Which make of 1911?

[Jeremiah]

I bought a Colt Gold Cup National Match Series 70 in 1976 for $265.00 and have never regretted it.

Of course you'll have to pay a bit more nowadays but you should check one out if you can.

Greg

I'd pay you double for it. right now.

 

[AverageMidwest]

Another 1911 thread and as usual a wealth of opinions and good info. I own a customized RIA and an STI Spartan and they're both good weapons, accurate and reliable (okay, the RIA shoots low and to the left but I can compensate). There's a perceptible difference in quality between a low end 1911 (stock RIA) and a mid level 1911 (STI Spartan); I had to spend some money and finally send the RIA off to Armscor for a tune up. (Sidebar - Armscor has great customer service and their resident 1911 gunsmith Armando is great). I've shot Kimbers and there's a noticeable difference between those and the Spartan, tho not as great as between a stock RIA and the Spartan. For what it's worth, I think there's a big difference between a $400 piece and a $700-$800 piece and it's probably worth spending the extra money if you can.

Past that, if you want to spend $1500 or $2500 or $3500 for a 1911 it's your money, so knock yourself out. Kinda like cars that way, I've never had the money for a new Porsche but that doesn't mean I wouldn't like to have one. I don't think you're buying 2-5 times the performance and reliability for 2-5 times the price of, say, a $750 gun, but if you want it and can afford it, great!

Gotta remember though that there are still a lot of 50 year old 1911s out there made by Remington Rand, Singer, NCR, etc etc - and they still function just fine (tho yes, they could use better sights). Of course they have sloppier tolerances than an Ed Brown or Nighthawk or Kimber - they were designed that way so they wouldn't fail if dropped in sand or mud or on concrete, steel or rock. Not a one of them would be classified as high end by today's standards - crummy sights, no beavertail safety, no extended safety or slide lock, no mag well, no hand fitting of slide to frame, no polished feed ramp, no full length guide rod, no nuthin'. Makes you wonder how the people who used it survived, doesn't it now? (And for $400 the correct answer is - practice, practice, practice!) My own philosophy is that I really don't want to own a gun where I have to worry about the value dropping just from carrying it and using it or possibly dropping it, but if I could afford to buy a Nighthawk or other high end 1911 I suspect I might have a different viewpoint. But for now, as long it reliably goes bang when I squeeze the trigger and the rounds go where I want them to go, that's enough for me.

My two cents worth, and I will now give up the soapbox to someone else.

Quote for the day: "I don't like money, actually, but it quiets my nerves." - Joe Lewis