All This 1911 Talk...

I have a SA GI in SS on order, from the research I did it was the best quality I could find in my price range, if you're going up to $900 you could get a Milspec for in the high $600 range I believe, you might be able to find a loaded for that price range if you shop around.
 
I have a full size S&W 1911 PD and a Para 1445. Out of the box, hands down to the Smith. I had a trigger job on the Para and now from an accuracy and reliability it is about the same as the Smith... but I only have about 2K rounds through it. I have heard and read about wear and tear issues... we will see
I had lousy mags for the para... Kept returning them till i got good ones... and yup, Feeding problems went away.... Hope to add a SA GI before the end of the year... got a friend that had a trigger job put to one and it is a sweet shooting 1911...
 
notalib said:
I have a full size S&W 1911 PD and a Para 1445. Out of the box, hands down to the Smith. I had a trigger job on the Para and now from an accuracy and reliability it is about the same as the Smith... but I only have about 2K rounds through it. I have heard and read about wear and tear issues... we will see
I had lousy mags for the para... Kept returning them till i got good ones... and yup, Feeding problems went away.... Hope to add a SA GI before the end of the year... got a friend that had a trigger job put to one and it is a sweet shooting 1911...
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How did you like the sites on the SA GI? I have heard that older crowds usually don't like them because of the low profile but younger crowds say they're fine.
 
I took some old Colts 70 series to Dave Santurri and had him cut and mill the slides and install all new sights what a difference a green fiber optic front sight with adjustable all black rear sight makes. It was well worth the money..
 
The S&W 1911s have performed very well for me. My only complaint is the grip safety system (see, M1911's comments above), but I can get over that. The ejectors have never failed me.

My real complaint is not with the S&Ws but with the Wilson Combat 8 round mags with their concave followers; after numerous FTFs I will not abide them and swap them for 7 round followers.

I have two Kimber series I pistols: one has been 100% for years, and the other (a Custom Carry) has given me fits due to FTFs. It may have been corrected after the most recent trek to Yonkers, but I am dumping the "Kimber"/McCormick mag that came with the mofo.

My problem with Colt is their insistence on using low cut frames. The high cut frames are much more conducive to faster follow up shots.
 
MaineAtHeart said:
How did you like the sites on the SA GI? I have heard that older crowds usually don't like them because of the low profile but younger crowds say they're fine.
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I'm one of the older crowd. My 49-year-old eyes just can't use the small sights. A good gunsmith can mill the slide as required and install a usable pair of sights.
 
I have owned two para's a 1911 LTC and a Para Carry with the LDA trigger both were accurate and had no malfunctions. But I recently traded them for a S&W 1911 SS target model It was just so pretty sitting in the case and begged me to take it home. I will be trying it out this Sunday morning at Old Colony in pembroke.
 
I have owned several series 80 Colts, and love them. I wanted a new 1911, and since new Colts are a no-no here in Mass., I bought S&W 1911PD. It came with Italian made mags which function perfectly. But, my first trip to the range resulted in numerous shells hitting me in the head/face when ejected. This was with new factory hardball ammo. I sent it back, S&W replaced the ejector with an extended ejector from Ed Brown, and it is much better, but I did get hit with a couple shells after firing about 100 rounds. I'll try it one more time before contacting S&W. I have had no problems so far with the safety, but have only fired maybe 200 rounds. Nice gun overall.
 
Does anyone know a smith in CT who could put on a fiber optic front sight?

Or does anyone make one you could just tap out of the dovetail and install another. I'm fairly handy and can do basic gunsmithing stuff, but I'm not about to start milling my slide.

Thanks.

The local thing is big becaus if you ship a gun, you usually end up paying 2 x as much in shipping as you do for the work.

Don
 
what are folks thoughts on the Ed Brown Executive Carry?

I know of one for sale that I ran across the other day with 500 rounds down it - worth all that money?
 
CambridgeGuy said:
I know of one for sale that I ran across the other day with 500 rounds down it - worth all that money?
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Ed Browns are great 1911s.... if you can afford them.

If I had money laying around one would be in my top 10 list.

-Mike
 
Maybe there are two different Para Companies out there ... and Matching Alternate Universe high end 1911 makers ... Because every one I know with a 2000 dollar 1911 doesn't actually trust it or shoot it much.

I own a para SSP - the " normal " 1911 format , 7 or 8 shot , 5 inch barrel. It eats everything ; Lead Ball, fmj ball , truncated cone , HP's , even empty brass ...

The Break In instructions for the once new gun was " Shoot a case of factory brass through before you even bother to clean it. . Seriously. Now I clean it religiously at least every 1500 to 2K rounds ,

It has holster wear from their not so good bluing. Has a few dings from getting rough treatment over the few years I've had it. As a matter of fact , it's looking kind of ... Used. I have had a few problems , with magazines : Smith & Wesson magazines.

I'm sure one of these days something will break. And then I'll .... ( get ready for it) ....

... fix it.


It's a tool , made of metal parts , eventually something will need work or replacement.
I accept it. I expect it. And I like mine.

But go ahead and ignore this , I have a low post count. Buy a more expensive prettier one if you like. If you look around you should be able to find a nice one for at least 3 times the cost of lowly Para.

Or buy a Para , 4 nice mags , a Dillon 550 , a few thousand bullets and primers , a few pounds of powder and a membership to a gun club for the price of that Used Kimber,
 
I just sold a S&W 1911Sc (scandium framed commander) and I'll be replacing it with a Sig GSR Revolution Target in the next week or so. I sold the S&W because I bought it with the thought I'd carry it and decided I'd rather carry a smaller gun. The S&W was very reliable and accurate and I'll probably regret selling it at some point.

The reviews I've read on the Sig 1911s basically state the early ones had issues but that the more recent ones are very good. I played around with one in a shop and was impressed with the fit and finish.
 
Bought a 1911Sc last year, used, at Four Seasons. Didn't shoot it all winter, almost sold it. Took it to the range and now I remember why I bought it. It's my carry piece now when I carry. I love it! (BTW, I'm a 5'3" woman with a medium build and I can hide it well with the right clothing).
 
fubar said:
Maybe there are two different Para Companies out there ... and Matching Alternate Universe high end 1911 makers ... Because every one I know with a 2000 dollar 1911 doesn't actually trust it or shoot it much.
Click to expand...
Huh?

I bought my Wilson Combat well-used. The previous owner had clearly shot it a good bit and run it through a fair number of holsters. I've done the same. It is clearly the best of my 7 1911s, and is what I use when shooting IDPA or plinking at the range. Lovely gun.
 
i just bought a used ( 2 boxes of shells through it ) rock island armory.
i'm more than impressed with the fit and finish, though as soon as i find a local pistol smith i WILL be getting the slide cut for novac sights, and i am about to do a trigger job on it myself
 
fubar said:
.

It's a tool , made of metal parts , eventually something will need work or replacement.
I accept it. I expect it. And I like mine.

But go ahead and ignore this , I have a low post count. Buy a more expensive prettier one if you like. If you look around you should be able to find a nice one for at least 3 times the cost of lowly Para.
Click to expand...

I shoot the hell out of my expensive pistol every week. Love it. My Para - not so much. It would eat (and still does) anything I put through it but the groups were horrible - like the size of the whole paper target at 40 ft. The bushing was loose in the slide, the barrel was loose in the bushing and the crown on the barrel looked like it had been done with a big phillips head screwdriver.

Long story short - after fitting a new bushing, sending the barrel to Pinnicle to be re-crowned and having the chincy cast hammer, sear and disconnector replaced. It is pretty good. Still cant hold a candle up to the accuracy and performance I get out of my big $$ pistol.

I still want to sell the Para top end off it and replace it with a nice barrel and slide combo.

That is my honest experience with Para. Going to keep the one I have, for the hi-cap frame but wouldn't buy another one.
 
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" I shoot the hell out of my expensive pistol every week. "

And I shoot the hell out of my Para every week. Yours is better than mine. We're both happy. Moving on now ....
 
fubar said:
" I shoot the hell out of my expensive pistol every week. "

And I shoot the hell out of my Para every week. Yours is better than mine. We're both happy. Moving on now ....
Click to expand...

You would be alot happier with his. [grin]

Its such an easy gun to shoot fast and accurately. worth every penny
 
... okay. What do we wnat a 1911 to do ?

Run reliably for concealed carry & self defense ? Going bang and eating whatever is available for feeding it , and in todays shopping world I buy any of 5 or 6 powders and whatever is on the rack for bullet " tips. "

Hit a steel plate at 40 feet ?
Win a bullseye shoot at 75 feet ?
Retain it's value and become an investment item over the years , providing the owner with that special feeling when they look in the safe ?

I want mine to work every time. It does. I never owned yours , that sucked , and you sold it for a real gun ( I know : straw man , bear with me please. )

I shoot steel plates on Sunday. Like every sunday , but I don't compete 'cause I am just an okay shooter - I still miss when I go fast. Whatever " fast " is; it keeps changing for me , you know ?

I don't tune my gun or ammo . looking for that magic recipe with no recoil and laser accuracy - because I also carry the same gun for SD / CCW. If that terrible day comes when I point it at a human I will have great familiarity with 230gr ammo going 820 fps.

I am not a bullseye competitor , again , more interested in self defense and " Minute of Pie Plate going fast " accuracy @ less than 75 feet. So I find myself plenty happy with a reliable 1911 that doesn't make one hole groups @ 25 yards .... but I am still pretty damn sure the gun is more accurate than I am anyhow - so it doesn't really matter.

As for the investment value of the piece : I am one of those guys who will spend 200 bucks on a high end folding knife and then carry the damn thing in my pocket with coins and scratchy linty bits ... I didn't buy the gun as an investment , I bought it as something to use the hell out of.

And lastly , importantly : I am just a no one , not wealthy , not an agent/cop/active duty operator. If someone wants to sell me their custom tuned Colt for say 600 bucks , I'd say sure. And I'd put it in a variety of different holsters , carry it every day , scratch it up , only shoot it with full power loads and expect it to do what I started this with :

be a good tool that will wear out and require fixing when the day comes.
 
fubar said:
... okay. What do we wnat a 1911 to do ?
Click to expand...
One of my para(s) is a carry piece the other I shoot in USPSA, but I'd rather have the expensive S*I then BOTH of my Paras.

Respectfully,
jkelly
 
fubar, your reverse snobbery isn't convincing anyone.

My Wilson Combat was well scratched up before I bought it. It is more scratched up now. I put it in Kydex holster. I use it on the range. I use it in competitions. And I carry it now and then as well.

If you don't want to believe that you would notice the difference between a high-end gun and your Para, that's your right. Just like most any item, from stereos to cameras to wine to automobiles, there is the law of diminishing returns. But as a fellow who owns 1 Para, 3 Kimbers, 1 Springfield, 1 Colt, and a Wilson Combat, I can tell you that I prefer the Wilson.

I suggest that you keep an open mind until you actually try one.
 
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fubar said:
...

As for the investment value of the piece : I am one of those guys who will spend 200 bucks on a high end folding knife and then carry the damn thing in my pocket with coins and scratchy linty bits ... I didn't buy the gun as an investment , I bought it as something to use the hell out of.

be a good tool that will wear out and require fixing when the day comes.
Click to expand...

I bought my guns to shoot also. But the thing with custom guns is that they will last longer because they are fitted better. The will be accurate and reliable right out of the box

Mine lock up as tight as the day I got them. every piece is hand fitted, from the slide to the firing pin, everything was built to run and to last. This is were the benefit of high end guns are
 
" fubar, your reverse snobbery isn't convincing anyone. ..... I suggest that you keep an open mind until you actually try one."

I don't recall recounting my history and resume of shooting the 1911 platform. It's true , in my experience , high end big name customs tend to be safe queens , and the 1st one I ever met - a Kimber - has serious reliability issues.

Clearly , I am annoying people. I apologize , I come here to read interesting things , not get in internet fights with local shooters. I'll lurk more and opine less.
 

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