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What 1911 would you buy for IDPA?

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you can buy a Glock, $1500 worth of ammunition, and have a trouble-free gun that does not have to be tinkered with to keep it running.
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And is really wide, and has a horrible trigger, that can fire out of battery.


I have a question. Why does everyone else seem to have grevious problems with making 1911s work right? I've had a grand total of three malfunctions with my 1911, and that was after carrying the pistol all day in an open topped holster on the range at Desert sportsman during the match, shooting really light reloads to get rid of them.
 
Glocks and 1911s are both great guns. FOR THE MOST PART, stock Glocks work better than similarly priced 1911s - but a well tuned 1911 is an amazing thing. I could go on but there was no reference to Glocks in the original post so I won't.

I stand by the Wilson KZ-45 suggestion for IDPA. TTBOMK it would meet the rules, should be perefect on reliability, exceptional accuracy, not need a bit of work and holds 10+1 in a package the same size as a "traditional" 1911.
 
Like this? :D
kz45.jpg


Caveat is hold one and if possible, shoot it to see if you like it before you buy one. The ergonomics just don't work for some people.
 
Ok, so maybe I am a 1911 hater. Or maybe I just decided to grow up and get an almost maintenance free gun, instead of a money-pit 1911. I have a good buddy who bought a Les Baer, and even after the 300 round break in period, it still jammed with factory 230 grain FMJ. I will not pay $1600 for a gun that is touted to be the best and brightest, and jams out of the box. I guess a 1911 is fine for IDPA if you want to learn the malfunction drills.

But I will say that the Wilson KZ-45 is a nice looking gun :).

Just my .02,
LeonCarr
P.S. 20,000 rounds through three Glock 17s, no malfunctions.
 
Well I sit here with my $450 includes upgrades money pit of a 1911(Used Colt Combat Elite, ED Brown Beavertail, CMC Safety, Heine Sights) Its been 100% reliable and feels a whole lot better in my hand than a Glock. So to each their own. But I still say Les Baer is not the ideal 1911.
 
What 1911 would I buy to shoot IDPA? Depends on how much money I wanted to spend. When I started to shoot IDPA in '97, I bought a Kimber Classic Stainless Target. I still use it. It's not important who made the gun, what is important is that it runs.

Having SO'd lots of matches, the most common 1911's I see are Kimbers, Springfield Armory, and Colts. That's about 75% of what is shot. I have seen Wilsons, Baers, & STIs with respect to semi-custom factory guns and Heinie, Vickers, and Tibbets full custom pistols as well. It all depends on how much money you want to spend.
 
It all depends upon whether you want to improve you skills with your carry gun ( I'll bet you all can see where this one's going ;) ), or if you just want a fancy Robocop race gun. Flame suit on. :p
 
I like my S&W 1911. And IDPA certainly gets enough advertising money from S&W don't they? I mean, isn't the S&W 1911 on the back cover of every IDPA Gazette the past few issues, or is it just me?

Anyway, I like my S&W 1911. Shoots very nicely.
 
SV or STI wide body-high cap cause I like the grip better then the single stacks. In a single stack for the money the STI Trojan or a custom. I use a Nowlin for IDPA and carry also.

Look I stayed on topic:D
 
a brand that hasn't yet been mentioned:
PARA ORDNANCE, in 40 or 45, LIMITED SERIES
You're out about 750bucks. You've got a great gun. You want upgrades to it, fiberoptics, mag wells, go to dawsonprecision.com get anything you want.
You've got a high cap gun you can then go shoot both idpa and uspsa with.
 
"If you had some extra cash, what 1911 would you buy to use for IDPA? A Wilson, Ed Brown, Les Baer, or what?"

WHAT is my preference. Get an STI standard dust cover, standard slide, and bushing barrel. 4 ten round mags, and you are good to go. You can shoot all the L-10 in USPSA you want with the same set up, just change belts and holster/mag carriers.
 
I shoot IDPA with the gun I carry. (Springfield Professional 1911, Alessi leather).

I think IDPA is a useful tool to keep your gunhandling skills honed- why not do it with your carry gun at least once in a while ?
 
why not do it with your carry gun at least once in a while ?
Click to expand...

I do, I have used a Kahr and a Colt Defender a few times.

IDPA is good practice, but it is a game and I like to use a full sized 1911 to play it with. :cool:
 
For IDPA I've always wanted the CZ97B. It's a refinement of the CZ75, which is in turn a refinement of the 1911. So it's basicly a 1911 with 86 years of development work put into it. It's designed from scratch to be a 10 round .45 and I'm lucky that the ergonomics work for me perfectly. Reviews, both personal and professional, I've seen compare it's out-of-box accuracy to Sig.

It's the next pistol I plan on buying and I would already own one if I shot IDPA. I'd still use my Glock 24P for home defence though ;) I've tried 1911s and the ergnomics and controls just don't work for me. For the cost of a customized 1911 I can get the CZ and an entire IDPA approved carry rig, extra magazines, and reloading dies.

If the CZ's ergos don't work for you a similar gun you could try, especially if you want to customize, is the EAA Witness. At Denny's Guns here in Kansas City the owner had one customized for IPSC and it was an incredible gun. Stock I don't put any more faith in their reliablity or accuracy than the chaper 1911s but with the same total investment you can get a gun that's easily on par or better than an equivilent 1911 without as many antiquated features.

Now if your a traditionallist and like the 1911 for it's history that's great. Get one for it's collectors value but borrow every kind of .45 you can find and try before deciding on putting out your hard earned money. If the folks around your neck of the woods are as friendly as the ones around here, as long as your paying for the ammo, people love to try out each other's guns.
 
the cz's ergos don't work for most people, since they're really wide.

I'll have to dispute your assertion that the cz is like a 1911 with 86 years of development work in it, since it has some severe drawbacks, like safety location and grip size.
 
The 1911 bashing on this topic is pure comedy.

Here is a hint for y'all: every class of IDPA or IPSC competition that the 1911 is allowed in, it dominates with very few exceptions. And something tells me that guys droping several grand on 1911-based race guns probably aren't dyed-in-the-wool traditionalists. :rolleyes:
 
A CZ85/97 is not a "refinement" of the 1911. The CZ has a totally different hammer/trigger/sear and mainspring design, neither barrel bushing nor barrel link, the slide runs inside the frame (not outside like a 1911 or BHP), and obviously has no grip safety.

A modern single-stack "1911" is a refinement of the 1911/1911A1 designs. They come with good sights and comfortable beavertails and safeties. The various double-stack "1911'"s such as the Para or SVI/STI are better classified as advancements - they have the aforementioned refinements and structural changes like a wide body and feed ramp.


-z
 
Uh, and what were most of the other 1,000,000 shooters using? :rolleyes:

I hear those lightweights like Rob Leatham like the 1911 for some odd reason. :D
 
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