Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns Want to buy my first 1911....suggestions ?

You're thinking of Ruger's. Many cast parts. [/quote]
....No I'm thinking of Springfield. Rugers are from Pine Tree Castings and almost entirely cast parts. Springfields are from IMBEL in Brazil, however I thought that they were also cast. Of course, I could be wrong. Are you sure they're forged? [/quote]
Springfield's 1911 receivers are from IMBEL; who buys their forging from Taurus. [/quote]


Are you saying that Taurus is making the springfield slides and frames?????? If so that is the first time I've heard of that.

And you'll be sorry.

Get a Sig.

Did some digging around and my APOLOGIES it seems that Colt did leave some machinery there but it was to build the M16`s by a company called Elisco they were contracted by Colt to build the M16 and when Colt left they left the manufacturing equipment there.

The RIA 1911 are all Mil Spec built so all parts from Colt will fit.

P220 "Carry" model (SAO) is my favorite .45 ACP, and I have quite a few 1911s.

I don't have any links or anything in writing I can point you to. I have a friend who has been importing parts and receivers from IMBEL for about 20 years and has been to in IMBEL more times than I can count. He has taken armorers classes at IMBEL on both the FAL the FAL 22 and the 1911. And he has toured Taurus on more than one occasion. Taurus had a forging facility for decades, more than 40 years. Just like Ruger has been making 1911 frames for a good 20 years before they started making 1911 with their name, the same thing goes with Taurus. I'm told that most of the CNC equipment at IMBEL also is Taurus branded...in case you don't know, Taurus actually manufacture CNC machines. A lot of people have zero respect for Taurus but regardless of that they are a major manufacturing facility with a great deal of capacity and capabilities beyond what most firearms manufacturers in the world has. They are probably the only firearms manufacturer who actually does MIM in house.

Anyhow about 15 years ago when my friend Ravender was at Taurus he said he saw a huge bin with 1911 forgings. He thought Taurus was making 1911's, but the production manager said that they were for IMBEL.

Both Tauris and IMBEL manufacture a great deal of equipment, parts, and firearms for various military organizations around the world. Taurus is MUCH bigger than what you see in the US market.

Forum member JamesDunn has also been to Taurus and can verify the same thing. But just like you never see who actually makes the parts for Ed Brown, Wilson, etc. you're not going to find anything in writing on the web that talks about who makes parts for IMBEL/Springfield.

Please excuse the typos, I'm riding shotgun in a car and doing a couple other things and using voice recognition on my iPhone

So the location in Nevada that is mention was just a small office and a little bit of storage space where they sold their 22 rifles from. 22 rifles and ammunition came into the country via Oakland at a bonded warehouse and we would then transfer them to Sacramento California to a semi clandestine warehouse with a sign above it that said all temp insulation on North B street. I worked at that warehouse where the ammunition was shipped from to all the dealers and I did warranty repair on all the 22 rifles that Armscor. In March 1986 I took a trip to the Philippines to work on a project that I had created in Sacramento and they wanted to re-create there. There was a regime change from Marcos to Aquino couple of weeks before I got there and there was a lot of unrest and even fighting in the streets. Within an hour of me arriving at the warehouse we were attacked by mortar fire and rifle fire, employees had to pick up arms and defend the warehouse. After a couple more hours of sporadic rifle fire zinging through the warehouse the lawyers from corporate called and said I had to get out of the country because they couldn't risk having an American killed. So while I did view the production facilities, the ammunition part was very impressive, the rest was very disappointing from the lack of equipment and facilities that they had ; all told I wasn't in the Philippines for even a full 24 hours. Beside the commercial products that they offered they did a lot of work for the government on military arms most of which were surplus World War II vintage US. Every last person that I met there had a real love affair for the M1 carbine and the colt 1911 "Porty-Pibe ( how they pronounced .45).

As for their "acquiring the brand of RIA, they pretty much stole it. Rock island was created by a gentleman who owns and operates a small importing firm called the dealer warehouse. He was responsible for getting the Argentine firm to retool up to build the Argentine high powers, so we had a good deal of experience in getting manufacturing facilities set up to build handguns. He knew that Armscor had always wanted to build a 1911 so he helped them do that and then he imported them under the name of rock island armory. After everything was up and running and well-established, they just cut him out of the picture. Unfortunately he did not copyright the name rock island armory,, so it was real easy for them.

Please excuse the typos, I'm using voice recognition on my iPhone

I don't think this has been addressed in this thread yet...

Why do you want a Commander size? If you have a specific reason - good. But if not, why not the full-size (Government)?

Anyway - my experience mirrors others mentioned here with both the RIA and the Ruger (both 5"). The Ruger's only fault being the so-so trigger (easily fixed). I would skip anything with GI sights, unless you know your eyes are going to work like a 20-something for the foreseeable future.

And what's wrong with the Commander??? I LOVE the Commander...in LW form it's what I carry.

But I love the full size Govt also. But in all seriousness, you raise a good point. If you plan on customizing, the Govt is the way to go. More parts, a little cheaper, and more available.

Aesthetically though, the Commander is a nice looking pistol.

Just got a copy of the February issue of Shooting Times, and it features an article titled "1911 Shootout" which evaluates 7 "affordable" 1911's - MRI Desert Eagle, Ruger SR1911, Taurus PT-1911, Auto-Ordinance Thompson Custom 1911, ATI FX45 1911 Military, Para 1911 Expert Stainless, and Springfield 1911-AI Mil Spec.

In my humble and less than expert opinion, a good and fair article, worth reading for someone looking to buy a first 1911.

Kevin, thanks for the background info on Taurus and RIA. Interesting.

I bought a Para 1911 Expert Stainless earlier this year. It's USA made, has a forged frame and slide, and some nice extra features such as beavertail safety and fiber optic front sight. So far, it's been trouble free and accurate. While it's not as nice as my Colt 1911, it's pretty darn good for the price and will serve my needs quite nicely.

Clark Custom also says it's fine for their 460 Rowland conversion. I also took this into account before I purchased another 1911.

I have a Springfield 1911 A-1 G.I. - Basic and Perfect.

There's a custom Caspian in the classifieds. Started at $1400 reduced to $1100. Caspian is very high quality.


DMc

Those are cool. I agree on the basic design being best. When I carry a 1911, it's always an old early 1960s Government Model that's never been messed with.

Simple and basic is good. Colt combat commander. The OP said he would like a commander size.

Or just get a Wilson and "forget about it".

[quote=DMc]There's a custom Caspian in the classifieds. Started at $1400 reduced to $1100. Caspian is very high quality.


DMc [/quote

This!

Ruger, Ria, Colt, Para, Smith, Springfield all are good. Pick your price and go shoot.

Side note, in '98 and '99 I was invited to IMBEL. I was consulting with PETROBRAS and got to know a lot of engineers.

They were researching UHP(ultra high pressure) systems. UHP is frequently used to cut steel in mills, cut the sprue from castings etc.

While there on one visit I saw crates being shipped to Springfield, Taurus and Rossi. I also saw a lot of Taurus equipment in their shops.

aah. The influence of RJM. He got to you didn't he?

try argentina, not the phillipines.

I for one really like the basic 1911. Now for a carry gun, I like sights I can see a little better, but the basic 1911 is still a very capable pistol. The Springfield GI is a very good quality pistol and they shoot very well.

When I'm not carrying my LW Commander, I carry a Colt's Government Model .38 Super. It's a 1991 series, so it has the taller sights, but for the most part, it's like the old school Colt's and I never feel under-armed in any way. If it was a more regular daily carry gun, I would add night sights, or replace the elephant ivory with a set of CTC. But mostly it's my BBQ gun that gets carried just 'cause I want to carry it from time to time.

I bought my first 1911 45 ACP pistol some years ago not knowing anything about it ... The salesman also didn't know anything about it except it was a 'Colt' and how much to charge for it. I liked it, so I put it on lay-by and took it home a few months later.

Only then I found out I had purchased a ~ 'COLT MODEL of 1911' ~ WWI Replica.
One of about 4000 Manufactured from the original Colt blueprints and specs.
With a beautiful Carbonia Blued Finish.

This is probably my most prized firearm and I just stumbled across it -
Without any research, advice, or recommendations.

My best advice to the O.P. is:

"If You like it - Buy it!