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I'm not going to be able to afford it for a while, but I'm pondering my next handgun purchase. Since I don't own one, one of the contenders is a 1911 in .45. But I don't know what to make of all the things I've read on here about them.
I'll admit that I'm not (yet, at least) much of a tinkerer when it comes to guns. I pretty much want to get the gun, give it a quick lube, then have it "just work" from there on out (given proper cleaning and basic care, of course). Some of the stuff I've read about 1911s has me pretty concerned on this point. Comments like "you can't expect a 1911 to feed HPs without work" kind of put me off, if they're accurate. Since .45 would be the biggest caliber I'd own, it would be my first choice to practice with and use for SD, if necessary. I've seen an awful lot of people just sort of assume that if you're buying a 1911, you're going to be dropping the price of the gun again into it for a trigger job, feed ramp polishing, barrel throating, sight replacement, spring replacement, guide rod replacement, etc., etc.
Now, I'm not knocking that practice if that's what's involved, it will just mean that the 1911's not for me. Spending $500 - $1000 is a pretty big deal to my wallet; if the gun is actually going to cost twice that, it's simply out of my price range.
So, at the risk of starting a holy war, am I too worried? Can I get a 1911 out of the box that's functional (and I don't mean as smooth and perfect as a gun that's had a couple grand in tuning, just a gun that works at least as well as a "modern" gun I'd get for the same price or less)?
I'll admit that I'm not (yet, at least) much of a tinkerer when it comes to guns. I pretty much want to get the gun, give it a quick lube, then have it "just work" from there on out (given proper cleaning and basic care, of course). Some of the stuff I've read about 1911s has me pretty concerned on this point. Comments like "you can't expect a 1911 to feed HPs without work" kind of put me off, if they're accurate. Since .45 would be the biggest caliber I'd own, it would be my first choice to practice with and use for SD, if necessary. I've seen an awful lot of people just sort of assume that if you're buying a 1911, you're going to be dropping the price of the gun again into it for a trigger job, feed ramp polishing, barrel throating, sight replacement, spring replacement, guide rod replacement, etc., etc.
Now, I'm not knocking that practice if that's what's involved, it will just mean that the 1911's not for me. Spending $500 - $1000 is a pretty big deal to my wallet; if the gun is actually going to cost twice that, it's simply out of my price range.
So, at the risk of starting a holy war, am I too worried? Can I get a 1911 out of the box that's functional (and I don't mean as smooth and perfect as a gun that's had a couple grand in tuning, just a gun that works at least as well as a "modern" gun I'd get for the same price or less)?