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If you could have only one non-custom 1911...


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I'm thinking about my next gun purchase (which will be 6 months or so away at this point) and strongly considering a 1911 in 45. I've got a Springfield XDM 9mm and love it and this would be my first 1911 and 45 gun. I might shoot some single stack down the road with it as well but don't want to pay more than $1k for it if I can avoid it. Any suggestions for a non-custom, solid, reliable - and purty 1911 for ~$1k?

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As suggested by ChuckS, I'd be haunting the classied forum when I got close to actually purchasing the gun. There are a lot of very nice single stack guns out there, and people are continously buying, selling and trading them.

A case in point, about a year ago I bought an extremely nice Springfield in .38 Super, completely customized by Canyon Creek, with a 5" Nowlin barrel, and another compensated and fit Nowlin barrel, bo-mars, a J-point and 5 Wilson mags for $1100.

Just be patient and you will find something very nice for your money.

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I bought an STI new once and had a few issues with it. I was going to package it up and send it to a gunsmith to have it fixed. I contacted STI and they said I should send it to them and they would make it run free of charge. It was some really minor stupid kinda thing but they fixed it up and did a ton of other things. I sent them My Tactical 5.0 and they replaced the fixed Heine rear with an adjustable one and reblued the slide for me, all free of charge because the POA POI was not right with the FO front site I had. I can't say enough about the quality of the CS I have gotten from STI. I own 5 of their guns and I hope that is just the start!

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I have an STI Trojan in 40 that is super cool. I also have a Kimber 45 that cost less and has needed zero tuning to run.

If I were buying a Kimber I would get the 5 in standard gun, the custom model.

I bought my Kimber new for $690 three years ago. You can probably get one for $750-800 now.

Then I would add a magwell and a fiber optic front sight for matched when finances allowed it.

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Not sure what your definition of 'purty' is, but a 5" Kimber TLE II (blued) is what I'm using for SS Div right now. Its been a solid performer since I started (OK, that was only in Sept) but I have no reason to expect the gun to go Tango-Uniform on me. I changed out the springs to match my ammo, added an arched S&A magwell, and will soon have a set of LA Davidson grips on it when Larry can make them up for me. That's my def'n of PURTY! (or is it function?)

Not sure what TLE's are selling for now, but I would guess somewhere in the $800-900 range. I chose the TLE because it had the front strap checkering and 3-dot night sights (my preference for sights, and IMO the FS checkering is a must for .45 acp).

That said, I'm thinking that sometime in the next 6 mos, I'll be investing in a STI Trojan and set that up as my primary SS Div gun. I'll probably go through Dawson Precision or Brazos and get them to put on the narrowest fiber optic sight I can find (and maybe a trigger job). I'm not so sure about the front strap stippling on the Trojan (ribbed for pleasure???), but probably something that skate tape can fix. Check out their websites. Good for drooling, but I heard they raised their prices a little after the 1st.

The Kimber will be relegated to the bedside and CCW, and I'll return the springs to 16/21 lbs. But it can also be a back-up SS Div gun.

Happy hunting!

Edited by 2MoreChains
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Warning: the following lists of companies are not intended to be all-inclusive. If I've left out your favorite, or pet peeve, it's not intentional and there's no need to try to make the list all-inclusive. It's purely to illustrate a point about giving business to the companies that do the most to support our sport(s).

I'd encourage you to support the companies/people that support our sport. You will rarely, if ever, see Kimber, Baer, Nighthawk, Ed Brown, Ruger, etc, sponsor a match or a stage. Companies like STI, SVI, Caspian, S&W and gunsmiths/shops like Brazos, Dawson, Shooters Connection/Bedell, SSI, Millenium Custom, MGM, and many more are at the matches, pony up the goods so we have prize tables and sometimes pony up cash to help clubs afford to hold a match without raising the entry fees we play.

If you can't/don't want to spend the money on a full custom gun I'd say to take a look at what some of those companies/shops/smiths offer and also cross-reference that with the sponsors here on Brian's forums and see if you can make the two match up with what you're looking for.

I needed a .40 SS gun on short notice so I bought a Trojan from one of our sponsors and then bought all new fire control parts, safeties, magwell and mags from other sponsors and sent it off for a trigger job and reliablility package. I went pretty much full bore on it and probably have something like $1600 in it, but it's been crazy accurate and perfectly reliable (it did seem to work perfectly well before I sent it to the smith). The weekend I dropped the gun off with the smith I managed to win my class at Area-2 and got a free 2011 frame from STI, so I felt even better about the Trojan purchase!

Edited by G-ManBart
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Hey Bart,

I find it interesting that you didn't mention Springfield Armory. After all, they have been the match sponsor for 5 years for a little match that happens in Barry, Ill, in the springtime. ;)

I just listed the companies that came to mind off the cuff...which is why I did say "and many others"...it wasn't meant to be all-inclusive.

Unless I missed something, that little match in Barry has had no affiliation with USPSA until 2006 right?...so that would give them three years credit rather than five ;)

Edit to sound less confrontational:

I could understand why you may say "hey Bart, don't forget SA...they really support our sport"....fine, consider them added to the list, but coming at it the way you did made me wonder "does he disagree with my main point or is he just being picky?". I'm going to assume it wasn't meant that way :)

Edited by G-ManBart
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Hey Bart,

I find it interesting that you didn't mention Springfield Armory. After all, they have been the match sponsor for 5 years for a little match that happens in Barry, Ill, in the springtime. ;)

I just listed the companies that came to mind off the cuff...which is why I did say "and many others"...it wasn't meant to be all-inclusive.

Unless I missed something, that little match in Barry has had no affiliation with USPSA until 2006 right?...so that would give them three years credit rather than five ;)

Edit to sound less confrontational:

I could understand why you may say "hey Bart, don't forget SA...they really support our sport"....fine, consider them added to the list, but coming at it the way you did made me wonder "does he disagree with my main point or is he just being picky?". I'm going to assume it wasn't meant that way :)

Nope, nothing insidious, it was just an interesting omission considering that they have sponsored the SSC for the last 5 years and will do so again in 2009. And they are also match sponsors for the USPSA SS Nats this year as they have for the last 2. What made it interesting was the fact that they sponsored the uber 1911 match for 1/2 decade, that's all.

Later,

Chuck

Edited by ChuckS
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I'd encourage you to support the companies/people that support our sport. You will rarely, if ever, see Kimber, Wilson, Baer, Nightforce, Ed Brown, Ruger, etc, sponsor a match or a stage. Companies like STI, SVI, Caspian, S&W and gunsmiths/shops like Brazos, Dawson, Shooters Connection/Bedell, SSI, Millenium Custom, MGM, and many more are at the matches, pony up the goods so we have prize tables and sometimes pony up cash to help clubs afford to hold a match without raising the entry fees we play.

I'm sorry Sir, but Nightforce is a large contributor to matches. Maybe not USPSA matches but I don't see anyone using a NF scope on their open guns either. Wilson Combat is also a huge IDPA sponsor as well. I cannot comment on the others, just wanted to get the story straight on 2 of the best in what they do. They don't need additional marketing, their business is as good as it gets, yet they continue to give away free product to the community. I had one NF certificate last year at the Practical Marksman Challenge and since we are doing 2 weekends this year I have 2 NF certificates. Nightforce has been very good to me personally, and to the community even when they don't have to.

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I'd encourage you to support the companies/people that support our sport. You will rarely, if ever, see Kimber, Wilson, Baer, Nightforce, Ed Brown, Ruger, etc, sponsor a match or a stage. Companies like STI, SVI, Caspian, S&W and gunsmiths/shops like Brazos, Dawson, Shooters Connection/Bedell, SSI, Millenium Custom, MGM, and many more are at the matches, pony up the goods so we have prize tables and sometimes pony up cash to help clubs afford to hold a match without raising the entry fees we play.

I'm sorry Sir, but Nightforce is a large contributor to matches. Maybe not USPSA matches but I don't see anyone using a NF scope on their open guns either. Wilson Combat is also a huge IDPA sponsor as well. I cannot comment on the others, just wanted to get the story straight on 2 of the best in what they do. They don't need additional marketing, their business is as good as it gets, yet they continue to give away free product to the community. I had one NF certificate last year at the Practical Marksman Challenge and since we are doing 2 weekends this year I have 2 NF certificates. Nightforce has been very good to me personally, and to the community even when they don't have to.

All the companies that you mention are great sponsors of shooting events but does Nightforce make a 1911? I am pretty sure that's what this thread is about. :rolleyes:

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