Best 1911 for beginners

[Watermelonassassin]

Your overanalyzing this, I'm sorry to say... You said in your original post that your max base gun budget is $900, without upgrades. Did you consider getting the gun (whatever it may be, the suggestions in here I will concur. But narrow it down to a RO and used STI Trojan or Spartan) and just shooting it. Then figure out what upgrades you want to do later? I know that's not what you want to hear but it might be in your best interest as a college student (I was just in that same boat last year) and beginning uspsa shooter.

Also, in your max budget of $x, you'll need a belt, holster mag pouches and at minimum 8 magazines? Costs can add up quick, your looking at $700-900+ with the mods not including the gun. And upwards of $1500-2000 including the gun. A magwell is great, f/o sights are great, but practicing is going to be much more beneficial to you. The gun already has sights, grips, mag release, an opening for the magazine. No need to upgrade now, that can wait. It's got the barr essentials already.

Just my $0.02, take it as you wish.

Ohh.... Where are you going to store the gun? Being in college you can't have a gun on campus.

Hope all this helps!

--J

I currently rent a house off campus so I am able to have guns there. I even have a big ole safe and all that. So it seems it would have been best to get a cheaper 1911 so I can get all the accessories. I didn't expect to immediately compete with it factory new. I would like a gun that has some benefits already there, but I honestly would need to practice more to get the self confidence behind the gun necessary to compete as right now I have maybe 5 mags through a 1911 in my lifetime. I have a range officer on order through the local gun store now. I just couldn't deny the quality. Now I need mags, belts, holsters, etc. It will probably take me a few months to slowly build the kit I need. All the while I will be shooting it as much as possible.

Excellent choice! There are ways to save money on that other gear. I've found the Blade Tech Revolution holster works well with a single stack- I think I paid 24 for mine. I made my own single stack pouches in college for $10 worth of kydex. Down the road you can add a boss hanger from the Ben Stoeger pro shop to your holster and go for whatever mag pouches you want but you can get into it cheap. The initial quality of the gun, and the warranty from Springfield, are hard to beat.

Down the road you can likely find someone to lend you a hand with a trigger job or other little mods you might want to make but starting with a solid foundation is a wise choice.

Yea I am pretty happy with my decision. I am spending all today and tomorrow loading .45 should have over 10k rounds by the time I'm done. My springer comes with some owb holster and mag pouches. Is any of that stuff useful for this application? Or am I better of getting the blade tech?

[jbultman]

Well congrats on the range officer! It's a great gun, my buddy actually just got done building one up for idpa esp, and its the best 1911 I've ever felt and shot hands down. It's pretty awesome! I think you'll be happy with it. Shoot whatcha got for now. Then later you'll know what you want to do and why. Instead of just upgrading because someone on here told you to. Not that the advice or parts anyone has offered you thus far is bad, it just may not be what you want in the long run.

I think you should scrap the pouches and holster the gun comes with they'll do ok for beginning or practice. You might want to get a good comptac or bladetech holster. I wouldn't mind spending a little more money on this because if you buy a crappy one to "save money" you wont be. Youll end up getting a good one anyway. Anything from comptac or bladetech will be good. Belt wise you can't go wrong with DAA or CR speed. Mag pouches in SS I would shoot bullets out ( I do in production and limited ). Reason being 6 mags side by side by side will put the last mag on the other side of you spine, and that's a long reach. Bullets out allows you to put the pouches and mags closer.

I would check with the person your renting from to confirm they are ok with it, being that close to a college campus. Shouldn't be an issue, but better safe than sorry.

Once you get all you stuff, you can holster, reload and draw a loaded gun... Get out there the guys at any local uspsa club will help you out. Guide you in the direction you need to go. Find a mentor, and a couple shooting buddies, stick bu there side and you'll be having fun and doing great in no time. Just don't get too focused on shooting, uspsa is addicting, school is important too! Haha

Anyone other questions just hollar, PM me if you want.

Good luck

--J

Edited July 7, 2015 by jbultman

[robertg5322]

The stuff that comes with the gun is serviceable. You'll eventually upgrade it but it will work fine until you do.

I like Blade Tech holsters. For mag pouches I use Ready Tactical from CPWSA.com. they have a small footprint on the belt allowing six mags on you with no issue. They're really affordable and excellent quality as well.

Edited July 7, 2015 by robertg5322

[obsessiveshooter]

For the extremely limited budget, 'airsoft' belts and mag pouches are really just competition gear knock-offs made in China. Check out aliexpress.com and search "IPSC". My cr-speed knock-offs work flawlessly and are about $16 ea shipped individually, less if you buy 4 at a time. I know this is un-American and I'll probably go straight to hell for buying this stuff, but it works and I just plain can't afford the name-brand stuff. I bought my real Bladetech holster off Amazon.com for about $35. I don't shoot Singlestack but I'm following this thread because I'm thinking about getting my first 1911 as well.

[Watermelonassassin]

I am super happy with my purchase just can't wait for it to arrive. I have notified my landlord and they only asked that I don't do anything illegal, which is reasonable. I have been looking at the different pouches and holsters. I am likely going to do bullets out like Jbultman suggested. Yea I am noticing that this stuff gets pricey. I don't know as I would be comfortable with the airsoft stuff though. i have purchased other "airsoft" items and they died rather quickly. While they may work fine, I am kinda mentally gun shy of that stuff now.

[StraightSh00ter]

Watermelonassassin,

I've been catching up on your thread. I'm in a similar place and feel like you are blazing the trail for me a little I'm glad you found a gun you're excited about and I'm eager to see what you do for support equipment. There are countless threads and reports praising the Range Officer - it has to be a good gun and fun to shoot. I'm a little stubborn I guess and haven't made my decision yet, but I'll get there. So I haven't looked too much at holsters, belts, and mag pouches. As we've been warned, this stuff does seem to get expensive quick. Anyway thanks for posting and I'll look forward to hearing about your progress and seeing what gear you get.

[Ruber]

My understanding is the California approved S&W 1911s have a Schwartz (sp?) Style block but the rest of the lineup doea not. I wouldn'the be deterred by a grip safety activated FPB.

.

Just cause it was mentioned, thought I'd add my two cents...

The CA Smiths with the Swartz style FPB are pretty easy to deal with, but do have more tiny spring loaded parts that can get easily lost. But the FPB parts are very accessible, held in by the thumb safety and the rear sight. They can be tweaked and tuned a bit, but still a pain if you want it more sensitive.

Still, while I love the SW1911's, the ones I have had and handled are great field/carry guns and lack the weight of the RO or heavier Colts. There are also two versions of the external extractor (at least) with both working, but the beefier one working really well.

Some of the performance center models with the extra weight and sturdy extractor can really hold up and perform well, but I don't know if they perform up to their price point.

I believe the TA's are heavy e-series guns without the FPB and even a bit heavier than the RO, for the right price I would really like one. But right now, I load fairly stout heavy hardcast loads for one Smith and light fast Barnes HP's for the other, they make great camp guns at about 8 oz lighter than my Colt or Springfield GI.

I think you made the right choice with the RO, if I were starting with 1911's now, that would be my pick!

Enjoy!

Edited July 8, 2015 by Ruber

[Watermelonassassin]

Watermelonassassin,

I've been catching up on your thread. I'm in a similar place and feel like you are blazing the trail for me a little I'm glad you found a gun you're excited about and I'm eager to see what you do for support equipment. There are countless threads and reports praising the Range Officer - it has to be a good gun and fun to shoot. I'm a little stubborn I guess and haven't made my decision yet, but I'll get there. So I haven't looked too much at holsters, belts, and mag pouches. As we've been warned, this stuff does seem to get expensive quick. Anyway thanks for posting and I'll look forward to hearing about your progress and seeing what gear you get.

Glad I could pave the way. I will post more about it as I pick up pieces and what not for it. But I still have a lot of reviews to read before I buy more gear.

[PWSLMT]

STI Spartan is a good choice.

[StraightSh00ter]

I've been looking at the Safariland holsters - they have one that comes with belt and paddle attachments which you can get for $28 on eBay or $33 on Amazon. They have suede lined in places to make it a little easier on the gun's finish. There is a 2" drop attachment for $11, which to me looks like it still keeps the butt of the gun legally above the belt.

Remember I don't have experience, this is just what I've learned from searches. These are part of Safariland's 'single stack belt rig' or whatever its called.

If you already have something you can use, maybe it makes more sense to wait, find out what you really would like, then get it. For me, these looks like nice options at a lower price point since I have nothing. I did look at Safariland stuff in the gun store and was happy with what I saw. Plus I like the suede lining

Holster is Safariland 5198

Drop adapter is Safariland 6281HDA

[terrydoc]

Try these as they are adjustable for different guns as your collection grows !!!

http://www.ebay.com/itm/SAFARILAND-568-49-411-HOLSTER-RIGHT-HAND-PADDLE-BELT-LOOP-COMBO-NEW-SHIPS-FREE-/261938225221

Edited July 16, 2015 by terrydoc

[PatJones]

I do not have a 5198. I have a Safariland 586-53, which appears to use the same types of belt attachments. My holster is only legal for single stack division when using the paddle attachment, the belt loop attachment holds the gun lower.

Remember, single stack division requires a higher position than the other divisions. The entire front strap needs to be above the belt. If you're going to shoot L10 with your 1911 you have more options.