frames aren't bad as long as their done correctly. Caspian is known for producing quality frames for custom builds.

It will be interesting down the road to see where the SR1911 falls into place on the 1911 ladder.

Just my $.02,

I have only owned one new manufacture 1911, it was a Colt Combat Elite made in 2011. It was well-made, but I would not buy one again unless I had the money to do upgrades. Why?

1. From the factory it would not feed hollow points. Took three months to get it back from the factory, though they threw in some extras to make up for it.

2. There's really no excuse these days for having razor-sharp edges on anything. On the Colt, the front of the dust cover, the bottom edge of the slide, and the edges around the opening in the front of the slide for the barrel and barrel bushing were the worst. Extremely sharp.

The gun itself was gorgeous. But it would have needed a trip to the gunsmith to get it working right and functional for carry.

Somewhere between the late 1970s-early 80's and today, Colt must have decided to improve their quality control. All of the recently manufactured Colts that I have examined are very well made for the price. In fact, (and I never thought I would say this) I think I would take a new series 80 Colt over a "series 70" Springfield.

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This is absolutely true. I'm not sure of the exact date, but at some point in the last 5-10 years, Colt invested heavily in some pretty advanced CNC equipment, and that, along with a much higher degree of hand-fitting than most other mass-produced 1911s, yielded positive results. Right now, I don't know of any mass-produced 1911s that I would rank higher than Colt.

I have only owned one new manufacture 1911, it was a Colt Combat Elite made in 2011. It was well-made, but I would not buy one again unless I had the money to do upgrades. Why?

1. From the factory it would not feed hollow points. Took three months to get it back from the factory, though they threw in some extras to make up for it.

2. There's really no excuse these days for having razor-sharp edges on anything. On the Colt, the front of the dust cover, the bottom edge of the slide, and the edges around the opening in the front of the slide for the barrel and barrel bushing were the worst. Extremely sharp.

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Strange that your Combat Elite would not feed hollow-points. My XSE (which is a similar gun in many respects) feeds them (and everything else) flawlessly. Glad to hear Colt made this right for you. Their CS is superb.

I agree that the sharp edges are the biggest downside to most of the non-Custom Shop pistols. The sanded flats of the Colt pistols look fantastic, but the downside that results are the sharp edges at the front of the slide. Just a slight breaking of these edges by Colt would be a major improvement.

Love my Colt 01918 Black Oxide WWI Repro.

Pilot, that's a beautiful Colt!

Thanks guys! The WWI repros came in two varieties. The earlier 01911 Carbonia Blue, and later 01918 Black Oxide versions of which around 4,000 each were produced. Neither is in production anymore, and only available on the secondary market. You see them for sale on the various auction sites from time to time. They are wonderful pistols.

I hate them and I hate you for showing me them! Stop the torture! I passed on one as I had an XSE in transit at the time and I have kicked myself ever since. Phenomenal buy Pilot, that is truly something special.

Besides, Springfield Armory has always had a presence here as an American company.

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Actually thats not quite correct. The current owners only purchased the name.

Colt 1911 ........ or a Ruger?

Buy what you want, but a Colt 1911 is a Colt 1911.

Springfields are made in America as well. Just a bit South of the America some are thinking of.

The thing I try to caution people on with 1911s is not overestimating the WOW factor. Some people get it, some don't, I just enjoy them for what they are. I own Colts but I wouldn't mind a Ruger if I were looking for another to build on, same with a Colt.

I own both a Colt Delta Elite and a SIG 1911, both purchased at about the same price.

I have to say that the SIG came with far better fit, finish, and features from the factory. The only change I've needed to make on it was an arched mainspring housing to fit my hand better. I believe SIG 1911's are also made in the USA.

The Delta is my everyday carry piece because I prefer the 10mm for that role and SIG does not make a 10mm 1911. I had to invest in the following parts to get it up to my standards to carry:

-Night Sights
-Ambi Safety (I'm a lefty)
-Steel MSH to replace the plastic factory one
-GI guide rod, spring plug, and 24# spring to replace the funky factory double spring set up that was causing jams.
-Extended mag release

So the Colt ended up costing me a lot more, as all these features were standard on the SIG. However, because it has that rampant pony stamped on the side, if I ever go to sell it I can charge enough to recover my costs.

I recommend SIGs to anyone that asks me about buying a new 1911. Many don't care for the unique slide profile (I'm not a huge fan myself) but they offer a few models with traditional slides.

Sauer Grapes said:

Caspian is known for producing quality frames for custom builds.

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guess who makes those frames for Caspian.......




Ruger....

guess who makes those frames for Caspian.......
Ruger...

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semantics. Technically Pine Tree Castings is a company owned by Ruger.

tarosean said:

semantics. Technically Pine Tree Castings is a company owned by Ruger.

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I've always seen it styled as a "division of Sturm, Ruger & Co."

Between the two, I would save up the extra money and go with the Colt.

i'm new to THR, how do I post a question?
thanks

Select the appropriate sub-forum ie rifles, revolvers, holsters click on that sub-forum and look for the blue "New Thread" button toward the upper left. Reading stickys will also help.

i'm new to THR, how do I post a question?

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You just did. Sorry, the devil made me say it.

Post pics when they come in!

My favorite 1911s are my Colt Stainless Commander and Colt WW1, followed by my Springfield.

Here's my Colt O1911 (WW1 Carbona Blue). Love it. Sitting atop grandpa's medals.



And my Colt O1991 Commander



I alluded earlier, there is a stark quality difference between my recent Colts and my 1991A1 from the 1990s ... Colt really has gotten back on their game for 1911s.

Colt will hold it's value longer as long as you have a nice specimen. I have handled some colts that had very sharp edges and bushing to barrel fit was not good or could have been better. If you are to find a SR1911 for under $625 I would not hesitate. A while back I reviewed a SR1911 and tested it in a ransom rest all of which I documented on my website and I was very impressed.

SR1911 Range Review
http://www.dayattherange.com/?p=1612

SR1911 Ransom Rest Test
http://www.dayattherange.com/?p=1660

Having said all of that I am scouring the local shops for a Colt now as I feel every warm blooded American should own a Colt 1911 . Because of the wide swings in quality I will not purchase one on the internet unseen, I want to be able to examine it first.