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Say a guy was looking for a dead nuts reliable, .45 in this platform.

I'm looking for input from you guys. I had a double stack Para a number of years ago, should never have sold it. Borrowed the same model Para, and a Kimber single stack (both in .40) from a friend and my GOD that Kimber just hit every damn thing I pointed it at and ran like a typewriter. Other than owning that one Para, I've only ever shot a half dozen or so over the years.

Not looking for a competition type gun, or a bottom rung budget either. Decent sights (or ability to drift in new) and reliability is what I'm looking for. Not looking to pro/con the argument as to what is good and bad about the platform in general. I don't care to rehash the old bullchit.


Brand/model recommendations are appreciated.

Thanks

I have had Kimber Government, as well as the 3.5 in barrel (can't remember what that model is) they ran fine.
I have a Nowlin Gov. that runs good as well.
For my best never fail I would say it is my Springfield and my series 70 Colt Officers model.
Believe it or not I also have a Taurus full size that has yet to screw up but I don't have as many rounds thru it

I’m trying to avoid a Dan Wesson but right now, I think it’s the best deal out there for a quality gun.

I'd look for an older Series 70 Colt's Combat Commander

It's a lot easier to get a reliable gun nowadays than it used to be. It has to be asked though, reliable with what? What are you going to shoot. It's very easy to get a gun that's 100% with FMJ, but it's a lot more difficult to get one that will feed everything.

I've got two 45 autos right now, a Colt Gold Cup, current production, and a Springfield Armory Loaded model. Both have been 100% with everything I've fed them. Neither is a low-end model. I'd characterize them as high end standard production guns. After you get past those, what is left is pretty much semi-custom stuff like Wilson.

You said you weren't necessarily interested in bottom-dollar but...Tisas makes a heckuva .45 with their bargain-basement 1911A1 GI repro model. From what I've seen on video and from what reliable sources here have related, they are 100% reliable with FMJ. I haven't seen one bobble with anything having watched several videos on them.

The two I've got were medium-priced. The Colt maybe a $1200-1300 gun and the SA about $1000. I have no idea what they'd be selling for in the current market. I know the Tisas is hard to get but it can be had and it will come in significantly under $500.

Rock Island makes a good bottom-end gun too, but if I were buying something other than what I have, it would be the Tisas...unless I couldn't get one, then I'd try Rock Island.

Good advice.

A new Colt Wiley Clapp will do it too.

Ether a Colt built in the last 10 years or so. Or a Springfield Range Officer.

I’ve been happy with a Sig.

The Ruger is a pretty good piece as well.

This is really the fact of the matter, today, along with plenty of good magazines being available & redesigned ogive ammo that feeds far better than the old schitt..

I also agree that for a person not interested in the pride of ownership of a major or boutique name brand gun, that the Rock Island is a good bang for the buck, as is the Ruger.

Unless something is badly out of spec on either the frame or slide, (kind of rare today) pretty much any current manufactured gun can be tweaked & tuned enough, along with good magazines, to be 100% reliable, regardless of what some (very uninformed) people say.

But if you want to spend the money on a Colt or SA, or Kimber or S&W, or a DW, etc., then have at it, but it's not at all necessary to get a good shooting, reliable gun today.

FWIW, from a guy with Wilson's & other custom & semi custom 1911's.......................

YMMV

MM

With modern manufacturing, I can't think of a single "bad" 1911 on the market. So buy with confidence, they're all good. The world is your oyster...you can get the very cheap, very WWII GI style Tisas for around $400, or you can seek out something that has features that are interesting to you. For a "loaded" 1911 relatively inexpensive I'm a fan of the Ruger. I have yet to have a Ruger come into the shop that didn't work.

Thanks gents.

I really don't want to get into tweaking and tuning. Just load and fire. Mainly hardball, but want at least one commonly available jhp to run 100% too. Names mean nothing to me, pride of ownership comes down to it going bang and putting the bullet in reasonable proximity to where I intended it to go.

you know you need a wilson combat and a custom python holster and matching mag pouch and belt

My Springfield Armory Range Officer hasn't skipped a beat since I got it. Surplus ball to 185JHP loaded up warm, to light 200 SWC handloads. The only thing I'd add is white dots on the rear sight, but picked up some Crimson Trace grips so low light conditions are handled. My buddy got a milspec stainless SA & it works as well, but with non adjustable rear sight.

I have only owned two 1911's that were NO FAIL. Springfield Armory Ronin and a Sig Scorpion.

I'll never buy another Kimber!

Ruger is never a bad idea.

My Springfield MilSpec has never jammed, not once.

Neither has my DW Heritage.

In the interest of full disclosure, I run 2390 Ball exclusively and either factory or Checkmate mags.

I just bought a new Sig scorpion, only shot about 80 rounds through it so far and has been great.

Never understood the hate for Kimber. Had mine since 96 or so. Never a problem. Yes I would and do trust it to function.

Same. I've owned two Kimber 1911s. Never again.

Colt Commander since the mid 90s.
Flawless.
Switched to Sig Gov model w adj sights.

If I was dumb enough to want a 1911 I'd get Springfield's Ronin.

Recently got a Taurus PT 1911. I can find no fault with it.

Why that model?

MM

Interesting that you will not give specifics on the Kimbers, but you praise Springfield Armory even though they were willing to sell out gun dealers in Illinois back in 2017 after carving out an exemption for themselves and Rock Island. Plus I am sure that no SA 1911 has ever had a problem, never had to go back to the factory, even though there are thousands of hits for FF, jams, fail to lock back etc.
Now as far as Colt, I know for a fact that absolutely no 1911 they ever built needed work, all came fro the factory perfect, 100% reliable. Except for jams, FF, fail to extract properly etc. I mean absolutely no one has ever had to tune an extractor on a Colt, or the trigger. Also know for a fact that that collet barrel bushing they went to in the 70’s has never ever broken or needed tuned. Quite far fetched as quite a few gunsmiths made a pretty good living tuning and upgrading those perfect Colts.

So how about some specifics.

On the two Kimber 1911s I owned in the 1990s, the issue was unreliability. A friend of mine had one, too, that was also unreliable. He couldn't wait to get rid of his, too, and also vowed never to buy another Kimber. He actually sent his back to Kimber a couple of times before giving up and selling it at a gun show.

The newer Springfields I've been around ran really well and it comes in 9mm and it doesn't have a rail and it's about the limit I'd pay for a 1911 that I wanted to shoot a bunch.

I've owned two Kimber 1911's over the years. One was an early 5" steel frame Custom that was an excellent pistol. Ran reliable , accurate, ect. wish I had that one back. The second was the Tactical Pro II, a 4" alloy frame model with the external extractor. On paper and at the gun shop it seemed great, lots of bells and whistles. On the initial range visit it was obvious it shot low, like 24" low! I figured out it had the wrong front sight. Kimber has 3", 4" and 5" guns and they all have different front sights. I swapped out the front sight for the correct height and solved that problem. At just under 900 rounds the MIM magazine catch broke, dumped the magazine and literally crumbled into pieces and metallic dust in my hand while firing the gun. I installed a new heat treated tool steel Ed Brown mag catch. Then that mouse trap external extractor design started acting up. What a cluster [bleep] of plastic parts and itty bitty springs that was. IIRC Kimber had three different extractor hooks and a couple different springs for that ridiculous design. I think Kimber went back to the traditional internal design soon after I got rid of the Tactical Pro.

I’ve come to the conclusion the old saying is right. Buy once , and cry once. Instead of buying a bunch you are not happy with and selling them. Pick out a good one and spend the money . In the end you will come out ahead.
Mine is a Les Baer Concept V. Hasbeen

Do not resist young man, they are a hell of a well built 1911, my DW 10mm will never be for sale as long as i'm drawing air., 11 rounds on board with 3 skinny 10 round Tripp mags in a rear pocket and you're set for about anything one can run into in the woods.

Can't go wrong that way.

Dan Wesson's reputation is excellent.

I have two right now, sold a couple that I didn't shoot much. One was a Metro arms that ran flawlessly, the other was a Para LDA.

Sold the Para 'cause I just didn't like the trigger, nothing wrong with it, I just found it "different" enough that I didn't like it. The Para hi-cap mags were unreliable, too. the 10-rounders ran good but the 14s didn't.

Sold the Metro to a young man that wanted a 1911 and didn't have gobs of money to spend. It was a damn good and reliable basic pistol.

I now have a Ruger and a Kimber Custom II, both have been reliable as a .45 ACP, the only malfunction I've had were when the follower broke in a Ruger mag.

The Ruger has been converted to .45 Super and handles .45 ACP just fine as long as it's not a flea-fart load. I have a 460 Rowland kit I fitted to my Kimber, and it is also very reliable. It takes less than 5 minutes to convert back to .45 ACP. Both pistols had aftermarket extractors, firing pins, and adjustable sights added and the Ruger barrel was honed to allow some bullet profiles to feed better and be seated out further.








After conversions to .45 Super, .460 Roland.






After all that talking, I'll say that it's real hard not to say that the Ruger is the one I call my favorite.

Don't see much mention of S&W but I'm pretty satisfied with a couple of them - an adjustable sight target model and a scandium frame Commander.

Ok, so we have unreliability which is rather broad and could encompass many things. But here again it’s really nothing uncommon to the 1911 without some tweaking.

Then we have MIM parts complaint for a Kimber, but unfortunately Colt and SA both use MIM parts just as extensively. Seems there are just as many complaints.
So what it boils down to is that any 1911 under 1200 bucks ( I may be a bit low) or a full custom has MIM parts and is just as prone to have reliability issues as any other maker. Good probability that all the MIM parts are done by 1 or 2 makers for all 1911’s.
As far as the external extractor ala S&W, I always thought it was a stupid idea.

Uh-huh.................that model is no better or worse than a dozen other current production 1911's. But it is good. And I like it. But it's not "better".

YMMV

MM

Kimber got a well deserved bad rep with the series of guns produced with external extractors & that rep doesn't seem to go away. Their mags during that time were a problem also & even today, I will rarely use a Kimber mag w/o extensive testing.

Their initial series was good & the current versions are OK; but anyone buying a Kimber today would be well advised to completely strip the gun & check all parts for fit & function & make what adjustments might be necessary.

Generally, at worst & for the most part, some minor tweaking may be needed but Kimber likes to attempt to imply that their guns are "custom" built & nothing is further from the truth...............they are assembled from parts bins by minimally knowledgeable people.

Kimber makes more 1911's than most other manufacturers combined, but they are not a higher end, semi-custom gun comparable to DW or even to S&W or Colt, IMO. They are pure mid-range at best.

Having said that, I have 2 of the newer versions, both TLE II's, a Pro 4" & a Gov't 5", & after a little tweaking/tuning before the guns were ever fired, bypassing the FPS, & with using good magazines, neither gun has ever hiccupped................not once, through several hundred rounds each.

MM

I have 3 1911's. All are reliable. Oldest is a S&W lightweight commander that has 5000+ rounds through it. Newest is a Dan Wesson Vigil (lightweight commander) and has been reliable with the 500 rounds put through it . The last one is a Tisas A1 that has been reliable for 600+ rounds. All are 45 acp. Dan Wesson is my favorite carry and night stand gun.

I've had some name brand customs and sold them because my Rugers ran and shot just as well. I've also had good results from newer Colts, though don't know if anything this changed with Colt with the sale of the company. With that said and this is personal to me, my 1911s generally get left in the safe these days as I almost always grab a Glock or revolver.

My favorite is a custom build by the crew at Doug Turnbulls. Fit and finish is second to none. Extremely accurate. And good to look at too. A bit pricey, but fantastic 1911’’s
Here is some background on one of their models. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGI1kzyE5-8

I never claimed it was better.

I was telling my friend which one I would buy.

But I have two Springfield Armory 1911s that have never malfunctioned. Heck, I have a $300.00 Tisas 1911 that's never malfunctioned. My two Kimbers, and that of my friend, were jamomatics.

Yessir, not saying much, but you'd need to find a better shooter than me to find difference in my DW vs Les Baer, if that front sight is where it's supposed to be when the trigger breaks those two will put the bullets in there every time.

I’d be shopping for Dan Wesson’s or Kimbers (70 style , no firing pin block)

Kimber CDP, Tactical

DW Valor , Pointman

Have Range Officer, like it.
Only real complaint is the flat black sights.
I don't shoot paper, i ehoot at stuff.
And my eyes struggle against some targets or backgrounds.
Fixable, but it's just a toy.

I see.

MM

I only bought (and still own) three 1911 pistols. Two are NIB (Collector Items) and the other . . .
I shoot occasionally (but very well) and like everything about it - t wouldn't change a thing.

<> https://picturearchive.gunauction.com/1912728/11305756/4.jpg_thumbnail0.jpg <>

~ Springfield Armory 1911 A-1 GI

I have 7 1911’s, I know many have way more and way better than mine. But I’ll tell you what I know.
Two Colt goldcups, one a trophy and one a series 70. Both rattle and both shoot better then I can. Feed everything/eject everything.
Colt XSE Commander LT. Tight and a good shooter. No complaints.
Colt Gov. Model S.S. Rattler, been shot a bunch. No feed problems ore ejection. Accuracy = if I hit you your probably not getting up. Though I did my own trigger job on it and it’s much better.
Ruger Commander LT. With thin grips. Tight, great shooter.
Kimber Pro HD. Tight gun, ejection problems and feeding problems. Try everything decided to take it to a gunsmith.
It has a loose ejector and a out of adjustment extractor. I bought it used though and the extractor had been filed on. But I don’t think it had been fired much. 8rnd mags are stiff.
Kimber TLE Ultra. Tight, good carry gun. Accuracy is nothing to brag about but it’ll get the job done. No feeding problems or ejection problems.
Now I had an 8th 1911 that I sold when I bought the light weight. A Ruger commander steel frame. The thing jammed with everything, All kinds of failed to feeds.

Std gi sights and my eyes don't work in any low light conditions very well and the day I picked up that Springfield Gov't model with the white 3 dot sights I knew what I needed on the spot. Dead reliable to boot. Load ammo shoot the hell out of it, all good. Mb

I was on the edge and couldn’t find one to dare me but then I started down another rabbit trail with revolvers. Spent too much but bought what I could and glad I did. Everything is too high right now if you can even find something worth buying. One day I’ll pick one up and jump in with both feet.

Did I stub my toe on your kghunt or something?

Nah, but since you're not a 1911 fan, I was just wondering why you were picking the Ronin over all the other equivalent versions.

But of course you're entitled to your opinion & the Ronin is a nice pistol at a good price point, but just more or less the same as numerous other except for the name.

Do you have one?

MM

Now you can't read.

Great.

Flip it to a 9 and go STI 2011 Staccato.

Go *Duo* if you want to add a optic.

🦫

So, you don't like them, don't have one, but recommend one that's the same as a dozen others...............Ok, I got it now.

But the Ronin is a nice gun, catchy name too.

Thanks for the guidance & input in case I want to buy one. Gruff could do worse as well.

MM

You ever have trouble with the sights on your Gold Cups? I had a Gold Cup, lost the front sight during a match. At some point in a string of fire it hit eject and disappeared over my shoulder. At another match the hollow roll pin in the rear sight broke. That lets the leg of the sight jack up in the air at about a 30* angle. Aggravating son of a gun.

Pops had a stainless GC that tossed front sights and had the rear go to hell more than once. Shot good when things stayed in place.

Bought a SIG target and after a while sold the GC.

Good luck with your kghunt.

I currently own three 5" stainless 45ACP 1911's and probably run 200 rounds through each monthly of my 230 gr. jacketed hard ball ammo loaded with 5.2 grs. W231.

They are still factory stock, they've been trouble free and all three are accurate enough to keep rounds on the 8" and 6" gongs at 25 yds. which is all I require of them.

SA Mil-Spec......S&W 'E' Series.......Ruger SR1911.

I haven't checked recently but they are not extremely expensive and all three can probably still be had for around $700.00 or so OTD.

I wouldn't want to give any of them up but if I had to pick just one I'd probably go with the S&W 'E' Series.

I know Gruff is going to tell me he will never sell it, but I have found the Colt's and Springfield's to be the easiest to liquidate and get a decent return on your money.

Assuming a regular market.

It's the Japanese word for a rogue or freelance Samurai.

Wasn't it more akin to masterless/adrift?
(Something their culture applied a negative connotation towards)

Is Kimber still based in NY?
That is a negative/risk factor in my book these days..

Not sure but Dan Wesson's are made in Norwich NY

My khhunt is the best & it doesn't need any luck, but I appreciate the concern, anyway.

And you really should buy a Ronin, you might like it.

MM

Maybe when I'm older.

LOL, OK, then.

I forgot that you are a Glock guy, but weren't you an M&P guy before that?

MM

I'm not an anything guy.

I just don't see any value in the 1911 design. But the OP already knows all that so I just told him what I would buy if I were him right now.

Which I'm not.

Quick question:

If someone was 1911 guy + Glock guy.

Is that like, ambi-sexual?

Eww.

I thought you were ambi-safteyual?

It seems like you have to defend yourself from two-sides at a greater than average frequency than most...

In 2021, objectivity is the greatest threat.

Apparently.

I think the term you really want is bi-sexual........................not sure though.

I would think eclectic might be a better (i.e., less in yer face) choice or words though.

MM

i have five , two colts ,two rugers, the best out of the box is my magnum research. that MR shoots better has the best reset and trigger of any. it is the only one that has gotten zero tuning. thats my 2 cents

Last year I bought two Wiley Clapp Commanders, a lightweight and an Officer’s model, and have been really pleased with both.

My experience with 1911 extends to a kimber pro carry and a para elite. Nothing fancy but they run everything I’ve put through them.

For the money, The Springfield Range Officer or one of the new Ruger 1911’s are hard to beat.

And to stir the pot, I’ve never had ANY TROUBLE with any Kimber 1911.

I only have a few 1911's, but the only one I've ever had problems with was my Springfield, and that was my reloads. I can't blame them that they made a tight chamber.
I cant take rounds and drop them into a Dillon case gauge, and they fit perfect. Shoot them thru my colt or DW just fine, but get jammed up in the Springfield.
I'm waiting to see how they work in a les Baer soon.

I also have Kimber 9mm that has been flawless.

I've had several Colts, one Springfield Armory, a Ruger, a Caspian, and a couple Rock Islands. I can't really gripe about any of them, including the RIAs, which are suprisingly good pistols, especially for the money. Currently, I've got a Colt Custom Shop 1991A!, a Ruger Target .45, and the two RIAs, and frankly, I think the .45 RIA shoots better than the Colt and the Ruger (one of the RIAs is a 6" 10mm). That 10mm shoots awfully well, too.

I think it's pretty hard to find a bad 1911 right now. I wouldn't have said that back in the '70s.

....stubbed toe...

Wouldn’t it be more like a slip-and-fall on a banana peel?....

I've had over 2 dozen 1911's & some very nice ones. My twin baby girls as good or better than most all the others. Pre series II keepers.

Let me help. 1911Forum-----Kimber------ topic "MCSCCOM Det1, Kimber 45" The topic is from 2005, but a fellow from NC who posted recently wants to sell U.S. Military Property USMC Kimber .45ACP. I would look into that if I were you. I mean, they would not make a pistol for recon commandos that was not reliable, right? It is old school commando not having a rail, but that is what many old guys like, no rail.

I really like my DW V-Bob.

I have had very good luck with Colt 1911s.



If I was looking for one today, the first place I would look would be at Colt. Either at an older used version or a new one.
Mine have been quite reliable through the years and held up to a fair bit of use.

[quote=deflave]If I was dumb enough to want a 1911
Grab yer wallet man cause you sure gots the qualifications!!

As I understand your posts you want something that never chokes. The only one of my 1911s that would run seconds of the red plastic coated bullets in 45ACP was an an older Bill Wilson CQB. The Tisas was a close second with only one choke. My new semi-customs all choked repeatedly on those rounds.

My recommendation is that you buy a used Glock or CZ first and then buy the cheapest 1911 you can find new or used. Run the 1911 for fun until it chokes and then sell it. Depend on the Glock or CZ that you bought first and keep buying and selling the 1911s until you find that 1911 that never chokes. It could turn out to be a $600 Rock Island.

Best of luck and have fun.

Usually not hard to rectify the "choking"................................just sayin'.

MM

Make mine a CZ/Dan Wesson.

[/quote]

Usually not hard to rectify the "choking"................................just sayin'.

MM


Can’t argue with that, but the OP said he didn’t want to go through that sort of stuff.

I agree 100%

1911s are finicky to say the least!!! There are so many variables that can effect how they run (or won't run). Anything from ammo selection to magazines to extractor tuning and anything in between can cause reliability issues. I have found that they are a very individualistic platform, meaning you can buy 2 identical 1911s off the shelf and one of them can have reliability issues, the other perfect. Find one you like, test it with the ammo you like, if a no go, change mags, ammo or both. If still a no go, start trouble shooting in more detail.

I have built several myself, from rebuilding a factory gun to building a full custom. So far (knock on wood) never had to give up on one.

Yes, I was wondering about the lack of mentions of the S&W's as well. I've got a fullsize S&W and a pair of Commander-size pistols, all in the light Scandium frame. They are all accurate and reliable. I don't use the S&W mags, though... I run either Wilson or CMC mags in all my 1911's.

I acquired the full size S&W at an informal pistol match (bowling pins)... the owner had repeated failures to feed on the firing line. He was shooting good ball ammo, and I know he's a good pistol shooter, but it kept choking on him. I offered him a straight across for Glock 30, as I know he's a Glockophile, and I had a pair of them on hand to trade/sell... he jumped at the deal. I took his pistol apart, gave it a wee clean, and then took it back up to the firing line with some Wilson's magazines and a couple boxes of hardball. It functioned just fine.

Magazines are the key to function in any autopistol, but for some reason a lot of manufacturers skimp on their mags and the result is pistols that choke.

Current & recent past S&W 1911's are very underrated, maybe just lack of big numbers of them in the market..............or maybe some other factor, I dunno.

They are generally very good performers & S&W knows how to get the external extractor right, compared to Kimber's fiasco with that version.

MM

I've had and have old and new 70 series Colts the new 70 series guns are top notch in my opinion.

Hard to go wrong with a Colt.

May get booed here but , I'm not big 1911 guy but I do have (box is labeled armscor ultra) , gun is stamped RIA A1-tact II . Itx strait up sold never had an issue , shot about 500 rounds. It. was used before I got it

How soon people forget. Drive Cooper Arms almost to bankruptcy over a donation to BamBam but go all forgiving to S&W after they pull this

Here are just some of the terms of the S & W/Clinton-Gore Administration agreement:

CONSUMER IMPACT . . .

Prohibited from buying more than one handgun in a 14-day period.
Prohibited from buying a firearm without passing an unspecified safety test.
Prohibited from buying a self-defense handgun that did not meet arbitrary accuracy standards.
Prohibited, if under age 18, from even walking into the firearms section of a sporting goods store unless accompanied by a parent or guardian.
DEALER IMPACT . . .

Prohibited from selling legal semi-automatic rifles, commonplace ammunition magazines and firearms that do not meet the difficult standards established in the agreement.
Prohibited from selling firearms at any gun show where any legal private sale is conducted.
Required to include with every firearm sold, a false written statement in large bold-face type that hundreds of children die each year from firearm accidents.
Required to carry $1 million in liability insurance and perform tasks properly handled by law enforcement to comply with the edicts of a new "Oversight Commission."
MANUFACTURER IMPACT . . .

Prohibited from marketing any firearm in a way that appeals to young shooters and hunters.
Required to dedicate 1% of revenues to a propaganda campaign promoting the dangers of gun ownership.
Required to support legislative efforts to reduce firearms misuse and development of "smart" gun technology.
Required to "ballistically fingerprint" every firearm, thus setting up backdoor national firearms registration.
Required to meet certain unproven design standards for handguns sold only to civilians--guns sold to military and police would be exempted, thereby showing the intent is not to make guns safer or better, but to impose standards that will ultimately eliminate sales, to private citizens.
Required to manufacture pistol with positive, manually-operated safety devices as determined by BATF standards applying to imported handguns. BATF has repeatedly handed down politically-driven misinterpretations of the "sporting purposes" importation law, to prohibit many semi-auto rifles and handguns.

S&W is forever junk and on my total ban list.

I have two Rock Island pistols, and they are head and shoulders better than their Colt equivalents from back in the '70s and '80s. I had lots of Colts from back then, and I'd have to invest a fortune to bring them up to what I got with the Rock Island pistols. They are a lot better than their finish implies, certainly.
New Colts might be better, but might not be, either. I have a '90s vintage Custom Shop Colt that isn't much better than the Rock, and I think that's due to the trigger job from the Custom Shop. They might not be pretty, but they seem to function quite well.