re: 1911 Pistols

I have a Colt that I LOVE. I have about 800-1000 rounds through it without hick up. Am I going to pimp it as a superior weapon to other 1911 pistols? frick no, there are other great options there. For the features I was looking for, the Colt was a great value that I would do over again. Like I said, the Kimber is a great weapon just not exactly a great value. You have your Kimber fans that still love them and you have a LOT of serious shooters that had bad experiences with them when they started having quality control issues and have nothing good to say about them. If it's you brand, awesome. I'm not even saying I wouldn't own one (especially an old one), just reporting the "facts" to a man that asked about 1911 pistols.

FTR, Colt has had serious quality issues in the past as well.

I have had work done to my Kimber by a man named Gene Shuey. So it runs like a Maserati. All 1911s have feed problems at one time or another. A Colt is a great gun, I love Colts. My Kimber has none of the bells and whistles as most do. It is a plain 4in model with iron sights and i would feel confident in Hell with it. Extremely accurate 4in. I shoot about 150 rounds a week with it, so I assume I have about 4000 rounds through it maybe more. Only issues I have had are some reloads i have from Sierra bullets I made the OAL too short. I would buy a Kimber,Remington, Colt, Fusion, Les Baer, Shuey Custom and a Tussey. I am not so hot on the Wilson Combats although they do make a nice 4in and the Dan Wesson's are nice just not made in the USA. That is my one rule for 1911s they must be made in the USA. Ones I do not like are Para Ordinance, Smith and Wesson. The Ruger seems ok and I like Ruger weapons so I assume it is a nice gun.

My problem with Springfields' is that they are cast, finished and some and assembled in Brazil. Dan Wesson's are made in NY. I thought the DW's were made out of the country and maybe that has changed in the last year or so, all the Google research says NY.

I've got the M1927 Ejercito Argentino SIST Colt Cal 11.25 Mod. 1927 .

This is older than my dad. Bought it used, got it reparkarized, and put mahogeny grips on it.

It's a daisy.

People have had feed issues with stock Kimber magazines.

Funky,
Welcome to the world of 1911's. I bought my first 1911 2 years ago and bought a second one 6 months later; I don't think I'm done yet. :-)

There are at least 3-4 different price ranges w/ 1911's. I have 2 from the lower end. I got my two, a 4 1/4" Commander model by American Classic and a 3 1/2" Concealed Carry Model by Citadel, for easily less than $500 out the door. I ordered them from www.galleryofguns.com. I've seen some RIA's or Citadel's at some of the Academy's.In this same price range I'd include Rock Island Armory, Citadel, Firestorm, American Classic and ATI. The next price range up would be the $600-800 range and would include Remington, Ruger, Taurus and some models by Kimber, STI and Springfield. Things start getting really expensive beyond that.

For my first 1911, I didn't want to spend a whole lot since I wasn't sure I'd like the 1911 enough to justify a more expensive one. There are two large manufacturers in the Philippines making a number of quality, entry level 1911's (Rock Island Armory, Citadel, American Classic, ATI and Firestorm). These guns are well-repected on the 1911 forums on the 'net. My Commander only cost $450 and came w/ Novak style sights, beavertail safety, extended slide release/safety and combat trigger/hammer. 500 rounds later I'm still very pleased. The Citadel has been very pleasing, as well. In addition, the 1911 is nice and slim for concealed carry. In fact, my two are now my main guns for cc.

There are a lot of very nice higher priced 1911's out there , but there are now some good options if one doesn't want to spend very much. Some of the questions you'll need to answer for yourself are: how much do I want to spend; what kind of features do I want it to have; what's the intended purpose?

You'll find a ton of good 1911 info at these two sites:
LINK /
LINK

Someday I may decide to buy a more expensive 1911, but until then I'm happy w/ my AC and Citadel.