Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns New 1911 help.

So I’ve owned 1911s in the past d got rid of them. Time to get another. I need it to be stainless, reliable with flat points have adj sights and accurate. Price doesn’t matter much but would like it rather stock. How’s those gold cups?
S.

The Colt Gold Cup is legit. Can't go wrong with it. Being a Colt, it will hold it's value better than any other brand. It will out shoot you.

Stop selling your guns!!!

Gibby

Well! Duh!

Gold Cups are usually excellent (Ethan Edwards always had high praise for his), but for a lot less you can get a roughly equivalent Springfield Armory.

Bottom Line Up Front: Get whatever 1911 floats your boat.

Diatribe as to why:

I've shot 2 Gold cups owned by friends in the last 10-ish years. One was a lemon (a 2018 model with various issues, including sometimes getting two shots on a single trigger pull--and that started after the first trip back to the factory!) and the other was fine.

I've also shot quite a few high-end 1911's over the years--I have a friend who is legally blind and was also active at the local gun show; he used to buy and sell nice 1911's regularly. For years his table always had Wilson Combats, Nighthawks, Ed Brown's, etc. on it. He could see enough to shoot with green laser grips, but couldn't see well enough to install them or zero them. Enter me. I'd take his guns to the range and get them zeroed so he could shoot them before eventually selling them. Anyway, it was fun having the opportunity to handle and shoot so many different 1911's.

Here's my takeaway on 1911's: The technology for them is out there for anyone to use. There is no secret science to snapping together a reliable and accurate 1911. That said, my actual shooting experience at common self-defense distances (50 ft and in) is that they all shoot the same. You always have to find the right combination of gun and ammo, but the notion that a Nighthawk will outshoot a Colt/Springfield 1911 is just nonsense perpetrated by the people who laid down $4500 for their gun. You get more problems from the mass production companies than the custom shops, but it ain't no thing to find a production 1911 that shoots.

I say all of that, because when I firmly declare that Gold Cups are overpriced for what you get, people will want to fight me. The Gold Cup is a fine 1911, but it is no more likely to put bullets on target than most other 1911's for less money. Only if you want "cool points" (and I get it: that's a thing) should you lay down the extra cabbage for a Gold Cup. For function and accuracy, your extra money is not buying you anything.

I used to take a TON of grief at my local gun club for my base model 1911 Kimber 9mm...until I shot it in front of whomever was mocking me. More importantly, the mute button really got pressed when the mockers shot it. My friend's Nighthawk 9mm 1911 has nothing on my base model Kimber, complete with plastic backstrap. (By the way, that Nighthawk is currently for sale for like $3400 if you're interested. I can put you in touch with the seller. It's a beautiful gun!) A couple of my friends bought Ruger 1911's when they first came out (designed by Caspian for Ruger, I think) and those pistols shoot every bit as good as any other 1911 I've shot--and they were bought new for only $699.

It's your money, however, and you only have to please yourself. My long post is meant to give you confidence in whatever you buy--you'll be fine. Enjoy!

Pay once, cry once, buy a 70 series Colt Gold Cup. They are the absolute gold standard of 1911s. Do not buy an 80 series, they are a lawyer's wet dream of add on safety junk, that was never needed on a 1911.
Most all of the great take offs have gone cheap, trading today on their old reputation of excellence. charging six prices for cheap PI and Turkish junk with their name stamped on it.
Every well dressed 1911 man needs a Bob Cogan custom 1911. Bob is the owner of Accurate Plating form AL. I build 1911s and have since 64. Now retired. Bob makes a real fine 1911 and I have had several of his competition guns. His fitting and hard chrome is beautiful.
https://apwcogan.com/for-sale/

Les Baer.

Les Baer Premier II Monolith Heavyweight Frame 5"

^^^^^^^^^^^

The Colt should serve you well. Mine are giving me great service. Both series 70 and 80. The noise about the Series 80 guns is just nonsense. The other option based on your preferences and what i have experience with is a Springfield Loaded. Mine is an older one and is a keeper.

Dan Wesson. Colt, Springfield, S&W, Sig, Ruger... they are all good enough second choices but Dan Wesson is at the top of the heap right now.

The fact that you want SS & adjustable sights is somewhat limiting for your choices, & of those, the guns are all very similar, just different roll marks indicating the manufacturer & are generally more alike than different.

Since you asked about God Cups, I'll comment on them first. (And I do like GC's)

A Gold Cup is a fine gun, but in reality, going back to the Mark IV series, they are generally no better than 3" guns at 50 yards; many don't make that mark, a few might do better. In reality, the GC is neither fish now fowl.........it's not truly the equal of a custom, purpose built gun, & today, probably not really much, if any more accurate than any other of Colts guns or most from other manufacturers.

The GC also doesn't have checkering on the front strap, if that matters to you.

You say you want it accurate, but what are you going to do with it? Shoot Bullseye, club matches, bowling pins, self defense, etc. Are you going to carry it or is it just a range toy?

Most quality 1911's today will be far better from an accuracy & reliability standpoint than ever before due to being built to consistent & more accurate tolerance, than in the past.

Virtually all have throated barrels & excellent magazines are available for numerous sources, so reliability really isn't the issue it once was.

So do you really need adjustable sights? Most typical combat sights today are sufficient for all but serious Bullseye work & not getting adjustable sights opens up many more options.


This ^^^ Every single one of those manufacturers makes a model every bit as good or better than a GC. If you want to get the best, short of a custom gun, the Dan Wesson's are top shelf.

If you want to step down from the GC in the Colt lineup, the Competition version has adjustable Novak combat sights.

If you can take non-adjustable sights, the Springfield SS TRP model is outstanding in all respects & will not disappoint. Colt also has several similar versions........these are at a premium $$$$.

If you're buying it to carry & it's not just a range toy, I'd strongly suggest that you consider a Commander a gun with a lightweight frame.

Good Luck..................more good guns today, than bad ones.

MM

It is hard to know when it comes to recommendations on a forum. You will get some recommendations from some guys who shoot fairly frequently, and some from guys who own guns and fondle them, but very rarely actually shoot. I do know, based on the content of their posts that a few of these guys are frequent shooters though.

I have put one or two rounds through a 1911 over the years.





The wear on the breach face of this old, early Gen 1 Kimber might be a clue.



It is well past the 70K mark.
I don't really have a numbers guess anymore, but it still runs like a champ. The early ones were phenomenal guns, but they went through eras of spotty reliability, and I do not know where they are at right now.

Traditionally I have always recommended either a Colt or a Les Baer, depending on budget. However, in the last few years I have had occasion to examine and shoot a few Ruger 1911s. Ruger is not a name I associate with 1911. I will just say that I have been very favorably impressed.

The guns have been uniformly well built, with good lockup, good barrel fitment, and decent triggers. The ones I shot, shot well. Just very consistent guns. If I was in the market for a reliable, out of the box 1911 that was not in the Les Baer category, I would look hard at a Ruger. They have a lot of good options, and their customer service is good as well, should you need it.

Tisas sells a Match pistol that is stainless and has adjustable sights. Youtube videos seem to indicate that it shoots well. It also has a checkered frontstrap, and sells for less than a Ruger SR 1911Target (like I have currently), MSRP is $1050, but I've seen them for sale for under $900 lately. I do NOT own one, but I have four other Tisas that are damned nice pistols.

From what I've seen lately, the make of the pistol doesn't mean much, I've got a couple Colts (one from the Custom Shop) that don't shoot any better than guns that cost half as much. While the most accurate 1911 I ever owned was a Colt, it was completely rebuilt from one end to the other, and hardly had any Colt parts left in it.

There are some makes I won't touch, (Auto Ordnance, Iver Johnson, Metro Arms, maybe some others) I've got Springfields, Tisas, Colts, a Ruger, and a couple Rock Islands. They're all pretty good shooters or I wouldn't keep them around. FWIW, the best shooters I have are those Rock Islands, they outshoot the Springers, the Colts, and that Ruger, too. The Ruger is the worst of the fourteen 1911s I have, in fact.

~70K on a pre series II Kimber. Someday I would love to read about it's journey. What just wore out, what broke etc.

Tisas. Pick the model that has the features you like. Nothing better on the market for the value. And I have owned S&W, Kimber, Les, Colt, and Wilson’s

About $950.00 for this one (Tisas 1911 Match 45), that more than fits the OP's bill. And includes front strap checkering, and other nice features not on the Gold Cup, such as mag well extension, beavertail grip safety, and extended and ambi thumb safety.

I love my DW PM7. Added an arched funnel.

Another vote for the Dan Wesson. I have a DW Valor Stainless 5" that has been flawless. I am not the best pistol shot around but I shoot that pistol better than any other I have.