Just when I thought I was over 1911's.....

[OnionsAndDragons]

I would buy it from DW or WC. The Colt might very well work, but it might not. For a carry gun I wouldn't mess with it, unless you don't mind having a relationship with a good gunsmith.

Yeah. You really need to be willing to pay for a reliability package from an outfit that will test that shit for real before sending it back.

I'm really thinking about a 9mm 1911 again for my next years gun budget. I miss having one, but divested when I trimmed 45 out of the arsenal. DW is at the top of my list. It was in the running for my last 45 1911 but I wanted a more classic gun and wound up with a very nice Les Baer.

From what I've seen on the 1911addicts, DW Custom is willing to work with people to get what they want too.

[Robinson]

Nothing is a sure thing in this area, but I agree with JAD completely. For my money, WC is pretty much the only way to go, especially in 9mm. I know some people are having good luck with the Colt's, but I also know some serious, connected shooters whose 9mm Colt's are not running very well.

My carry and home defense guns are 9mm Colts == but I've been using 1911s a long time, I pretty much know what to expect with Colts (recent guns are really pretty darn good), and I know a very good gunsmith. That said, I rarely need his services unless I want to change something.

I did have one 9mm 1911 I sent back to Colt recently, but my suspicion is that it was simply over-sprung from the factory.

This is not an argument against comments JAD and SLG have posted, their input should be valued.

[TheNewbie]

Thanks guys! I was about to make an impulse purchase. I just can't justify the cost of a Wilson. I don't mind a Colt and even a reliability package at say Wilson , but if they are not a consistently safe route it's a no go.

After buying the P232 I should know better but I don't.

[SLG]

A few of us have been discussing this off line a little. I am an unabashed WC 1911 fan. No one is perfect, and they don't always turn out excellence the first time out, but I would say they do way way more often than anyone else. And the finished product just does it for me. I have my 10mm 1911 on my hip as I write this, and it is making it hard for me to pull out any of my other 1911's. One of these days I'll get a nice classic two tone, just because. Or a rich blue, or... I think you get the point. :-)

[TheNewbie]

Oh I get the point. I shoot the 1911 better than anything and how it operates just works for me.

If I thought I could get a duty reliable one (.45 or 9mm) for around $1000 l, I'm not sure I could say no.


For better or worse I have an extremely active mind, so I'm always asking questions and thinking of new ideas. It's not always a cheap way to live.

[45dotACP]

Oh I get the point. I shoot the 1911 better than anything and how it operates just works for me.

If I thought I could get a duty reliable one (.45 or 9mm) for around $1000 l, I'm not sure I could say no.


For better or worse I have an extremely active mind, so I'm always asking questions and thinking of new ideas. It's not always a cheap way to live.

I feel that if you want a 1911 that runs well for under a grand, it needs to be a .45 ACP Government model from Colt or Springfield...and even then I'd suggest taking an armorer's class.

My Colt 9mm Commander has yet to experience a stoppage, but I have not put anything near 2k rounds through it, I re-sprung it, pre checked/adjusted my extractor tension to 24oz...and it still ejects in a fashion best termed "erratic", here meaning "In my face sometimes like a Glock".

My .45 is a Caspian.... possibly not the same quality, but by far a more solid performer and truth be told, as I improve as a shooter, the skill gap between my 9mm and.45 on measurable tests is decreasing. I just threw down my first A classifier run in a USPSA match today...If I tried that a year ago with a Heirloom Precision 9mm... wouldn't have happened

A .45 and a lot of practice/dry fire > a 9mm 1911 and not as much practice.

But as far as a working 9mm 1911, I suggest a professionals touch. Ultimately my Colt will be going to a professional for some work... especially pending the results of the election...as a 10 round, easy to shoot 9mm would be my go to should some asshattery pass the Senate.

[TheNewbie]

Would you think a reliability job on a colt 9mm from some place like WC would make you feel better about carrying it ?

[JAD]

.

If I thought I could get a duty reliable one (.45 or 9mm) for around $1000.

Different thing. You asked about a carry reliable 9x19 Lightweight (for damn good reason). Open that up to a steel .45 and it gets a lot cheaper in my experience. Colt XSE or S70. I would spend a little more and get a DW for the ergos, but it doesn't need to be a WC for a steel .45, for sure. My CCO was $1400 and I carry it often, unmodified.

Of course, at the moment...

[theJanitor]

A few of us have been discussing this off line a little. I am an unabashed WC 1911 fan. No one is perfect, and they don't always turn out excellence the first time out, but I would say they do way way more often than anyone else. And the finished product just does it for me. I have my 10mm 1911 on my hip as I write this, and it is making it hard for me to pull out any of my other 1911's. One of these days I'll get a nice classic two tone, just because. Or a rich blue, or... I think you get the point. :-)

I'm a huge WC fan too, but more for their history than their current lineup. No doubt, WC is the class of the field for a shop built 1911 at the moment. And they've got all the price points covered. I do think the price of their basic gun, the CQB, is outpacing "inflation" right now, but you can find used ones at the 2k mark. That's cheaper and faster than buying a stock colt and sending it out for work.

Lots of people can't swallow the 2k price of entry into the 1911 world, but if you count the gunsmith charges, time, and ammo you might spend getting a 1911 to "work", it's not unreasonable.

[Sawyer]

For a duty ready 1911 out of the box in the $1000 range I'd go with a Long Beach Operator in .45 for just a bit over $1100. I'm a few thousand rounds in and took it through a firearms instructor course a month ago. About a thousand rounds over a week, part of it in pretty steady rain in an exposed holster with magazines being dropped in puddles and muddy grass and it handles all of it like a champ. It hasn't had a failure of any kind, has gone through its full cycle of function (to include the slide locking back on an empty magazine) and began by passing the 10-8 extractor test and passed it again after the class. I also own WC and while the LBO isn't quite as well finished and isn't as pretty. There's no difference when it comes to putting shots on target. It's really impressed me. For 9mm.....sadly I've never shot a 9mm 1911.