American Classic 1911

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miles1

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I was in a local gun store and found a NIB metro arms 1911 American classic asking price $459.
It was a standard GI milispec and the finish looked better than my RIA 1911.Anyways,I wanted to get peoples thoughts on these guns good or bad as im considering picking it up this monday.Thanks.
 
Had one and gave it to a friend for his birthday. Loved it and have been thinking about getting another. Accurate, inexpensive, and reliable.
 
buzzt

Great pistol. Best shooting 1911 I ever tried. Reliable AND accurate. Mine has a very sweet trigger pull. Wouldn't trade it for anything.
 
buzzt

Great pistol. Best shooting 1911 I ever tried. Reliable AND accurate. Mine has a very sweet trigger pull. Wouldn't trade it for anything. It will eat up hollow points as good as it eats ball right out of the box. Buy 2!
 
I don't mean to be off topic, and I'm one who can appreciate a value priced firearm, but having shot a few budget 1911s I cannot conceive of buying one after another nor do I find them "sweet shooting", "super tight" or the "most accurate 1911s I've ever shot". Mind you, I'm not knocking them but, specifically directed at the OP, is there something about this one that seems better than what you have? In other words, will you someday wake up to a dozen budget 1911s wishing you had enjoyed the first one while saving for a custom?

Food for thought as I've bought my share of penny whistles and gobstoppers along the way to finding what I wanted. If it serves your purposes then by all means make haste though you do own what many consider the best budget 1911 already.
 
I just picked one up the other week and I love it. I got mine for $325 out the door so I can't complain. I added a WC full length guide rod, match trigger and polished the barrel and sear/disconnector and it runs perfectly. It has eaten anything I have fed it so far and is very accurate. I use Kimber and CM mags and it works great.


Post duracoat.
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Skylerbone said:
I don't mean to be off topic, and I'm one who can appreciate a value priced firearm, but having shot a few budget 1911s I cannot conceive of buying one after another nor do I find them "sweet shooting", "super tight" or the "most accurate 1911s I've ever shot". Mind you, I'm not knocking them but, specifically directed at the OP, is there something about this one that seems better than what you have? In other words, will you someday wake up to a dozen budget 1911s wishing you had enjoyed the first one while saving for a custom?

Food for thought as I've bought my share of penny whistles and gobstoppers along the way to finding what I wanted. If it serves your purposes then by all means make haste though you do own what many consider the best budget 1911 already.
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Eventually i do want a high priced 1911 such as a colt or kimber but i dont have that kind of money at this time.My RIA that ive had for approx 1 year as been trouble free.No FTF or FTE.By the end of the year im planning on getting a springield GI most likeley but not a for sure thing.Not to go on a tangent but it seems that if you dont on brand<fill in the blank> then its too cheap or not accurate enough.i hear it all the time and wonder if that why the guy that cant afford a high priced 1911 gets turned off my such statements and buys a "glock" or "sig".There has to be a point where 1911 gun snobbery ends.
 
miles1 said:
I was in a local gun store and found a NIB metro arms 1911 American classic asking price $459.
It was a standard GI milispec and the finish looked better than my RIA 1911.Anyways,I wanted to get peoples thoughts on these guns good or bad as im considering picking it up this monday.Thanks.
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Those are great shooters, but I think the price is a bit high; I paid about $100 less than the price you quoted for a brand new one, that had all the upgrades Lt. Dan's has, like the beavertail grip safety.
 
Update:I took a bettter look at the AC1911 at the shop and although its listed as new the slide to frame was loose,Trigger felt very mushy and i just didn't get a good vibe.So, i went to a larger gun store where i live and they had several i liked including a cimmaron,another RIA,and a khar that i liked.The khar by far felt good to hold and seemed more polished then the other two(to me) so im gonna do some more research and decide in the next day or so.I already know the RIA gets greats reviews.Cimmaron has a few postive reviews and the knar(AO) seems to be on the right track now and getting better reviews then they did 10 years back.
 
Miles, the point wasn't snobbery, it was that many people buy twenty Glocks and post that they can't see the point in "wasting" money on a 1911. Further, as you prepare to spend $400+ on a 1911 that, for all intents and purposes is a carbon copy of the one you have, you're also contemplating the next (nearly identical) one for around $500. Instant gratification doesn't a savings plan make.

It's absolutely your money and your decision to make. My contention is not that an expensive 1911 feels soooo much better or shoots soooo much straighter rather they are built better, hold value better and tend to be more reliable. I only proffer that few people reach the end of the road and lament not owning a fifth Yugo.

FWIW I wouldn't go near an Auto Ordnance (even with Kahr at the helm) or Cimmaron. Consider an STI Spartan as a smart buy in a next tier 1911. Brazos Custom has great prices and inventory.
 
The Cimarron and STI Spartan are also made by the same company that makes the RIA - Armscor in the Phillipines. They are all slightly different versions of the same gun.
 
Not slightly different. Different specs. and all STI internals and warranty service. May as well say a Wilson 1911 and a RIA 1911 are "slightly different versions of the same gun."

A Chevette is not a Corvette though both are General Motors made and both are automobiles...
 
The Cimarron and STI Spartan are also made by the same company that makes the RIA - Armscor in the Phillipines. They are all slightly different versions of the same gun.
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No. Armscor manufactures the frame and slide. They are then shipped to STI in Texas to be quality controlled, and fitted with STI internals, then assembled.

OP, I agree with Skylerbone. You already have a budget 1911, and it shoots great. If you want another 1911, and you'd like it to be a nicer (Colts and Kimber's are NOT "high priced) one. There's really no point in buying another budget 1911. In fact, a Kimber or a Colt probably won't have terribly better offhand accuracy than your RIA. And if you really want way better accuracy, it's gonna cost you more than a Colt. They will have better fit, better finish, and have more "options" on them, though.

In the long run, buying the American Classic is essentially buying another RIA. Their fit and finish is similar, their accuracy should be about the same. They have slight differences, but not much.
 
Actually STI went to the PI and trained those workers who assemble the Spartan. STI ships internals to Armscor and pistols arrive on our shores fully assembled. The remaining STI line is made here and retail starts at $1,000.

Many people don't know that's how most manufacturing is done these days. Anyone who owns a flat panel television may not realize there are only IIRC three manufacturers. The companies who rebrand them specify the particular screen size and resolution then plop them in their own chasis. The remaining capacitors, power supplies, video switching components, software, etc. are what make the difference between a Funai and a Runco...that and $20,000.
 
Seems that you're correct!
Q: Are STI pistols made in America?

A: The GP series of pistols are built for STI (to STI specifications) by Grand Power in Slovakia. The Spartans are built for STI (to STI specifications) in the Philippines by the STI division of Armscorp. All of the rest of our pistols are built right here in Georgetown, TX.
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ATI, RIA, METRO ARMS, all these guns COULD come from the same plant in the PI shooters arms has like 200 plants over there if its a 1911 ....and it came from the PI its gona be good they take 1911 seriously over there .....but to say RIA is better than ati is better than metro arms is silly.....same guns....different names...great guns nonetheless
 
So if (for instance) two importers specify two grades of steel, then specify two different sets of tolerances then two different sets of small parts the result will be two identical 1911s- both equally good?

Think of Armscor as a fabricator like any other. You want Grade 8 hardware you pay for it. You want pot metal bolts you pay less. Either way they will build it and stamp your name on it.
 
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