What 1911 brands to avoid?

[joepistol]

I don't believe anyone has mentioned my latest "find" in 1911's..Bul Armory.
Great materials & workmanship, made in Israel (!) if you can find one, they're a bargain for the features & quality .
I bought a Commander sized 9mm, & If I didn't already own so many other brands in 45 acp, I buy one in that cal. in a heartbeat.
Just thought I'd mention the brand, as until I read an online article about them,, I'd never heard of them.
Might be a bit hard to find, but I'd suggest if you can find a Bul 1911, buy it. you won't be disappointed.

see pic of mine, below :

 

[joepistol]

 

[Whit]

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.

I have carried my Kimber Pro Carry 11,45acp for more years than I have carried
Any other pistol. Never any problems other than cheap ammo.

 

[grainfed]

Bul Armory does make some nice guns. Several guys on YouTube I've seen use them in competition and rave about them. I will say that I have spent more than several weeks shooting over 750 rounds through my 9mm Stingray and used several mags that I purchased from Tisas, the black 10 round versions. I have yet to have one failure with the gun, including Wilson Combat, Chip McCormick, Tripp, and the Tisas mags. I found no reason to replace any of the ignition parts, slide stop, grip safety, etc, which I usually do after buying anything that has MIM parts, especially the slide stop. This gun, so far, needs nothing at all and continues to impress me with the reliability and accuracy from the factory. I will run another 250 rounds through it and if it continues it's history, I will put it into daily carry. Do I need more than 11 rounds of 9mm + one mag of 10 backup....not sure.....but the last Les Baer I purchased had extraction issues and it took me hours to get it fixed with a new EGW extractor. Stingray wins over Les Baer with that comparison. I have a Raider, a Tank Commander, and the Stingray. The Tank DID NOT like hollow points but did fine with 230 ball ammo. I will address that issue later at the bench. The Raider is no less reliable than my Wessons, other Baers, and my John Harrison Springfield makeover. I also have the MAC 2 shotgun (Benelli M2 copy) and sold my Benelli M4 after having no issues with running 300 various rounds through the MAC 2. It does like a break-in period of 100 rounds or so to fire 1200 fps shells. It likes powerful loads. In essense, I tip my hat to the Turkish plant producing firearms that do not cost an arm and a leg and a kidney. Any slide to frame looseness, IMO, is not an issue. The bushing to barrel fit is my main concern with regards to accuracy. If it does not print tight at 25 yards, I get a new bushing made to correct specs and the groups tighten up. I'll carry my Stingray over the new SA TRP which is loaded with MIM parts, a plastic trigger shoe, and lists at around $2000. That's almost 4 Stingrays for one TRP. Rediculous, IMO.

 

[HooDoo Man]

I have carried my Kimber Pro Carry 11,45acp for more years than I have carried
Any other pistol. Never any problems other than cheap ammo.

 

[HooDoo Man]

I had total confidence in my Kimber Pro CPD 4' after many rds. with all the major manufactures JHP's. But when the Swartz safety plastic plunger desegrated and locked up, that was the last straw. Not 100% reliable and no use for me. Just. a target /range gun and I will sell it as such. PS. I replaced the parts myself as Kimber would not respond to my (several) attempts to resolve the problem. F- Kimber. I'm just glad my life wasn't on the line at that time. Never again.

 

[Jhavers]

I'm a snob so I avoid anything from Turkey

 

[DubbleURX]

I'm a snob so I avoid anything from Turkey

I've five guns from Turkey. Each one of them are outstanding. I've two Tisas 1911s, two Caniks, and one Tristar (which is a renamed Canik).

IMO, you can be a snob and own Turkish guns (not that I'm a snob).

 

[Tommy Two Guns]

I'm a snob so I avoid anything from Turkey

Then you're denying yourself some quality guns at 1/3 the price of comparables. My Tisas' are fantastic quality & fit. I just got their Manta. Totally forged. Only MIM part is the RSA cap. Titanium firing pin. $399. Positive waves, Moriarty.

 

[red442joe]

I'm firmly in the Tisas camp. Girsan too, however they are not "spec".

Joe

 

[Mike Moser]

I have a Kimber HD Tactical and a Ruger LW Commander 1911 both in 45acp.Both are flawless.The Kimber has never failed in matches.The only thing I would change on the Ruger is Night sights.Having said that I would like to find a LW Tisas Commader .

 

[dennishoddy]

My Kimber Stainless Target II was used in USPSA competitions for two years with thousands of rounds each year down the tube. The only failure was I allowed it to run over 1000 rounds without cleaning to see if it would do it using semi-wadcutters for reloaded bullets. It never failed me.
Mine was purchased before the Schwartz trigger for a disclaimer. I know nothing of those built with those.

 

[BIGDAVE101]

I avoid any pistol made in Brazil and anything Kimber. Also won't buy Ruger.

As to ones I like, for opening price point guns I like Rock Island and Girsan which are solid basic guns at very good prices. Of course Colt's are always a good choice and the S&W product is excellent as well. I expect SIG's version would be good too and I have been told the short lived Remington is good too.

I avoid Springfield because at least some of their 1911s have frames not in spec size wise, being slightly too large.

FWIW

Chuck

My Springfield 1992, Kimber 1996, and Ruger, all work flawlessly... and my 1988 Colt GOV MK4 runs great also...

 

[BIGDAVE101]

The only "bad" 1911's I've had over the years were from the Philippines back in the day. They were really bad back then. Very rough finish, slide to frame fit, dirty out of the box with metal shavings at times, you get the idea. I went through several of them before going for the more expensive brands. But that being said, I've had a bad Sig, a questionable Taurus, and a very cantankerous High Standard. I think all of the makers have good and bad days where someone lets one slide that should have been thrown off the line. If you are starting off, to no one here's surprise, I'd point you to the new Tisas line. Plenty on here about them. Yesterday I saw that they were picked to supply the CMP with their guns. Nice vote for them on that score. When you find one you like, spend some time searching that model online for reviews, they'll be no shortage of them to read/watch.
Have fun searching, and then shooting!

 

[BIGDAVE101]

The only "bad" 1911's I've had over the years were from the Philippines back in the day. They were really bad back then. Very rough finish, slide to frame fit, dirty out of the box with metal shavings at times, you get the idea. I went through several of them before going for the more expensive brands. But that being said, I've had a bad Sig, a questionable Taurus, and a very cantankerous High Standard. I think all of the makers have good and bad days where someone lets one slide that should have been thrown off the line. If you are starting off, to no one here's surprise, I'd point you to the new Tisas line. Plenty on here about them. Yesterday I saw that they were picked to supply the CMP with their guns. Nice vote for them on that score. When you find one you like, spend some time searching that model online for reviews, they'll be no shortage of them to read/watch.
Have fun searching, and then shooting!

https://thecmp.org/tisas-partners-with-civilian-marksmanship-program-to-build-1911-pistol/[/U

http://

 

[Mike Galway]

Not real impressed with the Taurus. Never owned one. I did handle and shoot a friend's. Didn't like it, and it spent most of it's life going back and forth for warranty repair.

 

[Turkeyman1911]

I'm new here so don't crucify me please. I see hundreds of reply's saying stay away from Kimber! Can someone please elaborate. Specific problems with them would be appreciated. I own 5 Kimbers and I have only had 1 problem and it was a little trigger roughness in a Micro 9 . I sent it back and got it back a couple of days later. Smooth as silk. The 3 1911's have never had any problem and the fit and finish on all of them is great. I am looking at a couple more and I just wanted to see what problems you gentlemen have had with them. Thanks

 

[Mike Galway]

I'm new here so don't crucify me please. I see hundreds of reply's saying stay away from Kimber! Can someone please elaborate. Specific problems with them would be appreciated. I own 5 Kimbers and I have only had 1 problem and it was a little trigger roughness in a Micro 9 . I sent it back and got it back a couple of days later. Smooth as silk. The 3 1911's have never had any problem and the fit and finish on all of them is great. I am looking at a couple more and I just wanted to see what problems you gentlemen have had with them. Thanks

I've never had an issue with a Kimber, and own and have owned quite a few. I do think the new ones are over priced.

 

[tbarnier]

If your on a budget I suggest Tisas if money is not a concern then the choices are endless. I recently found that I now want all my 1911's to have an arched mainspring it improved my grip comfort 100 percent. You should try both a flat mainspring housing and arched. To see which feels better. The better it feels in the hand will make a difference in your shooting.

 

[terdog]

Tisas is decent. I had trouble with my YUKON, but after insisting that SDS look at it, they pretty much fixed it. They ended up replacing the entire slide/barrel.
I wish that they had adjusted the sights that were terribly off. I had to buy a sight pusher and it's now pretty close.
I do have marks on the slide finish from the case impacts after 100 rnds.