Wanted: First 1911 around $1000

I'll throw in with the Springfield recommendations. In particular, a Mil-Spec if you can find one. I have, 'er, more than one and they are outstanding pistols.
 
You absolutely can't beat the Taurus 1911. It 'walks' right along with Springfield, Kimber, and most of the custom makers. Dealer price is give or take $570 in stainless. Look it up and be surprised at all the custom features it includes. Ambi safeties, fitted barrel and bushing, finely checkered metal (hard to do with stainless), bevelled mag well, cut down ejection port, two 8 round mags standard, Heinie sights, etc.
 
i have a kimber and a colt. love them both.

find the models in your price range from reputable brands: colt, sprinfield, kimber, s&w. beyond that, you are really just comparing aesthetics and perhaps some minor features (ie, sights, checkering, serrations, etc.).

if it matters, colts and many springfields are forged/milled, whereas kimbers are cast/milled. however colt is releasing a model with a light rail which im not sure about. if i were in the market right now, i would get the colt w/rail.

dont know about the taurus, but i have always been impressed with their firearms. low prices and typically a quality product.
 
SA, colt, kimber, taurus, all good 1911's, i would just look for a cheap one since i would probably mod it anyway, the only make i dont care for is the double stack para's i just dont like the way the grips feel, my bud has a small single stack with the DA or whatever ya call it and i really like that one.

i have also heard the tuarus 1911's are pretty darned good for the $$, and are an excellent base pistol if ya intend to mod it.

one thing about ther kimbers they already come with all the good stuff and no mod's are needed.

used to be hardly any 1911's worked with HP ammo, they all seem to nowadays, me neighbor bought a colt a few yrs ago and its been 100% with HP, probably the 1st colt i have been around which could say that lol.
 
I have a Taurus, has been a great gun so far. Kind of wish I had waited for the Stainless to come available, though. Still for $499 it was a great deal.
 
Old CW4 said:
You absolutely can't beat the Taurus 1911. It 'walks' right along with Springfield, Kimber, and most of the custom makers.
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I don't have anything against Taurus. They're a good product but they are no where near the quality of a custom or high end 1911. The amount of slop in the parts alone puts them in a different category. My buddy owns one and it's a great gun. But shot side by side with my Ed Brown and the difference is VERY noticable. The triggers alone are worlds apart. Which custom 1911s do you own that are comparable to your Taurus out of curiosity?
 
Infi-del said:
I don't have anything against Taurus. They're a good product but they are no where near the quality of a custom or high end 1911. The amount of slop in the parts alone puts them in a different category. My buddy owns one and it's a great gun. But shot side by side with my Ed Brown and the difference is VERY noticable. The triggers alone are worlds apart. Which custom 1911s do you own that are comparable to your Taurus out of curiosity?
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I'd like to know that answer too.
 
I have shot my friends Taurus alongside my Kimber Custom II and I though the trigger on my Kimber was crisper and the tolerances tighter. Now the Taurus is a great gun IMHO for the money. You get alot for a reasonable price. I just felt like my Kimber was well the better gun. Accuracy wise they both shot well and my shots were tighter than his with both guns. I got better grouping with my Kimber but not by inches....but who knows maybe I subconsiously favored the kimber;).

I am looking at that Para P14 and me thinks I need one:D
 
Shop around. My dad found a Kimber compact gun from their custom shop at a show in Tampa for $900.
 
I have a highly customized Colt National Match with all the bells and whistles and shot it in a lot of matches for many years. Also have a Springfield V16 which, IMO, is a POS. My Taurus 1911 will shoot rings around both of them. I work as a deputy sheriff part time and fired a 98 out of 100 possible with the Taurus right out of the box. It is a gem and I've found nothing loose on it. It has the crispest ambi safeties (which can be tricky and sticky) I've ever felt on any 1911 and I've worked on hundreds of them as a smith. I almost always 'tune' my new guns but I've felt zero need to do that with the Taurus. Mine gauged 3.2 crisp. no slop lbs trigger pull from the box and I have no need to go lighter. A number of my fellow deputies have fired my Taurus. No one found fault with it and several said they wished they'd got one instead of their Kimbers or whatever for three and four or even more times the price.

There's also another advantage of the lower priced but top notch Taurus here in New Mexico which has to do with police shootings. Here, even if you're totally righteous, the State investigators will still confiscate your firearm and keep it for up to two years while the admin process grinds slowly on. There's also a chance you may never see your gun again since there are instances of them 'getting lost or misplaced' in the process. I'd rather lose my $570 Taurus temporarily or permanently rather than one of the no better 'bragging rights' guns that costs a lot more. That investigative 'machinery' is also the reason I pack a Polish P64 9x18 at $150 off duty rather than my $600 Kahr 40. The P64, BTW, is one hell of a pistol especially with Makarov Plus P ammo.
 
i agree the taurus' are a bit rougher than an ed brown lol, as well they should be.

imho they are a good base pistol though to mod and to me thats one of the cool things about 1911's, moding them.

but no without a lotta work a taurus aint gonna be equal to most custom, i have seen some mod'ed 1911's which i suppose ya could call "custom" which were pretty bad though lol,
 
I have 2 Kimbers, A Custom TLE2 Full Size, and a Custom 2 Pro TLEII RL (4" barrel and a rail) both are amazing, I have never owned a SA 1911 but own 3 SA XD's they do make a great 1911 though. For the money, Taurus makes a great 1911 as well.

Ryan
 
One thing to keep in mind is that although Taurus makes a perfectly good 1911, their customer service has the reputation of being horrendous. Something to consider as there is always the chance of getting a lemon.
 
To push that $1000 limit, look into Dan Wesson's. They are supposed to be really good for the price.
 
Thanks for all the input i am currently looking at several choices, and whatever else comes along.
Kimber Custom TLE/RL II
Kimber Classic Stainless
Springfield mil-spec
 
SIFU1A said:
SA, colt, kimber, taurus, all good 1911's, i would just look for a cheap one since i would probably mod it anyway, the only make i dont care for is the double stack para's i just dont like the way the grips feel, my bud has a small single stack with the DA or whatever ya call it and i really like that one.
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The LDA? (Light Double Action)

I have a double stack LDA, a no-no in the eyes of many 1911 owners but at the time it was all I could afford. Honestly I don't mind at all on the DA though I have to invest in a single action 1911 one of these days.

The double stack mag is a bit "beefier" then a single and thus the grip is a bit larger. If you were raised on a single stack grip its going to feel funny, but after shooting it for awhile you forget about it. Initally I had issues as well with the double stack grip but after a month I forgot about it and I swore the grip melded to fit my hand. Today its the most natural feeling grip I have and when I pick up a 1911 with a single stack grip it "feels funny" to me.

1sharpedge said:
Thanks for all the input i am currently looking at several choices, and whatever else comes along.
Kimber Custom TLE/RL II
Kimber Classic Stainless
Springfield mil-spec
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:thumbup: No matter what you pick your going to get a great gun...Of course it won't be a para :D But it still will be a great gun.
 
yep the LDA, it was an officers model size 1911, single stack with the LDA trigger, i did like that one, i havent ever shot a full size with that trigger though.
 
kamagong, Sir, I suspect you might be assessing Taurus from a few years back. ABout 12 years ago they reorganized and modernized. Since then, they've had some of the best quality control in the industry backed up by a life-time warranty. I'm a gunsmith and dealer and back then I would have said the same thing. Then, all of a sudden, came the new Taurus guns. The difference was and is night and day! Taurus, BTW, researched and perfected titanium machining then gave the technology to the world for free.
 
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