Tisas 1911 ASF model vs Springfield 1911 Mil Spec model

[Trooper224]

Another opinion, which is worth what you're paying for it.

When you make your purchase, whatever that is, stick with the .45. Being the original design, the five-inch Govt. Model in .45 is the least likely format to give you issues. If it's just going to be a weekend range banger ammo cost shouldn't be a huge concern. Besides, since your chief interest seems to be historical I don't think you'd be satisfied with anything else.

[psalms144.1]

This point is worth emphasizing. There are good reasons for the development of better sights and sight attachment methods, beavertail grip safeties, extended thumb safeties, and other changes.

Just because no horse is so dead it cannot be beaten on PF, I "grew up" shooting MILSPEC 1911s (in fact, military issued 1911s). They generally suck ass, with skimpy sights, bitey hammers, marginal triggers and small, hard to use safeties. I would only buy a WWI-II replica 1911 to hang on the wall. All of my 1911s that get shot have decent sights, beavertail safeties, improved thumb safeties, and mid-length triggers. Doing it "old school" won't likely lead to a love affair with the platform...

[Jay585]

Springfield has moved away from the Brazilian slides and frames. They have been machining the forgings into frames and slides of their 1911s here in the U.S. for several years now.

Whether those raw forgings originate in the US, Brazil or Korea is not clear.

It's been about 15 years since some of Springfields have been made from Brazilian parts.

I stand corrected, thank you for the updated info.

[Stephanie B]

Just because no horse is so dead it cannot be beaten on PF, I "grew up" shooting MILSPEC 1911s (in fact, military issued 1911s). They generally suck ass, with skimpy sights, bitey hammers, marginal triggers and small, hard to use safeties. I would only buy a WWI-II replica 1911 to hang on the wall. All of my 1911s that get shot have decent sights, beavertail safeties, improved thumb safeties, and mid-length triggers. Doing it "old school" won't likely lead to a love affair with the platform...

I like the Safe Fire System for a 1911.

[MrInox]

Got the Tisas manta ray “5 model with the bobtail grip and ambi safeties .

Shoots like a laser and no hiccups so far….fast becoming my favorite pistol.

[Joe in PNG]

I like the Safe Fire System for a 1911.

Those are cool- I have one on my Highpower.
Happily, the beavertail on my Colt does a pretty good job of keeping the hammer from digging into my love handles, so I just stick to the old 'cocked & locked' for that one.

[TOTS]

Believe it or not the lowered ejection port on modern guns doesn't affect ejection much.

The internals are pretty much the same as on the originals, but made with modern steel. Springfield does use some cast and MIM parts but they are of good quality.

And 1911s, especially in 45, will run just fine if set up and maintained properly.

Correct me if I’m wrong - my understanding is that the lowered and flared ejection port is also to eject an unfired round?

I thought my money would be better spent buying a product made in USA. I wanted to believe the American made gun was better, but my belief has turned into smoke. On a brighter note, the two hundred bucks I save on the gun can go toward a supply of start up ammo. I'll probably order the gun and ammo at the same time.

Don’t hear me as saying Tisas guns aren’t good- I don’t have any negative experiences with them. But I have only had positive experiences with the several Springfield 1911s that I have had. I went with them as a cheaper entry than Colt. I have had a Loaded Champion, Loaded Stainless Target, and Range Officer and all three were amazing. Same with the TRP my coworker has. Zero issues with anything regarding them and I completely challenge Tisas being “better”. No issues with fit and finish and 100% reliable over thousands of rounds.

The only reason I don’t still have them is I have a budget to live on and I sold them to fund a Colt Wiley Clapp and a Dan Wesson.

That said, I don’t see Tisas as “worse” either*. If a gun runs reliably - it’s doing what it’s supposed to. And $200 isn’t insignificant. Pick the one you feel like you want the most and I’d say you can be confident that you have a good gun.

*of note, there are a lot of smiths that have a very limited number of brands they will use the slides and frames to build custom guns from. Springfield is one of them. That does mean something to me. Furthermore, if you have to sell- Id wager the SA would hold more value. $200 more? I don’t know. But may be easier to offload.

[Trooper224]

Correct me if I’m wrong - my understanding is that the lowered and flared ejection port is also to eject an unfired round?

The ability to eject a live round is predicated by the distance the slide travels reward and the length of the ejector. This is why Commanders in .45 will often balk when ejecting a live round: the slide has less travel, the ejector is longer. All of which was designed around ejecting the shorter 9mm round, the Commanders original clambering. The round has to clear the barrel hood and eject from the action at 25-30 degrees of angle(approximately). None of this will be aided by lowering the ejection port.

The same can be said of.45 Govt. Models fitted with an extended ejector, which was originally designed for the Commander. Something that wasn't fitted to the Govt. Model until pistol smiths needed to sell extraneous parts to stay in business.

We also need to remember, this was all designed around the primary task of ejecting a *spent* casing. Not necessarily finger banging a live round out of the gun.

[Danko]

I somehow missed a few segments of input from a few people. I wish the site timestamped each entry to better follow the threads.

Colt was my obvious first choice for a 1911 because it was the original manufacturer. When I saw the high prices, I knew I had to lower my sights and look at less expensive models. When I read the Tisas reviews on PF and watched some vids on YouTube, I found a model I can easily afford. I then began exploring American made 1911s in the 5-700 dollar range expecting to get a little better gun and an overall better value.

RJ, you research more intensely than I do. Which manufacturer and model gun did you finally buy?

Squib308, I don't wish to do any tinkering with my gun as I have absolutely no knowledge or experience working on guns

Robinson, I never heard of Standard Manufacturing. I looked them up, but found them out of my price range.

Trooper 224, not denting casings is the reason for the larger, lowered ejection port. That's pretty clever. I don't and won't be doing any reloading as I don't shoot as much or as often as most of you seem to do.

I was intending to respond to Psalms144.1, but I can't scroll to reread his input

I just realized I need to make another donation to PF when I receive my state tax return soon. Members on this site have always responded to questions and concerns I posted. I will always be in favor of and support good people, and this site has many good people. I'm happy to be a member.

I thank all of you for your kind, factual input and opinions.

Trooper 224, I cant' let go of the Springfield, MIL Spec. I very much like the fact the gun is made in the US, I like the upgraded sights which I likely need and a match grade stainless barrel is a nice little extra. Springfield didn't bugger up the design of the original, it only modified two things to make it more shootable and fun. I also think/believe the Mil Spec won't require as much tinkering as the Tisas. I don't yet have the lanyard loop figured out. I've seen it on some Mil Specs and not others. If I have the option for the lanyard loop, I'd take it to keep the gun closer to the original.

If I had a pile of money lying around, I could buy a Kimber 1911, put it in an acrylic box for viewing only. Nah, I'm not that type of guy!

[Joe in PNG]

The one thing the PF hive mind agrees on is to skip the Kimber.

One unofficial rule I have is Never Settle. Always go with the better option if you can afford to.