Since I'm fairly new, I have had a 9mm semi auto and a 357 revolver and have become comfortable over the last year with the guns and the proper safe operation of them. I am now looking to add a 1911 45 acp to the collection. Any suggestions for a first timer not looking to totally break the bank?
First Time 1911
- Thread starter Mikenmag
- Start date
- Status
Hunter0924
Member
Colt 1991.
possum
Member
sa mil spec gets my vote too, if you want to spend a little more you can go with a loaded model but there ain't a thing wrong with the mil-spec.
Eightball
Member
I second this. Either you can "get one", or you can get a "good one", and not forever be soured on the entire series.
Makes all the difference in the world.
massglockman
Member
yes there are 1911 and then there are 1911 its sorta like how much gun u want a basic military surp or a full blown caspian its up to u but with any 1911 u get a timeless design that has functioned longer than u have changed ur underpants
Hoffy
Member
I'm comparatively new as well. I am completely satisfied with my first 1911...a Taurus PT1911. The finish leaves something to be desired but I bought it to shoot the heck out of anyway (which I do).
Quality does last forever (or a lot longer than inferiority) and my PT1911 will not last as long as higher dollar models. The Taurus is a good "first 1911" not a "last 1911."
Just to clarify, I'm glad I spent $720 combined (plus transfer) on a PT1911 and a CZ-82 rather than putting the same money into a higher dollar 1911. Someday, after I have some experience with my Taurus, I might buy a Kimber or a Colt. However, there are so many choices (Browning High Power 9mm, another Makarov, a Guardian or Seecamp mouse gun, etc., etc., etc.) that I might go a different way.
Quality does last forever (or a lot longer than inferiority) and my PT1911 will not last as long as higher dollar models. The Taurus is a good "first 1911" not a "last 1911."
Just to clarify, I'm glad I spent $720 combined (plus transfer) on a PT1911 and a CZ-82 rather than putting the same money into a higher dollar 1911. Someday, after I have some experience with my Taurus, I might buy a Kimber or a Colt. However, there are so many choices (Browning High Power 9mm, another Makarov, a Guardian or Seecamp mouse gun, etc., etc., etc.) that I might go a different way.
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I too have read good things about the new Taurus and Rock Island Armory pistols. But I've only read them no experience.
I too want to add a 1911 to the collection even though I despise them. I'm out of luck for a few years but once I get back to the states it is on.
I too want to add a 1911 to the collection even though I despise them. I'm out of luck for a few years but once I get back to the states it is on.
Ala Dan
Member in memoriam
Another +1 for the 5" Springfield MIL SPEC model~! 
CobraF100
Member
I'd tell anyone and have to buy a Taurus PT 1911 I LOVE mine and it has been a great Gun.
I know I've only had it for 2 months but I've shoot the #$% out of it dropping 400-500 rounds at a time with it and I have had "nothing" go wrong with the Taurus PT 1911 and I plan to buy another....in Stainless Steel...
You can read this post from my first trip to the range.
I've let "ALOT" of peaople shoot it and they have liked it.
My Post:
http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=313324
I know I've only had it for 2 months but I've shoot the #$% out of it dropping 400-500 rounds at a time with it and I have had "nothing" go wrong with the Taurus PT 1911 and I plan to buy another....in Stainless Steel...
You can read this post from my first trip to the range.
I've let "ALOT" of peaople shoot it and they have liked it.
My Post:
http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=313324
jpwilly
Member
Another vote for the PT1911! Mine has been 100% with FMJ and HP ammo!
Harken all ye sinners. Repent, go to your local gun dealer, kneel and spake "Forgiveth me John Moses for I have sinned..."
PSALM 19:11
1. In the beginning was the 1911, and the 1911 was THE pistol, and it was good. And behold the Lord said, thou shalt not muck with my disciple John's design for it is good and it worketh. For John made the 1911, and lo all of his weapons, from the designs which I, the Lord, gave him upon the mountain.
2. And shouldst thou muck with it, and hang all manner of foul implements upon it, and profane its internal parts, thou shalt surely have malfunctions, and in the midst of battle thou shalt surely come to harm.
3. And as the ages passed, men in their ignorance and arrogance didst forget the word of the Lord and began to profane the 1911. The tribe of the gamesman did place recoil spring guides and extended slide releases upon the 1911 and their metal smiths didst tighten the tolerances and alter parts to their liking, their clearness of mind being clouded by lust.
4. Their artisans did hang all manner of foul implements upon the 1911 and did so alter it that it became impractical to purchase. For lo, the artisans didst charge a great tax upon the purchasers of the 1911 so that the lowly field worker could not afford one. And the profaning of the internal parts didst render it unworkable when the dust of the land fell upon it.
5. And lo, they didst install adjustable sights, which are an abomination unto the Lord. For they doth break and lose their zero when thou dost need true aim. And those who have done so will be slain in great numbers by their enemies in the Great Battle.
6. And it came to pass that the Lord didst see the abomination wrought by man and didst cause, as he had warned, fearful malfunctions to come upon the abominations and upon the artisans who thought they could do no wrong.
7. Seeing the malfunctions and the confusion of men the lord of the underworld did see an opportunity to further ensnare man and didst bring forth pistols made of plastic, whose form was such that they looked and felt like a brick, yet the eyes of man being clouded, they were consumed by the plastic pistol and did buy vast quantities of them.
8. And being a deceitful spirit, the lord of the underworld did make these plastic pistols unamenable to the artisans of earth and they were unable to muck much with the design, and lo these pistols did appear to function.
9. And the Evil One also brought forth pistols in which the trigger didst both cock and fire them and which require a "dingus" to make them appear safe.
10. But man, being stupid, did not understand these new pistols and didst proceed to shoot themselves with the plastic pistol and with the trigger-cocking pistols for lo their manual of arms required great intelligence which man had long since forsaken. Yet man continue to gloat over these new pistols blaming evil forces for the negligent discharges which they themselves had committed.
11. And when man had been totally ensnared with the plastic pistol, the lord of the Underworld didst cause a plague of the terrible "Ka-Boom" to descend upon man and the plastic pistols delivered their retribution upon men. And there was a great wailing and gnashing of teeth in the land.
12. Then seeing that the eyes of man were slowly being opened and that man was truly sorrowful for his sinful misdeeds, the Lord did send his messengers in the form of artisans who did hear and obey the teachings of the prophet and who didst restore the profaned 1911s to their proper configuration, and lo, to the amazement of men, they didst begin to work as the prophet had intended.
13. And the men of the land didst drive out the charlatans and profaners from the land, and there was joy and peace in the land, except for the evil sprits which tried occasionally to prey on the men and women of the land and who were sent to the place of eternal damnation by the followers of John.
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PSALM 19:11
1. In the beginning was the 1911, and the 1911 was THE pistol, and it was good. And behold the Lord said, thou shalt not muck with my disciple John's design for it is good and it worketh. For John made the 1911, and lo all of his weapons, from the designs which I, the Lord, gave him upon the mountain.
2. And shouldst thou muck with it, and hang all manner of foul implements upon it, and profane its internal parts, thou shalt surely have malfunctions, and in the midst of battle thou shalt surely come to harm.
3. And as the ages passed, men in their ignorance and arrogance didst forget the word of the Lord and began to profane the 1911. The tribe of the gamesman did place recoil spring guides and extended slide releases upon the 1911 and their metal smiths didst tighten the tolerances and alter parts to their liking, their clearness of mind being clouded by lust.
4. Their artisans did hang all manner of foul implements upon the 1911 and did so alter it that it became impractical to purchase. For lo, the artisans didst charge a great tax upon the purchasers of the 1911 so that the lowly field worker could not afford one. And the profaning of the internal parts didst render it unworkable when the dust of the land fell upon it.
5. And lo, they didst install adjustable sights, which are an abomination unto the Lord. For they doth break and lose their zero when thou dost need true aim. And those who have done so will be slain in great numbers by their enemies in the Great Battle.
6. And it came to pass that the Lord didst see the abomination wrought by man and didst cause, as he had warned, fearful malfunctions to come upon the abominations and upon the artisans who thought they could do no wrong.
7. Seeing the malfunctions and the confusion of men the lord of the underworld did see an opportunity to further ensnare man and didst bring forth pistols made of plastic, whose form was such that they looked and felt like a brick, yet the eyes of man being clouded, they were consumed by the plastic pistol and did buy vast quantities of them.
8. And being a deceitful spirit, the lord of the underworld did make these plastic pistols unamenable to the artisans of earth and they were unable to muck much with the design, and lo these pistols did appear to function.
9. And the Evil One also brought forth pistols in which the trigger didst both cock and fire them and which require a "dingus" to make them appear safe.
10. But man, being stupid, did not understand these new pistols and didst proceed to shoot themselves with the plastic pistol and with the trigger-cocking pistols for lo their manual of arms required great intelligence which man had long since forsaken. Yet man continue to gloat over these new pistols blaming evil forces for the negligent discharges which they themselves had committed.
11. And when man had been totally ensnared with the plastic pistol, the lord of the Underworld didst cause a plague of the terrible "Ka-Boom" to descend upon man and the plastic pistols delivered their retribution upon men. And there was a great wailing and gnashing of teeth in the land.
12. Then seeing that the eyes of man were slowly being opened and that man was truly sorrowful for his sinful misdeeds, the Lord did send his messengers in the form of artisans who did hear and obey the teachings of the prophet and who didst restore the profaned 1911s to their proper configuration, and lo, to the amazement of men, they didst begin to work as the prophet had intended.
13. And the men of the land didst drive out the charlatans and profaners from the land, and there was joy and peace in the land, except for the evil sprits which tried occasionally to prey on the men and women of the land and who were sent to the place of eternal damnation by the followers of John.
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coelacanth
Member
- Joined
- Mar 5, 2007
- Messages
- 455
R O F L
swabjocky - that post is a keeper. Maybe even worthy of a sticky somewhere. Keep the faith pilgrim!
swabjocky - that post is a keeper. Maybe even worthy of a sticky somewhere. Keep the faith pilgrim!
MustangHowie
Member
swabjockey;
I am going to print that out and hang it at work, and make a few copys for friends. That is awesome.
I am going to print that out and hang it at work, and make a few copys for friends. That is awesome.
Zen21Tao
Member
Depends on how serious you are about being a 1911 shooter. If you want to start with a serious shooter I would suggest a Kimber or a Springfield "loaded" model. If you simply want a 1911 to add to your collection, then a Springfield Mil-spec or Taurus should suit your purposes.
I'm with Hunter on this one.
My very first group at 25 yards with my new Colt Commander model 1991 held right in the range of 1.5"...off-hand. Those who have followed my posts know I continue to recover from a pretty serious spinal surgery, and with the new extensive scar tissue, precision shooting has been a serious challenge. If I could maintain a 1.5" group at 25 yards off-hand with this pistol...Lordy...give me a Ransom rest to truly test this pistol's accuracy! This pistol has to be capable of single-hole groups in a Ransom. I fired 200 rounds and had zero failures of any kind. The sole change that I have made prior to test-firing, was the addition of skateboard tape to the front strap.
After test-firing it, I discovered that the main spring house was plastic...or polymer...I could care less which. I quickly pulled it, and inserted a Colt-manufactured, steel main spring house. Given my group with this pistol, I just may be able to buy myself that reward-for-physical-recovery pistol (Colt Custom Shop Special Combat) sooner than I had thought. That pending pistol is to be my reward for recovering to the point that I can once again fire 1" groups (center-to-center) at 25 yards.
Get yourself a Colt!!! This one cost me $679.00!! Pretty inexpensive as 1911s go, and it's the real McCoy, or real Colt as it would be.
Doc2005
My very first group at 25 yards with my new Colt Commander model 1991 held right in the range of 1.5"...off-hand. Those who have followed my posts know I continue to recover from a pretty serious spinal surgery, and with the new extensive scar tissue, precision shooting has been a serious challenge. If I could maintain a 1.5" group at 25 yards off-hand with this pistol...Lordy...give me a Ransom rest to truly test this pistol's accuracy! This pistol has to be capable of single-hole groups in a Ransom. I fired 200 rounds and had zero failures of any kind. The sole change that I have made prior to test-firing, was the addition of skateboard tape to the front strap.
After test-firing it, I discovered that the main spring house was plastic...or polymer...I could care less which. I quickly pulled it, and inserted a Colt-manufactured, steel main spring house. Given my group with this pistol, I just may be able to buy myself that reward-for-physical-recovery pistol (Colt Custom Shop Special Combat) sooner than I had thought. That pending pistol is to be my reward for recovering to the point that I can once again fire 1" groups (center-to-center) at 25 yards.
Get yourself a Colt!!! This one cost me $679.00!! Pretty inexpensive as 1911s go, and it's the real McCoy, or real Colt as it would be.
Doc2005
skipjack
Member
I have shot a bunch of 1911s since I work at a gunshop and indoor range.
In my experience and opinion, the Rock Island is the best value out there. We sell Kimbers, S&W, Colts, Springers, Auto-ord and so on.
The Rock Island is not the prettiest, and a number of it's parts are cast...but then so are many other pistols' parts. For around $400, you will get a gun that is very basic, but also very functional.
I have not shot or handled the Taurus, but understand that they are also very nice. My personal 1911 is a Springer mil-spec, and that is a great gun, as well.
Either the Taurus or Springer will cost more (new) than the Rock Island, though, and that is money that I would prefer to spend on ammo, if I were in the market.
In my experience and opinion, the Rock Island is the best value out there. We sell Kimbers, S&W, Colts, Springers, Auto-ord and so on.
The Rock Island is not the prettiest, and a number of it's parts are cast...but then so are many other pistols' parts. For around $400, you will get a gun that is very basic, but also very functional.
I have not shot or handled the Taurus, but understand that they are also very nice. My personal 1911 is a Springer mil-spec, and that is a great gun, as well.
Either the Taurus or Springer will cost more (new) than the Rock Island, though, and that is money that I would prefer to spend on ammo, if I were in the market.
Mike you said you are new... I presume to firearms and not to the Earth.
Do you think you will want to customize this gun? Will you want to learn how to work on them? Polish up some parts? Replace some parts with better ones? 1911's are hard to work on compared to other autos and revolvers. Would you be better served getting a cheaper one and working on it yourself of starting out with a great pistol for $1100 and never doing anything but shoot and clean it?
I have done both. My Kimber Match Target and Pro CDP have never been altered (just spring replacements) and they remain my two most accurate 1911's, as well as 100% reliable. Just some food for thought.
Do you think you will want to customize this gun? Will you want to learn how to work on them? Polish up some parts? Replace some parts with better ones? 1911's are hard to work on compared to other autos and revolvers. Would you be better served getting a cheaper one and working on it yourself of starting out with a great pistol for $1100 and never doing anything but shoot and clean it?
I have done both. My Kimber Match Target and Pro CDP have never been altered (just spring replacements) and they remain my two most accurate 1911's, as well as 100% reliable. Just some food for thought.
PattonTime
Member
First 1911
I vote for a Colt, I have two, a 9MM standard issue Government model Series 80
and a Gold Cup .45 I have had no problems with either and I often wonder why I don't hear more about Gold Cups. They are still made and sell here for about $900.00 new
I paid $775.00 for mine LNIB. Why do so many folks go for Kimbers for example when
the original is the same price or less. Are the Kimbers that much better?
I vote for a Colt, I have two, a 9MM standard issue Government model Series 80
and a Gold Cup .45 I have had no problems with either and I often wonder why I don't hear more about Gold Cups. They are still made and sell here for about $900.00 new
I paid $775.00 for mine LNIB. Why do so many folks go for Kimbers for example when
the original is the same price or less. Are the Kimbers that much better?
skipjack
Member
Pattontime, I believe that Kimber is popular because of the many variations that they offer in addition to the basic 1911. It is hard to keep track of all the various frame sizes, materials, finishes, etc. Kimber also offers several models with an ambi safety. In addition, Kimber does one heck of a job marketing their pistols...Colt does not have nearly the number of advertisements in magazines and the like.
CobraF100
Member
Here we go with Buying a "NAME"......
-Ford=Chevy=Dodge
-John Deer=Farmall=International
-Nike=Reebok=New Balance
It's not a Harley Davidson so it's not a real motor cycle
Lexus.....It's a Toyota that someone put a Lexus Symbol on and charged twice as much for,because they found a group that will "Pay for the Name"......
I can't stand paople that don't like something/someone because they didn't pay the "HIGH" price for it like they did...
This is not a attack against Zen21Tao it's just a statement....same as he made and the same as alot of others say and think.
I've got 1500rds now and if anyone wants to take it out and run it against there....Kimber,Colt,Springer....ect I welcome it,Thats why we put tape over the name at the range and let others shoot it.All liked it till some of the Kimber guys saw the name under the tape then started talking @#$....
Just because someone will say....and "You drive what"...."Have what"
I have:
-05 Ford F150
-01 Chrysler
-ProStreet 68 Ford F100 swb (runs 10.90's in the 1/4)
-Two German Shepherd's
-12 Guns
PS....I'm not going to get into a
key board fight....- Status
