TISAS 1911s

[TGS]

These have recently flooded the streets for around $300, even under $300 during holiday sales. Reports seem to be favorable, and there was some interest in them when I mentioned the "Raider" model in the M45A1 thread, so I'm creating this thread for people to gather and share information.

@Kyle Reese bought a 9mm "Duty" model, which is their 5" steel frame, and we just got back from shooting it. We didn't put a whole lot through it due to only having two mags, maybe 100 rounds or so. No malfunctions today.

I own a 1911 but I'm not a well educated or experienced 1911 guy, but here's my observations:

Fit and finish seemed good. No bad machining marks. The slide felt VERY smooth on the rails. The trigger was slightly cleaner than my series 80 Colt, about comparable to any rack grade series 70, though perhaps a tad heavier. Note that my Colt is well broken in but this gun is brand new, so that could change. Accuracy was acceptable; we did not bench measured groups.

Recoil was very soft. The recoil spring felt pretty light, and the gun recoils so softly that you can feel it go "ker'chunk" in the recoil cycle as it bottoms out and goes forward into battery. This is not necessarily unique among steel 5" 1911s in 9mm, but I wanted to mention it for the sake of being complete.

Things I didn't like: the finish (cerakote?) is very slippy but the slide serrations work well, so it's not an issue. The grips are complete garbage, and you should buy replacement grips before you even take the gun out of the box. They're very slippery and offer no grip...I was having trouble with this, though Kyle seemed to be doing okay with his sasquatch paws. The safety worked fine, but was not as positive as my Colt. It takes a bit more of a deliberate "snap" to manipulate my Colt's safety, whereas the TISAS was on the weak side, though I didn't find it to inadvertantly engage/disengage.

All in all, for $300, initial impressions are that's a hell of a gun he found. Definitely a brand worth paying attention to, and I'd like to collect more information to establish a track record.

[Irelander]

The late Bob Dunlap of PISCO Gunsmithing and AGI worked with Tisas at their factory and said he felt they were turning out 1911s with fit, function and reliability far above their price point.

I've been wanting to pick one up. Thanks for the review!

[Trooper224]

I bought one of these Turkish 1911s some years back, when they were first imported under the Regent name. This was a 5 inch, GI type, in .45acp. I owned it long enough to put a couple thousand rounds through it. There was nothing dramatic to report. No malfunctions, pretty decent accuracy and trigger for a no frills offering. Interior machining of the frame, slide and barrel was outstanding.

The other parts were fit up pretty much in line with the price point: functional but hardly custom fit. The only serious deviation from spec I found concerned the exterior dimensions of the slides rear. There was much more curvature present than standard, which would have resulted in quite a bit of material needing to be removed from the back of a new extractor. This was entirely a cosmetic issue. I bought it to satisfy my curiosity and moved it along once that was accomplished. If one desires a 1911 just to have one, there are worse options for more money. My LGS has a tricked out, bobtail Commander model in 9mm that tempts me. But, with a price of over $1200.00 I hesitate.

I hate to say this, but with some of the slop I've seen lately coming out of Colt and Springfield Armory, these off shore produced pistols are looking like possible alternatives.

[wmu12071]

I purchased a 4.25" railed 9mm. I only had a short period of time to shoot. I had the 2 supplied mags and 2 Tripp research mags. The supplied mags have a different design at the top that necks down for 9mm size. I fired 10+1 of sig 115g range ammo and 10+1 of 124g +p gold dot with each supplied mag with no issues. When I tried to use the trip mags one mag did not want to insert and then the first round failed to eject. The rest of the mag fed and ejected fine. I had 6 random rounds left and fired the gun with no mag inserted. To say the extractor is not "in tune" would be an understatement. Almost every round ejected out of the magwell or jammed in the ejection port.

The undercut on the trigger guard is going to need some clean up and cold blue. The edge is very sharp. I also agree with TGS the grips are absolutely useless. I may try to stipple them while I wait for my LOK grips to get here.

I will try to get some pictures and check the trigger on my scale.

On the topic of trigger. I am not very experienced with 1911s. In live fire it didn't bother me at all but in dry fire you can feel the grip safety moving around when the hammer drops. The safety doesn't seem to have downward over travel like I have seen in a lot of springfields I played with recently but it goes so far down I wonder if it is resting on the grip panel.

[TGS]

I hate to say this, but with some of the slop I've seen lately coming out of Colt and Springfield Armory, these off shore produced pistols are looking like possible alternatives.

From what I've heard, Colt is building some of the best guns they've ever built. My M45A1 has been great, and in talking with friends I trust about my next 1911, I've basically been told that the Colt CCU is the go-to answer for me.

Those same friends have said they wouldn't touch a Springfield below the TRP level unless it's getting used as a base gun for build. I have a strong preference to buy American for this gun, but I'm on the same page as you, here: given the quality to price ratio, it's sort of hard to ignore the TISAS option. The TISAS Duty 5" no-rail 45 is basically the configuration I want, albeit the trigger looks kind of odd. I think it was you that mentioned in previous threads that every 1911 owner should learn to wrench on the guns, an inexpensive gun being advantages to this incase we fuck something up.

So, now I'm thinking the TISAS is an attractive option for me for all of these things considered.

@rcbusmc24 @TC215 @HCM

[wmu12071]

On my super fancy wheeler spring scale the trigger is breaking right at 4 lbs. The trigger does have some take up and vertical play but the break is pretty crisp with a short over travel. The grip safety may not be fit well from my understanding because it pushes out when the trigger breaks. The bushing can easily be turned by hand. It is definitely not a wilson etc. But I also didn't pay that money for it. Below you can see that the thumb safety definitely rests on the grip panel as an over travel stop as it sits below the plunger tube without a grip panel. Also see the super sharp edge on the undercut.

[HCM]

From what I've heard, Colt is building some of the best guns they've ever built. My M45A1 has been great, and in talking with friends I trust about my next 1911, I've basically been told that the Colt CCU is the go-to answer for me.

Those same friends have said they wouldn't touch a Springfield below the TRP level unless it's getting used as a base gun for build. I have a strong preference to buy American for this gun, but I'm on the same page as you, here: given the quality to price ratio, it's sort of hard to ignore the TISAS option. The TISAS Duty 5" no-rail 45 is basically the configuration I want, albeit the trigger looks kind of odd. I think it was you that mentioned in previous threads that every 1911 owner should learn to wrench on the guns, an inexpensive gun being advantages to this incase we fuck something up.

So, now I'm thinking the TISAS is an attractive option for me for all of these things considered.

@rcbusmc24 @TC215 @HCM

Like RIA, TISAS is a cool cheap gun to shoot FMJ with on the range.

But as the Burger King girl says “don’t get crazy.”

IME Springfield is hit or miss even at the SACS level.

Colt is generally making good functional guns, though with sharp edges galore in most cases. But so wouldn’t buy one sight unseen.

[Trooper224]

From what I've heard, Colt is building some of the best guns they've ever built. My M45A1 has been great, and in talking with friends I trust about my next 1911, I've basically been told that the Colt CCU is the go-to answer for me.

Those same friends have said they wouldn't touch a Springfield below the TRP level unless it's getting used as a base gun for build. I have a strong preference to buy American for this gun, but I'm on the same page as you, here: given the quality to price ratio, it's sort of hard to ignore the TISAS option. The TISAS Duty 5" no-rail 45 is basically the configuration I want, albeit the trigger looks kind of odd. I think it was you that mentioned in previous threads that every 1911 owner should learn to wrench on the guns, an inexpensive gun being advantages to this incase we fuck something up.

So, now I'm thinking the TISAS is an attractive option for me for all of these things considered.

@rcbusmc24 @TC215 @HCM

I keep hearing that "Colt is rocking it" comment and I wonder if people are seeing the same Colts I am. The bones are still good, but too many sloppily fit safeties and creepy triggers at four digit price points. I would put them above Springfield at this time. My newly acquired Colt is great, but it's 106 years old, so an outlier. In terms of parts quality and attention to fitting, the TRP is no different than the Mil-Spec and every model in between. What you're paying more for are finishes and features, not bones. In that respect, a TRP is just a base gun too, in your friends definition. More attention to fit only occurs at the Professional level with Springfield. Springfield also seems to be getting into the habit of tricking out a 1911 with features of questionable value, the Emissary being a case in point. My Dan Wessons have them both beat by a large margin. But, i have no idea what their output is, after the pandemic shutdown forced upon them by NY State.

If I was going to rip it down and build it back up, I might be inclined to use an RIA rather that a Springfield. The frames, slides and barrels are good, at a lower price point. Tisas does seem to be ramping it up though, so they may be an option to consider. I would like to see a break down by someone like Hilton Yam, rather than sumdood in a field off the tailgate of his pickup.

[wmu12071]

I am not Hilton and I didn't stay at a holiday Inn last night but I have a few more bits of insight.

I think my specific gun has barrel bump and the extractor seems too long. I am going to have to start some more research but that is my guess from the last two things I looked at tonight. See extractor photo below.

[45dotACP]

I keep hearing that "Colt is rocking it" comment and I wonder if people are seeing the same Colts I am. The bones are still good, but too many sloppily fit safeties and creepy triggers at four digit price points. I would put them above Springfield at this time. My newly acquired Colt is great, but it's 106 years old, so an outlier. In terms of parts quality and attention to fitting, the TRP is no different than the Mil-Spec and every model in between. What you're paying more for are finishes and features, not bones. In that respect, a TRP is just a base gun too, in your friends definition. More attention to fit only occurs at the Professional level with Springfield. Springfield also seems to be getting into the habit of tricking out a 1911 with features of questionable value, the Emissary being a case in point. My Dan Wessons have them both beat by a large margin. But, i have no idea what their output is, after the pandemic shutdown forced upon them by NY State.

If I was going to rip it down and build it back up, I might be inclined to use an RIA rather that a Springfield. The frames, slides and barrels are good, at a lower price point. Tisas does seem to be ramping it up though, so they may be an option to consider. I would like to see a break down by someone like Hilton Yam, rather than sumdood in a field off the tailgate of his pickup.

Yeah between the Colt and two Springfields I owned, I made the decision to never get another Colt 1911.

Colt was most certainly not rocking it if the gun I got from them was any exemplar of their general level of quality.

It had the accuracy of a first gen M&P, the rattle of a WWII rebuild government model that just got brought back from every battle in WWII, the reliability of a Para Ordnance double stack, and (when it worked) the brass to the face of a gen 4 Glock.

The front sight was staked, the MSH was plastic, the thumb safety was unusable, and the rear sight sucked ass.

And it was more expensive than a Kimber by a good stretch.

Some folks have guns they regret selling. That was a gun I regret not selling sooner.

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