.45 ACP, rate the field....

Marion David Poff

Marion David Poff

Joined
Oct 8, 1998
Messages
5,403
Good Day,

If you would bend your mind to the following, I would be highly thankful.

Given the .45 ACP round, what would you consider the top 5 1911-A1 Brands? And in each brand, which offering do you feel offers the best performance for the dollar.

In non 1911-A1 offerings, how would you rate the H&K, and what other offerings impress you.

It will be a daily carry, and I will train with it to a competent level.
 
I cannot rate the current lsit of .45ACP's because there are too many variables but for everday carry, my pick is the H&K USP Compact.

It carries well, carries discreetly, and I have never had a malfunction with factory ammo. On a scale of 1-10 for personal safety carry, I would rate the H&K line a 10.
 
I'll just skip over all the 1911 BS and suggest the Glock model 21, or if you have hands that are on the "small side", the Glock model 36.
 
Well I love my Glock -17 its just doesnt have that feeling like my Spingfield 1911. I can shoot my 1911 better then any handgun that I own and its scary accurate,alot more accurate then myself.
Also if you do decide to get a 1911 prepare for a addiction,When I got mine I thought hey this is a sweet shooter then I went to Kings gun works and before you know it I have had a match grade barrel and bushing,and a trigger job set at 3 pounds.
Now I own a gun that I love and still want to ad some other things.
My girlfriend who is 5'6 110 pounds shoots my 1911 better then my glock and Berreta,Its just a easy gun to shoot and very easy to handle.
But any gun from HK or Glock would serve you well as they are very reliable,Ive just been hooked by the 1911.
 
I have owned 1911 pistols by Colt, ODI, Springfield, Kimber, Wilson, and Les Baer. I would never buy another Colt unless it was a product of their custom shop. Kimbers, for all their reputation and ad hype, are only OK. Be prepared to tinker with it, and IMO, they need to find another vendor to provide them with magazines, because none of my three Kimbers worked with the factory mag. My stainless Gold Match would ONLY function with McCormick Power Mags. ODI went under, and it is no wonder why. My one Springfield was an early one, and worked fine. I sold it in a moment of weakness during a lean time. Les Baer Pistols are very tight, and may take some shooting before they work, but my Thunder Ranch Special has been 100% reliable from the start. My Wilson is also reliable. I may yet buy another 1911 in the future, and if so, it will almost certainly be a Les Baer or Wilson. Expensive, yes, but if I want economy I will just get a Glock, since it will almost certainly work reliably. IMHO, the 1911 design requires a highly skilled artisan to do the assembly, and such skill is not cheap.
 
Of the present "factory" offerings in the 1911 design, I truly like Springfield and Kimber. I give the edge to Springfield because I have had more of them and been truly pleased with their quality/performance for the dollar. Their loaded designs are top notch and I really like the wide selection they offer in this series.
I have owned a Glock 21, nice piece, but a little combersome and blocky for my tastes. I still own a Sig 220. Great piece! It is another piece that can out shoot me daily. My love still goes to the 1911 though. I wish you luck in your search. Let us all know what you end up falling in love with.:D ;)
 
I like the Springfield line for dollar value. The Kimbers are pretty hard to beat too, but the use of MIM (Sintered metal) parts worry me. Never had a problem, but the thought of powdered metal worries me. I like the Glocks for defensive carry and they are ready to run out of the box. H&K and SIG are high on the list, but pricey. I vary my carry between a Glock 23 (issue) or my Gunsite Service Pistol (GSP Springfield 1911, built by Mr. Yost of Gunsite Gunsmithy)depending on mood. I shot an INS buddy's H&K with the DAO feature, had the nicest DA trigger I have felt. That is on my next gun to get list.
 
5 good 1911's...

How about... Wilson Combat/Les Baer/Infinity/MEU(SOC)1911/Springfield Operator. Biggest bang for the buck? I guess Springfield or Kimber? Actually (seriously) I have heard that the newest version of Dan Wessons 1911 is probably the biggest bang for the buck if you are looking at a sub-$800 1911. Those mentioned above are going to run you more than that perhaps with the exception of the MEU pistol but you would have to do all the smithing yourself or have a really special buddy at Quantico.
Glocks are great if you like the hammerless striker fired mechanism. And if your hands fit double stack .45 magazines. I'm not going to start Glocking and spout off all the good points of these pistols (see Glocktalk.com)

SIGs are great if you like traditional DA pistols and have smaller hands (P220=single stack, very comfortable). One of the best non-1911 trigger pulls, IMO... (sigforums.com?)

HKs. I started off with a 1911 (Para) that turned out to be the biggest POS! I traded it for a USP .45 because I prefer cocked and locked carry like a 1911, ,but didn't want to go wth a 1911 again. Being a double stack .45 like Glock, it isn't for the small-handed. (hkpro.com)
IMO the best choice to get as close to a 1911 in the 'modern' platforms is the USP Compact .45 as it has a single stack magazine. My biggest beef with the USP series is the long trigger reset, followed by the no-so-great trigger pull. I chainged the stock 14lb mainspring with a WOLFF 12lb er and it did improve the pull a bit. My uunderstanding is that the Match trigger group (on the USP Expert, Match, Tactical, etc) uses a 12lb mainspring, hence my switch.

The bottom line is to shoot as many as you can before you decide. If I could do it all over again, I'd probably go with a different brand of 1911 and get a 10mm Glock as a boonies gun. I combined both roles and came with a USP .45 - big bullet, tough as hell, reliable, accurate, etc. etc. Am considering using the 450 SMC from Triton as a boonies carry load as an unmodified USP can fire these with no problem.

Also search on thefiringline.com for a particular model before you decide...
 
Don't actually own a 1911 yet, but I've done TONS of research, and the Colt 1991 A1 is at the top of my list, followed by the Springfield mil-spec. Both are great guns. Check out www.1911forum.com for more info...

However, I just bought a Glock 30. Why?

- Reliable and durable as a brick
- 11 rounds of .45 in a compact package
- No safeties to fuss with

I think every gun nut needs a 1911, and I sure want one, but I'd probably pick the G30 over a 1911 because of superior reliability, durability, and capacity.

True that most 1911's are reliable, however, lets just say that I read of more reliability issues with any 1911 far more than with any Glock.

And I'm not a Glock nut by any means...I never really liked them much at all; always thought they were ugly as hell, but then I realized how durable and reliable they are...now I have a 27 and 30! :D
 
All my 1911s were manufactured by Colt, so I can't help much in the first part of your query, but I would like to add another to the chorus of "yea" votes for the H&K USP in the plastic pistol category. The combination of "cocked and locked" carry option, positive safety, exposed hammer, decocker, polygonal rifling, and the best, fastest mag release mechanism in the industry made my decision an easy one.
 
I give H&k a very high ranking. You mentioned 1911's and I would like to say that the USP's offer C&L carry if that is what you are comfortable with. They also offer a decocker and the saftey can be ingaged while decocked or while jacking a round into the chamber. USP's are very acurate and have a good trigger(granted the trigger will never stand up to the 1911 but it beats glock by a long shot in my book). Also they are utteraly reliable. H&K's are not cheap but if you are looking at high end 1911's which can run $1000+ the price of the USP should not be prohibitive.
 
I have Para p-13 limited that is a great example of factory guns with custom features...It never misses a lick....
 
Colt is making some of the best 1911's ever produced in the last couple decades.

If you want Semi-custom, it is hard to beat Les Baer or Ed Brown.

And there are quite a few talented 'smiths that can turn your factory 1911 into something really cool!

HK takes second place as a .45 ACP platform to the 1911, IMHO.
 
Frankly, I've had very good luck with Colts. The two Officer's Models I owned, and the Gov't Model I still have have proven to be more reliable (to me, anyways) than most are led to believe.

I'm not a believer in space guns, so that may be one reason for by good experience. My Gov't is nearly 20 years old. It's had a few if the rather basic mods, extended grip safety, Commander hammer, longer trigger with trigger-job, things that you couldn't get in a factory pistol package at the time. I never used the Hornady flying-ashtrays, so I've never needed it throated, ramped, bevelled, whatever. I can't recall the last time I ever had a problem with it.

That said, I'd agree that some of the Springfield packages are a great bang for the buck.

For a non-1911 .45 ACP, I've shot and liked the HK but found myself more accurate and comfortable with the SIG 220. That would be my own route, personally, in a non-1911 pattern pistol.
 
Mine is a Kimber Compact. Great gun for the money. Then again, I've had Colts and Springfields that shot great. Even a little Glock 36 shot every time I pulled the trigger.

Brad
 
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