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Thread: What do you want in a 1911?

  1. #21
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    Front strap checkering and an extended beaver tail grip safety. The rest is aesthetic.

  2. #22
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    Quote Originally Posted by Esq. View Post
    Polymer frame. Double stack. Striker fired. Linkless. Bushing less. Trigger only safety. Absolute reliability for $600 brand new. Lol....

    So you want a Glock with a propper grip angle?!?

  3. #23
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    More choices in 38 Super.

  4. #24
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    Quote Originally Posted by Steve_in_Allentown View Post
    If money is no object, engage the services of a top tier 1911 'smith to build one from the ground up to be both 100% reliable and gorgeous. Don't be surprised if such a pistol costs upwards of $4,000.
    I know this thread started almost a year ago, but a question about this statement.

    I’m new to 1911s. I bought my first SA GI Milspec in .45 ACP a few weeks ago. Great gun. Shoots accurately and reliably…so far. And it cost me $579 + tax, brand new, delivered to my FFL.

    So forgive this newbie question, but what is a gunsmith or one of these boutique 1911 builders going to give me for 5, 6, 7, or 8 times the money? I get that they may use slightly higher grade parts or the finish will be hand done with more care.

    But does any of that actually translate into a more accurate and more reliable pistol for all that money?
    Last edited by neil0311; 10-04-21 at 08:26.

  5. #25
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    Quote Originally Posted by neil0311 View Post
    I know this thread started almost a year ago, but a question about this statement.

    I’m new to 1911s. I bought my first SA GI Milspec in .45 ACP a few weeks ago. Great gun. Shoots accurately and reliably…so far. And it cost me $579 + tax, brand new, delivered to my FFL.

    So forgive this newbie question, but what is a gunsmith or one of these boutique 1911 builders going to give me for 5, 6, 7, or 8 times the money? I get that they may use slightly higher grade parts or the finish will be hand done with more care.

    But does any of that actually translate into a more accurate and more reliable pistol for all that money?
    I would say yes it does, if you get the right smith to build it, you could expect incredible accuracy and a service life of 10’s of thousands of rounds. Most off the rack guns don’t benefit from any hand fitting and may develop issues much sooner. If it’s worth it to you I think is the question.

  6. #26
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    Quote Originally Posted by neil0311 View Post
    I know this thread started almost a year ago, but a question about this statement.

    I’m new to 1911s. I bought my first SA GI Milspec in .45 ACP a few weeks ago. Great gun. Shoots accurately and reliably…so far. And it cost me $579 + tax, brand new, delivered to my FFL.

    So forgive this newbie question, but what is a gunsmith or one of these boutique 1911 builders going to give me for 5, 6, 7, or 8 times the money? I get that they may use slightly higher grade parts or the finish will be hand done with more care.

    But does any of that actually translate into a more accurate and more reliable pistol for all that money?
    Certainly it does.
    2" and under accuracy at 50 yds., ammunition being the variable with reliability.
    If you can get that with a stock, entry level SA or Colt- buy it.
    A true "Gun Guy" (or gal) should have familiarity and a modicum of proficiency with most all firearms platforms.

  7. #27
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    Quote Originally Posted by neil0311 View Post
    I know this thread started almost a year ago, but a question about this statement.

    I’m new to 1911s. I bought my first SA GI Milspec in .45 ACP a few weeks ago. Great gun. Shoots accurately and reliably…so far. And it cost me $579 + tax, brand new, delivered to my FFL.

    So forgive this newbie question, but what is a gunsmith or one of these boutique 1911 builders going to give me for 5, 6, 7, or 8 times the money? I get that they may use slightly higher grade parts or the finish will be hand done with more care.

    But does any of that actually translate into a more accurate and more reliable pistol for all that money?
    It really depends on what you want. If you are shooting bullseye competitions it would benefit from some custom work, but if you are good with gun that runs any ammo and is capable of 2-3" groups at 25 yards shooting off-hand it would be a waste of money, IMO. There can be some reliability issues with certain ammo when you tighten them up too much. I have one 1911 that I bought used that is loose as a goose but runs anything and gives me good enough accuracy for it's purpose.

  8. #28
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    Quote Originally Posted by gaijin View Post
    Certainly it does.
    2" and under accuracy at 50 yds., ammunition being the variable with reliability.
    If you can get that with a stock, entry level SA or Colt- buy it.
    My Colt .38 super has been nothing but reliable as long I don't screw with the springs or pursue extreme powderpuff loads [which I have done]. I treat it like a Glock cleaning wise too. It was just under $1,000.00 in 2012. It will not shoot under 2" at 50 yards.

  9. #29
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    Quote Originally Posted by s4s4u View Post
    It really depends on what you want. If you are shooting bullseye competitions it would benefit from some custom work, but if you are good with gun that runs any ammo and is capable of 2-3" groups at 25 yards shooting off-hand it would be a waste of money, IMO. There can be some reliability issues with certain ammo when you tighten them up too much. I have one 1911 that I bought used that is loose as a goose but runs anything and gives me good enough accuracy for it's purpose.
    Makes sense, and this is closer to me and my requirements. I’m just plinking FMJ at the range and very rarely shoot pistols beyond 25-50 yards.

    Not saying the higher end 1911s aren’t great, but trying to understand what justifies the higher prices. Appreciate all the clarifications.

  10. #30
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    Quote Originally Posted by neil0311 View Post
    So forgive this newbie question, but what is a gunsmith or one of these boutique 1911 builders going to give me for 5, 6, 7, or 8 times the money? I get that they may use slightly higher grade parts or the finish will be hand done with more care.

    But does any of that actually translate into a more accurate and more reliable pistol for all that money?
    The first big batch of improvements comes in the form of getting all of the parts up to a higher specification in terms of hard use capability (forgo MIM, extractor that is both fitted and correctly tensioned, better barrels, actually usable sights, trigger face that makes sense, hammer/sear that will actually take work and stay reliable), which along with the requisite fitting work, surface treatments, and factory QC/QA tends to bring things closer to the $1500-2000 mark depending on features. That's not to say that more reasonably priced setups can't be as good, but you are the QC/QA tester, and if you're not running hundreds of rounds through it to break it in and rectifying every issue that comes up, then that's why the work grade 1911's really start at that higher price point (but at least come with some magazines and usually more modern features).

    Beyond that, every improvement does enter the diminishing returns zone, where hand checkering, top notch trigger work, flawlessly hand-fit barrel touchpoints, dehorned edges, fancier surface finishes, blended magwells, etc. - these are all improvements but ones that aren't necessarily cost-effective to fit into a production gun, and the honest answer is that because there is a finite number of gunsmiths who can do a genuinely excellent job with these tasks, you end up transitioning a little bit into the boutique pricing end of things because they are one of a kind works of art as much as they are utilitarian fighting tools (sometimes more of the former than the latter), so a little bit of that pricing equation is driven by the fact that there is finite output from all of the shops that do that type of work, and you're competing on cost with well heeled collectors who enjoy gorgeous functional art.

    For me, the sweetspot I've found has been finding gently reworked factory semi-custom guns. Basically finding used, well cared for 1911's that started life as limited production run semi-custom units (with the features I wanted, but from a proper production run), and for the most part on the used market these show up with some additional work done to them. If I like the direction that work went in, the value is just there because it's a narrower market for anybody wanting to buy used firearms that conform to somebody else's dream... but I've wound up making a lot of inebriated gunbroker purchases that have netted me 1911's with much nicer triggers, excellent surface treatments, my odd pile of desired features, and impressive reliability from some great names at a price that is entirely in line with their actual utilitarian value. I've had to do some part-swapping myself to get them all there and sorted out, and lived without a couple of features I still need to get properly sorted out, but you don't have to spend north of $3k to get something in that performance range, especially if you're willing to spend a little bit more to finalize them.

    Practically, it's still really hard to beat a factory semi-custom Springfield unit with some light modifications (barrel or trigger work, as needed), you can very quickly get to an extremely reliable setup that is far more of a tack driver than most any human can make use of. To me, that's the ultimate goal, the 1911 platform excels at, so once it outshoots me completely with a duty load and an affordable FMJ load, job done.
    عندما تصبح الأسلحة محظورة, قد يملكون حظرون عندهم فقط
    کله چی سلاح منع شوی دی، یوازي غلوونکۍ یی به درلود
    Semper Fi
    "Being able to do the basics, on demand, takes practice. " - Sinister

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