Purchasing a 1911. Opinions Welcome.

[Sonomaa]

I have a springfield 1911 and its great. obviously I would have preferred a colt but the springfield shoots easy and comfortable, cleans up good and looks nice. I know quality wise and design wise the 1911 is basically an invincible gun, its still used today by lots of spec ops and WW2 and earlier era versions are highly sought after because they are invincible.
my problem atm is I cant find a god damn place that sells ammo that I feel comfortable buying from in TN and there isnt an indoor range that I can find anywhere, cest la vie. A solid colt will do wonders from what Ive been told, I wish I could have gotten my grandfathers colt from WW2 but nobody knows what he did with it after he told my dad to get rid of his navy chest

[FNH]

I have a springfield 1911 and its great. obviously I would have preferred a colt but the springfield shoots easy and comfortable, cleans up good and looks nice. I know quality wise and design wise the 1911 is basically an invincible gun, its still used today by lots of spec ops and WW2 and earlier era versions are highly sought after because they are invincible.
my problem atm is I cant find a god damn place that sells ammo that I feel comfortable buying from in TN and there isnt an indoor range that I can find anywhere, cest la vie. A solid colt will do wonders from what Ive been told, I wish I could have gotten my grandfathers colt from WW2 but nobody knows what he did with it after he told my dad to get rid of his navy chest

Not exactly invincible, springs become mush at a more advanced rate than other autos. But that goes back to a design being over 100 years old.

[Patriarch]

I have a springfield 1911 and its great. obviously I would have preferred a colt but the springfield shoots easy and comfortable, cleans up good and looks nice. I know quality wise and design wise the 1911 is basically an invincible gun, its still used today by lots of spec ops and WW2 and earlier era versions are highly sought after because they are invincible.
my problem atm is I cant find a god damn place that sells ammo that I feel comfortable buying from in TN and there isnt an indoor range that I can find anywhere, cest la vie. A solid colt will do wonders from what Ive been told, I wish I could have gotten my grandfathers colt from WW2 but nobody knows what he did with it after he told my dad to get rid of his navy chest

Well being from the Cookeville area, i know a couple places to stock up.

I am now trying to decide between a Colt .45, and the Wilson Combat. The wilson is new, the colt is used. Wilson comes with reload kit, iron and night sights, and a couple other nice things. idk why but i really want the colt

[imveryemo]

buying ammo locally is always a way to get ripped off. www.sgammo.com shipping isn't bad, I ordered 50000 rounds of cci minimags along with a few cases of 9mm and .45 self-defense ammo and the shipping was only $200

[Patriarch]

buying ammo locally is always a way to get ripped off. www.sgammo.com shipping isn't bad, I ordered 50000 rounds of cci minimags along with a few cases of 9mm and .45 self-defense ammo and the shipping was only $200

Noted. Thanks

I get a decent deal on the local side though being the shop is owned by near-family lol

[FNH]

Should really look into starting to reload. I'd say the Wilson Combat, but I'm not riding the magical pony shop's bandwagon.

[Patriarch]

My decision

http://i673.photobucket.com/albums/v...t/1911s001.jpg

[FNH]

nice.

[noblemountain]

Very nice. I never really thought of the HK's as being "big"...I have big hands though, so prolly just never crossed my mind that other people would have trouble with them.

[Boyiee]

I'm probably grabbing a CZ-75 in the next month or so. Just waiting on permit to come in.

[Ghost_Wheel22]

First off, holy fuck at the naive noguns offering advice. For that budget you can go semi-custom with a Wilson or Baer, maybe a "low end" Ed Brown. Skip RIA, Taurus, Norinco(lol) Kimber, Magnum Research, Springfield, and Para-Ordinance. Ruger actually makes a solid 1911, surprisingly. Colt Gold Cups are great, Nighthawks are good, annnnd that about covers every major producer.

I personally own both a Les Baer TR Special ($2000) and a Taurus ($600) and I gotta say there is very little difference between then for the average shooter. My Baer is a few thousandths tighter which is noticeable to me at the 25 yard range but closer than that my groupings are identical. I actually get more variations from ammo brands than between 1991s.

As far as reloading goes unless you already have a setup it'll take you ~10k rounds just to break even on the progressive before you start actually save money. 35-43 cents/round is about what you'll pay for FMJ, twice that for JHP, so you really have to sit down and paper out costs and how much you shoot to see how much you can save. It's easy for people to "bla bla reload its cheaper" without knowing just HOW much it saves (reloading .45 for me is ~26c/round atm). Saving 10 cents a round isn't a whole hell of a lot unless you do a lot of shooting. But as an upside of handloading(correctly) your groupings should get tighter since every bullet is exactly the same unlike factory ammo.

For recoil springs 1911s degrade fairly slowly unless you use +P rounds. Even then you'll go 8k rounds before needing to get a nicer spring from Wolff.

And for comparing to Glocks, I'm not sure how proud I would at being able to shoot any of my Glocks 1-2k rounds before cleaning it. I was raised to clean my gear after every range or hunting trip. Neglecting something for over a thousand rounds when your life might depend on it shooting the 1001st round as reliably as the 1st just screams bad habit.

[Kayatani]

My decision

Spoiler: show

http://i673.photobucket.com/albums/v...t/1911s001.jpg

That's not the actual gun you're buying is it? Cause you're going to be more than a little disappointed when you find out it shoots BBs

[aru]

I'm probably grabbing a CZ-75 in the next month or so. Just waiting on permit to come in.

Good choice. I have a Jericho 941 myself which is pretty much a cz75 clone.
Also fuck NJ and their ridiculous permits.

[Churchill]

Very nice. I never really thought of the HK's as being "big"...I have big hands though, so prolly just never crossed my mind that other people would have trouble with them.

When I do the old "is this pistol right for me" test by drawing it to the ready with my eyes closed, the Mk.23 was so far off I don't even think I'd be able to hit a door by finger/memory aiming.

[Boyiee]

Good choice. I have a Jericho 941 myself which is pretty much a cz75 clone.
Also fuck NJ and their ridiculous permits.

Yeah, and their ridiculous magazine size laws and other laws.

Sucks that I'm going 9mm though so I can shoot it more. I don't need the defense where I live anyway, but it will be my first handgun. Super excited. Was looking at an RIA and Spartan V too, but the CZ is so pretty.

[Tweek]

Very nice. I never really thought of the HK's as being "big"...I have big hands though, so prolly just never crossed my mind that other people would have trouble with them.

some of my friends don't feel very comfortable shooting my HK USP .40 because it's a bit big for them, my wife would prefer something smaller as well. The more everyone shoots it the better they get with it though, for me it's perfect for my hands. I've picked up an HK compact before and my pinky finger doesn't even really fit so that's always another option for people.

[FNH]

That's not the actual gun you're buying is it? Cause you're going to be more than a little disappointed when you find out it shoots BBs

I think it's just a stock photo he posted, says airsoft in the image info, I assumed it was just to show he decided on the wilson.

[FNH]

First off, holy fuck at the naive noguns offering advice. For that budget you can go semi-custom with a Wilson or Baer, maybe a "low end" Ed Brown. Skip RIA, Taurus, Norinco(lol) Kimber, Magnum Research, Springfield, and Para-Ordinance. Ruger actually makes a solid 1911, surprisingly. Colt Gold Cups are great, Nighthawks are good, annnnd that about covers every major producer.

I personally own both a Les Baer TR Special ($2000) and a Taurus ($600) and I gotta say there is very little difference between then for the average shooter. My Baer is a few thousandths tighter which is noticeable to me at the 25 yard range but closer than that my groupings are identical. I actually get more variations from ammo brands than between 1991s.

As far as reloading goes unless you already have a setup it'll take you ~10k rounds just to break even on the progressive before you start actually save money. 35-43 cents/round is about what you'll pay for FMJ, twice that for JHP, so you really have to sit down and paper out costs and how much you shoot to see how much you can save. It's easy for people to "bla bla reload its cheaper" without knowing just HOW much it saves (reloading .45 for me is ~26c/round atm). Saving 10 cents a round isn't a whole hell of a lot unless you do a lot of shooting. But as an upside of handloading(correctly) your groupings should get tighter since every bullet is exactly the same unlike factory ammo.

I shoot upwards of about 3 times a week, reloading does save money. It may take a small amount of time to cover the initial start up cost, but even if purchasing a simple Lee Loading press and the basics, a couple thousand rounds covers the cost. Also, being able to handload things to specific fps is great.

For recoil springs 1911s degrade fairly slowly unless you use +P rounds. Even then you'll go 8k rounds before needing to get a nicer spring from Wolff.

This is not correct The highest I've ever seen a recommended maintenance for recoil spring is 2500, and that is pushing it on a 5" 1911, 4" guns and I'd be surprised if it functions after the first shot. Kimber, Nighthawk and I think even Wilson recommend replacement after 1500-1800 rds in a 5". 4" the only data I have is from Kimber recommending replacement after 800. And most Mainsprings are recommended replacement @ 5k. Comparing to Glocks recommendation of recoil springs in Gen 3s @ 5k and Gen4 @ 8k. Which if you take liberties on pushing the scheduled maintenance, would still put the 1911 springs on an earlier demise than newer striker fired pistols.

Also, I wouldn't take liberties with a maintenance schedule if you want to say something like this:

I was raised to clean my gear after every range or hunting trip. Neglecting something for over a thousand rounds when your life might depend on it shooting the 1001st round as reliably as the 1st just screams bad habit

[Ghost_Wheel22]

I shoot upwards of about 3 times a week, reloading does save money. It may take a small amount of time to cover the initial start up cost, but even if purchasing a simple Lee Loading press and the basics, a couple thousand rounds covers the cost. Also, being able to handload things to specific fps is great.

Main qualifier is how often/much you shoot. Someone that shoots once a month isn't going to see the savings vs you or myself that are range regulars. Ironically I think I end up spending more since I'm able to shoot more often, not that its a bad thing. I do know handloading for rifles is definitely more noticeable what with it costing a $1/round or more.

This is not correct The highest I've ever seen a recommended maintenance for recoil spring is 2500, and that is pushing it on a 5" 1911, 4" guns and I'd be surprised if it functions after the first shot. Kimber, Nighthawk and I think even Wilson recommend replacement after 1500-1800 rds in a 5". 4" the only data I have is from Kimber recommending replacement after 800. And most Mainsprings are recommended replacement @ 5k. Comparing to Glocks recommendation of recoil springs in Gen 3s @ 5k and Gen4 @ 8k. Which if you take liberties on pushing the scheduled maintenance, would still put the 1911 springs on an earlier demise than newer striker fired pistols.

Whoops, I was thinking of a spring for a totally different thing. My Baer was pushing 3k before it really starting getting bad with FTF/FTE on the last recoil spring. Good thing new springs are pretty cheap.

Also, I wouldn't take liberties with a maintenance schedule if you want to say something like this:

I dunno mang. More than a few times at the range I've seen someone complaining about their Glock being terrible and when I took a look at the barrel there was visible lumps of fouling because they shot dirty ammo all day err day and never cleaned regularly because "Hurr Glocks are designed to take it". I'm not a clean freak but cleaning a gun takes a total of what? 15-20 mins at most? Just makes me mad.

[shepardG]

I had to give up my guns to my dad when i got my orders to turkey

http://www.imageleech.net/data/media/1/feelsbadman.jpg

he just gave me a .50cal muzel loader and .308 lever action remmington (forget model off the top of my head) also, so it was like "here ya go son".....2 weeks later, "here ya go dad!"