Most reliable 1911 single stack?

[IHAVEGAS]

2 hours ago, mvmojo said:

I remember a marketing study from 50 yrs ago where the data showed that every happy customer told 4 people about how great the product was, whereas every unhappy customer told 19 people the product sucked!  

 

Not to get too far off of an even keel, I personally think both a DW or Springfield are fine choices. 

 

I do not think you can compare qc internet reputations of high volume companies to low volume companies, for reasons noted above. 

[IHAVEGAS]

2 hours ago, mvmojo said:

Advertising is a fairly big cost to most companies.  If you don't look at their ads and make up your mind as to what gun to buy based on friends recommendations, reviews, etc., then aren't you subsidizing the guy who reads every ad with a fine tooth comb and makes his decision based on who touts their product the best?

 

It is interesting to ponder. Done correctly, advertising is supposed to increase volume and lower per unit costs. You could think of the buyer as subsidizing whichever company was not making good advertising decisions I suppose. 

 

Thread drift, sorry bout that, I get distracted by shiny things. 

[robertg5322]

1 hour ago, IHAVEGAS said:

 

Not to get too far off of an even keel, I personally think both a DW or Springfield are fine choices. 

 

I do not think you can compare qc internet reputations of high volume companies to low volume companies, for reasons noted above. 

I'm not comparing internet reputations. I'm speaking of the guns I've owned or whose owners i know.

 

Springfield does make a nice $600.00 gun. My issue is they're selling them for a grand.

 

I don't know enough about Dan Wesson to comment on their value relative to their price. The ones i see at matches look nice enough, and work well enough, but that can be said for most guns that make it to a match. We USPSA shooters generally don't like stuff that don't work, and make it work before going to a match.

 

And Colt makes Springfield look like a bargain. 

 

Kimber, I've never had an issue with my $650.00 Custom II or a pre-Series II I had and traded away.

 

YMMV.

[hlpressley]

Did someone say Kimber? Are there still people dumb enough to buy their stuff? 

[robertg5322]

56 minutes ago, hlpressley said:

Did someone say Kimber? Are there still people dumb enough to buy their stuff? 

You feel this way about them because all the ones you owned were no good?

 

Or cause you read it on the interwebz?

 

Serious question.

[hlpressley]

Just now, robertg5322 said:

You feel this way about them because all the ones you owned were no good?

 

Or cause you read it on the interwebz?

 

Serious question.

I was only dumb enough to buy two. They have new homes now. I shoot my guns too much to own ones that won’t run. 

[robertg5322]

10 minutes ago, hlpressley said:

I was only dumb enough to buy two. They have new homes now. I shoot my guns too much to own ones that won’t run. 

I've had two, a Custom Ii from 2001 and a pre-Series II I had for a few months and traded away. Traded a M&P9 for it, a Stainless Target. 

 

Neither ever gave me a bit of trouble, 20K in .45 and another 10k in .40 after I converted it for the Custom II and maybe 2k for the other.

 

Also have a couple of friends with Kimbers that they have no issues with.

 

Would I buy another? Probably not unless the price was too good to pass up. Same for Springfield. If I'm buying a 1911 at that price-point, I'd go with Sig. Not crazy about the firing pin safety garbage but Sig gives you front strap checkering, which is a feature I like.

 

[hlpressley]

I suppose there are good and bad apples in every bushel. 

[robertg5322]

29 minutes ago, hlpressley said:

I suppose there are good and bad apples in every bushel. 

Just wish the bad ones were easier to recognize BEFORE you pay for them.

[hlpressley]

36 minutes ago, robertg5322 said:

Just wish the bad ones were easier to recognize BEFORE you pay for them.

No kidding! 

[IHAVEGAS]

Anybody have experience with the Ruger Koenig ? 

[spencerattix]

I have a RO in 9mm. Took a while to get it to run well. Changed mags and ammo. Still had double feeds. Took out the extractor and it was mangled. Changed that and it seemed to do the trick. I have two STI Trojans in 40 that have run great from day one. Same goes for the SW1911E I have. The SW is a good value for the $ if you want to run 45. The sights aren't great and SW Mills their slides funky for their sights. That can be a problem. Great customer support. I really like the external extractors on the SW and the Sig's. They just work from what I've seen.

[robertg5322]

14 hours ago, spencerattix said:

I have a RO in 9mm. Took a while to get it to run well. Changed mags and ammo. Still had double feeds. Took out the extractor and it was mangled. Changed that and it seemed to do the trick. I have two STI Trojans in 40 that have run great from day one. Same goes for the SW1911E I have. The SW is a good value for the $ if you want to run 45. The sights aren't great and SW Mills their slides funky for their sights. That can be a problem. Great customer support. I really like the external extractors on the SW and the Sig's. They just work from what I've seen.

My Springfields all worked. My issue was that they were loose, rattly and just generally poorly fitted with junk internals. Sharp edges everywhere (Loaded models and a couple of Mil-Specs, one stainless one parkerized). If they were $600.00 (the loaded models are more, and the 9mm is about a grand), I wouldn't complain. 

 

And that odd .220" radius BTGS is just annoying. 

 

I have no experience with the Trojan, but the ones I see at matches generally have happy owners and seem to work. 

[not4you2know]

I paid $350 for a RIA 4 years ago to get in SS for fun. I added about $300 in parts. I have never had a malfunction  and it shoots great. A year ago, I won a RO in a match, put a drop in trigger kit and a mag well. It has ran flawlessly as well. Once I switched to SS, I've only been back to limited a couple times. So, I have. A s#!t ton of rounds through my SS guns.

[mwray]

I run two RO workhorses to death

[S&W686]

I have a CK Arms Hardcore Single Stack in 9mm that I have used in competition that has ran flawlessly for me.  I am thinking about having another one built.

[tbarker13]

Recently got back into SS after taking a break from the division for a while. Picked up a DW PM9. The thing is just fantastic. A little pricier than the first two that I originally owned. But I don't think you can do better - without going the much pricier custom gun route. (And of course, there are other decent options out there in the same class of gun.)
But I'll offer this bit of customer service experience from about 3 years ago:
I'd picked up a PM9. It had issues reliably feeding my reloads, which were a little long. I called DW and mentioned the problem. Surprisingly, I didn't get the speech you hear from a lot of these companies, about how you should only use factory ammo in their guns. Instead, they asked me to send a dummy round and the gun back to them. They paid the shipping to and from the factory and took care of the problem. Didn't cost me a thing, other than being without my gun for about a week.

I have no idea if they still operate that way. But that kind of service is tough to beat.

 

[Gary1911A1]

I think they all make a lemon now and then. The trick is to pick a company with excellent custom service that will pay both ways shipping.

[IHAVEGAS]

On 1/17/2019 at 9:48 PM, jcc7x7 said:

Dan Wesson 

Sig MAX

Fusion - worth a look if they have what you want (good quality, Bob Serva used to run Dan Wessson before CZ buy out)

SA

 

My experience with Bob Serva and Fusion is the reason why I have never considered buying a Dan Wesson.

I sold my Fusion 2011 for a significant loss and was still delighted to see it go.

I need to give DW a a fair look I think.

[lfine]

+1 on good experience with DWs. 

 

Looking to pick up another Valor, as a matter of fact. (Not for competition, just because guns.)

[robertg5322]

On 4/7/2019 at 7:00 AM, Gary1911A1 said:

I think they all make a lemon now and then. The trick is to pick a company with excellent custom service that will pay both ways shipping.

The problem with that logic is how the excellent customer service reputation was earned. Usually (Springfield Armory comes to mind here) it's the product of a lousy QC reputation.

 

Good on them for fixing their mistakes, bad on them for making enough mistakes that they earned a great CS rep. And nothing is free. That shipping and free repair is why their guns are so expensive. 

 

And did I mention I hate the odd-ball .220 BTGS radius?

[IHAVEGAS]

On 4/10/2019 at 9:20 PM, robertg5322 said:

The problem with that logic is how the excellent customer service reputation was earned.

 

In my experience, SV's break (a friends),  Les  Baers & Benie Hill guns break, mine, Glocks break eventually (two friends), every other brand I know of breaks also. In the hands of high round count competitive shooters I think you are always going to be able to find out the suppliers customer service reputation, unless it is a newly started supplier or perhaps a one at a time very low volume builder. 

[Descartian]

I always recommend STI’s.  Great undervalued guns to begin with. You won’t really need any mods to start but it’s a solid base if you decide to do any upgrades. It of course has a lifetime warranty wether you are the 1st or 10th owner. 

 

You can can get a Dawson Tuned Trojan in your price range and you’ll be competition ready!

[robertg5322]

3 hours ago, IHAVEGAS said:

 

In my experience, SV's break (a friends),  Les  Baers & Benie Hill guns break, mine, Glocks break eventually (two friends), every other brand I know of breaks also. In the hands of high round count competitive shooters I think you are always going to be able to find out the suppliers customer service reputation, unless it is a newly started supplier or perhaps a one at a time very low volume builder. 

My point was that Springfield Armory guns seem to need attention from the manufacturer at a rate well above most other manufacturers. Good that they fix them, bad that they have to do it so often. And that .220" BTGS radius.

 

We higher volume shooters probably wouldn't be sending our guns back for some of the crap novices do (extractor adjustment, sight adjustment, minor blemish, or any of the litany of minor issues I've read of), which only serves to increase costs to SA, which are passed along to buyers in the form of higher prices.

[pjb45]

There are a lot DW and SA here in AZ for obvious reasons.  I have not heard about major issues.  The RO is a base gun.  You want a competition ready gun you have to shell out the money for it.  To expect otherwise is foolish.  The SA Custom shop has 3 or 4 guys who are members of the Pistolsmith Guild.  That is a big deal.  This a fact not antidotal.