Help me decide which 9mm 1911

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Oldnoob

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Debating which 9mm 1911 I should go with. This will be for range target shooting only. Most important to me will be the accuracy and out of factory trigger.

Kimber Stainless Target 9mm
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Lawman
Lawman5_.jpg

RangeMaster
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Their price around my neck of woods will be: Kimber $1400, Lawman $1650, RangeMaster $1765 OTD. Part of me is yelling "just get a RIA($600) and do a trigger job!". But I think it's time for me to step up and own a $1k plus pistol.

If there is any other 9mm 1911 you guys can recommend to me, please feel free.
 
I dont think dropping over a grand on a pistol just because "its time to own a $1000+ pistol" is a very good reason, but hey, this is america, and you are free to do whatever you please with your dollars. Me, id put that 400-800 saved into ammo or a press to feed my new cheaper gun that does litterally nothing different than an 1800 dollar gun. Imo once your past the 400-600$ point on pistols, any thing over that carries no advantage until you hit the 2000+ point and can get a les baer or a ed brown or the like
 
pikid89 said:
I dont think dropping over a grand on a pistol just because "its time to own a $1000+ pistol" is a very good reason, but hey, this is america, and you are free to do whatever you please with your dollars. Me, id put that 400-800 saved into ammo or a press to feed my new cheaper gun that does litterally nothing different than an 1800 dollar gun. Imo once your past the 400-600$ point on pistols, any thing over that carries no advantage until you hit the 2000+ point and can get a les baer or a ed brown or the like
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I'd have to disagree. There are plenty of pistols in the $1000-2000 range that are going to be much nicer guns to own and shoot than a $400-600 gun. If nothing else, custom work can push the price of the gun into this range pretty easily, and can really transform a gun from the way it came out of the factory. If your only criteria for a gun is combat accuracy and that it goes bang most of the time, $400-600 is sufficient. At least for me, once you've shot a properly tuned custom firearm, it's hard to go back to a factory configuration.
 
Not a big fan of the squared off trigger guard of the Range Master. Either of the other 2.
 
Another gun to consider, which I do not own but have had the opportunity to shoot is the Sig Sauer "1911 Traditional Match Elite". The only real break from tradition here is that it uses a external extractor.
Sight picture, accuracy and function (this was a new pistol) was quite good while the trigger pull was a little better than average for a production gun.

If on the other hand you're a person that doesn't equate Sig Sauer with 1911... I understand fully. My brain still has a hard time with it as well. :p

C
 
I went to pick up a gun i bought online last night (92c type M) and I ended up testing a Heinie Nighthawk in 9. WOW. A few more bills than what your looking at but well worth it IMO. Made my "new to me" gun feel like a hunk of junk.
 
oldnoob

Not sure if all these are on the California Approved list, but there's a decent selection, and a wide range of prices, when it comes to a 9mm. M1911:

Kimber Target II- $1094 (all listed at Buds Gunshop)
RIA Tactical- $414
S&W PRO- $1207
Springfield Armory Service Target- $884

Then there's all the STI models:

Spartan- $644 (suggested retail price)
Trojan- $1121
Trojan (6" bbl.)- $1434
Lawman- $1433
RangeMaster- $1536
Sentry- $1613
TargetMaster- $1712

So if you feel the need for a $1K+ 9mm. M1911 there's certainly quite a few to choose from. Hope you find what you're looking for and let us know which one you've chosen and how well it shoots.
 
I would get the STI Sentry, if on the roster.
A higher grade gun than Kimber, better sights than Lawman, regular dust cover required for my use in IDPA.

I would order it from Brazos or Dawson and pay their tuneup fee for a 3 lb trigger pull and feedway cleanup.

I would get Tripp Cobramags, being sure to tell Virgil that they were for an STI.
 
I'm still a little fuzzy on this single shot exemption deal. It's my understanding that if a company wants to get on the roster, they submit a gun to be drop tested, so that it won't fire, correct? But to be single shot exempted, do you submit a gun to be drop tested?
 
smalls said:
I'm still a little fuzzy on this single shot exemption deal. It's my understanding that if a company wants to get on the roster, they submit a gun to be drop tested, so that it won't fire, correct? But to be single shot exempted, do you submit a gun to be drop tested?
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No. SSE does not require any test.
 
Jim Watson said:
Ah, ok.
Back to STI Sentry then.

I just hope the Authorities don't pinch your fingers when they slam that loophole.
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It's a stupid law to begin with. Can you image a 1911 with chamber indicator and magazine safety? Hell, ask every single LEO what's in their holster and try to find one that's qualify to be on the roster and not grandfather in.
 
I was looking for the same thing a month ago, and eventually gave up. There are only a few 9mm 1911 on the roster, the Kimber being one of them, but the reality is that getting one of the few 9mm on the roster was nearly impossible. No one has any stock, and if you want one, you have to prepay for it, then be prepared to wait, and wait and wait.

I also looked into the SSE, but the cost was just silly. First there are very few FFLs that will be willing to deal with it. They simply don't want to deal with the complications.

Additionally there is the cost of the conversion. A local FFL in the Bay Area wanted to charge $400 for the conversion and the transfer, on top of the cost of the gun.

So I personally cave in and went for the easily available .45ACP. I bought the Sig Sauer 1911 Stainless, and haven't regretted it one bit. .45ACP is easy to load, and a pleasure to shoot.

BTW. If you haven't looked at the Sig 1911, you should. That gun, out of the box, is nearly match grade.

SIG1911_004.jpg
 
I've had the Kimber SS Target II 9MM for about 2 years. It is an excellent pistol and no malfunctions with 6,000 rounds fired so far.
 
Dudemeister said:
I also looked into the SSE, but the cost was just silly. First there are very few FFLs that will be willing to deal with it. They simply don't want to deal with the complications.


Additionally there is the cost of the conversion. A local FFL in the Bay Area wanted to charge $400 for the conversion and the transfer, on top of the cost of the gun.
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Sounds like you didn't look far enough. Should have checked with Valkyrie Arms in Santa Clara...they don't charge anything close to what you were quoted
 
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Les Baer 9mm PII. I've added the fiber optic front sight and had it refinished with IonBond. Esmeralda grips. Under $2k a few years ago. Sweet shooter.
 
Dudemeister said:
I was looking for the same thing a month ago, and eventually gave up. There are only a few 9mm 1911 on the roster, the Kimber being one of them, but the reality is that getting one of the few 9mm on the roster was nearly impossible. No one has any stock, and if you want one, you have to prepay for it, then be prepared to wait, and wait and wait.

I also looked into the SSE, but the cost was just silly. First there are very few FFLs that will be willing to deal with it. They simply don't want to deal with the complications.

Additionally there is the cost of the conversion. A local FFL in the Bay Area wanted to charge $400 for the conversion and the transfer, on top of the cost of the gun.

So I personally cave in and went for the easily available .45ACP. I bought the Sig Sauer 1911 Stainless, and haven't regretted it one bit. .45ACP is easy to load, and a pleasure to shoot.

BTW. If you haven't looked at the Sig 1911, you should. That gun, out of the box, is nearly match grade.

SIG1911_004.jpg
Click to expand...

Uh, I'm aware of Sig 1911. And I agree, it's a lot of gun for its price. But sadly, as now they don't have a 9mm 1911. Here is my XO:

SigXO1911.jpg

I will be happy to pay $1k for my XO if it's a 9mm. I'm just not enjoy 45acp as much as 9mm.
 
If you have a steady hand, you cannot beat the Springfield EMP. People who can shoot - shoot lights out with the thing. I'm pretty good with mine. The workmanship of the pistol and the incredible 3 magazines you get with it are the best. Super easy to reload the mags.

The site radius is short which is a negative for me and others vis-a-vis target shooting. The pistol has a real match grade barrel that will spin a bullet directly where it's pointed. Will do the same groupings as my Sig X-5.

Most of the other pistols mentioned are excellent as well.
 
9mmepiphany said:
Sounds like you didn't look far enough. Should have checked with Valkyrie Arms in Santa Clara...they don't charge anything close to what you were quoted
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In fact it was Valkyrie Arms that quoted me "somewhere in the $400 range" for the conversion, FFL transfer and DROS. I was originally looking to get a decent but inexpensive ($600-700) gun like the Taurus or the RIA/Armscor 1911 in 9mm, because I didn't want to start with yet another caliber.

But after that quote, I was looking at $1K+, so I decided that .45ACP ain't so bad after all.
 
Dudemeister said:
In fact it was Valkyrie Arms that quoted me "somewhere in the $400 range" for the conversion, FFL transfer and DROS. I was originally looking to get a decent but inexpensive ($600-700) gun like the Taurus or the RIA/Armscor 1911 in 9mm, because I didn't want to start with yet another caliber.

But after that quote, I was looking at $1K+, so I decided that .45ACP ain't so bad after all.
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That's odd, last I checked it was about $50.

The price sounds about correct if you were asking to purchase the conversion parts?
 
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