I want my first 1911.....to buy low end or high end???

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fnforme

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I desperately want a 1911. My goal is to buy one to scratch my 1911 itch long enough for me to buy the other guns I want. I want to buy one gun for as little as possible while getting the most bang for the buck. Quality comes first though, I want something that will last me my entire life. A warranty and durability are important. I also prefer stainless steel because of the FL humidity and the possibility that this gun will be carried.

I have been considering the Springfield Loaded models, the Dan Wesson Patriot series, a Kimber TLE, and a SIG GSR. The only problem is that I read mixed reviews on all of these. I hate gun trouble, I want a gun that I can buy and immediately start shooting without sending it back to the factory for several fixes. The GSR seems to be what I'm looking for, but the rail is hideous to me and there've been too many posts concerning little flaws in the GSR that I'm sure will be fixed in time....but for now I'm not sure I'm willing to take the gamble on the GSR yet. Maybe I'll hold out for the rail-less version.

But I guess my biggest question concerns the gap between the high-end 1911s like Les Baer, STI, and Wilson Combat and the low-end Kimbers, SA's, GSR, Dan Wesson, Colts, etc. What makes these two categories so different? Is the price difference worth it or even necessary if I want something to fit the role I described above? I love the Wilson Combat CQB but there's no way in hell I can afford or justify spending upwards of $1500 on one pistol at this point in my life. The GSR is about the most expensive gun I can afford right now. The more I read about 1911s the more confused I get. I want something with the classic 1911 look in SS that will shoot any ammo I give it reliably and with reasonable accuracy. Also, I have to be able to trust my life to it as it won't just be for target use. So far the Dan Wesson line looks like the best value, I haven't heard of many problems with them and their warranty draws me in. But I'd hate to spend $700 on a gun I'll end up unsatisfied with in a year, I'd rather just save up for something like a Wilson if that's what's necessary.

Also does anyone suggest an online dealer that stocks Dan Wesson 1911s at a decent price? None of my local shops carry them.

Some help from the 1911 addicts would be great!!
 
I know Kimbers and have had Kimbers. You should not have a problem with them if you buy one. They are my personal favorite - but I have had others. None impressed me more than the Kimber has. Thats just my two cents. Good luck!
 
I currently have Kimbers, Colts, Springfields, Dan Wesson, and S&W1911. In my opinion you get the most bang for the buck with the S&W1911. Fit and finish is very good, comes with a nice trigger pull generally, accuracy is exceptional for the price and it comes standard with 2 Wilson mags. All this for around $700 is a best buy in my book..............
 
Buying a 1911 will give you a million opinions. There is a pride in ownership. Many will deny their pistols are junk or great because buying it is an emotional thing. Now for my opinion, if your going into the 1911 for the first time, buy a GI or mil-spec pistol stripped of the modified parts. Then you do the modifications and learn along the way. If you want to go a little bit better, why not buy a Colt, STi Trojan, etc.? Tey are good vallue for the money and shoot very well. I find the Wilsons, Valtro, Les Baer quite expensive. As you can see, no matter how expensive your guns are, they will still problems. They are mechanical thingies. Heck, even BMW/s and Mercedes Benz suffer from problems and occassional lemons. Familiarizing yourself with your guns is also of a primary concern. Good luclk
 
If I was to buy a new 1911, it would be an STI. I remember at an IDPA fun shoot at Rangermasters there was a guy with literally a sack full of new STI guns.
They were EXCELLENT bar none and were priced extremely reasonable.
 
If I bought a Kimber, I think I would look for a used pre-series II version. Most of the problems I have read about have been with the series II versions. Judging from the number of people posting about broken parts, Kimber seems to be having some sort of problem with its MIM process at the moment.

It sounds like it is fairly easy and inexpensive to replace the suspect MIM parts with quality parts from companies like Wilson, but you said you wanted something that would work right out of the box.

I plan to buy a 1911 within the next month and plan to go with a Springfield Full Size stainless in 9mm.
 
fnforme,

I'm in the same boat as you - looking for my first 1911 to own. I've shot several, and read all the posts on this forum and more importantly, the 1911forum.com.

In a nutshell, based on my research, and to make everybody who reads this thread upset since I'm not speaking from experience, here is what I came up with.

This is based on all the good & bad threads about what works, what breaks, what's accurate, what's reliable, etc.

Out of 10:
Springfield - 6
Kimber - 7
Dan Wesson Patriot - 8
S&W SW1911 - 8.5

I'm probably a couple weeks away from getting the Dan Wesson. I'd like to get the Smith because I hear nothing but good about it, but the fit and finish of the Dan Wesson is quite remarkable, and I don't like the look of the SW1911.

The best prices online for a Dan Wesson are HERE.

-Robert

PS. If you buy it before me, let me know!!
 
I currently own one 1911 which happens to be a Kimber. She was sent back to the factory once for pre-mature finish wear that was abnormal. They fixed her up and sent her back.

Only problem that I had with her was during her infancy. She had problems digesting S and B ammo. For some reason that ammo got her constipated. Now she will eat anything :)

It guess it all depends on what you want in a gun. A Kimber, SA, or Sig will keep you happy a long time coming.
 
I recently bought a Springfield Stainless MilSpec 1911A1. Installed a long trigger and flat mainspring housing, because that is the set up I like.
The pistol operates flawlessy, looks good and feels exactly right.
 
first 1911

In 1911's I've currently got Kimber (1), Colt (3) and Les Baer (1). My Kimber is a GM Series 1 and cost me around $900 when I bought it. With a little looking around, I could have bought a Baer for about $400 more than the Kimber cost me. Find someone that has both and hold them, and I'll bet you'll know which one you want to buy. Given your criteria of wanting to have one that will last and that you can shoot - I'd go with a Baer or Rock River. I've read a couple of posts on the 1911 forum of a couple of Baers having 55k and 38k rounds thru them.
 
I'd just buy a standard Springfield.
They're middle of the road, but the thing with 1911's is
that you can buy so many custom parts to make it high end.
 
I have two Colts. Series 80. I used to have two paperweights from Springfield Armory.
Click to expand...

Well, I just about left the Mil-Spec off of my list, but I haven't heard to many horror stories lately. SF is the only one I don't have too much experience with. Yours is the first Stephen King novel I've heard in awhile. ;)

A friend of mine's got a Mil-Spec that works great.
 
Middle end. :D

Low end is not the way to go. No resale value, plauged with problems, some might work flawlessly but your rolling the dice.

High end is great if you have the cash. Usually good customer support, less likely to have problems from the onset.

middle ground (Kimbers, New Colts, Springfield, etc) offer good value. Even within the ranks of these there is a wide range in price. Entry level to full custom shop offerings. Kimbers are my preference but choose the one that speaks to you. Modify as you find necessary.

Smoke
 
My first and only 1911 is a Rock Island Govt. I was pretty much in the same boat as you. Didn't have a 1911 and didn't know anything about em and just wanted to get one to mess around with. I wanted to get something cheap so I could just get a feel for 1911s and all the doodads you could get for them without blowing the bank. Also wanted something I could shoot the nasty Wolf ammo out of and not worry about.

Overall I'm pleased with the gun, it was only $280. With McCormick slim rosewood grips and a new Wolff 18.5 lb recoil spring it comes to about $315. I might get a big beavertail safety and maybe some adjustable sights and see if I can learn how to install em. I don't think the Rock Islands comes in stainless though, don't know about the warranty either.

It's no Les Baer or Strayer Voigt but if I wanted to shoot a $3000 .45 it'd be my suppressed Mark 23. The RIA is a nice, cheap, no frills 1911A1 if you just want something to get you started on the 1911 journey. :D
 
It's a tough choice, as we've probably all been there. I wanted a custom or semi-custom but only could afford a production gun. I wanted as nice a gun as I could get for the money, with as many features as I could get so that I wouldn't spend all my money upgrading down the road. I also wanted something reliable, reputable, and dependable. Customer service and warranty was also a consideration. After all was said and done I ended up with a stainless Loaded from SA.
 
Thing is, you could very easily buy a $600 1911 that is, in most objective respects, equal to a $1,500 1911. But odds are much higher that you will get a lemon (unreliable, inaccurate, parts break at random for no reason) with a $600 1911 than you will with a $1,500 1911. So some of the choice depends on what you can afford vs. your threshold for accepting risk. Really, that is the case with any handgun, but nobody has the option of buying $1,500 SuperGlocks, so there really isn't the same choice there.

Another thing to consider is that if you are inexperienced with 1911s, you probably don't have a firm grasp of what features you want, and since there are so many variants out there, it would be unfortunate to spend a big pile of money only to discover that, say, Wilson beavertails are uncomfortable for you, but Brown beavertails are not.

I think you'd be hard pressed to go wrong by buying a current-production Colt 01991 series gun, shooting it, and seeing where to go from there. Since Colts tend to keep their value better than most, if you want something later you can sell it without losing your shirt. Alternately, find a pre-Series II Kimber, for the same reasons.

Personally, I have come to favor quality over quantity.
 
Thanks for all the replies!!! You guys helped me out a lot. I'm not completely decided yet but I'm probably going with either the SW1911 (although I prefer soemthing more traditional looking) or something from Dan Wesson.

I love STIs but they're not stainless :cuss: and a bit pricey. Maybe I'll consider one of those micro STIs when it's time for me to get a compact carry gun.

I'll tell you what I really, really like....the Dan Wesson Commander size Patriot with Ed Brown bobtail mainspring housing :D . It comes with night sights, no front slide serrations, series 70 style, all stainless, and an STI trigger. Seems like almost everything I'm looking for, except I didn't want a commander size.....but maybe it's better for carry. Are the commander size guns as easy to shoot and as accurate as the fullsize 1911s?

Valner, thanks for the link buddy!!! They have the model I'm looking at so I am considering them.

ptclores.jpg
 
Where are all the broken MIM parts?

I keep hearing about a lot of broken MIM Kimber parts but so far just seen about three posts. So where is all the broken Kimber MIM parts? And for the newer Kimbers not being the quality of older Kimbers I think it's all in what you own. Some people still think the old Fords and Chevys are better then todays but I don't see them rushing out and buying the older models.
 
I've owned 1911s from Springfield, Colt, Kimber and a few muts. overall, I've been most impressed with Springfields and have had very good luck with many of them though in general, I prefer Colts. I've shot a few of the 5" Dan Wessons (only in 45ACP) and have been generally impressed though a few people who's opinions I resepect have had several problems with several models.

My general response to guys in your situation is this: for $440, get a Springfield MilSpec (brand new with warranty) or for $550, get a NRM Colt 1991. The Colt is prettier and is what I would use for the basis of a custom gun. The Springfields are generally consistantly good (I've owned 3 45s and 1 38 Super) and none of mine have had problems beyond the first couple hundred rounds and if you decide it's not for you, you aren't likely to lose much more than $50 to $100 on one. Or, if a year from now you decide it is the greatest thing you've ever owned, you can either keep it as a stock gun, have it tweaked and customized a bit or sell it to help fund a more custom 1911. Either way, you have had time to enjoy it.

Having said all that, if you're willing to spend the bucks, a Browns, Baers and Wilsons are very nice but I've seen several that have had to go back to the mfg to get them to run right. I have yet to own a 1911 in this class but I will admit that on a first 1911, if I shelled out $1,800 for one and it wouldn't feed ball ammo, I'd be pretty miffed.

Cerebrus, I agree to an extent... None of my friends that own Kimbers have had to send them back or had to have broken parts replaced. I was never able to get mine to have the Series II failure even when trying to induce it. But when I talk to the two gun smiths local to me, they cite several thumb safeties and esp extractor problems. I've personally shot maybe 10 Kimbers, these guys have seen hundreds of them so their pool of experience is greater than mine.

I think with 1911s there's a case of finding exactly what you think you want, buying it, shooting it, getting to know it, and fixing what needs to be fixed. I mean, several folks swear by Para Ordnance P14/45s while others would group them in with Lorcin and Jennings. Is one group falsely defending their choice? Is one group overstating their case? Nope... just a matter of what works for you and what you're willing to do to get it on your hip
 
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