9mm 1911 for Competition Purposes?

[ecn515]

Soliciting suggestions and opinions on which 9mm 1911 to buy for gun games. I'd primarily be shooting USPSA SS and steel challenge with this gun. I'm left handed so an ambi safety would be nice. Not super crazy about doing a ton of work on it myself after getting it, so the more ready to run the better in my opinion. 

I've looked into offerings from Sig, Springfield, and a few others. At this time the front runner in my books seems to be the newly refreshed Colt Gold Cup Trophy, all it would need after purchasing would be an ambi safety from what I can tell. If I've missed something, or you think there's something else worth considering feel free to share!

[aandabooks]

Dan Wesson PM9 would be a great option.  I don't know that I could trust Colt but there competition model is tempting.

[floater]

PM9s are sweet! The colt competitions are nice, but the only one I have got to shoot the ejector bent after two mags of factory 115 win white box(brand new gun). Owner sent it back to colt 2 months ago and no one at colt will respond to calls or email. Hope he gets his gun back.

[Wrathen]

I would go DW or STI myself

[jcc7x7]

Dan Wesson

Springfield

No or little value for the money with sti

 

Look at egw ambi safety, worth the money for a Lefty

 

[Mcfoto]

If you want to save some dough, my gunsmith says Rock Island 1911's are quite a bit of bang for the buck (pun intended). Disclosure: I haven't been brave enough to try his suggestion. I'm probably going to end up with a Springfield RO. Dawson sells them "competition-ready" and they have tuned 10 round mags with their base-pads (which I already know and love) already installed. I've given the Colt Competition the gun counter handshake and really like it but there's chatter (some echo'ed above) that dealing with Colt is problematic.

[SCTaylor]

Rocks are pretty darn solid for the money. Not fancy but do run well. The RIA Ultra (51623) in 9mm comes with a F/O front already installed, VZ style grips, and an okay magwell for about $600. For a first 1911 they are good.

 

But it depends on how much you want to spend. Keep in mind just about any gun you want to run competition with may need a magwell, F/O front sight and lighter springs. Adding another $150, not including mags at ~$30 each.

 

IMO steer clear of Dawson's CRP offering. It's about $150 worth of parts with a ~$150 premium for them to install.  The RO's are great guns but you can do the work in 30min at home with very minimal tools.

[floater]

Two shooters at my local USPSA club are running 9mm Rocks Islands and have been real happy, only problems have been self caused trying to tune springs to loads. One shooter is running a double stack Rock Island in limited minor and it has been running like a champ.

[davidb72]

STI Trojan - CRP Package from Dawson Precision would be my choice.

(Actually it was my choice twice already)

[Tampa-XD45]

What's your budget?  My RIA 9mm tactical was $430 and runs great.  The Springfield Armory® 1911 in 9mm looks pretty good for $900.

[zzt]

I would absolutely not buy the Colt.  You want something that has been put together with some precision.  Same with STI.

 

I would go the Dan Wesson or Sig Max if you don't want to replace parts.  You will have to adjust the sear spring on the Max to get it down to something reasonable.  Springfields are a good value for the money.  I haven't seen a TRP, RO, or loaded that has not been well made and accurate.  Not all Springfields have ambi safeties, but I don't remember which.  The DW and max come with really good internals.  The Springfields use quality MIM parts inside.  They last a long time, but they are not as good a billet or barstock machined parts.

[ecn515]

Thanks for the suggestions! 

By no means am I new to gun games or 19/2011's, I have been at this for a while and already have an Atlas Titan for Limited and 3 Gun play. I love that gun but I think SS would be fun to keep things fresh. I think the Colt or DW would be about the most I'd want to spend on the gun since this is secondary to my main focus which is 3 gun. Obviously I know what ever I get in the end I want fiber front/black rear sights, good grips, magwell, and ambi safety. So the more of those things that are included the better, I don't have unlimited time to fiddle with another gun and get it set up. I especially have no patience or time for a gun that doesn't run out of the box so factory reliability is a must. 

The DW PM9 looks interesting, although it's lacking magwell and grips and is pretty expensive especially for not being done. The RO Elite Target peaked my interest early, but there's not much out about it and it would take the most work in my estimation. The Sig Max is something I'd also considered I've yet to actually see anyone using them though, that and unfortunately the safety/trigger/sights aren't really up to my liking so it would also take some work. If I were throwing out the Colt right now it would appear that the PM9 is the front runner. 

All that being said a RI is definitely not what I'm looking for, but I appreciate the input and am glad to hear that they are working out for some of the rest of you. 

Edited April 12, 2018 by ecn515

[egldriver]

I have chased this rabbit round the hole. I bought a stainless range officer. I put on a smith and Alexander mag well, bulletproof extractor and cylinder and slide trigger although the factory trigger was pretty good. The problem was the gun wouldn’t group very well by my standard. Horrible actually. Springfield’s accepted accuracy translates into you better be a steady shot if you want to be zero down at 20 yards. Some people report great accuracy others not so.much. So I had a kart barrel installed. It has always been very reliable. If I had to do it again...dw pointman or valor and Ed Brown snakeskin magwell. Done. If you shop for it you can find the pm9 for pretty reasonable prices (gun watcher is your friend)

[oddjob]

I run a STI Trojan 9mm with the Dawson Precision package.  With my Tripp mags it hasn't missed a beat.....Not once.  Runs and runs. 

[Frankly]

I also run a Atlas Titan and ended up with a 1911 Titan... but for $1000 just get the Dawson Springfield package. It is not the new style Range Officer, it is the plain model but with upgrades, imho better than the RO. Talk to them, they may do even more work for a fee. 

 

I also looked at and shot STI, Dan Wesson, Sig, Colt, and used customs before determining that, just my two cents. I didn't see significantly better fit or better parts on the ~ $1500 to $2000 guns. I think they market them for looks at that price point, you have to go up another level to get looks and fitting. 

Edited April 13, 2018 by Frankly

[Red Ryder]

Soliciting suggestions and opinions on which 9mm 1911 to buy for gun games. I'd primarily be shooting USPSA SS and steel challenge with this gun. I'm left handed so an ambi safety would be nice. Not super crazy about doing a ton of work on it myself after getting it, so the more ready to run the better in my opinion. 

I've looked into offerings from Sig, Springfield, and a few others. At this time the front runner in my books seems to be the newly refreshed Colt Gold Cup Trophy, all it would need after purchasing would be an ambi safety from what I can tell. If I've missed something, or you think there's something else worth considering feel free to share!

Pay attention to what others are shooting. Don't buy a boxed 1911 and expect it to be 100% out of the box. You're gonna have to tinker and diagnose sometimes. Best bet is a used Les Baer or a STI Trojan. If you want 100%, shoot a Glock but don't screw with it. Just my opinion. 1911 and 2011s have a learning curve.

[LadyBlue]

I run an STI Trojan as well,and my back up gun is a Rock Island that has been upfitted with Wilson Combat internals There is nothing wrong with a Rockthat a little TLC cannot fix as long as you get one that the slide and frame fit properly.  

 

 

[IHAVEGAS]

My drool over gun in the category is a friends 9mm Les Baer, but you would probably have to wait a good bit & pay a good bit (and I'm a Les Baer fanboy so probably biased). 

[KennyP]

I shoot Single Stack minor too, and have shot every gun you’ve mentioned, and owned a Range Officer, a Trojan (in 40, and I still own it) and a PM9. They are all good. For under $1000, the Range Officer is hands down the way to go. Good gun, but lacks a few niceties. Between the Trojan and the PM9, it’s a tight race, but I do slightly prefer my PM9. It’s mostly the frame that I prefer. The stock internals are good, although I have replaced mine with EGW stuff because they are known to last a long time, and I like the feel of the trigger break.

 

I’d say, if you don’t care about forward cocking serrations, an undercut trigger guard, front strap checkering, or a .250 beaver tail radius, go with the RO. I do care about that stuff, because I’ve shot 1911s for a long time and have strong preferences.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[ecn515]

9 hours ago, KennyP said:

I’d say, if you don’t care about forward cocking serrations, an undercut trigger guard, front strap checkering, or a .250 beaver tail radius, go with the RO. I do care about that stuff, because I’ve shot 1911s for a long time and have strong preferences.

 

 

 

 

That's my dilemma, I also care about some of those things. This would be my 5th 1911 and I've very much grown to like an undercut frame and front strap checkering, which is also the hardest things to add on after the fact...

Hence why the Gold Cup Trophy and PM9 have caught my eye.

[HI5-O]

I bought a Colt Competition in 9mm just to play in Single Stack. It came with the series 80 fire control parts which I replaced. 

 

Now, the Competition series come with the series 70 fire control parts.

 

It was between the Colt Competition or the SA Range Officer. I liked the undercut below the trigger guard of the Colt but also liked the adjustable rear sight of the RO. Ended up going with the Colt. 

 

Since it it was only a dabble into Single Stack, I got the 9mm version. The plan was not to spend much money. Got a magwell and series 80 spacer and extended firing pin. As for the fire control parts, I left the Colt parts in and just adjusted the sear spring. Doesn’t feel as good as my open gun trigger pull but it is good enough. 

 

 

[spencerattix]

I bought a RO in 9mm to shoot SS minor. I had extraction issues right off the bat. Took it to my gunsmith. The extractor was bent. He replaced it with a Aftec and it's been good since. I use the Hogue magwell grips and MSH to make weight. I also replaced the front sight and put ambi safety on it. If I had it to do over again I'd buy the Sig. Either the traditional match if I wanted to customize it my way or the Max if I wanted to plug and play. 

[waterboy]

My Springfield RO has ran flawless for me. If you want to spend under $1k, I'd look into that. If you have a little more to spend, the Dan Wesson PM9 would be a great choice!

[Bigzeke]

I shoot SS major with a Trojan 40 and would not give it up for anything. The PM9, while not cheap, would be my first choice in a SS minor gun. Hands down.

[rlrock]

I have the DW PM9 and love it! It's almost perfect right out of the box.

 

If you want to lighten the trigger, just tweak the leaf spring and you are good to go! I've gotten mine down to 2.5lbs just by doing that.