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Most reliable 1911 single stack?


MisterPlink

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3 hours ago, robertg5322 said:

If you shoot Single Stack, decide what's important to you, and understand your ability to work on it. 

 

Even a $5,000.00 custom gun will need attention.

 

That said, the Sig Max and Dan Wesson come with quality parts. You will probably still need to tune and polish it to get it where you want it, but you probably wont be upgrading many parts.

 

Do you have any recommendations on where to start learning how to maintain and work on a 1911? Are there any videos or books that you’d recommend. 

I’m willing to learn but not sure where to start.

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5 hours ago, MisterPlink said:

Yikes! That’s what I’m afraid of. Have you had any problems since?

Not a single issue. Ran great in Single Stack Classic and a bunch of local matches and practice since.  The slide to frame fit is great. You can really feel the slide gliding back and forward with 130PF 9mm. It's a beautiful thing. The sensation makes me grin after shooting my plastic gun.

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48 minutes ago, MisterPlink said:

Do you have any recommendations on where to start learning how to maintain and work on a 1911? Are there any videos or books that you’d recommend. 

I’m willing to learn but not sure where to start.

Talk to other shooters, these forums, YouTube. In that order. Know your limitations and be skeptical 

 

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No one has mentioned the Gunsite Colt, only comes in 45.

You have to buy them from Gunsite directly.

I have 3 and all have run perfectly out of the box. One went from FFL to an 1800 round class without a hiccup.

Price is reasonable for a series 70 that is a major step up from any Colt.

For extra mags mine all love McCormick.

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On ‎1‎/‎24‎/‎2019 at 3:36 PM, MisterPlink said:

Has anyone personally seen or heard of  a stainless steel 1911 locking up during 

competition?

I live in Canada and it seems like Springfield Armory has sent all of its SS Ranger Officers to us. On all the major gun retailer websites here, they are SS or the Operator (with rail) models.

7or 8 yrs ago some of the Dan Wesson Heritages that I was personally involved with locked up when shooting matches/practice conditions .

Guns heated up , locked up and required gentle tap with rubber mallet to break loose.

All we did was re oil and hand cycle (burnish)  the slide and frame about 200 times and they ran perfect after that.

Slide to frame fit was extremely tight on the three that I dealt with.

All are still running great with good ammo, mags and proper lubrication.

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Been a 1911 junkie for 40 yrs and got my 1st Les Baer in 1999 and bought another for competition use only in 2001. Basic change out of recoil springs and grips changes, I did an overhaul at 109k in 2014. Over the years I sold off 11 Colts and bought 4 more Baers. Pretty good 1911’s out of the box after adding a mag well and whatever you want .

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Love 1911's!  Dollar for dollar, not sure you can't beat a Springfield RO in either 9mm or 45 - I've got both!  Great shooting out of the box, but a little polishing and spring work and you've got a world class trigger.  But, after buying my 9mm RO, I got a too good to pass up deal on a Dan Wesson 9mm specialist.  Whoa, what difference in fit and feel!  None-the-less, if on a budget, go for the RO.  If you can stretch roughly double the price, go for a DW, either Valor or Specialist depending on whether you want a rail or not.  But RO or DW, you won't be kicking yourself!

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I'm going to echo others and say Springfield RO or loaded. I have a loaded. I did nothing except polish parts that needed to be polished, put in a STI trigger shoe and made sure all trigger parts fit correctly. I tweaked the sear spring to lighten it a little. It gauges 2.75lbs and the break is great. Safeties are tight and the barrel lockup is very tight, no movement whatsoever. Never had a jam. Runs great with tripp power mags. 

 

The loaded has front serrations and the LDA sight cut. Not sure what else is different. I really enjoy mine. It's in 9mm and is a blast to shoot.

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Almost anything can be made to work well,  either by yourself (if you know what you are doing ) or by a competent gunsmith.  Hopefully, the high dollar customs will work well on receipt, but a number of inexpensive ones will also work well on receipt.  They will need to be upgraded in some areas but generally the frame, slide and barrel are good to begin with.

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5 minutes ago, Steve RA said:

Almost anything can be made to work well,  either by yourself (if you know what you are doing ) or by a competent gunsmith.  Hopefully, the high dollar customs will work well on receipt, but a number of inexpensive ones will also work well on receipt.  They will need to be upgraded in some areas but generally the frame, slide and barrel are good to begin with.

 

Great advice.  My first 1911 was an gnats ass accurate STI Trojan.  Upgraded the fire controls (C&S).  It was <$900.  Barrels broke.

 

Virgil built my second 1911. He is a member of the pistolsmith guild.

 

SV for my next one(s). Sandy is a member of the pistolsmith guild.

 

Improve what you can when you can afford it.  For me, it was fire controls on the Trojan.  After that, the others did not need anything.

 

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1 hour ago, pjb45 said:

 

Great advice.  My first 1911 was an gnats ass accurate STI Trojan.  Upgraded the fire controls (C&S).  It was <$900.  Barrels broke.

 

Virgil built my second 1911. He is a member of the pistolsmith guild.

 

SV for my next one(s). Sandy is a member of the pistolsmith guild.

 

Improve what you can when you can afford it.  For me, it was fire controls on the Trojan.  After that, the others did not need anything.

 

This, and remember that SV parts are machined from billet in house (in Texas!), not MIM and far less prone to breakage.

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On 1/26/2019 at 12:28 PM, GmanCdp said:

Been a 1911 junkie for 40 yrs and got my 1st Les Baer in 1999 and bought another for competition use only in 2001. Basic change out of recoil springs and grips changes, I did an overhaul at 109k in 2014. Over the years I sold off 11 Colts and bought 4 more Baers. Pretty good 1911’s out of the box after adding a mag well and whatever you want .

 

Caliber? 

Had a 45 premier 2 that treated me well, bought a 9mm P2 and it has a couple issues that should not come with a 2k+ gun. 

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Like pjb45, my most reliable 1911 is an STI Trojan in 45, with any load, factory or reloads.  Other than the grips, no mods have been made.  It still has the original hammer, sear, disconnector and mainspring,  I have had it for 12 years and never a problem.

 

On the other hand, my STI Ranger II in 9mm is a very fussy little beggar about ammo and mags.  Wilson ETM's are a problem with it, and I have yet to try the Mec Gar's.  All, in all, I like the gun.

 

Too bad STI quit the 1911 line completely.  SAD!

Edited by RePete
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A Series 70 Colt Government Model purchased in 1976 and shot until 1990.  Caliber .45 ACP 

 

Used in uncountable practical pistol matches and two Gunsite week-long training courses. 

 

Fed a continuous diet of hard cast 230 gr. bullets over 4.5 gr. of Bullseye. 

 

Modifications:  Sights replaced with a black ramp front and Bomar rear (slide machined to accommodate Bomar).  Local gunsmith trigger job for a clean pull of 4.0 to 4.25 lbs.  Used any magazine (7-round capacity) I could find at the lowest cost for the first 8-9 years, then used Wilson Combat 47D 8-round magazines thereafter.  

 

Round count approximately 90,000 when I sold it.  Springs replaced twice. 

 

I remember one (1) malfunction.  It was a failure to feed during a match in Tucson, AZ, and I am not certain it was or was not ammo-related.   

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1 minute ago, 45 Raven said:

A Series 70 Colt Government Model purchased in 1976 and shot until 1990.  Caliber .45 ACP 

 

Used in uncountable practical pistol matches and two Gunsite week-long training courses. 

 

Fed a continuous diet of hard cast 230 gr. bullets over 4.5 gr. of Bullseye. 

 

Modifications:  Sights replaced with a black ramp front and Bomar rear (slide machined to accommodate Bomar).  Local gunsmith trigger job for a clean pull of 4.0 to 4.25 lbs.  Used any magazine (7-round capacity) I could find at the lowest cost for the first 8-9 years, then used Wilson Combat 47D 8-round magazines thereafter.  

 

Round count approximately 90,000 when I sold it.  Springs replaced twice. 

 

I remember one (1) malfunction.  It was a failure to feed during a match in Tucson, AZ, and I am not certain it was or was not ammo-related.   

 

 

that was a load I used  before I quit using lead.

 

As for your malfunction, you missed one of the more common problems, user error (limp wristing), just saying.  I know I have done that.

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On 1/16/2019 at 2:34 AM, MisterPlink said:

I am considering getting into Single Stack. I am a beginner on a budget. (less than $1500) What is the most reliable 1911 out of the box?

 

Fwiw I bought a lightly used STI Spartan 9mm . Accurate, fairly well built but will not shoot anything other than round nose no matter what polishing or known adjustments one can make to a 1911. I told myself before the purchase "I will not buy a non ramped barrel 1911 9mm pistol". I did and was frustrated by it. I then found a lightly-used Springfield stainless RO. It is very accurate ,very well built, and has been absolutely reliable with every bullet profile I have put through it. Yes it may contain some MIM parts but if concerned the trigger group and fp stop can be replaced with EGW or Brazos firing/ignition kits. Anything else is a non-issue.

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The follow up on the overall budget in my area a brand new Springfield Ro stainless is $799.00. I have had much success with the Chip McCormick xp10 around 9mm mags with Dawson pads on it(Dawson may even have a kit assembled like that). If you don't have a belt yet CR speed belt and Brownells has CR speed versa pouches for$20 each. You will need to add about $5 each for single stack mag spacers but then you have mag pouches for virtually any pistol mag you would want to use them for down the road. Add a quality RHT holster with legal hanger of your choice and you're good to go. Should definitely be under your $1,500 budget and you would have quality equipment you can run with for a long time.( Get a spare extractor and tool steel slide stop and for stop fitted. Keep them with you if the original would fail for immediate replacement or keep the originals as backup)

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5 hours ago, vgdvc said:

The follow up on the overall budget in my area a brand new Springfield Ro stainless is $799.00. I have had much success with the Chip McCormick xp10 around 9mm mags with Dawson pads on it(Dawson may even have a kit assembled like that). If you don't have a belt yet CR speed belt and Brownells has CR speed versa pouches for$20 each. You will need to add about $5 each for single stack mag spacers but then you have mag pouches for virtually any pistol mag you would want to use them for down the road. Add a quality RHT holster with legal hanger of your choice and you're good to go. Should definitely be under your $1,500 budget and you would have quality equipment you can run with for a long time.( Get a spare extractor and tool steel slide stop and for stop fitted. Keep them with you if the original would fail for immediate replacement or keep the originals as backup)

That’s pretty much the setup I’m considering. 

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