Most reliable & accurate 1911

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fedlaw

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I have very little experience with 1911s. Last Saturday, I borrowed ChuckB's new Springfield Armory Loaded to requalify. I had planned on shooting a SIG P226, a gun I am very familar with. But after running off 6 quick rds. from ChuckB's SA, I asked if I could use it.
Results: 50 rd. course of fire: 20@7 yds., 20@15yds, 10@50' (max at that range). Score: 100 (all 50 in the X; 1 ragged hole). The last ten were rapid fire, including a reload.
I liked his SA and it has been very reliable for Chuck, but my understanding is that at 25yds+ the groups tend to open up to the 2-3" range. I would like a bit better accuracy and adjustable sights while maintaining that type of reliablility. As of this writing and based on Gun-Tests, I am thinking of Rock River.
I would appreciate any input from some of our more experienced 1911 pistoleros.
Thanks, Steve
 
I have two SA Loaded .45's one parkerized, the other stainless. Other that the steel, they are the same gun.

They are both very good guns, and will both print 1.75" groups at 25 yards rested. That is with Federal Match ammo though. I love both of these pistols, but if I could go back, I would buy a RRA .45 instead.
 
Rock River makes very good and fairly pricey .45s. If money is not an issue, buy it and you will be very happy. Now before I tell you of a brand nearly as good for a fraction of a price let me make the following statement. I own Colts, Springfields, Kimbers and others, I love them all. But the absolute best production 1911 that I have found is a Dan Wesson Patriot! I know it sounds strange, I ordered one just to add to my collection. The fit, finish, accuracy, and out of the box reliability far exceed anything that I have seen from anyone other than a custom shop. I have to call it the best buy in factory pistols.

ranburr
 
I'm not a fan of S&W autos, but their 1911 does look nice.
108282_large.jpg

But, the list price is $960 :what:
 
May I ask what you are doing where you need accuracy better than 2" at 25 yards? I ask because if I was not shooting bullseye competition, as long as the pistol goes bang every time, 2" is good enough.

I too have been looking at 1911s off and on. With my 21st birthday coming up I can finally buy one of my very own (although there are other possibilities). My criteria so far seems to best match up with a basic Springfield Mil-Spec. Buy it next month, shoot it for a while, and upgrade as needed/wanted/financially feasible.

Good luck on your search, but I doubt you will go wrong with a Rock River. FWIW, I recall seeing street prices on the S&W 1911 around $650-700.
 
Dan Wesson Patriot

Mine is VERY reliable and VERY accurate. I added FS checkering, changed a couple springs to match my carry ammo.

I'm not sure what more I would want in a carry piece.
 
I have been very happy w/ my Colt...good materials, good build quality & good shooting performance...I might buy another one!
 
Mr. fedlaw's problem is a real one. I have drooled while watching the groups that he prints with his S&W 625. Awesome. Once one has a handgun that is that accurate, the pickiest among us (including me) have a hard time settling for less. We shoot competition out to 25 yards indoors. A three inch group at that distance will score well- but a 2 inch group will, of course, make him sit quite tall in the saddle. I'm very pleased with my Loaded- now that I've done a bit of work on it. Once I get to know it better, we will be very good friends. Fedlaw? well, he's a pleasure to watch.

Chuck
 
Thanks for the input and good suggestions.

wanderinwalker,
the issue regarding accuracy is an interesting one. Like many other skills that involve an object and its use, such as playing a musical instrument, I think the answer is unique to each person. I like guns that I can shoot very accurately. It is the combination of the object and the way I use it that gives me both pleasure and confidence. Even though I've been at this awhile, I keep practicing and trying to get better. A gun that has the inherent capability of shooting <1" groups gives me something to shoot for. I keep thinking that if the gun has the capability, perhaps with enough practice, so can I.
Fritz Kreisler said that one man's neurotic perfectionism is another man's standards.
Steve
 
Another Option: Les Baer!

I own four Les Baer pistols - a early-production Premier II 5" .45, a PPC Open Aristocrat Tri-Set 6" .45, a Monolith Heavyweight 5" .45 and a Premier II 6" 9 mm x 19 Parabellum :evil: .

They have never failed me. They're all wonderfully reliable and shoot great. Les Baers are very tight fresh out of the box, but they still worked perfectly from day 1. If forced to pick a favourite, I'd stick to the no-frills Premier II 5".

Regards!
 
fedlaw (Steve?),
Thank you, I get your drift now. I completely understand, but my neurotic compulsion exists with rifles, not handguns. My rifles HAVE to be capable of printing sub-MOA groups or I am not a happy camper. Can I hold MOA while shooting a Highpower match? 99% of the time, no. But I CAN see the difference when I am shooting if the bullets are landing close to my calls or not.

Okay, I get. We're on the same page now. Thank you sir and good luck finding your objective. Hopefully you will find what you are looking for.
~Nate
 
Take any quality 1911 (might as well have a pony on it). Send to good 'smith for reliability ($80?) and match bushing ($50?). Done. And you'll know it'll run all day.

If that's still not accurate enough, you can do a new barrel along with the above. Trigger jobs are nice. You can do this all with a milspec; the price, obviously, beats the semi-customs, and the pistol does what you want.
 
My Colt NRM has been flawless for 500 rounds. The only thing I changed was the extractor to a C&S unit. Nothing at all wrong with the stock part, I just wanted a spring steel part where a spring steel part is called for. :D
 
Rock River and Baer will be the most accurate as they guarantee it. There are many that will be close to that, but it's hit and miss.

I have a Kimber Gold Match that holds under an inch at 25 yards off a rest. I have a Colt Commander ORM that holds under 2" at 25 yards. I had a Colt new Series 70 that had a tough time getting 4" at 25 yards. I had some Para's in .45 that were decent, but some that were real fussy about the charges in my handloads.

Thing is, with a production gun, it's kind of a crap shoot. Kimber's seem to be the most accurate for a factory gun from my experience. I was all set to buy a RRA, but I realized I can't outshoot my Kimber, so I'll save the money. I figure if I can shoot 1" at 25 yards offhand, I'm doing good. At 50 yards, I can hardly see the target.
 
In box-stock 1911's, Rock River and Les Baer deliver guaranteed accuracy. Rock River guarantees 2.5-inch groups at fifty yards with some models, and 1.5-inch groups with other models. Baer will build a gun guaranteed to shoot 1.5-inch group at fifty yards, and their standard guns are guaranteed to shoot three-inch groups at the same distance. To me, however, both brands are too tight to be carry pistols. I had a Baer pistol, that after 1,000 rounds, was still too tight to allow me to complete some failure drills. On another board, one poster reported dirt causing stoppages in a RRA Basic Carry while the same pistol, clean, ran like a top. A friend has had no issues with a RRA Bullseye pistol, and I have seen the great groups he gets. For a target pistol, RRA will be getting my money.

Another possible solution is the Springfield Professional; however, this pistol is about $1,000 more than the RRA. I believe Wilson Combat also has an accuracy guarantee, but I have not tried one of their pistols.

You might wish to have a custom pistol built by a smith, so you insure you get exactly what you want. A custom pistol can be price competitive with a high-end factory offering, but delivery times may be longer.
 
For the best answer...

My opinion is you might get better answers for your situation if you posted an amount you'd be willing to spend.

I neglected to add, just how are you thinking of using the pistol? Carry, plinking competing or what?

Regarding accuracy for the bucks, I'm of the opinion the Les Baer might be close to your best choice. Further improvement from there quickly becomes very spendy.

I've three 1911s. Only one has a barrel bushing (Norinco) and it is the least accurate of the three, so far... I haven't gotten around to tinkering with it yet.
 
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Otherguy Overby:
"My opinion is you might get better answers for your situation if you posted an amount you'd be willing to spend."

I do not have a set price in mind, except to say that after years of buying, being disappointed (or not), trading, etc., I have decided that I might be better off spending more up front and getting something I have a better chance of being happy with. The $1900 list or so for the RRA Limited Match seems like a fair price and just means I have to save up a bit longer before pulling the trigger.

"I neglected to add, just how are you thinking of using the pistol? Carry, plinking competing or what?"

All of the above, although having never carried, "cocked and locked" I am not sure of the carry part.
 
Dan Wesson PM7S

Another vote for DW. Very accurate (under 2" at 25yds), excellent fit/finish, match grade barrell, BoMar sights, no reliability issues, all for under $700.
 
My experience.

I've not owned a Les Baer, but I will. The great majority of comments regarding Baers are positive and most people seem to own more than one. They do have an accuracy guaranty. I have handled them and fit and finish are beyond reproach.

On to my personal experience: I own an STI pistol. It's more accurate than I am. The factory service is beyond excellent.

www.stiguns.com

They've a bunch that would fit your budget. Both single and double stack.

You might like an Edge or Tactical in double stack.

Or in sigle stack: A Rangemaster, Duty One, or, if you like subdued two tone, an LSA Lawman.

For a bargain, you might also think about an STI Trojan for less than 1K if you shop.

On to SVI, and I own one of these, too. Lucky me! :)

Fool around with their gunbuilder software... there are more options than I could think of. If you stick with a blued gun, you might be able to stay close to your target price.

www.sviguns.com

In many cases from these two companies you also get to choose what caliber you want.
 
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