Absolute BEST constructed 1911s

[AustinTX]

You say "production" & "factory" but then mention Baer.
Baer, Wilson, Nighthawk etc are not production guns and are not made in a factory.
The best Factory production 1911 IMHO is Dan Wesson.
Go with some of these others you are getting a custom made gun built for you. A whole different ball game.

This is why I asked the OP -- who oddly enough has not posted even once in this thread since starting it -- to clarify what he understands "factory" to mean. There are people who think that the standard pistols from Wilson, Brown, Baer, and other semi-custom shops, and even the guns from SVI/Infinity, count as "factory" guns. I don't really understand the thinking, but it's not that uncommon.

From the rest of the OP's post, it sounds like a gun will meet his criteria as long as it didn't begin its life as one thing before being modified by someone else.

 

[tark]

Lucky Derby; I must disagree with you on whether Les Baer guns are "factory" or semi custom. They are definitely factory guns. Les stopped working on other guns long ago and he no longer does upgrades on any guns other than his. It may be a small factory, but it is a factory.

I can speak with some authority on this subject since I worked for Les for 21 years. I retired two years ago. I did frame to slide fit and checkering. It was a very satisfying career and a lot of fun.

 

[AustinTX]

Lucky Derby; I must disagree with you on whether Les Baer guns are "factory" or semi custom. They are definitely factory guns. Les stopped working on other guns long ago and he no longer does upgrades on any guns other than his. It may be a small factory, but it is a factory.

People have different definitions for the terms, but the majority of 1911 enthusiasts would include Wilson, Baer, Brown, Nighthawk, Guncrafter, and a few others in the semi-custom category. I don't believe any of those makers work on anything but their own guns at this point. For that matter, Stan Chen and Paul Liebenberg build their 1911s from scratch and no longer work on pistols from other manufacturers, but no one is going to argue that their guns are anything other than the best of the best full-custom 1911s. "Semi-custom" is more about (1) a level of quality and attention to detail and (2) a decent level of variability in the feature set of a given gun in accordance with the customer's preferences.

 

[FM12]

Colt Gold Cup. Thank me later.

 

[Girodin]

From highest price downwards (and semi-custom down to mass production), I'd say:

Wilson Combat
Nighthawk Custom
Ed Brown
Baer
Dan Wesson
Colt
maybe Springfield

I'd put a Springfield professional above a factory colt. The pro is really a semi custom though. There are other colt models I'd put above other Springfield models.

 

[fedlaw]

I cannot say which is best, not having shot them all, but when I had a gift certificate for $$$ at a major gun shop, I opted for Les Baer. I have not been disappointed.

 

[tarosean]

Does Springfield deserve the credit for the work that the top 'smiths in the world do on its pistols?

Absolutely not.... other than making in spec Pistols, which is more than we can say about a number of manufactures out there.

 

[JB357MAG]

COLT!

 

[AustinTX]

COLT!

LOL

 

[Teachu2]

Once the price go above a certain range, they're all about the same for security purpose.

The rest depends on the feature you want.

That is unless you want something like a "1.5 inch group at 25yard accuracy guarantee."

1911 pricing is highly related to brand and features than "quality."

Baer does 1.5" at 50 yards....