Would it Come Down to Price as a "Decider"?

NIGHTLORD40K said:

Just my 2 cents, but Id rather support the economy of a nominally democratic ally like the Phillipines over that of an increasingly hostile Islamist dictatorship like modern Turkey.

So, for me, Tisas is out.

Click to expand...

That was my thought, too. I am also sad that the best-quality roller-lock clones are Turkish for the same reason.

Everything else being equal, assuming relatively similar fit and finish, for me it might come down to a minute difference in esthetics -- that's be whichever one had the smallest, least obtrusive, smallest rollmarks, whatever.

Although what @NIGHTLORD40K said earlier might be a consideration. Having spent a lot of time in the P.I., I maintain great memories and warm feelings of the country and its wonderful people. Turkey, not so much...

Price is rarely a factor for me these days as we're pretty financially secure and I will pay more for perceived quality.

I bought my Rock Island FS tactical in 2011. it hasn't rusted yet and doesn't get oiled after handling. If I wanted a 1911 with all the bells and whistles I'd go with Rock Island. if I wanted one as close to a government model as I could get I'd go with the Tisa Army.

You're rolling dice on any cheap 1911. Each of those brands has sent some hard core garbage out the door, for sale. And each of those has made decent pistols.

I suggest a $2100 budget instead.

CapnMac said:

Let us presume some things.
Like having the wherewithal.
And the inclination to a 1911 variant.
And one was standing in the LGS looking at the same feature set in a given pistol.
So, that it would be apples to apple or avocados to avocados.

So, Commander to Commander, or Officer's to Officer's, even caliber to caliber. Also, stock sites vs stock sights. Let's also presume an equality of finish, to eliminate blue vs. stainless or the like.

So, picking between RIA, Armscor, Tisa, ATi--with all the the same-same, how would you pick?

Have those brands managed parity among themselves, or does real (or popular opinion) favor one over the others?

Click to expand...

RIA is Armscor.

I'd go that route (Rock Island). Mostly because I have one, and it's been fine.

Zerodefect said:

You're rolling dice on any cheap 1911. Each of those brands has sent some hard core garbage out the door, for sale. And each of those has made decent pistols.

I suggest a $2100 budget instead.

Click to expand...

That wasn't the OP's question. Wasn't like he was asking, "Should I just get the Dan Wesson now or save another year for the Nighthawk?"

Almost as bad as the "Just get a Glock instead" answer. Some folks just like to add more affordable handguns to the accumulation from time to time. Especially if it's going to be something to be used only as the occasional range toy. Nothing wrong with that.

My RIA 1911 shoots just as well as some of my higher priced 1911s, and no rust, no malfunctions and for the money well worth it.

So, picking between RIA, Armscor, Tisa, ATi--with all the the same-same, how would you pick?

Click to expand...

That's easy....go with the one that offers the superior warranty, support and customer service.

Zerodefect said:

You're rolling dice on any cheap 1911. Each of those brands has sent some hard core garbage out the door, for sale. And each of those has made decent pistols.

I suggest a $2100 budget instead.

Click to expand...

$2100??? that’s too deep of pockets for me! High Point .45 are good fir the money

Otto said:

That's easy....go with the one that offers the superior warranty, support and customer service.

Click to expand...

That would be Rock Island. They have a lifetime of the gun warranty no matter how old it is or who originally bought it. They have a service center in the U.S. From what I hear customer service is excellent. I've never used them. My Rock has been flawless since I bought it in 2011. My only gripe is the grips and mags. After market grips and CMC mags are all I've done. The CMC mags even feed empty cases.

It looks like I'm a little late to the party here, but I'll throw in my inflation-adjusted $0.02 worth.

In my experience it's worth giving any brand of 1911-pattern pistol the used-gun check, even if they're brand new in box. This applies equally to $400 Philippine guns as to $2400 Springfield Armory Professional models. Yes, I've seen a brand new 9mm Professional Model get sent right back to Springfield Armory because the slide wouldn't release after being locked open. Colts would occasionally get sent back for cosmetic issues. I remember an example of the much vaunted Dan Wesson 1911A2 which had a thumb safety that was so stiff it took two thumbs to press to the ON position.

The Philippine guns typically seemed to have OK fit and finish out of the box. Sometimes you'd run into a pistol where you could feel binding in the slide and barrel when you worked the action. Every once in a while one would feel like the final polishing was done with a handful of sand thrown into the pistol. But generally if you know what you're looking at, you can find a great pistol for the money.

The Tisas pistols don't stick out in my memory either good or bad. The majority of the ones I remember passing through my hands were the basic "mil-spec" 1911A1 pattern. I don't recall any complaints from customers against them either. Then again, back to the experience piece, I always found that very few people put more than a couple hundred rounds through any given pistol, ever. There are very few gun owners who will put enough rounds through a firearm to suss out anything but the most glaring material or workmanship deficiencies.

I have both RIA and ATI 1911s, I like the RIA a little better but I think because it has better sights, I also have a SA stainless that is great also. I have not had any problems with them as long as I load rn bullets instead of rnfp ones.
I think handling each one will be the best option

None because I wanted "nice" 1911s this time. I bought a full size Kimber rapide dawn and a micro nine Kimber rapide black ice

crestoncowboy said:

Maybe I'm just not a connoisseur... but my Taurus, colt, nighthawk, and Wilson's balance close enough for me to not be able to tell a difference. Some safety lever click smoother and more positive and some certainly shoot better. Ive never seen one with a bad trigger but sure some are better. The worse 1911 trigger made is better than any sig/HK Beretta etc etc that I have...and far better than the best Glock etc. But all my full size 1911 feel pretty much the same.

As far as those brands listed, I'd see who has the closest warranty center. They are all comparable in quality IMO. May as well have the better warranty opportunity in case its needed.

Click to expand...

\
that is a good point about service. I'm not much of a connoisseur, just the idea if I had to pick between several firearms, and they were similarly priced, then I'd just go for the one that I liked better, even if it was a few bucks more. there's something about one of those that the OP must just like better, if they are close in price, get that one is my take.

At that point for me, because all are in the “affordable” category (relatively speaking), I would choose purely based on individual impressions of each gun. Does one feel better in my hand, or have a nicer level of fit & finish, or seem sub par? Which one has a prettier slide roll mark, or lack of lawyer warning stampings, or the prettiest combination of finish and grips?

Only after all those things were considered would I give the nod to the one with the lowest price.

And I’d probably go with RIA just because I’ve heard nary a bad word, I like the Philippines better than Turkey, and I figure the RIA-branded gun made by Armscor may be better than the actual Armscor-branded one (without, it must be confessed, any substantial and concrete reasons to believe this.)