Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns Request Advice on 1911 Purchase

I would go with the Colt in your post... I have been carrying a Colt Commander in .38 Super daily since 1980. The two that I have carried have been wonderfully accurate and very well made...

Have a third one made just a few years ago and it also has been excellent...

Also I am not sure if they still are, but Colt aluminum frames were forged not cast.

Bob

Good to know. I'll have send Colt an email and ask.

Smith frames are Scandi-monium. A rare and strong Viking alloy from Sveden or someplace......

Check it out, I found the same model on the Bud's Law Enforcement/Military site for about 200 bucks less or $945

There are a couple of differences between those 2 guns to be aware of if they mean anything to you.

The Colt has a barrel bushing, the Kimber does not & has a bull barrel, making the disassembly different.

The Kimber has a firing pin safety system, the Colt has a trigger safety, but they are both different but both accomplish the same goal; both work if you can tolerate firing pin/trigger safeties; both can be removed or circumvented if desired.

The S&W you are considering is an E-series version which means it does not have a firing pin or trigger safety, it's a true pre-'80 series internals configuration.

All are good pieces, just depends on what you like the most; all may need some tuning, or maybe none will need any. Good aftermarket magazines, like Tripp Cobra mags are a big plus.

None are particularly "better or worse" for all intents & purposes, but if you are going to carry it more than shoot it, the lightweight frames are my preference.

JMO&E, YMMV.

MM

My S&W M&P 9mm is a version that doesn't have the safeties so I'm kind of used to not having them. That might be a plus for the E-series model imo.

It still has the normal 1911 thumb & grip safeties, as do the others, as I expect that you know.

MM

The Colt 80 series safety is robust and trouble free, far more so than the Swartz found on series II Kimbers.

I'd get the Colt.

Colt over Kimber or S&W. Nobody likes Kimbers except for guys in the Pac NW.

Durability and reliability of steel vs alloy frame is a non-issue for most users. You'd have to fire tens of thousands of rounds to even consider it.

"Shootability" of steel vs alloy is another matter. Both of my commander size 1911s balance well, but the heavier steel frame pistol is easier to shoot accurately and for longer range sessions. Alloy frame versions are less comfortable to shoot, more comfortable to carry.

This is so true.

Colt tried the Swartz system many decades ago. Found it to be problematic. Dropped it real quick.

Also. "Blue Book of Guns" does not like Kimbers. They do not hold their value like the Colts.

...and by the way, the Colt's aluminum frame is forged.

LOL. Yeah. That's what stood out for me, too.

Only if they still make one in classic configuration. If so, that would be an excellent choice. In 1911s I've come to shun all the modern bells and whistles that have seemed to become standard (beavertails, etc.). I'd also avoid one with an intenal firing pin safety. Who needs the extra complexity and reassembly hassles every time you field strip it.

Yeah, all that "modern" stuff that has been around since the mid '60's.

If you're looking in that kind of price range I'd bite the bullet and, for a couple hundred more, go with a Dan Wesson Guardian (Cmdr) or CCO (Ofcr).

Outlaw,
You're on the right track looking at Bud's LE/ Military page. They have some mighty good deals there. It's where I've bought a couple shotguns. Very easy to deal with.
Buy the Colt.

Colt's 21st Century Commander.

http://www.colt.com/Catalog/Special-Editions/Wiley-Clapp-Pistols

It's moto:
"Everything you need and nothing you don't".

The Wiley

Series 70

Buy it.

They started becoming standard equipment in the 1990s. Regardless of how you characterize these additions, however, I've come to prefer them not being there. You are certainly free to hold a different opinion.

ROTF okay, 30 ounces