I like original Series 70s for their fit and finish and I like the new Kimbers for their dehorning, cast frame , and cast slide (at least on the stainless target II.)

My favorite I've owned are the Kimbers with a checkered front strap. What I would like to own most is a Les Baer followed by a Wilson. I also love to someday talk my buddy out of his Peters Stahl......DJ

What's your favorite maker of the 1911's ? For me it's been Springfield.

Woooooohoooooo - I just hit my 500th post! Yippie..... Next.........

Colt Series 70 (original, not the new ones they came out with about a year or so ago), blue. .45 first and .38 Super second.

Kimber takes it hands down as the best for me

I have 70 & 80ser. Colts & a Springfield, all good. If I were buying today, I would look hard @ the Kimber, & the S&W, very nicely done for the money.

this is a real simple subject for me - all of the above

Have 5 Colts -- all 70 series or before. I also have a Norinco that is decent quality for the price I paid for it.

I used to think Kimber also, unfortunately I have 3 shooting friends that bought new ones in the past year and all three have had problems (feeding and ejection) that required a return trip to the factory. Now I'm all for good customer service, but a $800-1200 pistol just shouldn't need a trip to the factory to make it go bang every time.



I've had experience with the Sig P220 which is a fine pistol and a friends Springfield operator which worked very well, both right out of the box.



Probably the biggest surprise was a new Dan Wesson target model. A superb trigger and extremely accurate. We ran about 500 rounds through it the first time the owner took it out and I just could not believe how good it shot for $800. It's not as finely finished as a $2000 semi-custom but to be honest it shot right with them. Also once you get over the $1000 mark I would think seriously about a Rock River Arms, they are putting together very nice pistols these days.



I also personally like the S&W 1911 SC, although it may be a little light for extended shooting practice it sure does carry nicely.



Gee, now that I think about it I like most of them, I even had a Firestar at one time that I didn't compeltely hate.

Hey Guys,

My first post and what's the topic? I have to say, my favorite 1911, bar none, is an original Colt Series 70 Government Model. A close second is the Series 70 Combat Commander.

Kimber's were good in the early days, but they've gotten too big, too fast and too over priced. Springfield has so many quality control issues these days that I wouldn't touch one of their products with a 10' pole, unless it was free...then I'd sell it and buy something decent!

Right now I'm into Para-Ord. The latter are some of the most accurate out of the box 1911s on the market today. Haven't had a single problem with any of mine and they seem to be one of the more innovative companies building today.

I feel like a dinosaur! I am partial to the Remington Rand 1911A1 with the original cromelined barrel. I have had several as well as 2 Ithica's. derf

Springfield has been fine by me. I have 5 differant ones all in 45acp and they have done just exactly what I want from a 45.

I've owned a number of very well done pieces and even worn them out. Para based guns do have problems with frame breakage inside of the trigger groove after many thousands of rounds.

High dollar pieces really are better. Les Baer for a single stack. STI or equivalent for a double stack. If you have a good smith, start with and STI frame and complete with a Baer slide and all of the nice internals. Nowlin makes very nice barrels that use the Wilson ramp dimensions. Bar-Sto has a good reputation but he can be a PITA.

A really good 1911 based gun is a wonder and will last 40,000 to >100,000 rounds and shoot groups you would not believe.



Will probably cost you $2k or more.

quote:

---

Originally posted by mstarling:
I've owned a number of very well done pieces and even worn them out. Para based guns do have problems with frame breakage inside of the trigger groove after many thousands of rounds.

High dollar pieces really are better. Les Baer for a single stack. STI or equivalent for a double stack. If you have a good smith, start with and STI frame and complete with a Baer slide and all of the nice internals. Nowlin makes very nice barrels that use the Wilson ramp dimensions. Bar-Sto has a good reputation but he can be a PITA.

A really good 1911 based gun is a wonder and will last 40,000 to >100,000 rounds and shoot groups you would not believe.



Will probably cost you $2k or more.

---

Why do you suggest putting a Baer slide on an STI frame?

Les Baer,hands down.Just picked up a premier II
wow what a difference compared to my Kimber!! I like my Kimber(classic custom)but I like the Les
Baer even better!

I like my Baer a lot. I think all I had done differently than the catalog was have the fat side of the ambi safety on the right, since I'm left-handed.

I didn't get the full length guide rod, and I'm glad I didn't.

I didn't buy the accuracy guarantee and am glad I didn't.

It was a tossup between getting a Baer or a Wilson. Ultimately, I decided based on not a lot more than a coin toss.

I figured if the attorney for someone who burgled my house asked me, "Why did you shoot my client with your (blank)?" I would like the (blank) to be something that sounds nice, such as "Premier II" rather than "Close Quarters Battle Pistol" or "Combat Defender".

Someone who knows a lot more than I (but is admittedly a very good friend and business associate of Bill Wilson) told me "Les Baer is the cheapest motherf#cker in the business" and that Baer fills up a nice frame and slide with the cheapest parts he can buy.

Chastened, I had a regular spare parts kit from Wilson (slide stop, extractor, firing pin, a couple other items) in hand when my semi-custom Premier II arrived.

Nothing on the Baer has broken yet, so I haven't gotten to try out any of my "Bulletproof" grade Wilson replacements.

H. C.

My favorite is my Commander. It's my carry and I made "A" in USPSA with it. Who says you need a hicap gun? After 38,000 rounds and several spring sets, I finally broke down and put a Freddy Kart barrel in and it's as good as gold.

Don

colt

Kimber uses too much MIM stuff ... it's like machine injected molded metal powder with basically a metal glue "stabilizer" that they then bake into shape ...

Sort of like the difference between particle board and mahogany... and Kimber makes their whole frames out of it, along with a lot of their small parts.

Springfield uses MIM too for some of their small parts, but those are replaced easily enough, and their frames are all forged out of good old fashioned steel, and Springfield uses the old series 70 designs. I just don't like how Springfield does their triggers from the factory or their new ILM whatever that replaces the mainspring with their new screwy locking mainspring.

However, Springfield does have a lifetime guarantee and they have one HECK of a customer service department, and if anything goes wrong with one of their guns they'll make it right - for free ... forever. It's tough to argue with that.

I personally like Ed Brown 1911s, and their KOBRA is a fine piece of hardware, but their price list will have your wife beating you over the head with a frying pan just for peeking through the catalog.

For my money, and for their warranty and customer service - I'll go with Springfield. With Springfield though, make sure you're getting a higher end with the one piece barrel - some of their guns have welded 2 piece barrel-chamber assemblies and the accuracy of those guns shows it. You have to look around at the models and find what you want. I personally like the Stainless Steel PC9107L Tactical Response Pistol. MSRP $1560, but you can shop around and pick one up for around $1100 or less maybe.

Les Baer makes a good gun too, but I think they screw 'em together a little too tight. It takes several hundred rounds to really brake a LB in - but "tight" doesn't always mean "better"... especially for the price.

If price was no object and I wanted to still stick with something more or less "production" - I'd go with Ed Brown. The only thing better I can think of would be to go with a full-custom job from a good smith on maybe a nice Caspian frame.

I don't want my furniture made out of particle board ... I sure as **** don't want my guns made out of it. No thanks Kimber.

thats easy I have Colt,Kimber,STI,Wilson Combat and all are great. I jsut picked up a Charles Daly EFS and it has all the bells and whistles that my others have,I got it for a great price and it shoots great .


300Shooter

Ben589 I wasn't aware that Kimber was made like Particle board I absolutely hate the stuff it has no strength. Thanks for the info. I had a Parkerized Springfield 1911 it was a low end and at the time they did not offer the upper end without being all custom shop. It was a piece of junk, so it has given me a lack of respect for the Springfield 1911, but I am sure I will be proven wrong in time. I would like to have one of their 45acp super’s though.

I have had no problems with my Kimber Classic II Stainless Target it cost $800.00 plus tax and has out shot all of the Colt Gold Cup's I have owned except for the one I sent back to the custom shop.

One more thought on the Particle board Kimbers. The Glock is I believe a plastic injection mold pistol and so is my Sig P226. The plastic guns seem to hold up well, but I don’t know if they will out last a steel forged or milled receiver. I bought the Sig used I was told it was a trade in Cop gun and I love it. I would like to have a Sig in 45acp but since the post was on the 1911's I won't elaborate any farther.

I have a Colt Combat Commander, a Springfield Custom Shop & a Kimber. The Kimber Eclipse Target II is the jewel in my crown !

I had Ed Brown and Les Bear, both served well and both went bang every time

1911 is one of my favourites

Cheers
/ JOHAN

Have (had) Wilson, Series 80,Gold Cup, Defenders etc...my favorite still is my Series 70 Gov't model bought in 1978.

Swede ... if done "right" and all the mixes are correct, and the oven temperature is just right, all the stars are in alignment, then MIM parts are advertised that they "can be" 95% the strength of forged steel.

What MIM does is let factories basically pour the powdered metal into molds and mold it just like you would plastic, then bake the glue dry, and it shrinks down to just what you want without a lot of filing, polishing, and sanding. It cuts production costs way down, but it has a lot greater chance to fail than true steel.

In their liquid states, actual molten steel and molten plastic are all "one-piece" compounds.

Molten poured steel that's then shaped into ingots and forged into shape is all one piece of steel. But because of it's strength and heat differences, it's a lot harder (nigh impossible) to pour molten metals into gun-molds as compared plastic polymers which operate at MUCH lower temperatures. You can pour a polymer gun, let it cool and harden, and it's there. Then afterwards, with any poured mold, you have edges to file and sand ... again easier with plastics. Metal Injection Molding (MIM) basically gets around all of this by trying to make steel mimic the workability of plastic.

It's more of a general principle thing to me, but I don't want to support it. Call Ed Brown up and ask him about MIM and if any of his 1911s or smiths utilize it and you can hear him almost sneer right on the phone for even suggesting his company would consider it.

Springfield only makes things like triggers or their slide-release lever or stuff out of MIM ... very few and small parts. Their frames are one piece of solid molten steel ingot hammered into shape the way God intended.

The only thing I really don't like about Springfields is their trigger, but that's easy enough to correct out by changing out a few parts.

In the end, buy what you like, but consider what you're buying beforehand and what you'll be using it for.

You don't need to buy an Ed Brown for target shooting pine cones in the back yard when a Norinco will shoot the same pine cones... but which would you rather have on your hip when your life is on the line?

Gentlemen

I'm curious to hear about S&W type 1911. Any member who has one?

Cheers
/ JOHAN

Colt, in four era's:

1. Pre WWI
2. Depression era
3. Series 70's
4. NRM model 80's

Desirablility is exactly in order listed.

Another is a 1958 National Match.

I want ponies on my 1911's

My all time favorite was a Series 70 Gold Cup that had been accurized by Pachmeyer (I think I misspelled their name). It was stolen in 1978 along with an M1A super match. I miss both of those guns to this day.

quote:

I want ponies on my 1911's

I'm not so choosey as Colts wasn't exactly sympathetic to their American civilian customers a while back.

Don

quote:

I am partial to the Remington Rand 1911A1 with the original cromelined barrel

I have my service Remington Rand.I'm so used to it , I can hardly shoot others.
I also have a Singer that my Dad had.

Saving up my money to buy a Wilson. Can't wait to get it!

Did I forget to mention that I went to high school with Bill Wilson's daughter??

Steel Slinger,you cant go wrong with a Wilson,I just picked up CQB about amonth ago,it is just a nice pistol all around.Functions perfect,very accurate.

Johan, I just bought a S&W 1911. I also have a Springfield and have owned a Colt Series 70 Combat Commander and a Norinco 1911, so this is my 4th 1911. I like the S&W for several reasons. I live in France and buying a 1911 from one of the better known pistolsmiths like Les Baer or Ed Brown isn't really feasible without willing to wait a long time and pay almost double what the pistol would cost in the USA. The Smith & Wesson isn't a true 1911; it's got the Colt Series 80 trigger block system and the extractor is of the hinged external slot variety. But I like it alot. It comes with Novak Low-mount sights, a slim extended tactical type thumb safety, the beavertail grip safety and the fit and finish on my pistol at least is very good. Also, it shoots to where I aim and is more accurate out the box than any of the other 1911's I have owned. I sent my Springfield to Cylinder & Slide and it is now the best 1911 I own, but the S&W out of the box is just fine.

Les Baer.....few things nicer than tightly clustered 45-size holes from a gun that works every time you pull the trigger.....

Well there might be one thing nicer! Doing it with a pistol that has a price under $1000 actual retail and the S&W 1911's are plenty capable. If the Dan Wesson's CZ is fixin' to introduce are 100% reliable, and they just replaced all of the tools and fixtures on DW CNC machines, so they should be, you might want to compare the features of an Ed Brown, Les Baer, or Wilson to a DW that has an MSRP of $1079. The Smith is closer to $1000 and my shooting partner just bought the 1911 Sc for $650. Another shooter I know has an Ed Brown Cobra Carry that set him back $2000 and there's not $1 worth of accuracy difference unless you're shooting from the bench. Then it might go up to $10 worth of difference. The Ed Brown has a better trigger, but $180 will get you the same thing from the S&W custom shop.

Wink, the firing pin safety on the 1911 Sc is actuated with the grip safety and has no affect on the trigger. The series 80 firing pin safety, if memory serves was actuated by the by the trigger and why some really disliked them.

To make matters even worse, Taurus is coming on line with a 1911 with many custom features and an alloy frame for about $500 Blue and a little more for stainless. Now, I know that EB, LB and Wilson pistols are beautiful $2000 pistols, but a brace of S&W or DW's looks pretty good as well for the same money to boot!

Is possible to get an exploded diagram of the S&W1911 anywhere? I am so used to my Kuhnhausen next to me when I dissassemble or work on my Springfied that I feel uncomfortable just going at on the S&W.