Best new 1911 for less than $1911?

[45dotACP]

45ACP - I prefer 5" Govt models, and think DW or Les Baer make great examples of both. I think it's easy to decide between the two, as their manufacturing processes and philosophies are polar opposite of each other. DW are full production, and as such, turn out carbon copies. They've been at it for a while, and seem to have the recipe for putting out reliable 1911's down pat. Les Baer, likes to build guns by hand. So, the "idiosyncrasies" people speak of are a result of that human process. Fitting by hand, checkering by hand, etc etc, will often show it's obvious marks. Whether that's good or bad, is up to you. Again, the differences are so stark, that the decision between a DW or LB should be relatively easy based on your preferences.

9mm - I like Commander sized guns. At the $1911 price point, I'd go with whatever flavor of DW you fancy. Colt makes a great pistol, but I'm not interested in a non-ramped 9mm barrel, especially on a LW frame.

In many offline conversations lately with other PF members, I've commented that I believe DW and Les Baer are the sweet spot for 1911's, and this thread basically explains why. I love my Wilson CCP, but after having it for nearly nine months, it's just a gun. I love it because it runs like a sewing machine, not for the top serrations, rear serrations, ball cuts, carry cuts, barrel fluting, you get the picture. I think when you venture past DW and LB price points, you're often paying for fluff and bragging rights. I recently went shopping for a new 1911 and set $2k as my ceiling, I ended up with a Baer TRS based on my preferences. Hard to go wrong with either company, really.

I like the way you think about 1911s and especially their calibers. I think the Commander is ideal for 9mm vs the 5" models because, as has been noted, some 115gr factory ammo just doesn't have enough ass to cycle a big, heavy gun.

I'm fairly inclined to work on my guns so to me "best value" means something different...usually gun made by Colt or Springfield and a sale at Brownells.

Checkering would be nice, but honestly, I just get the wraparound Pachmayr grips. They're ugly, but they're a lot more useful than I thought they'd be. Also, I'm possibly one of the only 1911 guys who doesn't even care that his 1911s are ugly.

I recently shot my Caspian side by side with a Wilson CQB and walked away realizing that both guns are about equal in my hands. Bill Wilson builds a mean pistol and it was really sweet, but for me, it's like you said...diminished returns. My skills as a shooter...well a B class single stack guy who occasionally throws down a decent 25 yard group, so take what I say with a grain of salt. I'm not a good enough shooter to take a high accuracy shot on demand...but the extra accuracy never hurts. I'll replace a barrel if the gun just won't group well for me...like I did with my Colt.

If you don't like or have interest in wrenching on your guns and cursing and filing and sometimes crying, I'd probably just say the TRP or Dan Wesson Valor are the better 1911s under 2 grand...maybe a Les Baer if you find a good deal.

But if you're​ enough of a masochist...well it opens a lot of doors.

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[Buckshot]

No one has said STI, so I will. Great QC & out of the box accuracy. Unfortunately, they did away with half of their single stack models this year.

[Rex G]

I paid $1495 for my Les Baer Thunder Ranch Special, but that was about seventeen years ago, and reflected a $200 LE discount. I recently replaced the rear sight, in order to have a wider notch for my aging eyes, so it needs trialing/sighting-in. An alternative might be to install a red-dot optic. If it goes well, with either option, this one will resume its place among my first-line weapons.

My two Series 80 Government Models were reliable, one from the first round, and the other after about 200 rounds. I did cherry-pick them at local dealers, in the Nineties, because Colt has had problems with fit and finish at various times in the past. I wish I had kept them.

I was recently tempted to buy a seemingly nicely-put-together Colt Combat Unit, with a rail, for under $1911, but did not buy, so cannot comment upon reliability.

[Dddrees]

For the money and most places I've checked many have said that a Dan Wesson is very comparable to 1911s which cost more. It just seems when the under 2k budget is mentioned you get a few others but a Dan Wesson is mentioned more often.

[HCM]

I would just go for the TRP for not much more since checkering after the fact is so expensive and you get the magwell

However given that the TRP is as much as a Specialist... Dan Wesson still wins for me at least

Whoever mentioned just customizing a Silverback, that idea is sounding better the more I think about it. I found a pic of one online with VZ aliens in black and a DW duty treat magwell, it looks amazing. Would do the same plus change sights.

IME the SA guns are hit or miss. I lucked out about 10 years ago and got a vey nice out of the box MC Operator but my 9mm Combat Operator was a disappointment.

Colts made in the last 10-15 years are good guns but universally seem to suffer from sharp edges.

For a little more $$$ the Dan Wesson's are just more consistent QC-wise.

[Robinson]

IME the SA guns are hit or miss. I lucked out about 10 years ago and got a vey nice out of the box MC Operator but my 9mm Combat Operator was a disappointment.

Colts made in the last 10-15 years are good guns but universally seem to suffer from sharp edges.

For a little more $$$ the Dan Wesson's are just more consistent QC-wise.

True, true, and true.

I've cut myself on my Colts a few times -- mostly the basic 1991 models. To be honest I don't think about it much though.

The Dan Wesson guns are almost like a sweet spot as far as what you get for the price. I will say that the higher end Colts I've owned and examined recently have been very nice. My Lwt Commander and my stainless CCP are a couple of the better guns I've owned. But I wouldn't buy a Colt sight unseen.

A LGS currently has a DW Valor 9mm and a DW Pointman 9 in stock. That would be a nice pair to have. They also have several Colts but none of the higher end models.

[Welder]

No one has said STI, so I will. Great QC & out of the box accuracy. Unfortunately, they did away with half of their single stack models this year.

I too am wondering where the STI love is. Has something gone wrong with them recently?

[TheNewbie]

Could you not get a colt 1991 and send it in for some custom work and still be under 1911$?

[Robinson]

Could you not get a colt 1991 and send it in for some custom work and still be under 1911$?

Yes, depending on what and by whom. But I'm not sure Colt's current lineup suffers from a lack of features, other than they should offer more models with tritium sights.

If you look at the top Colt models, such as the Special Combat Government, Combat Unit Rail Gun, and the new Gold Cup Trophy they compete well on features with other makers. As others have mentioned, I think the way Dan Wesson exceeds Colt is in more consistent build quality.

[TheNewbie]

Yes, depending on what and by whom. But I'm not sure Colt's current lineup suffers from a lack of features, other than they should offer more models with tritium sights.

If you look at the top Colt models, such as the Special Combat Government, Combat Unit Rail Gun, and the new Gold Cup Trophy they compete well on features with other makers. As others have mentioned, I think the way Dan Wesson exceeds Colt is in more consistent build quality.

Does the Dan Wesson have a recommended break in period? Maybe I misread that but I thought someone mentioned it. I figured for that money it should work out of the box. Of course you want to test all firearms to ensure they work .