1911 Fever.....

[wmgeorge]

Ok the last 1911 I had in the only proper caliber 45 ACP was a Taurus and of all the 1911's I owned and I have lost track, the trigger on it was the best, even better than the Colt Series 70 I had a long, long time ago. I have a perfect Beretta Compact 9mm I also love but I would really like to have another 1911 just because.

My local go to gun store no longer carries the Taurus 1911 in any flavor and the only one I can find is a lightly used one. Looks new. Its priced Used in the box for the same price as a Made in USA Remington with nice sights but cr@ppy trigger. I hate forgoing a Made in USA product for the one made in South America.

So what would it take to fix the trigger on the Remington (non adjustable sights) or should I just get the Taurus with all the stuff already installed?

 

[BigBL87]

Me personally, I'd go with the Remington no questions asked. I don't hate Taurus by any stretch, owned 2 of them, but a 1911 trigger isn't that hard to improve. If I could afford it right now, I'd be buying a Remington 1911 myself with the awesome rebates.

 

[gotboostvr]

I wouldn't personally bank on another Taurus having that sweet of a trigger personally.

The few I've played with had fairly typical triggers, nothing particularly impressive.

You might get lucky and find another with a particularly sweet trigger. With my luck, I'd find one with a good trigger, but it'd shoot like my buddies Taurus he bought shortly after they were first released. It kinda soured me on them, but the latter ones I've shot did seem better.

Personally, I'd find a nice RIA of some flavor if you wanted to save a few bucks or a Ruger if you wanted an American 1911 on a budget.

 

[wmgeorge]

I can buy the Remington for $449 with the Sale price and Rebate plus I get another 5% off for being a veteran.

 

[DDDWho]

I think the Remington R1 trigger is a crap shoot. I've heard stories from folks who hate them. I bought the R1S a couple of years ago. I didn't know what a great trigger was until I shot it. Its a short stroke to a nice clean break. I'm guessing its about a 4 pounder. When my Bro-n-law who owns 3 1911s of various manufacture, one of which has been modified for competition shot it after squeezing the trigger looked at me in amazement said "wow, right out of the box". It is truly a great trigger..... on mine at least.

 

[Ramone]

Years back, an old friend bought a NIB Taurus 1911, and it was super reliable, great trigger, just a great deal.

So two other friends bought one as well, and both of them were jam o matics. One was back and forth under warranty with no improvement at least 3 times, and the other was sold after a pretty good gunsmith gave up on it.

Basically, it's my experience that they're a crapshoot. I'd

 

[bannockburn]

wmgeorge

A quick perusal of Bud's Gun Shop 1911 listings shows a Taurus PT1911 B1 going for $498 and a stainless steel PT1911 at $545. There's also several RIAs like the TAC Ultra at $633 and the RIA Match at $663. They have the Remington R1 for $679, R1 Enhanced at $667, and the R1 Carry for $719. Ruger has an SR1911 at $697 while Colt's 01991 is $749, the SA Range Officer for $765, and a S&W SW1911 E Series at $770. Hope this helps give you a better feel for the prices of some fairly comparably equipped 1911s.

As far as getting one with a great trigger goes, if you can try them out at your local gun shop (or for a better selection at a local gun show), then you just might find what you're looking for in a new 1911.

 

[Jimster]

Passed my concealed carry class with a PT 1911. In Illinois we fired close to 200 rounds during the two day, 16 hour course. Never a hiccup.
Now I have a couple of Rock islands but I think Taurus gets an undeserved bad wrap.

 

[wmgeorge]

Passed my concealed carry class with a PT 1911. In Illinois we fired close to 200 rounds during the two day, 16 hour course. Never a hiccup.
Now I have a couple of Rock islands but I think Taurus gets an undeserved bad wrap.

I had Zero issues with mine either. But resale value vs the Remington?

 

[wally]

IMHO best value in a 1911 you plan to shoot the bejezes out of is the RIA "Tactical". I'm approaching 20K rounds through mine. If you want to buy something to sell later buy a Colt.

 

[bannockburn]

wally

IMHO best value in a 1911 you plan to shoot the bejezes out of is the RIA "Tactical". I'm approaching 20K rounds through mine. If you want to buy something to sell later buy a Colt.

I would tend to concur. The RIA is of decent quality inside and out and with all of it's features it's a great value for the money. I wouldn't mind having any of the guns I listed for the OP; they're all pretty nice guns and priced to sell in a very competitive market.

And you're probably right about buying a Colt now and selling it later for a profit as I wonder how much longer they'll be in the 1911 manufacturing business.

 

[Tallball]

INHO the quality of the trigger and the pistol itself isn't just dependent on the brand and model. There might be a really nice pistol in one box, and the "identical" pistol in the box underneath it might have a much worse trigger. The one that looks and feels great at the store is the one I want to buy.

 

[MedWheeler]

I might be getting this disorder, too. I got my first 1911-type, a Tisas "GI" a couple of months ago. It's a new platform for me, being primarily a DA-trigger shooter, and a left-handed one at that, but I like the gun as a sturdy, utility-oriented workhorse.

Last week, an "enhanced" stainless Remington R1S Commander made the trip down here from Bud's. I haven't shot it yet, but the trigger does feel crisp and consistent. If I had to guess, I'd put it at around 3.5 pounds; it's very light compared to that on the Tisas. With Remington's $100 rebate, I'll be out a tick over $600 on it.

 

[FL-NC]

Get the Remington. A "good" trigger doesn't make you a good shot. Good shooting makes you a good shot (practice).

 

[wmgeorge]

So leaning toward the Remington, will it shoot anything or is it fussy?

 

[ArchAngelCD]

I can buy the Remington for $449 with the Sale price and Rebate plus I get another 5% off for being a veteran.

At that price I would be tempted to buy two.

If you can buy the Remington at or below the price of a Taurus or RIA I would go with the Remington hands down.

You said the trigger on the Rem is terrible. I have shot a lot of 1911's and while some triggers were better than others I never shot one with a terrible trigger.

 

[wmgeorge]

Well the trigger was not exactly bad so to speak but not so great. What do I expect at that price point, well I am finding lots of issues online about the R1 jamming and FTF. I am still a member of the 1911 Forum and found a lot on there. Suggestions as buying new magazines frankly are not the answer for a brand new gun, still in the limited 2 year warranty that is. If the gun has issues out of the box, with factory magazines and the recommended ammo something is wrong.
I had my first 1911 to shoot when I was 19, so I know how to "hold" and fire correctly. I am now over 70 by a year or so.

 

[Jim NE]

My Taurus 1911 blows away my American made Para 1911 in terms of accuracy and feel, even though the Para is good in both respects. That PT1911 is maybe the most accurate large caliber handgun I own, or at least among the top few.

I also empathize with the made in America sentiment, though. That's the ONLY reason I'd buy a Remington over the Taurus, however, and I'd pay no more than $100 for the MIA premium. If the Remington cost more than $100 over the Taurus, I'd probably go with the Taurus. The good news is I saw a new Remington 1911 the other day that was $399 (after rebate)...a great deal , to say the least. Can't remember where I saw it, but the rebate makes the Remington very price competitive and hard to beat.

It's really funny how most of the Walther, CZ, Witness and other European made pistol owners/buyers in the US don't agonize over the Made In America thing.

 

[wmgeorge]

It's really funny how most of the Walther, CZ, Witness and other European made pistol owners/buyers in the US don't agonize over the Made In America thing.

Ditto, my research over the past day or so has told me the same thing when I purchased my Marlin Lever action made in USA by Remington things have gone downhill big time at Remington. QC has gone out the door and customer service has also gone to h*ll. The Warranty on new guns is 2 years only, and to the original owner only.
You can bash Taurus but they have a Lifetime Warranty. For example I purchased at a gun show one of those PT22 I think it was little semi auto 22;s, For the life of me I could not get it to stop jamming. I called Taurus CS and they gave me a mailing label to ship the used gun back to them. Lo and behold they sent me a brand new gun!

Working on a deal anyway on a used Ruger 1911 stainless, so if that does not go like planned I will shop for another Taurus or maybe a used Colt.

 

[gotboostvr]

It's really funny how most of the Walther, CZ, Witness and other European made pistol owners/buyers in the US don't agonize over the Made In America thing.

Heck, with Sig, Walther and Glock fans there's a stigma AGAINST the American made versions.

 

[Stephen Ross]

If you don't like the trigger but really like the 1911, you can always swap out the trigger. All of my 1911's have the same Wilson Combat trigger.

 

[entropy]

I and one friend have PT1911's and another friend has an R1 1911. The friend with the R1 replaced the trigger with a Cylinder & Slide Videki trigger after we took it out to the range. Were we both disappointed with the stock trigger. Both the PT1911 triggers are the best Series 80 type actions I've ever fired, and I've fired many of them. I am going to put a shim in mine soon, but it's not bad the way it is.

 

[wmgeorge]

I ended up with the pre-owned Ruger SR1911, trigger is pretty good out of the box. The gun had 21 rounds fired down the barrel and it looked as new as new could be. The seller was obsessive about his guns and a great guy!

 

[entropy]

You won't be disappointed, The Rugers are great 1911's.

 

[Armybrat]

I bought two Remington R1 pistols in the past few weeks - the 5" ($499 before $100 cash rebate) and the 4.25" Commander ($563 before $100 cash rebate). They have excellent fit & finish, but haven't fired them yet.