TISAS 1911s

[HeavyDuty]

Which brands can be trusted to produce a 1911 that will run 100% with no adjustments whatsoever, straight out of the box? As Hilton Yam likes to say, "None of them."

I personally have never seen an unmolested Ruger that didn’t run. Sample size of a dozen or so.

[Trooper224]

Which brings up something I have wondered about.
Tisas and RIA sell a lot of basic pistols, what I call "imitation Army surplus" on their low prices. There were Tisas being blown out in the low $300 range.

Let's assume you get a good one, as I am sure most are. A friend has one of each, the RIA required some tinkering for full function, nothing expensive, the Tisas was fine as is.

You might be happy with it for casual shooting, the GI Experience, CMP as issued shooting, CAS Wild Bunch.
But you might decide Grandpa was right, that forty-five is a tough gun to shoot, as issued. The sights are small, the trigger is tough, the hammer bites. So you want to improve it. If you can handle it DIY, fine, but if you have to hand it to a gunsmith, the costs are going to go up fast. The material and dimensions are said to be ok, so you can come out with as nice a pistol as you can envision and budget for. Kind of like the customized Norincos we used to see.

That should make a good shooter to your taste, but what of resale value, which seems to be always on the mind of a custom or deluxe gun buyer? It is not likely to sell for as much as the same options on a Colt or SA.

You could have bought one of their higher end models. RIA and Tisas make guns with more prominent sights, beavertails, bilateral safeties (NRAspeak) and rails. RIA has double stacks, Tisas has stainless steel. At higher prices, of course.
Want something nice? How about the $1000 Tisas Match?
I suspect you would want a US name brand for that kind of money.

Just rambling, fishing for ideas. I think I will get my stuff and go shooting.

Resale value is harped on quite a bit, but in my opinion it's out of context for this discussion. We're not talking Rolex or Ferrari here.

I've news for everyone, gunsmithing on any production gun isn't necessarily an enhancement on resale value. Most of the time it isn't. Unless that work is done by one of the top names it won't be. Local Joe the gunsmith may do outstanding work, but unless you live within a hundred miles, you probably don't know who he is. That kind of work isn't a draw for those into boutique, custom 1911s. No one else looking to buy your gun is going to know or care about who did the work, or whether it's a Colt or a Norinco. If Jason Burton or John Harrison start doing builds on Tisas or RIAs they'll sell as well as Colts, because of who did the work not due to the brand. Likewise, you Colt tricked out by Joe won't be a gold nugget. I've seen this many, many times.

What is being discussed is doing modifications to working guns, not guns that sit in the safe on a silk pillow. Remember when the purpose of gunsmithing work was done to enhance reliability and performance? I do. All the times I took my old Colts to a gunsmith to have work done, resale value never entered my mind. The whole point of this thread is to gather data from people who've been hands on with Tisas 1911s.

If resale and investment are your concerns, you're participating in the wrong thread.

[Jim Watson]

I am not interested in investment.

Short form, if you want an entry level 1911 but more "modern" than the military configuration, do you
Modify it yourself? How extensively, what are your tool and knowhow levels?
Send it to a gunsmith?
Buy a dressed up version of the same brand?
Buy a Name Brand?

[45dotACP]

I would be interested to know a few facts from anyone who buys a Tisas. Not looking for a Joe Chambers breakdown but I'd be interested to know:

1) Does it pass the 10-8 extraction test?
2) Does it seem to feed JHP with reliability. If yes, what types?
3) What sort of accuracy do you get relative to other brands? I've been seeing reviews that have 3-4 inches at 25 yards, which to me is sub par given I can get around 2 inch groups with a G21
4) Any engagement between lower lugs and slide stop pin?
5) Are the rear sights a commonly used dovetail like Novak? Or will I never be able to replace the sights? Otherwise I'd just buy the GI model and send it to Novak.

As for gunsmithing and resale value..lmao don't make me laugh. This is NOT a gun that you send to the gunsmith. Thats for Colts and Springfields and Rugers. If it's not what you expected you either try to wrench on it yourself or take the haircut and sell the thing.

Pretty cool that it's a forged frame tho. That means you could try hand checkering the front strap without the concern of hitting a casting void.

Sent from my SM-A326U using Tapatalk

[4RNR]

Which brings up something I have wondered about.
Tisas and RIA sell a lot of basic pistols, what I call "imitation Army surplus" on their low prices. There were Tisas being blown out in the low $300 range.

Let's assume you get a good one, as I am sure most are. A friend has one of each, the RIA required some tinkering for full function, nothing expensive, the Tisas was fine as is.

You might be happy with it for casual shooting, the GI Experience, CMP as issued shooting, CAS Wild Bunch.
But you might decide Grandpa was right, that forty-five is a tough gun to shoot, as issued. The sights are small, the trigger is tough, the hammer bites. So you want to improve it. If you can handle it DIY, fine, but if you have to hand it to a gunsmith, the costs are going to go up fast. The material and dimensions are said to be ok, so you can come out with as nice a pistol as you can envision and budget for. Kind of like the customized Norincos we used to see.

That should make a good shooter to your taste, but what of resale value, which seems to be always on the mind of a custom or deluxe gun buyer? It is not likely to sell for as much as the same options on a Colt or SA.

You could have bought one of their higher end models. RIA and Tisas make guns with more prominent sights, beavertails, bilateral safeties (NRAspeak) and rails. RIA has double stacks, Tisas has stainless steel. At higher prices, of course.
Want something nice? How about the $1000 Tisas Match?
I suspect you would want a US name brand for that kind of money.

Just rambling, fishing for ideas. I think I will get my stuff and go shooting.

Resale value takes a big hit on custom or semi custom as well. Pre owned WC are half price (generally speaking).

I think if you're looking to go from basic to custom you're probably better off selling the basic and putting that money towards the custom.
I've always been one to value function over anything else, so if $300 1911 can be equal or better than a hand made one then that's the one I'm more interested in. Never really cared about the finish. To me it's a waste of money. Nothing wrong with custom hand made guns. There's beauty and function in it's craftsmanship but if I can get the same function and at 10% of the price ....to me that's a no brainier.

Sent from my moto z4 using Tapatalk

[Trooper224]

I am not interested in investment.

Short form, if you want an entry level 1911 but more "modern" than the military configuration, do you
Modify it yourself? How extensively, what are your tool and knowhow levels?
Send it to a gunsmith?
Buy a dressed up version of the same brand?
Buy a Name Brand?

If the same company offers enhanced versions of a baseline model, I'd think that would be the most cost effective way to go.

[Trooper224]

I would be interested to know a few facts from anyone who buys a Tisas. Not looking for a Joe Chambers breakdown but I'd be interested to know:

1) Does it pass the 10-8 extraction test?
2) Does it seem to feed JHP with reliability. If yes, what types?
3) What sort of accuracy do you get relative to other brands? I've been seeing reviews that have 3-4 inches at 25 yards, which to me is sub par given I can get around 2 inch groups with a G21
4) Any engagement between lower lugs and slide stop pin?
5) Are the rear sights a commonly used dovetail like Novak? Or will I never be able to replace the sights? Otherwise I'd just buy the GI model and send it to Novak.

As for gunsmithing and resale value..lmao don't make me laugh. This is NOT a gun that you send to the gunsmith. Thats for Colts and Springfields and Rugers. If it's not what you expected you either try to wrench on it yourself or take the haircut and sell the thing.

Pretty cool that it's a forged frame tho. That means you could try hand checkering the front strap without the concern of hitting a casting void.

Sent from my SM-A326U using Tapatalk

1) the one I had did.
2) was reliable with 230 ball, HSTs and Gold Dots, as well as 200 grn.
SWCs
3) accuracy seemed to be average for a gun in that price niche, probably 2-3 inches with control handloads. Unless a Ransom Rest is used, review results are more shooter than equipment influenced. I was satisfied with the accuracy given the GI sights.
4) no undue contact between slidestop and lower lug was detected. No barrel bump, riding the link, etc.
5) rear sight on mine was standard GI dovetail, unknown on the Novak option.

This is a sample of one from several years back.

[Robinson]

I personally have never seen an unmolested Ruger that didn’t run. Sample size of a dozen or so.

Yep, and I've seen a bunch of examples of Government Model 45s from Colt, Springfield Armory and other vendors that never had a single problem. It seems deviating from that formula changes the game.

[Trooper224]

Yep, and I've seen a bunch of examples of Government Model 45s from Colt, Springfield Armory and other vendors that never had a single problem. It seems deviating from that formula changes the game.

What, deviating from the original design parameters can lead to negative consequences?

The mind boggles. 😀

[Trooper224]

I personally have never seen an unmolested Ruger that didn’t run. Sample size of a dozen or so.

I had issues with Rugers fitment of the small parts on the early samples. They've improved that by a big margin.