re: Looking for a budget 1911

So that's America-lite.

Not too bad.

Canada: Americas hat

I bought a Thompson years ago, used, has been a really good gun for me. Not sure of the price ranges though ......

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Ruger reliability is hard to beat. I'm not sure if I want a 1911 or a .45. I've handled the Ruger P345 and like the way it feels in my hand. It's a little top heavy when empty due to the polymer frame.

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Why do you keep saying your not sure if you want a 1911 or .45. Get you a 1911 in .45 caliber.

Gotcha. I'm looking hard at 1911's myself, wouldn't consider anything other than .45 myself. Just bought the Springfield xds.45, really sweet little pistol for c&c. I just love the 1911 platform too, at this point just have to decide on which one I'm gonna go with. Looked at Springfield and Kimber te other day, I have found a Les Baer that I'm in love with but having a hard time turning loose of $2300 for it.

4X4,
I understand where you're coming from as I was in the same position a few years ago when I wanted to buy my first ever 1911. Not being sure whether I'd like the 1911 or not, I decided to get one of the newer entry level guns. I figured if I ended up not liking the 1911, I could get rid of it w/o having much $$ in it. I first bought an American Classic Commander model. I later bought a Citadel Concealed (Officer's) model.

RIA has a good reputation for making solid 1911's. Everything said for RIA can also be said for Citadel as both RIA and Citadel are made by in The Philippines by the same company, Armscor. My Citadel's been very reliable. It came w/ a number of "custom" features not found on the GI spec model, most importantly, high profile sights. I bought the Citadel instead of the comparable RIA model because at the time, the RIA model didn't have such features. I think RIA now has a "Tactical" model w/ these features.

No one's mentioned them yet, but I'd also consider the American Classic series of 1911 45's. Like the Armscor guns, American Classic guns are made in The Philippines, albeit by Metro Arms. My A/C "Commander" has been both accurate and reliable and has a nice trigger. I really like it's deep blue finish much better than the Parkerized finish on Citadel/RIA.

There's a third maker of 1911's in The Philippines, SAM. SAM makes the ATI series of guns. From reading the 'net, it doesn't seem as if ATI has quite as good a reputation Armscor and Metro Arms.

W/ any of the guns made by Metro Arms, Armscor or ATI, you should easily come under budget, leaving you money for ammo and such. I suspect you'll have a hard time getting a used 1911 from a higher level maker and still stay under budget. Not everyone's experience has been favorable, but I've been very pleased w/ my entry level 45's so that I cc them regularly. Based on my experience, I can recommend you consider a 1911 made by either Armscor or Metro Arms.

Here are some 1911 forums that have subforums dedicated to a number of 1911 makers, including Armscor and Metro Arms.

LINK /
LINK

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I saw that American Classic is at Academy now.

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Wasn't aware of that, but it's been a while since I made it to Academy. 6-12 months ago Academy was carrying the Citadel Concealed Carry (Officer's) model.

I bought a Springfield 1911 in 9mm a couple years ago. I know that it isn't a true 1911 due to the caliber, but it is, by far, my favorite handgun to shoot. I wanted a 1911 badly, and decided on 9mm mainly because it is much cheaper to shoot.

I don't have a single complaint about the Springfield (PX9130LP). I only had one issue in the first couple hundred rounds; failure to return to battery. After a few more rounds, the problem disappeared. I contribute this to the tight slide/frame fit. Otherwise, it's a great gun.

The 1911 in 9mm is a pleasure to shoot. The weight of the gun makes it very easy to shoot (very little felt recoil).

However, I think the parts were made in Brazil.

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I'm looking at springfield armory XD in. 45 or. 357 sig.

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If you want .357 Sig, get .40 S&W first. The conversion is only a barrel swap away and 40 is much cheaper for target use.

Great post. Thanks for the info.