What 1911 brands to avoid?

[joepistol]

A 34.:. is that a Ply. Duster ? or a Dodge Demon ? I had a '71 Duster, in Curious Yellow, w/ black stripes.. my 1st brand new car..
Unfortunately, it had a 225 cu in 6, instead of the 340 v-8 that I really wanted. Insurance cost , being an 18y/o made the 340 unobtainable.

" . I'd like to see H&K make a 1911, just for fun, to see what they could do. At least it would have an external extractor!"..
grainfed,: have you looked @ a Sig Sauer 1911 ?
My old-er GSR Revolution has impressive workmanship, features, + an external extractor.

 

[A34]

A 34.:. is that a Ply. Duster ? or a Dodge Demon ? I had a '71 Duster, in Curious Yellow, w/ black stripes.. my 1st brand new car..
Unfortunately, it had a 225 cu in 6, instead of the 340 v-8 that I really wanted. Insurance cost , being an 18y/o made the 340 unobtainable.

" . I'd like to see H&K make a 1911, just for fun, to see what they could do. At least it would have an external extractor!"..
grainfed,: have you looked @ a Sig Sauer 1911 ?
My old-er GSR Revolution has impressive workmanship, features, + an external extractor.

That's a '71 Demon with later model 360 Magnum. One thing about slant 6's, you can't kill 'em!

On another note, I have a few Sig 1911's. They've been great pistols.

 

[grainfed]

Joe.....I did check out the Sigs a good while back but found them to be of lesser quality than the S&W external extractor models. With Sigs, I'm at P series shooter and do have a couple of German Mastershop P226/X5 models. My P226S is the most accurate handgun I own. I did just see that Sig is coming out with some optic ready 1911's. Will be interesting to see what they produce AND and what price.

 

[DukesDad1760]

The only bad ones I've ever had was Taurus, horrible! And had some Early Ruger stainless 1911 with corrosion issues

 

[Bill O’Rights]

Turkey,

I can't tell you what to avoid, but I have the following factory-grade makers/models, and I'm happy with them.

Les Baer Premier II .45acp (Bought ca 1999, no parts replaced, still runs like a top, but for reasons I can't explain, not my favorite.)

Colt Series 80 Lightweight Commander .45 acp (Some modest aftermarket work) (Occasional carry)

Dan Wesson Valkyrie .45 acp (stock) (Occasional carry)

RIA "Government"or "GI" (?) (stock) .45

RIA "Government" or "GI" (?) (stock) 9mm

Sig "Nightmare" 5 in .45 acp (stock) (nightstand pistol)

Sig "Nightmare" Cdr. .45 acp (stock) (Occasional carry)

Springfield EMP4 "Carry Contour" 9mm (stock) (My "go to" carry pistol most of the time. Never a bobble and very accurate.)

Springfield EMP3 Ronin (stock) 9mm (Still evaluating but so far, very good.)

Ruger stainless Cdr (stock) .45acp (Also still evaluating but pleased so far.)

Any gun that I carry or place on my nightstand is well vetted. Hundreds to thousands of rounds. And a few were "fluffed and buffed" as my mood called for, but I can't say any of them actually "needed" it.

The Sigs and Springfield EM4 definitely ONLY needed a routine break-in. The LW Cdr required aftermkt rubber grips to be comfortable for me.

I've never heard anything bad from shooters, whose credibility I can personally vouch for, about reliability or accuracy of Sig 1911's. Tho some people don't care for the non traditional slide contours.

That said, nobody bats a thousand. Even the best makers can inadvertently let a "not great" pistol slip thru Quality Control. And tho most all the opinions expressed in this forum are valuable and worthy, I dare say few of us have experience that would qualify as scientific sampling. Still, most reputations are what they are for a reason.

Good luck.

Keep us posted.

 

[OkieJoe]

There isn't much love going on in this thread for the Kimber. Out of curiosity, what is specifically not liked about Kimber? My EDC is a Kimber Ultra Carry II in .45 ACP. It has never given me any problems. I don't necessarily like having to use a tool to break it down, but I don't have any complaints otherwise. I like the way it fits, and I've never had a jam… knock on wood. Colts are still my favorite, but I'm a Kimber fan as well.

 

[HooDoo Man]

Kimber sucks. The Swartz safety if the most unreliable, worst thing ever put on a gun that I can think of. I will NEVER buy a Kimber again.

 

[terdog]

Kimber sucks. The Swartz safety if the most unreliable, worst thing ever put on a gun that I can think of. I will NEVER buy a Kimber again.

Don't mince words

 

[edindah]

I got into a nasty habit a few years ago. I started amassing 1911s (All .45acp, thank you!) I have them from an AMT Hardballer (unfired), AO, Girsan, Paras, Remingtons, S&W, Kimbers, Colt, BUL, Springfields. I particularly liked the HiCaps (Para 14.45, Rock Island, Kimber BP Ten II, etc.). I them 'expanded' somewhat to other .45acp firearms to include FN FNX, FNX-T, 545, FNP and the HK family (USP, 45 and 45c). Over 57 in the corral now and out of all the one's I have taken to the range, (and this may be heresy) but the most accurate, out of the box (for me) was the FN FNX and the HK USP. I truly enjoy shooting the Sig P220 & P227, the Colt Mk IV (70), and the Para Tac Ops. Several are just for looks. I will probably never shoot them, but they are an eye catcher and as Keats (the poet) said, "A thing of beauty is a joy forever."

A display from a few years ago!

 

[OkieJoe]

Kimber sucks. The Swartz safety if the most unreliable, worst thing ever put on a gun that I can think of. I will NEVER buy a Kimber again.

Worst thing ever put on a gun…. Do you put it above S&W's Hillary hole? JK. I understand your point

 

[HooDoo Man]

Worse than the H-hole.

 

[fire@will]

Way to go edindah ! I do admire a man who's willing to "commit".

 

[ezhd]

I'm back in the market looking for a 1911 - do you have any countries or brands you avoid?

I've been checking out other forums and even /r/1911; I've seen several folks suggest staying away from Kimber or Taurus.
I would appreciate your feedback as I start down this path again.

That's not an easy question to answer accurately. I have both a kimber and a taurus and both are very accurate and reliable pistols. I didn't expext a lot from the taurus and it has surprised me with how well it performs. I also have a Remington R1 Limited double stack that is extremely accurate and reliable. I've seen where people were talking **** on that pistol but my experience with it has been all positive. Its has outperformed pistols I have that cost twice as much. I'd say to get what you can afford and if you want to upgrade parts theres a huge aftermarket parts selection that you can dive into.

 

[Skip]

My Colt has never failed.

 

[dennishoddy]

One thing about slant 6's, you can't kill 'em!

Absolutely correct! We had those slant 6's in all of our forklifts at the plant and they never failed us. There was a reason they were picked to be an engine in those forklifts.

 

[Gamma4510]

I like Colt, especially for base guns for custom work. They have had their share of bad production years, so custom work could be somewhat more time consuming to correct some flaws. I also like DW without MIM parts. Bill Wilson puts out a fine pistol if you're ok with the additional cost. You're just paying for a pistol you would probably want to add your own custom touches to anyway.

 

[Bob Lee]

Absolutely correct! We had those slant 6's in all of our forklifts at the plant and they never failed us. There was a reason they were picked to be an engine in those forklifts.

Oh Boy! I drove forklifts for most of my 43+ years in a factory, but never anything not electric. Those must have really flew! I'm jealous. LOL.

 

[Turkey]

So, 5 pages in and a month later, OP have you purchased one? Tell us what you got and give us a range report!

No, not yet. I'm working on my first purchase now.

 

[Leftibug]

Sorry to see all of the negative thoughts on Kimber. I have a Kimber and it has been nothing short of flawless, but I have had it for more than 15 years. No failures to feed or fire, no matter what type of ammunition I have run through it. It was one of the higher end Kimber's and fairly expensive at the time, so I suppose that the saying is true: you don't always get what you pay for, but you never get what you don't pay for. I also have a CMP surplus 1911, a real mix-master when you look at it closely, that will run 230 grain fmj's all day long without a hitch.

Are there any specific concerns about Kimber 1911? I also have one bough over 10 years ago and used without any problems. Planning to use it at gunsite training in a couple months. Also have a DW Vigil that is awesome with a suppressor.

 

[dennishoddy]

Are there any specific concerns about Kimber 1911? I also have one bough over 10 years ago and used without any problems. Planning to use it at gunsite training in a couple months. Also have a DW Vigil that is awesome with a suppressor. View attachment 35543

I have one Kimber, a Stainless Target II that runs flawlessly and is more accurate than the owner. It was purchased back when Kimber built and fitted them one by one, but mass production and poor-Quality Control left a lot of buyers frustrated at their performance.
As I understand it, Kimber has stepped back after hearing the complaints to get the quality control issues in order and are producing a good firearm again.