Who are the top ten 1911 manufacturers?

[fixit69]

I like the list! I would swap out Ed Brown with Paul Liebenberg of Pistol Dynamics. He is also probably the only guy that I would buy a 1911 with an external extractor from. If you stumble across a RRA they are also excellent 1911's.

If we are going to let the custom 1911 guys on the list then...

John Harrison and Larry Vickers would top my list.

Colt
RRA
Ed Brown
Nighthawk
Springfield
Wilson
STI

This is my production/semi custom list. Can't think of ten I'd spend the cash on these days except custom makers.

Out of the many I have owned, the RRA ranks with the finest semi custom 1911's. The only reason I posted was I rarely hear mention of their pistols anymore.

The RRA ar... now that is another story.

[Gunzilla]

http://www.1911addicts.com/showthrea...u-1911-addicts...

Thanks for posting this link, it's an awesome write-up of many popular 1911 brands and models, and is an excellent buyers guide!!

Since we all know how good the custom 1911s are let me stick to the big name manufacturers, in order:

Dan Wesson
Colt
Springfield Armory
....everyone else

[M4Fundi]

Colt
Volkmann Custom
Ed Brown

[CoryCop25]

I don't know about top 10 but the Smith & Wesson E series are sure looking nice.

[Magic_Salad0892]

1 - Colt (Or custom builds on Colt guns, Dave Barryhill, and Chuck Rogers come to mind.)
2 - Smith & Wesson
3 - Cylinder & Slide builds. (I've only shot an original Colt 1911 WWII reproduction. I was impressed.)

I can only list three, as I have almost no experience with STI, Nighthawk, Baer, Wilson, or the others.

These are just the only 1911s I've shot that have held up to high rounds counts by the guys that owned them, that I've personally shot.

There was also a lack of S&W.

FWIW - I think Star makes a good 9x19mm 1911.

[samuse]

Assuming we're talking about a 5" carbon steel gun 45ACP.

1. Springfield Custom (my favorite so far)
2. Les Baer (I personally hate his guns, but I do believe they build 'em to run)
3. Ed Brown

4.Wilson Combat (never had one but the internet likes 'em)
5.Nighthawk (see #4)

I can't count to ten good 1911 manufacturers. Most of 'em build guns that I consider to toys that are capable of firing live ammo.

[BGREID]

A single (n=1) observation on a gun with 3k rounds (a very low rnd count by 1911 standards) is more valid then the advice of those who see thousands of 1911s, build them for a living over decades, assess them, go into combat with them, put 10s of thousands of rnds through them, have forgotten more about the platform in day than you or I will ever know (e.g., Yam, LAV, Hackathorn, et al) to a man will tell you they are problematic, poor QC, not worth the $$$ etc.

Which opinion to follow? Such choices...

God help me people are thick some times.

Really how many people do you know that have shot tens of thousands of rounds out of any handgun in combat?

[mk262]

Note: This is pretty subjective, but I'm combining manufacturers and 1911 custom makers. The idea being, these are the "top 10 sources" I'd choose for getting a 1911, regardless whether production or custom made. Not in any particular order, but these are the 10 that I prefer the most, I don't necessarily think these are the "best" in the sense that they'd beat all others in absolute quality. There are many other good custom makers who could have been in this list who build stuff of equal quality, but some of those I omitted build very high-priced, "pretty" 1911's for instance, which I am less interested in.

Springfield (mainly their Pro, TRP, Operator, and custom lines)
Cylinder and Slide
Wilson
Dave Erickson
Dave Berryfield
Ed Brown
Colt
Les Baer
John Harrison
Chuck Rogers

now thats more like it!!!

[maximus83]

Out of the many I have owned, the RRA ranks with the finest semi custom 1911's. The only reason I posted was I rarely hear mention of their pistols anymore.

I think that's because RRA doesn't MAKE 1911's anymore.

However, one new thing they are doing is releasing a POLYMER-based 1911. No idea if this thing is any good or will pan out, but I must confess it sure LOOKS interesting.

http://www.rockriverarms.com/index.c...ategory_id=559

[fixit69]

That does LOOK interesting. I hope they pick up where they left off with the 1911 design and the quality with which it was made.