First 1911?

if it were my $1000 i'd buy a SA range officer online for about $700ish then have it hard chromed. (maybe ed brown night sights). if you buy online $1000 opens alot of possibilities. kimber stainless. olympic arms long slide stainless, maybe a tad over a grande. RIA long slide, then get a .40 super barrel fitted, 45 for when ever and the 40 super when you really want some serious power. ask yourself whats important? series 70, ambi safety, single side ext. saftey, i'd suggest bomar or novak adjustable night sights, and don't forget the manufactures warranty. ro fitts my bill but i've also allways wanted a long slide and calibure conversion. hope i helped

My first (and only, to date) 1911 was a basic RIA - I believe it was an Officer's model, but don't recall exactly. I picked it up for a little over $400, but this was a few years ago - I think they're going for around $500 or so these days. It wasn't flashy, but it was well built, accurate, and an absolute pleasure to shoot. I deeply regret selling it, but I had no choice at the time and had to pay bills.

In my admittedly limited experience, I like the feel of Kimbers, SA, and Sig 1911's

What will you use it for? The 1911 is a beautiful weapon with several different models, which are each better suited for different things than others.

the ruger gets outstanding reviews and it is hard to beat a colt xse, buy u.s. made

I have 2 1911s in 9mm, and old Colt Series 70 and an STI Trojan. The STI will shoot circles around the Colt ( still love the Colt ). I would recoment the Trojan with it's ramped match grade barrel to be a very reliable shooter. Of your two choices the STI Spartan is the best entry level 1911 in my experience. If you do not mind an external extractor then both SIG and S&W deserve a look. For range use, I prefer adjustable sights (standard on the Spartan), for carry, Novak night sights. $ for $ STI pistols just seem to out perform other sub $1000 pistols, at least the ones I have shot. I have not seen the Ruger, it is hard to find and as yet unproven, I do like my Ruger revolvers, but I do not have any of the bottom feeders.

I would go with the Range Officer.

Right now, at least where I am at, it is hard to get the Ruger SR 1911. There are 50 people on a waiting list and the store at my pistol range gets only one or two at a time.

Ruger

I just got my American Rifleman magazine yesterday and they had an article about the new Ruger 1911. You may wanna check it out. It's one of those "everything you need but nothing you don't need" designs. Very nice. Stainless only. MSRP was $695 I think(but you can beat that).

I am picking up my first 1911 tomorrow

Ordered the gun about a month ago. A S&W E Series, Scandium, Bobtail.

Sub $500: RIA
$600ish: STI Spartan
$700ish: Springfield Range Officer
$1,000: STI Trojan

Colt Combat Elite should run right around $900 OTD.

Sub $500: RIA
$600ish: STI Spartan
$700ish: Springfield Range Officer
$1,000: STI Trojan

Click to expand...

Colt Combat Elite should run right around $900 OTD

Click to expand...

I can only add, that a Springfield Loaded might be a good option as well.

There ain't such a thing as too many good 1911s.

for $1000 I believe springfield has a parkerised double stack model
for $1000, you could get 2 ruger sr1911s, even though their MSRP is 800 they are going for much less. you really cant go wrong with a kimber, colt, or springfield, my only reservation with colt is that even though they are good guns, is like buying A&F jeans when a good pair of levis will serve you just as well for half the price. colt just charges so much because they know people will pay to say "hey look at my new colt".

I personally would go with the Remington 1911R1 over the others in the ~$600 range. The few I have handled impressed me more than other similarly priced guns, and I'm kind of a sucker for the more traditional styling. Call me weird, but I like the spur hammers.

I actually looked at the Remington too.. It's already on my new list.. I think it'll be a collectible in the far future.

Click to expand...

What makes you think a mass produced low end cast 1911 is going to be a collectible?

SR 1911 for me.

First the 1911 USGI wasn't a inaccurate pistol when issued I sold a 98% 1943 Rem while back. It would shoot as good as any new Colt in my safe . It didn't rattle and it worked even with the HP I tried. This gun was brought home from the war and I got at estate sale. It was original. Yes the ones I and others carried in the 60's and be on were loose and rattled . They were worn out and been rebuilt how many times.. If you have change to shoot a good USGI you will see they were great guns and Didn't need 500 rounds to break in They were made proper.