Best of the Low End 1911's and Why?

[lobo9er]

Rock Island, ATI, Armscor,..... Just bumping around gunbroker and saw a few sub 500 1911's and was wondering. I have heard good stuff about Rock island. I also know (from reading here) some of these are imported from some of the same shops. And lately I have been gaining interest in the 45 acp. learning whats out there and what not. Maybe just for the sake of learning.

 

[harmon rabb]

RIA because they generally have good quality control and because they have excellent customer service. If your RIA has issues, they will make it right at zero cost to you.

 

[Upstater]

I believe the Remington's can also be had for around $500.00 and I have heard good things about these as well. But for a little more <$800.00 it would be hard to go wrong with a Kimber. IMHO

 

[Chevelle SS]

RIA is nice for the money

 

[Lager]

I hear so many good things about RIA.They might not be smooth looking as compared the higher end 1911's. They might not feed semi wad cutters very well right out of the box.
But, the price is good and they seem to feed factory ammo really well and are quite accurate. Im hearing they are a great value for the $.
My high dollar old Springfield didnt work so well at first either, that took some $ to get it to where it is today.

 

[ColtPythonElite]

Norinco if you can find one.

 

[cl4de6]

I've never had a problem with my Auto Ordinance 1911A1

 

[HDCamel]

Some of the fancier ones and ones in different calibers have been known to act up, but all the GI types are solid. Really doesn't matter who makes it.

For the record, I have a Regent R100 and it's been 100% reliable except for two freak occurences (split case wouldn't feed, ejected brass flew up and landed back in the ejection port).

 

[rmocarsky]

ColtPythonElite:

Agree.

I have 2 and they are Superman-solid.

Rmocarsky

 

[9mmepiphany]

Norinco would also be my recommendation. They used a better grade of steel and they are made to GI spec...so aftermarket parts will all fit.

If you want to go with something from the P.I., I'd recommend RIA just based on their CS. RIA is produced at the Armscor factory...just like the STI Spartan

 

[MICHAEL T]

American Classic

 

[TennJed]

I believe the Remington's can also be had for around $500.00 and I have heard good things about these as well. But for a little more <$800.00 it would be hard to go wrong with a Kimber. IMHO

I got my Remington R1 in stainless for $618 shipped and could no be happier

 

[Shuler13]

I have a RIA 9mm and an STI Spartan 45. Both are great. No problems.

 

[viking499]

Rock Island

 

[LiveLife]

I hear so many good things about RIA.They might not be smooth looking as compared the higher end 1911's. They might not feed semi wad cutters very well right out of the box.

+1 for RIA. Last year, a friend bought a RIA Tactical and I bought a Sig 1911. Comparing side-by-side, RIA had more tool marks visible on the inside of frame/slide but the slide-to-frame fit was tight, had decent trigger and fed 200 gr LSWC right out of the box after I did an initial cleaning/lubing with Hoppes #9 and Breakfree CLP (I had my friend pick up some Chip McCormick 8 round PowerMags from the start).

After several thousand rounds of jacketed, plated and a lot of lead SWC loads, RIA Tactical still maintains tight slide-to-frame fit, smoother trigger and excellent accuracy on par with my Sig 1911 (dime/quarter size target holes at 7-15 yards).

 

[MrDig]

CDNN has some for real low that are made in Turkey iirc. these are getting real high reviews for the price you pay for them, under 400, but well made 1911 guns.

 

[bigfatdave]

Rock Island / Citadel / Armscor
... all the same factory, all good guns

And RIA customer service is impressive.

I've pretty much designated RIA/Armscor for all my 1911 needs at this point. (four of their 1911 based pistols so far)

 

[dos0711]

I have a Metro Arms American Classic II that I purchased from Academy for $449 and it is well built and shoots straight. No FTF or FTE...nice shooter.

 

[ponchsox]

If you are in the market for a starter 1911 you might be better off spending a couple hundred more on a Ruger SR1911. American made, good quality, and excellent customer service.

 

[Upstater]

A Ruger would be an excellent choice as well, have the long wait times gotten any better, in N.Y., I could not find one a couple of months ago and going through an online auction was to cost prohibitive after all of the fees.

 

[jrdolall]

How about American Tactical? I have never seen one in person but CDNN has the .45 for $319 which would be about $350 after fees.

 

[One_Jackal]

The problem with American Tactical is after a few years parts are hard to come by for their weapons. The American Tactical guns you see at CDNN are no longer in production. When the current inventory of parts runs out there will be no more.

Given the above reasons I won't but an American Tactical. Why spend $300 an a throw away gun? I would much rather put the $300 into a gun that is going to hold it's value.

 

[Hacker15E]

Are the American Tactical pistols different than standard 1911s? If not, then I don't see an issue with parts at all.

 

[rule303]

The ATI guns are the nicest, fit and finish wise IMO. The Armsor guns have a great reputation, and the CS to back them up. Either way, they are built to GI specs, so parts shouldn't be an issue for at least the next 100 years. If you want a US made gun, the Remingtons have been accurate and reliable, but the finishing is crude compared to the filipino guns, sad to say.

 

[bigfatdave]

If you are in the market for a starter 1911 you might be better off spending a couple hundred more on a Ruger SR1911

Oh, does Ruger have a parkerized compact model now? How about a .22lr version? Do they make one in 22TCM?

Ruger's Ruger designs are fine (I do have two target pistols and four 10/22s, after all) ... but I see no reason to buy their single 1911 clone that has almost zero desireable (for me, at least) features.