1911...good out the box ?

[Linkinlog]

I bought my first 1911 (first gun ever) recently, a Rock Island 1911 tactical .45. It only cost $425 on Gunbroker and it has been practically flawless. I had one failure to return to battery. It happened during the first 50 rounds. No problems since then. Plus, they have a history of excellent customer service.

 

[bg226]

S&W makes a reliable 1911 pistol. I've jammed Springfield and Colt 1911s.

Best of luck.

 

[rellascout]

I have owned Colts, Norincos, Dan Wesson and even Sig 1911s. I have not had one fail out of the box.

Each gun has run well from jump.

 

[Don Lu]

well this has been good info...thanks for the feedback and feel free to keep it coming.

 

[The_Ferret]

People dump on them for being imports, but I cannot give adequate praise to my Rock Island Armory. The thing just goes. A friend of mine actually is good with 1911s, and had said we should do some smoothing internally and lube it up first. We didn't have time, though, and ended up shooting it without ever dong anything to it. It ran right out of the box. For what its worth.

 

[Geno]

For any of the 1911s, Colt or Kimber, I prefer the basic models.

The Colt Series 70 reissue is fantastic!

The Kimber Custom Target is fantastic! Avoid the Custom Shop.

Stick to the basic models and you'll be happy with either. As stated by others, any manufacturer's firearms can and will eventually have failures. If you are curious as to why I say stick to the basic models, check out what the "Custom" Shop director told me about the various Kimber pistol models. It really upset the Sen. Ex. VP from Kimber's Customer Relations. Here is a thread you need to read before you buy...not after:

Which Gun Manufacture Has The WORST Customer Service?

http://thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=273099&highlight=Kimber+"Custom"+Shop

 

[theEpiphany]

Ok for a newbie like me....What type of "unreliable" issues are we talking about? Accuracy Issues? Operation / Hardware issues?

After reading this post, as well as the post regarding best and worst customer service, I'm starting to get a bit nervous about my purchase (Kimber Custom Royal II)....and am praying that my first pistol purchase doesn't turn out to be a headache.

 

[gandog56]

I have 2 1911s. A Springfield Armory 1911A1 GI and a Dan Wesson Razorback 10mm. Both have worked out of the box with no problem that wasn't caused by me, or trying to use a mag the gun did not like.

 

[zachsm]

im young also, 16. also like you, im not attached with the 1911 design either.

most likely you wont have to do anything with it no matter what 1911 you get. BUT, there are alot of parts in a 1911. Sometimes they require handfitting. Today, companies are getting away from extensive labor, and it seems more and more of this labor is handed to the customers to take care.

i.e. if you needed to replace your slide, it can't be garrunteed that it'll fit or run well. However with something like a glock or a beretta, you just put it on and go. (sometimes it still might needed to be fitted, but rarely).

 

[Plink]

Don,

Most any quality 1911 will work fine right out of the box. That doesn't mean that a few lemons don't get out though. Most factories assemble their guns to nominal specs then ship them. It's easier and cheaper for them to fix the occasional lemon than it is to hand tune and double check each gun before it leaves the factory. They all do this, but the 1911 design can be more problematic than some if a part is out of spec.

Don't let this scare you away. If you do manage to get a lemon, send it back and they'll get it working for you. This happens with all makes and models, not just the 1911. I own quite a few 1911s and their all extremely reliable.

The rumors of the 1911 being unreliable are mostly caused by the sheer number of clone makers out there. A lot of them have quality control issues, yet their guns are lumped into the "1911 design" catagory by it's detractors. Stick to high quality brands and you shouldn't have any problems. Heck, even my old model Llama works with 100% reliability and Llama was one of the worst offenders when it comes to shoddy quality control.

 

[Don Lu]

Noone has mentioned the Taurus... I have one of their revolvers and have shot a few semis (loved them all, especially the pt111) but have not shot the 1911....any comments on those. hear they have all the "bells and whistles"

 

[.45&TKD]

If you check the extractor tension right out of the box, you should be fine.

 

[BADUNAME13]

I have several 1911's (Kimber's, Springfields and others) both new and used that have been WONDERFUL, more reliable than several Glock 9mm's I've owned.

I also have a used 1911 that I bought for not much more than the cost of the 3 major parts (I could tell) that had been 'home gunsmithed' and is TOTALLY unreliable.
-A project I work on from time to time.

In my experence/observations this is how it is.. if people would just get a good brand 1911 and NOT SHADETREE GUNSMITH THE THING you'll be fine.

TOO MANY PEOPLE monkey with them... and then blame the gun.

 

[nemoaz]

Funny, more times than not I still find myself calling a 1911 (not really A1 anymore since most have series 70 or later upgrades) a "Colt .45". Now, I here you 1911 fans saying that S&W makes the best "Colt .45".

 

[jon_in_wv]

I had an AMT hardballer that is by most people's estimation "JUNK" funny thing is that it didn't seem to know that! It was totally reliable from the day I bought it and it was way more accurate than most other guns I've owned. I fitted a beavertail grip safety, aluminum trigger, and match barrel bushing to it. Terry tussy installed some three dot Millet sights to it. It was sweet. The metal was porous but the design was solid. John Browning new his ****.

 

[jad0110]

I am in the market for my first 1911 myself. You guys will probably see some new threads in the future started by me in the future, if I can't find my answers using the "search" function or google.

I used to be put off by the reliability stories, but I was always drawn back to the 1911 because they are the only semi automatics that I can shoot as well as my S&W revolvers. So I've been doing a ton of research and am convinced that most (perhaps 4 in 5 or more) instances of problems are traceable to bad magazines. Plain and simple. Either replace the spring or the mag.

As others stated, many other horror stories come from people who's guns have been monkeyed with too much or improperly. The 1911 is one of the most popular platforms for customizing out there (which is great, if it is done properly), so it stands to reason that you are more likely to see a butchered 1911 than a butchered HK or Sig.

And I imagine there are more than a few 1911s around with abused extractors. The internal extractor in the 1911 appears to work fine as long as you only chamber rounds by dropping the slide on a charged magazine (don't load a round directly into the chamber, which causes the extractor to snap over the rim of the cartridge, breaking or bending it).

That being said, I'm about ready to ditch my Springer XD9 for a Springfield Mil-Spec!