Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns Best 1911 for ~ $1K

Hold your breath, he has to go google up!

I'm not a 1911 expert, but I settled on a Dan Wesson Heritage a couple years ago. I could not be more pleased with my purchase. The gun has been extremely accurate and have never had a hiccup with factory ammo and reloads.

And there's the truth & fact of it.

Guys that can't make them run, simply repeat all the old wives tales.

Any half-way decent commercial 1911 today can be made to run & be reliable......doesn't need to be, nor will it be, fitted up like nor as accurate as a custom gun, but it can be made to run........usually with less than an hours work.

MM

Yep. They're simple.

Kimber roulette eh?

Well let's see, my first Kimber of Yonkers was a new 22 hunter. I found it to function perfectly and with Eley Tenex, it makes a ragged hole at 50 yards with 5 shots.

Next was a used Montana in 204 that shot 3 shots of factory Hornady 40 gr Vmax into 3/4" at 100 yards and worked perfectly. I later trimmed the magazine box and bedded the rifle, shrinking the groups a little more.

Then I bought a Montana in 243 used that I sent off and rebarrelled to 22-250ai, I replaced the follower and spring, bedded it and it shoots around 1/2" groups routinely.

Then a used Yonkers SVT 22, I did bed it and I have a 3 shot cloverleaf from 100 yards and it works perfectly too.

So to the matter at hand, while I've never been a big fan of the 1911, I have fired a couple of Kimbers. One was a commander size, the other their ultra carry. The commander was great but the UC bobbled a time or two but I've heard they are the most finicky from any brand. A few weeks ago I traded for a Colt Combat Commander and that got me wanting a 1911 22...

I read lots of reviews and yesterday I picked up a new Kimber a Rimfire Target 1911. Shot it today and it works fine and outshoots my Buckmark.

I like playing the Kimber roulette.

I promise you I've had more bad Remington's and have had to tinker with the good ones. When I get ready for another 1911, guess which brand I'm gonna look at first.

I'm not big on kimber 1911's but I would still own one. I love there rifles and have had nothing but great luck with them. I currently have a 300wsm Montana that is an absolute tack driver and a complete joy to carry. I had a few kimber 1911's and all worked great except for the supermatch I had which is also their most expensive gun. Kimber made it right though, quick with no questions asked so I cant complain there. The Raptor I owned was a very accurate and reliable gun.

I have and like the Colt's XSE model line up and they're around your price limit.

Well,

As I mentioned about 85 posts above, the issue is settled for the relatively new shooter I was attempting to help...
I'll likely see him tomorrow, but he messaged me that he bought a RRA 1911.

Grapevine talk at the range this morning said he bought a NIB RRA "Basic Carry" from one of the clubs senior guys who doesn't shoot all that much any more.
Probably outspent his budget, but then knowing the seller, maybe not...

Thanks to all who offered relevant comment.

Carry on...

As I figured, all weekend long, and TAK hasn't responded. Can't answer a simple question, yet he expects people to just take his word because he's an expert and knows better than everyone else.

Don't sweat it Kevin. He'll either be along in time with more nonsense - or he'll just infect another thread. He can't help himself.

Glad to see the OP's friend has made a good purchase. So this thread can continue on it's drifted merry way.

Only to glad to oblige. As for schidt barrels, the S&W barrel that I just replace was a SOLID 20 MOA barrel (out of a Ransom of course) It now wears a Kart, all others pale in comparison. In fact, just LOOKING down the bore of a Kart, compared to anything else, indicates this.

The 1911 is, potentially, if its done right, the most accurate handgun on earth. Not only does it possess unparalled intrinsic accuracy, the trigger (done right) allows skilled shooters to attain it.

IMO, buying a 1911 with a poorly fit, chitty barrel is like buying a Stiller action, and slapping an SPS plastic stock and cast off barrel on it. YMMV

This line of argument is new to me, so forgive me if I'm caught off-balance. I'm more used to the "1911's are unreliable" shtick. This is the first I've heard of some widespread plague of bad barrels and triggers in 1911's. I have seen a host of unreliable 1911's which were the result of some gun-butcher's artwork, but haven't seen any evidence or complaints of bad barrels or triggers in the most familiar factory guns. I do see there are some triggers that could be better (but are still quite decent)- but every single 1911 I have ever held...even the ones that have been butchered (including a pretty sad looking Nork)....had a better trigger than every single Glock I have seen.

You never shot many GI 1911's. A lot of times, you'd start to squeeze the trigger, wonder why the SOB wasn't going bang, and look to see if you'd flipped the safety off. Finding that you had, you'd grit your teeth and crush it.

No, a Glock can't ever have a "1911" trigger, but they can be massaged and made serviceable. For 25yd and in (if you are engaging an adversary beyond 25yd you run for cover and fix your carbine) striker-fired plastic rules, for both reliability, mag capacity, and shootability. Bill Rodgers figured out that a crisp four poundish trigger works best on his range test, and his range test is the best test of combat/defensive pistol shooting ever devised.

If some SOB is 90yd away and plinking at you and your family with an AK, that is when you want a tuned 1911, capable of accurate fire at that range, with the best trigger attainable. That is, if you can't have a carbine.

TAK where's the pictures? I see you have avoided the Grendel bolt thread like it was the plague. LMAO

Just wait till I save up enough cans to buy a Dillon!

Hey your in the Southeast right? [bleep] the pictures lets meet up and shoot. Can't wait to hear the excuses for this.

No - I never shot many GI (as in, purchased by Uncle Sam) 1911's. And any that I have or could possibly have come in contact with would have been far from "factory new" - having by vast age and mileage been rebuilt more than once. I'm guessing that any such pistol you experienced was in the same general shape, since you haven't ever claimed to be older than dirt. If you were given such a pistol to use, I would assume that it was either worn out and in need of repair, or had been butchered, or both. That proves nothing, except maybe that 1911's weren't some armorer's strong suit.

eta: I can't believe I almost let this slip by me.....You have to look to see if you wiped the safety??? That sheds new light on your passion for Glocks.

I've shot chit loads of GI 1911's. Worked for a small arms importer in the '80's and we imported thousands of 1911's from China; all of them USGI. Every last one had a better trigger than a Glock. And I'm not disparaging Glocks, just the notion that GI 1911's were crap. Who knows, maybe by the time TAK got his hands on a few they were. 1911's hadn't been procured by the US military since 1945, so the ones that have remained in military service may have had ample opportunity to be rebuilt several times over, and may have resulted in some lousy triggers. But the one's I test fired (I don't remember the exact number; but it's over 6k) all had creepy but decent triggers. Typically between 4.5-5.5 lbs. And unless they had missing parts, they all worked after being drug through the war by the Chinese, then put in storage for 40+ years. We took them, cleaned them up, re-parkerized them, test fired them, and sold them.

The most common parts replaced were rusted out barrels, and trashed magazines. We bought barrels by the box of 50. The Chinese used corrosive ammunition and apparently didn't do too well in cleaning the bores. Remarkably the rest of the guns weren't in bad shape at all.

Wilsons leave the shop with a 4# trigger, I've weighed quite a few of 'em. Quite a few of the Quantico built guns for MARSOC had six-plus pound triggers, I watched a friend weigh several of those, and these were "built".

For every "rack-grade" GI gun, not belonging to a Tier One unit, that has a 4.5# trigger, I'll kiss your white-ass in Macy's front window and give you all morning to draw a crowd.

The insecurity of Glockophiles and their infinite need to steer every thread into a Glock discussion knows no bounds.....

In my service years I carried several different 1911a1s issued by different units. Most of those issued on a regular basis were sound weapons, but for every one like that the military had several in captivity that were tired old dogs, at best...
Which is to be expected of very old weapons issued to lackadaisically trained troops who abused them beyond all reason.

There is very little to pick on regarding the design of the 1911a1. It's biggest detraction, amongst the untrained, is that it is a single action weapon.
The same traits that the untrained decry, the well trained proclaim...


As to the special-ed glock attention whores, if it weren't this issue, it'd be something even more trivial...

There must not be any trick to geting a 4.5 lb trigger on a 1911. Even my pos RIA "GI" had that, and the only trigger group part that wasn't stock and untouched was the trigger itself. And so does my SR1911 with untouched internals. Getting that trigger with no creep.......now that's the trick.

Get out the chapstick.