How durable are the entry level 1911s?

2 years on mine and still going strong

I traded it back and forth with a buddy and 4 times it made it back to me.

We call it "our precious".

Some are better than others. I own a Metro Arms American Classic, Rock Island and owned a Taurus.

The Taurus for all the features was the least reliable thats basically why i sold it. The Metro Arms i think is the nicest overall and is one of the few that come in a blued finish that i think is just beautiful. The Rock Island is holding up every bit as well as the ACII or any other 1911 i own in every price range.

They are good guns, i trust them 100%

Durability on a 1911 has two components:
1-the frame, slide, and barrel, which should last nearly forever on any halfway decent 1911
2-small parts and springs, which will regularly wear out or break and require replacing

The guns you list should be durable for #1, and mixed for small part breakage. Springs wear out on all 1911s regardless of quality, they are just a wear item.

If you want to maximize durability #1, a Springfield GI model is in the same price range and has IMBEL forged frame and slide, which may be somewhat better than your options (although Taurus has forged parts for both as well).

For #2, anything below $1500 or so is going to have a variety of MIM and cast parts, which will probably break sooner than forged or bar-stock milled parts. Is it soon enough to matter though? And the higher-end parts will eventually break also, they just take longer. Keep a spare slide stop and a full spring set on hand and you can readily fix most breakages or wear items.

I wouldn't hesitate to get either the RIA or Taurus if one of them makes exactly what you want. I would also look at Springfield's GI and upgraded mil-spec models as other good options too.

I wonder how many people actually shoot a gun, any gun, enough to worry about "durability?"

I wonder how many people actually shoot a gun, any gun, enough to worry about "durability?"

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More people than you think... My Baer will see about 10K this year.

I wonder how many people actually shoot a gun, any gun, enough to worry about "durability?"

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More people than you think... I Baer will see about 10K this year.

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Your average gun owner probably won't even shoot it enough to get it completely worn in. Heck, most gun owners think 1,000 rounds is a lot of ammo. There are, however, a good deal of shooters out there that put enough rounds downrange to put some serious wear on a gun.

I've had my Rock Island 45 for a while now and it just keeps on going.
Also, if I may say, I will put it up against most any 45. When you can hit skeet off the bank at 75yds every time, I don't know what else you can ask of a 1911.

I've had my Rock Island 45 for a while now and it just keeps on going.
Also, if I may say, I will put it up against most any 45. When you can hit skeet off the bank at 75yds every time, I don't know what else you can ask of a 1911.

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How many rounds have you shot through this pistol?

the extractor broke on my taurus pt-1911 after around 500 rounds, i replaced the extractor with a wilson and have shot another 400-500 rounds with no problems. overall i am really happy with the PT-1911.

Well, I know that I need to worry about durability. With a .45 that ripped up my hands, I was putting 4-600 rounds a week through it, once I have my RIA 1911 that feels like silk in my hands, I'll be putting anywhere from 1000-1500 through it a week, so yea, durability is an issue for me at least.

Well, I know that I need to worry about durability. With a .45 that ripped up my hands, I was putting 4-600 rounds a week through it, once I have my RIA 1911 that feels like silk in my hands, I'll be putting anywhere from 1000-1500 through it a week, so yea, durability is an issue for me at least.

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Not to be rude but durability was an issue for you but you still choose the RIA? Interesting. What about the RIA exuded durability?

I have an RIA CS Tactical that I've put 150 rds through and I love it. I'm tossing around whether or not to trade it, but it's never done me wrong though my advice is to take it to a smith and have the extractor and ejector replaced immediately as the stock ejector gets battered out of shape too easily, and the extractors are known to ship out of spec. I had these parts replaced after the first 5 rounds and since then, no problems at all.

Currently for both my price range and the amount of people that have recommended them to me. It's a start at least, if I can make some more money (blogs and such, as those are my gun funds) I will be upgrading. Believe me, an Ed Brown is on my list, it's just a matter of funds.

Springfield mil-spec and GI very good
Rock Island very good
Para GI very good
Can't speak for the others as I have not owned them.

I put about 2k rounds through a RIA 1911 and the issues experienced were a cracked barrel lug after about 1,500 rounds (which RIA promptly sent me a new barrel to replace) and it had very rough machining on the frame that caused magazines to not drop free. Maybe RIA has improved since then, I had that pistol about 5-6 years ago. I sold it and now have a Springfield loaded 1911 that is of noticeably better quality.

One thing I noticed about my RIA 1911 GI long slide when I bought it was how absolutely FILTHY it was. I'm not talking about the one or two test fired rounds leaving some residue behind....I'm talking about really, really dirty. It took me two very detailed cleanings just to get the mags to seat without quite literally grinding and crunching into place with some force. They wouldn't even drop out via gravity at this point. I honestly thought at first that the shop sold me a "used" under the guise of "new"....it was that bad. I did some research and found that this seems to be a common deal with RIA but now, several thousand rounds later, I can tell you that I couldn't be happier with this sidearm. Just great for the price (I paid $400 for mine). In fact, I struggle to justify the huge price point spread to get into a $1K+ 1911when this RIA shoots like a dream, reliably...every time I pull the trigger.

More to the point of the OP - I know several people with RIA and Taurus 1911s, but none with more than 2, maybe 3000 rounds through them, which might as well be nothing in the context of long-term durability.

I think this will be a difficult question for anyone to answer. People buy budget guns because they're that - budget guns. Someone who's looking to buy a gun on limited funds isn't likely to have the money to buy enough ammo to wear it out. And regardless of how "low-end" your 1911 may be, its still going to last a lot longer than most people expect. It will go well into the five figure round counts without much problem, possibly beyond that even. After spending that much on ammo, a broken $500 gun is going to be more or less inconsequential.

Probably one of Taurus's best pistols. They seem to be of exceptional quality for the price.

OP, I own both, and just purchased a new Desert Eagle 1911 C that I haven't ranged yet. I've owned the RIA GI for about seven years, bought it when they first hit the market. Probably put around 500 rounds of varied types through it, with zero issues caused by the gun, only had issues while using cheap, used mags once.

I bought the Taurus used a few months ago, and only fired about 100 rounds through it so far, also with zero issues, using Wolf and Magtech ammo. Either gun IMO are good pistols. Both shot to point of aim using their stock sites at 25 yards.

I plan to take all three 1911's to the range this week, weather permitting, to compare accuracy and function.

I've seen the RIA GI locally at the gun show this past weekend for around $385-$425.00, new, and the Taurus PT1911 new for around $550.00, used around $450.00.

I have a RIA FS Tactical with 5000 rounds on it and a RIA CS with 3000 rounds (my carry gun) and have had no issues at all. They have been very reliable. Both are as accurate today as when I bought them.

More to the point of the OP - I know several people with RIA and Taurus 1911s, but none with more than 2, maybe 3000 rounds through them, which might as well be nothing in the context of long-term durability.

I think this will be a difficult question for anyone to answer. People buy budget guns because they're that - budget guns. Someone who's looking to buy a gun on limited funds isn't likely to have the money to buy enough ammo to wear it out. And regardless of how "low-end" your 1911 may be, its still going to last a lot longer than most people expect. It will go well into the five figure round counts without much problem, possibly beyond that even. After spending that much on ammo, a broken $500 gun is going to be more or less inconsequential.

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I agree with this for the most part. 10,000 rounds of 45 is about $3000 these days and that is if you are buying bulk. They means a you will have spend more than 6X what a $500 will cost to shoot it. The majority of people buying in this sub $500 market do not have the coin to spend on tons of ammo. There will be a few who will shoot into the 50,000+ range but not many. I doubt that all of these guns will go into 6 figures without a significant overall without a loss in accuracy.

The manufacturers IMHO know this and they build these budget guns with that in mind. There is nothing wrong with that. It makes them $$$ it fills a need it is capitalism at its best. However, these guns are what they are and you need to know that going in.