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Buying 1911

Smith and Wesson has a lifetime guarantee, and you can send the gun back any time for service, whether or not you are the original owner. That is a lot of peace of mind to have.
 
+1 S&W. I will never part with mine. Get a steel frame if you plan to pound a lot of rounds though, Kevin at NET recommended it, and i'm glad i did.
 
Get something nice, you're in RI. Wilson Combat, Les Baer, Ed Brown, etc. My Wilson Combat is the most reliable handgun I own.

S&W's are okay (I own one), but they have an added "safety" feature (the pointless firing pin safety). A perfected design with another safety feature is a liability, IMO. Then there's the external extractor... no real biggie, but not a preference of mine. ALL THAT BEING SAID, my S&W has been 100% reliable so far with over 1k of ball ammo... I have yet to test defensive rounds, that's next.

Yelena said:
OK, so I decided (surprise, surprise!) to buy 1911. What I'm looking for is a functional, reliable gun which can be used for fun and for defense. Price is not a huge issue. The saleperson from Competition Shooting Supplies, where I buy everything, advised me to think of Brazilian Taurus. Tonight, I had tried this gun. It is surprisingly accurate and handy. I liked it a lot. However,I'd like to ask for more opinions here. What whould you guys recommend?
Thanks!
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If you want a reliable out of the box 1911, forget about Taurus.
 
Yelena said:
Maybe I better speed up with the decision,
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I'd suggest the opposite. Slow things down just a bit, come to one of our shoots, there will be plenty if 1911's to try.

What you really need to consider is your primary use for this investment. If this is for carry use, you might want to consider an Officers's or Commander size and then if you want it in an alloy or steel.

For home defense or target you might want to consider a full size Government model.

There are plenty of choices. Don't rush things.

Beware, 1911 fever is contagious...
 
I have a S&W 1911 and you are welcome to come up to my club some evening and try it out. About 1/2 hr north of the civic center, we talked @ sippican, I would need a little warning and some nights are team nights but...
 
I have 2 para ordnance 45,s an alloy frame commander style and an LDA paracarry both are very accurate and comfortable to carry. so many choices so little time that's half the fun.
 
You would be well served by any of the major manufacturers such as Colt, S&W, Springfield Armory and so on. As for Taurus, I wouldn't take one for free. They are absolute junk.
And to all of the the Taurus fans who are about to slam me let me say this:
Find me one police department, military unit, tactical team or other law enforcement or special operations group that use a Taurus and I'll stand corrected. I'm not worried because you won't find one.
 
Government - 5" barrel
Commander - 4ish" barrel
Officer - 3ish" barrel
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The Govt. model and Commander both have the same size grip, and use the same magazines (7 or 8 rounds flush).

The Officer's model uses a shorter grip frame and a smaller magazine (6 or 7 rounds flush). The standard magazines will not fit in the officer's model, and vice versa.

As noted above, the Commander is a 4 1/4 in. barrel.

There are other variants: the Kimber Compact has a 4" barrel on an Officer's model frame. I find this works better for me than the Commander (more concealable with a shorter grip) or the Officers model (longer sight radius). WilsonCombat's Compact model appears to be the same size.

Springfield has an "Ultra Compact" model with a 3.5" barrel on an Officer's model frame.

Unfortunately, it doesn't appear that S&W makes a Compact model, so they are hard to find here in MA.
 
I own a custom Colt series 70, I've never had a jam with it, and I own an Auto Ordnance (nobody's perfect) I consider these guns to be the opposite ends of the spectrum in terms of quality. I place Taurus just above Auto Ordnance. I've shot a friend's and while it was decently accurate, it was certainly not 100% reliable. I've shot a S&W 1911, and after shooting my series 70 all day prior, I was able to pick it up, and place rounds on target as if I was shooting my Colt. The safety feature, to me, was not noticeable in trigger pull.
Hope this helps;

-James G.
 
If I were lucky enough to live outside of Massachusetts and wanted a new 1911, I would spend the money and buy a Caspian frame and slide and have it built up to my specs.
 
1911

Yelena
First thing is how much do you want to spend? If it`s under a grand go with the S&W. I have on and it`s a great weapon. They have many different models to choose from also. Stainless,Scandium,etc. If you wanted to travel to Springfield you could try them at their range or I could meet you there and you could shoot my full size SS model.
 
Yelena,

If you haven't bought one by the time of the Pumpkin Shoot, I'll bring four for you to try:
S&W
Colt Series 70
Rock Island Armory
Sistema "Colt"
 
I am a huge fan of 1911's I would honestly get a Les Baer if money is no object otherwise a Colt or Kimber heard alot about the new "SIS". Do not buy a SW
 
I've had two Springfields and both functioned very well; I still have the one with full rails. I have had the opportunity to inspect a new Taurus and the fit & finish were excellent. Unfortunately I didn't get the chance to fire it so I can't speak on the accuracy or function.

If you ever make it up to So. Maine you're welcome to try out the Springfield.
 
Yelena, I'll have my Para P12 with me at the Pumpkin Shoots that you're welcome to try, too (you've already been offered lots of SW1911s to try).

One more thing: if anyone tries to sell you an AMT Hardballer, here is what you do: RUN, do not walk, RUN away. They're garbage.
 
dwarven1 said:
I'm crushed... I thought she had better taste than to buy a plastic pistol. [crying]
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You obviously haven't shot one!! The M&P .45 is an awesome gun . . . I'm sure that it won't be after they butcher it with a MA trigger, but that can be corrected by a skilled gunsmith.
 
Actually, I have, Len. And I stand by my comment. I'd rather have a 1911 any day of the week. Or a Kahr K9, or a CZ-75B... anything that's made of STEEL.

Gold is for the Mistress, Silver for the Maid.
Copper for the Craftsman, cunning at his trade.
"Good!", said the Baron, sitting in his hall.
"But Iron, Cold Iron, be master of them all."

That goes for polymer, too.
 

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