Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns 1911s?

I’m currently tossing around the idea of picking up a 1911. I’ve never owned one before, and have only shot them a handful of times. My experience is limited to that of a Kimber that a buddy owns.

The use for the gun would be a range toy mostly but I would like to carry it concealed some as well. I’m thinking one of the “lightweight commanders” would be the way to go for what I want but am open to suggestions. As a guy who is new to 1911s and looking to carry one; what are some of the things I need to be looking for, what’s some things I should stay away from, models suggested Etc....

I haven’t figured out a budget yet, I do know that it won’t be an Ed Brown, Wilson, Les Baer ETC.


Pics of what you carry wouldn’t suck either.

Mine is Colt Series 80 with meprolite sites and finger groove grips. Awesome pistol. Not a show piece. Not a BBQ Gun. Just a plain old every day ordinary 1911 that never not one time failed in any manner.

I have an older S&W commander that I used to carry. Dependable and accurate pistol. I don't carry it anymore , prefer something lighter. I have a Tisas 1911 A1 coming to play at the range with and kill some hogs with..

There aren't a lot of "bad" 1911s out there like there used to be...it mainly is a question of "what do you want to spend"....and quite frankly once you get above $2K you are buying a lot of name.

If you looking for a Commander (lightweight aluminum frame) there are quite a few good ones... S&W, Colt, Kimber, Dan Wesson...just shop to see what you like...

One comment on your comment about the gun being mostly a range toy and maybe sometime CC piece... I've carried a 1911 just about daily since 1975...a Commander in .38 Super almost exclusively since 1980... I also have taught defensive shooting since 1991. One thing I have observed is that if you only sometimes carry a gun with a manual safety vs. the rest of the time with something else that just requires one to draw-point-shoot there is about a 30% chance you will forget the manual safety when the SHTF...

I base this observation on watching people go through blind scenarios for almost 30 years. Those who always carry a gun with a manual safety never forget to disengage before they pull the trigger. Those who are the gun of the month rotation types often do...way too often.

Bob

I have several 1911 commanders both steel and lightweight. The one I shoot the best and carry most of the time is a
newer Colt L/W 38 supper with an extra 9mm barrel fitted by Colt. It carries very nice and is easy to shoot. It is stock
factory condition and has not malfunctioned. The only drawback is the cost of 38 ammo as I do not reload.
The 45 is ok but a little heavier and a little slower for follow up shots. I am 81 and have small hands so a stronger person should have no trouble with the 45.
The commanders are a lot more fun to shoot than the full size 1911.

I guess my budget would be around 1k......Any thoughts on the Ruger SR series lightweight commander ?

You’re dead on with the Manual safety comment, and Im not too proud to admit that it has tripped me up in the past. I have always carried a Glock or Jframe....point and shoot so to speak. I bought a shield with a manual safety when they first came out. Even in the backyard shooting steel I had a hard time remembering to flip the manual safety off. Sounds stupid but it is something I’d have to work with.

The very best carry version is the alloy frame "commander", e.g. Kimber Pro Carry.

IMHO of course.

I agree, don’t care much for the II models with the trigger block, but my 1st year gen 1 is a dandy 24 years and 15,000 rounds later. Although it did take a tune up trip to Kimber Custom Shop at the 10,000 round mark.
20 yard draw rapid fire with mag change.

I had one of those, thought highly of it. But a guy with a nice 1943 SA Garand wanted to trade.

I had a Ruger lightweight commander for awhile. It was OK, but moved it on a little while after I traded into a Kimber Super Carry Pro (alloy frame commander-size). My other 1911s were a mid 80s vintage Colt MkIV Series 80 Government Model (so a 5") and a Kimber Pro Carry II HD (all steel commander-size). All .45s.

The trigger was OK for stock, better than the Colt, but not in same league as the Kimbers. The Ruger was the most finicky with magazines - had feeding or last round hold open issues with several mags that worked fine in the Colt and Kimbers. Not a show-stopper, easy enough to mark the offending mags and keep them out of the Ruger, but a little annoying.

It was more difficult to shoot well than the two all-steel pistols, of course, so no fair comparison there. Once I had the alloy frame Super Carry Pro to compare it with the Kimber was noticeably better pretty much all around. Still probably not a fair comparison since the Super Carry Pro was a custom shop pistol, but what are you gonna do?

The Ruger came with slim grip panels, and my other 1911s all had standard thickness grips. Never really got comfortable with the slim grips.

So...I tried the Ruger, moved it on, but maybe never really gave it a fair shake since I was biased by the other 1911s that I liked better.

Of the pistols I kept, the Kimber Pro Carry II HD is my current favorite, but the lighter Super Carry Pro is more comfortable to carry. And I hate Kimber's naming system!!

I agree with this; I own a dozen or so 1911's currently from several different sources.

Most of the guns today are far better than the guns of the past. And even if you get one that needs a little minor tweaking, that's generally not a big deal. The only time I've seen a real problem is the extremely rare case of one having a major part badly out of spec, dimensionally.

To the short list above, I'd easily add Ruger, Springfield & even Taurus & RIA.

Just decide on your budget...........Ruger would rate as a "best buy", IMO.

MM

My son in law has the Ruger lightweight commander size 1911, he loves it, very dependable. Slim grips, bi-tone, that one. It has a piece of titanium imbedded in the feed ramp so the aluminum doesn't get beat up by bullet noses, great idea. Also, the plunger tube is part of the frame, never have to worry about it coming loose, I've seen it happen.

Dang 1911's, one got to me again the other day and now I'm wondering which pistol huntsman22 has laying on that sleeping critter. Which one is that?

Colts; and if not Colts, the Metro Arms pistols are a very decent stand-in.

http://www.thesixgunjournal.net/the-metroarms-american-classic-ii-1911-pistol/

Take a hard look at the Dan Wesson Valor V-Bob.

The Ruger is a good solid gun... I almost bought one in 9mm to convert to 10mm...just have not gotten around to the project yet. The only thing I'm not overly thrilled about is the kinda matte finish...just me...

Also...if this is going to be a .45 not 9mm, I would really suggest you see if you can find one to shoot before you buy. The aluminum frame .45 KICKS a lot more than the steel frame Combat Commander or a Commander in 9mm/Super. Great gun to carry but not as far as I'm concerned a great shooter...

Bob

Having a thing for odd balls, I originally wanted a Super. It seems they are kind of hard to find in the configuration I am wanting.

If I go the Ruger route I would most likely go 9mm. I’m going to hit the local shops Tommorow and handle a few and see what appeals to me. Might end up with nothing. It’s been awhile since I had one in my hands, I remember not liking it very well. Could have been the configuration however.

twr, that'un be a S&W PC commander

Kimber pro carry was alloy frame. I wanted steel.
Shop got a Colt w light trigger. Of course Kimber the next
year does the HD.

My Colt has been flawless and chews the X out.
Has a bit of an odd rear sight cut. Plastic MS housing was tossed, Pachmayr arched put in. Wilson rod and mags.
Hogue slabs.

Trust that gun like no other.