First 1911?

I'm wanting to buy my first 1911. My question is, which brand can I make ambidextrous? I noticed they have after market ambi mag releases. Can these be used on all brands? Thanks in advance.

Yes, what is your budget??

Just a little advice buy a Glock instead.

If you're set on a 1911 and your budget isn't great I'd suggest looking at the rock island armory tactical. Then just cross your fingers when shooting HP ammo because it probably won't work.

Budget would be 1k. Kroyal I have several glocks. My collection is not complete without a 1911.

Well I guess just go in knowing it's a plinker I'd never trust my life to one especially with SD ammo. With 1k you can do a lot. I'd suggest the spring field loaded. I've had a few 1911's and liked it the best although it didn't run HP ammo very well either. Although for half the price the RIA tactical has more features. Never had one in 45 both mine were in 9mm but they were not reliable, but a lot of 1911 guys swear by them.

These are just my experiences and opinions not trying to troll.

Lots of good ones in that budget. Like my Kimbers and Springfield loaded line is worth a look.

For $1k I would get a Springfield.

I had a Glock and could not stand it.

For your price range, STI or Springfield, but for a bit more Les Baer which is a big step up.

This might be helpful.

1911 Buyer's Guide

You might be able to find a used Dan Wesson, which is a great gun for the money. Oh...lol at Glock fanboys.

I'd go with Springfield for that price. Anybody who claims a 1911 is not reliable is full of crap. They're just as or more reliable than the Tupperware pistols.

I've owned 4 1911's and none would function reliably with HP. Lol at the 1911 fanboys. You can't tell me that 1911's are more reliable than glocks if you do you're either ignorant or lying. I've never had a FTF or FTE with a glock, and I've had many, 1911's on the other hand or jamomatics.

Then why does the 1911 rule USPSA/3-gun? You will never hear me say I have not had a jam with a 1911, but anyone who says their Glock has never jammed is either ignorant or lying. Most likely lying.

There's nothing wrong with a 1911 for a carry pistol. You just need to run a bunch of the ammo that you will use for carry through it to make sure it's reliable, but to me that's true of any carry gun. It's true that some don't like hollow points, just depends on the gun. A gunsmith can also work on the feed ramp to make it feed hollow points if it's an issue. I had a Colt New Agent 3" .45 and ran a few hundred rounds of Hornady XTP hand loads through it and had zero issues.

By the way I'm not a 1911 hater I love 1911's I think they are a work of art and beautiful pistols. I think they are the epitome of pistols however they do not work for me. This is the reason I posted I'm not a troll, I'm not trolling on 1911's I've had many and almost bought 2 on this Black Friday sale from grab a gun. I had to talk myself out of it because I don't like guns that don't funcion reliably with all ammos. Out of all the guns I own and hav owned I keep coming back to the 1911 but just can't bring myself to drop that kind of money on a gun that doesn't run reliably.

Those normally aren't 1911's they're 2011's and in a different cal than 45 either 9.40,38 super. Believe me I'm not ignorant or lying I'm just sharing my expletive I said that in a post earlier. I'm not trolling and I don't hate the 1911 but I need something that goes bang every single time no matter the ammo. I can't say that for a 1911 so I use a glock.

By the way really wish glock made a pistol that functioned and looked like a 1911 because I'd be all over it.

I'll have to disagree.

I was in a three day class several years ago with round count at about 1,000 rounds over the three days. Most of the 20+ students used Glocks,and all except one G19 had failures at some point. The biggest root problem as just an educated guess is that they are more prone to fail with limp wristing than some other designs, although a couple went down and required repair. The class required a lot of odd positional shooting and/or shooting while moving, thus causing suboptimal body position and/or grip control, which is what I suspect was the root of the failures for most shooters and pistols.

I had a G19 which I just hated and I would not trust in a high stress scenario. The grip design - for me - is much harder to acquire and hold in rapid acquisition than the 1911's I've used. The only 1911 I've owned that was a problem was a Wilson Combat, which would not run reliably despite two trips back. I do keep mine clean and oiled. Glocks definitely win in the easy to maintain department, other than that, they are miserable to use.

Here is my EDC, or a Kahr if I need something smaller. The only failures with this one have been a few weak loads off of a progressive loader. I've gone back solely to weighing and hand loading my pistol ammo, and have not had any more issues. Never had a single glitch with factory ammo.

Guess we'll just have to agree to disagree, but like I said before at the budget id go spring field for sure.


G27 is what I carry appendix everyday never wonder if it will go off when it counts.

By the way I've taken a few classes moreso focused on carbine work where the carbine used a thousand rounds we only shot maybe 500 or so rounds out of pistol and I've never seen a failure out of a glock. Well for that matter no one had a failure out of any of their pistols.

KR,

Who made that holster? Very nice looking.

How do you like the carbon fiber compared to leather or Kydex?

I've shot competitively for over 8 years, and I have seen EVERY type of pistol take a dump at some point. EVERY gun will fail. I had a Glock 35 and now a Para 16-40, and both have jammed just as much as the other, which is not often.

I got it from a guy in Texas on eBay after I sold my holster business to East on this forum. I love the carbon fiber compared to leather it holds it's shape no matter what doesn't collapse can reholster no problem I've been a kydex promoter for years since I had a kydex holster business but in all seriousness I'm not trying to press a product but I love these holsters compared to leather.

Look at FFR holsters on this site he is the one that bought all my stuff and he is making holsters that I never would have thought of when I was doing it.

I will take my 1911, Kahr or XDm over any Glock any day of the week. Have shot Glocks and none fit my hand like the ones listed. Never had an issue with the 1911 for FTF until after 300+ shots without cleaning the Kimber.

The only difference in that is the Glock is $500 compared to most of the 1911's used for comp for that price you can buy 2 glocks and maybe never use the second one but have another if it goes down for the same price.

I was actually going to say a lot of people don't like glocks because they don't fit their hands or the grip angle in that case get the XD or XDm.

East made these for me, he does good work.








OP I'd look at the Springfield line with that budget.

I am a 1911 fanboy!!!! I also like and own or have owned sigs glocks, s&w mp, khar arms, and did I mention 1911! John Browning designed tha 1911 to shoot 230gr ball, period. So if you buy a standard or milspec 1911, 9 times out of 10 it will not function reliably with hp ammo, however with a little polishing it will feed anything. Some brands offer a fully ramped barrel which takes care of the feeding issues. i just purchased a para usa 3 inch 1911, so far close to 500 rounds of 230gr ball with NO malfunctions. Most of those rounds were today.i will start on hp ammo tomorrow, but it has the fully ramped barrel so I am not expecting any issues. All guns are subject to malfunction at anytime. Ive seen glocks,1911, s&w, khar, sig, kimber, malfunction on the range. So no need to argue that.

Back to OP original post; with your budget I have say Springfield, loaded, or the range officer. May look around and find a deal on a TRP. Good luck!

Damn that is sexy Payne. Yea I'd talk to east about a holster he just wasn't up and running yet when I needed one.

I agree and that's my problem I guess. I expect if I pay that much for a gun I want it to shoot when I pick it up no matter what. Whether it's 230gr round nose to 180gr XTP. Glock does that for me. Again I'm not a 1911 hater I love them just wish they'd shoot for me. All experience and opinion here.

By the way Kroyal, thanks for sendimg me to East for the holster. I got it in and is great, just what I wanted.

No problem man good dude good work when I need a holster he is for sure where I'm going.

My opinion, this is the only knock anyone CAN have on them. You're either a Glock fan or an XD fan, so I've noticed. I'll always trust a Hlock but I'll always LOVE a 1911. I sure love my Sig Spartan. I still stare at it because it's just, well, pretty as heck!

I have to agree with KROYAL here. I love 1911s with a passion. They are just beautiful well built guns. I have a wide variety from cheapo to very high end. But at the end of the day I carry a g23. Has never failed me other than a couple times limp wristing it. More times than not, u have to fine tune a 1911 to run flawlessly. But having said all that, I would go with a Remington r1 for my first 1911. Great gun at a great cost.

Isn't Colt making a barrel that ensures flawless feeding of any ammo? I swear I saw that recently. There's like 3 grooves for all types. I'll try to find a pic

Note the new throat configuration on the barrel on the right. Believe it or not, this new setup actually improves reliability and reduces the chances of case blowout by better supporting the case head. All current-production Colts use this new configuration, including the new Series 70 pistols. An original GI barrel is at the far left, while a normal "throated" barrel is shown in the middle for comparison.

Freaking genius if you ask me.

But that doesn't say anything about feeding. Yea I'm pretty confident that a Colt won't blow out bit I'm not confident that it will feed.

KRoyal, you have lost the faith! We must restore it!!!!!!!

Well, I must be the odd man out. I am a 1911 guy, and all of them from my Kimber to my Nighthawks feed 230 grain golden sabres all the time with no problem. I run into a group of Texas Rangers about once a month at lunch, every single one of them has a 1911 on their hip. Now, I don't know what ammo they are carrying, but I find it hard to believe they are running ball ammo. So, they must not be having any feeding problems either.

All I feed mine are 200grn SWC. And they do it well.

Not.

My Baers have flawlessly run every hollow point that I have ever tried in them including cycling snake shot loads.

This didn't say anything about it in depth but that's why they did this design. Let me find some other stuff.

I'd go STI, I have a Kimber and a Ruger and I love em but if I could get my hands on an STI at a good price I'd jump at it

Y'all are both the odd man put jessaying

Why? Because their guns work?

lol I've never had a les bear but what I've heard they're awesome.

I'll stick with my glock. I've seen more 1911 screw up than anything

Just dont leave it in your car in the summer, it might melt!

Have we heard anything from the OP?

No, we might have scared him off!

Bet he buys a revolver now!

Finally a mofo that uses a gun everyday. Glock all day.

haha

That's funny.. Cause I've seen more Glocks crap than anything.

I don't like to call people liers but sorry you're a lier.

I put over 12,000 through my G35. How many have you put through your Glocks?

Lol how you gonna post you put 12k through your glock in a negative way? I've put about 5k through mine. Never a problem. Put about 400(or less) each through my 1911's jamomatics lol.

I'm seriously laughing out loud on my front porch right now. Thanks, now the neighbors think I'm crazy.

yea it is quite comical.

Yes it is, for many reasons.

Lol I'm just laughing cuz I drank a hole. Box of
Wine now.

Drinking Box Wine and Rocking a Glock, sounds like a good country and western song.

I never said they aren't good guns. I simply stated that a 1911 is reliable, and if one disagrees, they are obviously seeing only what they want to see. Also, I have seen more Glocks jam than anything else, and that is absolutely true. This could be from a lack of experience on the users part, or bad gun smithing or reloads. All I can say is that when someone calls one gun absolutely reliable and another totally unreliable, I can see that they have watched a little too much James Yeager on YouTube. Anyhoo, go shoot USPSA or three gun sometime. It's fun.

I know right if my dog gets ran over tonight I might be on to something hahah.

I hate James Yeager I'm more of a Travis Haley guy. If you've seen more glocks fail than you've never really shot anything but dreams of a 1911 fan boy.

When I got my G35, I wanted to shoot something other than a 1911 just to be different. But the awesomeness of the 1911 drew me in.

Hey man I'm not bitching about the awesomeness of the 1911 it is there. However when you point click that's a 1911 for ya. You don't get that with a glock I promise.

Hmm.. Strange that I've had that happen with Glock, XD, and 1911.

what happened to the OP, were you able to make a decision through all this Bullsh?

Are you interested in used?

STI Spartan V or IV if you prefer a commander. Price point is fantastic, well under your budget and you can save $$$ to feed it. Hand fitted slide to frame in Texas (frames made in the Philippines) I've got a IV and it is my favorite shooter. As a disclaimer, I'll also share that I shoot USPSA Limited B Class with my M&P40L Pro Series C.O.R.E. that has had some go fast parts put in it. But I love my Spartan. If I was going to shoot SS I would get the spartan V and go to work!

Buy a used spring filed TRP. Period. Done. Set for life. Trust it with your life.

Stop buying shitty 1911s.

I have never... never... never ever ever... had a problem with my 1911 (Springfield TRP) or my Glock (G19 gen 3).

Lol so my spring field loaded was shitty?

My Springfield Loaded has been 100% after 4100 rounds and counting. My Para Expert just passed the 1800 round mark flawlessly.

Right at 10K rounds thru my Gen 2 M17. Only hiccup was due to an overcharged round. Otherwise, zero issue's. I dunno fella's.

Sometimes I view firearms like vehicle's. Lemon's will occur. I like 1911's just fine, and traded for a Citadel 9mm yesterday, even tho word on the street's has it, they don't digest JHP rounds very well.

I'll find out soon enough.

And poor Brandon.

Prolly ran out and bought a rubber-band gun.

Those fail as well......................

Very unlikely, which is why it does not make sense that you could have four lemons in a row.

What were the other three?

Did you put over 500 rounds through any of them?

1911's, and most pistols, are just breaking in during the first 500 rounds.

Did you have any prior experience or instruction on how to operate and maintain a 1911?

What did you do to lube them, and what mags and ammo did you try?

Have a Remington Rand, circa 1941, still shoots fine. How many rounds have been through it?

Also shoot the dickens out of a Springfield Operator. Still waiting on it to tell me when to clean it. Sucker is the most accurate pistol I have ever had. Even pinged steel at 100 yards with it on multiple occasions.

Sorry last night I said 4 it was 3 I was a tad inebriated lol. First one was a spring field loaded .45 shot 230gr just fine no problem. I never carried it so 230 ball was all I put through it probably has around 750 rounds down the pipe before I took it hunting and wanted to use JHP for hunting. I was using 180gr HP ammo can't remember brand. From the first rounds in they jammed right into the feed ramps none would feed. Took it to the gun smith and he did some tinkering on it think he polished the feed ramp and lubed the hell out of it. Also bought some cmc mags but still wouldn't feed HP ammo. Traded it for a savage rifle.

Next 2 were RIA 9mm one full size and one officer size. Broke them both in with 200 rounds of 124gr round nose only had one FTE out of the officer. Was apprehensive to try but I had some of my reloads 124gr HP's and to my surprise they ran perfectly through it. Took the fullsize hunting and didn't have anymore of my 124gr HPs so I threw some 115 Remington HP ammo I had and the first time I tried to shoot boom jam, fixed jam and tried again and boom jam. Since I couldn't trust them I traded both for Glocks a 19 and 17.

From what you describe, the pistol sounds like it was fine, it just needed some tailoring of ammo, recoil spring weight, and mags. Honestly, it sounds like a bit of what is common to folks with their first experience with 1911's in not understanding how recoil spring weights relate to the loads, and also in trying different mags for different types of ammo. Trust me, been there and done that myself.

If the Springfield was running fine with the 230's until you tried the 180's, the recoil spring weight might have been the issue more than the bullet type. Most factory recoil springs are set up for 230's with a 17 or 18# recoil spring for a full size slide, or 22# springs for Commander size slide. Lighter loads usually benefit from a lighter spring. It would have been interesting to note if it ran 230 JHP's ok.

180 grains might have benefitted from a lighter recoil spring, and in 1911's, Wilson or Tripp mags are the way to go in my experience. Some folks have good luck with McM's, I prefer the other.

I'll not comment on the 9mm's as I've never owned one, other to again note that recoil spring weight and mags usually benefit from tailoring.

Glad you found something that works for you and that you like. How about just giving others some room to use what they have found works best for them, as the answer for them might be different.

Absolutely, sorry my comment about ignorance and lying last night was a bit invasive again was a little inebriated. Glocks work for me, but I wouldn't mind trying another 1911 I really like shooting I shoot them really well just hate spending that much money on a gun that won't run any ammo from the factory. Might go ahead and try another one and just go in knowing I'll have to tweak the gun to the ammo.

A few suggestions...

Springfield Armory (Range Officer)
STI
Dan Wesson CCO or V-Bob

I shoot and RO a lot of 3-Gun Matches locally. I have to say hands down, in my experience, the most reliable pistols I see are Glocks and XDs. They are also the most represented.

Earlier this year I switched from shooting a G34 to an STI Tactical 5.0 for my match pistol. When I switched to the STI 3 things happened...

1. My pistol accuracy improved.
2. My home gunsmithing skills increased.
3. My stoppage clearing skills increased.

The last two were learned out of necessity.

Most of the issues I've had with the STI were minor and easy to fix. I think I've got it worked out now, but it was pretty irritating spending 2K on a pistol that wouldn't run reliably.

If I were looking for a 1911 I'd go with a Loaded Springfield.

.

Not a problem KR. Without any dispute, the 1911's require more detailed knowledge to operate and maintain, and a lot more time on maintenance, than a Glock.

Anytime you are in this area, drop me a note, and I'd be happy to go shoot with you and let you shoot mine.

There are others who know far more than me, but mine run reliably, so I'd be happy to share what I know and have learned.

There are two places the 1911 really excels over plastic guns: trigger, and felt recoil.

I've never seen a stock glock fail. Mess with the trigger or extractor and sure it happens,
but it can also be fixed by an expert easily. 1911's a nice looking guns, I'd love to have one.

I have a couple 1911 "like" sigs, 238/938 and I like them. 40's, 357, 45's and 10mm all glock.

A comparison came to mind this morning that talking about "1911's" is like saying "AR-15."

My one very brief moment of owning an AR and the headaches and irritations that went with it, in hindsight gave me some perspective on how this might be with those talking about "1911's."

With both, there are endless numbers of different manufacturers from those who turn out flawless and reliable products to mass produced scrap metal with most somewhere in the middle. With both, some will work perfectly out of the box, some will require a few minor tweaks while breaking in, and some will require real work to run right. Once in hand, all of both will require maintenance to operate continue to operate correctly.

With both, start varying from the default ammo parameters, and parts will need adjusting to compensate.

With both, pick one up for the first time without any guidance on how to make it run, and keep it running, and problems will appear, many of which could be easily corrected with some experience or instruction.

Find what works, and then hang onto it.

Having been through Sigs, Glocks, and others, Les Baer was what worked for me. For others, it may be something different. Just my experience.

Anyway, just some thoughts that came to mind.

I had a pair of Norinco 1911s that I paid $212 for, each. Neither ever skipped a beat and in fact I could load mags up with empties and cycle them though and they would chamber every case without fail. Should a kept at least one of them.

I can wholeheartedly recommend the Springfield Range Officer. Mine is the best shooting 1911 I ever fired. I don't shoot JHPs, though, only 200-grain SWCs.

A lot of those Norinco's were tricked out and turned into race guns. Wish I had one.

I looked at <1K 1911's for a while. Here is what I found.

STI Spartan = Citadel/Rock Island with STI trigger for an extra $200

Remington = slide to frame fit had the tolerances of an old farm truck fender. At least on the couple that I handled.

Springfield Range Officer = Best gun but at the top of the price list

Tisas = Brother bought one. Bare bones 1911A1. That gun will outshoot my Citadel as well as my BILs Springfield GI. For $400 bucks, I would recommend this gun over anything less than 1K other than the Range Officer.

I have owned several springfields over the years from gi to trp operator all were great and would not hesitate to buy another. Noticed no one has mentioned colts. Owned several of them as well, and had to work all but one.

I forgot to mention the other day, Ruger is making an excellent 1911. I do not own one however, my buddy who is a die hard Ruger fan, but never a 1911 fan bought the ruger 1911 just because it was a ruger. We shot it extensively with no issues. Well made and he loves it. It is his ccw of choice now.

Own and shoot both. Glock has jammed once in a few thousand rounds, 1911 has never jammed so far.

Both of them are pistols I'd trust my life with.