Best 1911 in the 800-900 range

Phat Eagle said:
Just picked up a SAM Thunderbolt from Wolverine for less than $700 all in. I was VERY impressed with the fit and finish, and it shoots great. It has a lot of the upgrades you might look to add to your 1911 including ambi controls, commander hammer, beavertail grip safety, grip checkering, adjustable LPA sights, slightly flared magwell and a great trigger. Well worth the money in my book! This coming from a guy who has several Colt Series 70s and a sloppy old USGI 1911A1.
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A SAM for 700$ OUCH man u could get a used colt, ruger, maybe even a kimber for that price
 
I recently picked up a Spartan V in 9mm.Very impressive gun for the price.The slide/frame/barrel fitting are much superior to my Ruger 1911 and my Colt government and the small parts are top quality STI manufacture.Dollar for dollar a better gun than the Ruger.As mentioned above,STI is stopping production of the Spartan(cant figure out why),but Freedom ventures still has some in stock and was where I bought mine.
 
ivan said:
What do you want to do with it? Shoot it occasionally, or have a gun that works flawlessly for competition?

For occasional shooting: a Norinco could be sufficient. If you want a competitive gun: get an STI. The STI won't be flawless out of the box, but it will be much closer to what you need.... cost effectively closer.

-ivan-
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I'm looking for a range shooter not going to compete with it. I have seen a few Norincos at the range and they seem pretty hit or miss for quality. The majority of the ones I shot or owners I spoke too said they took some smithing to work properly. What I probably should have said up front is I'm looking for something that will run right out of the box. I realize every manufacturer can produce a lemon but I would like something where odds are it will be a shooter from day 1.
 
I had both the Remington R1E and the STI Spartan....Both great pistols but I would go for the Spartan because of STI's excellent customer service...
 
It really seems that there are way more choices in good-quality low-end 1911s than there were a few years ago, when Norinco was really the only game in town.
 
silver69 said:
STI = SAM = STI...yatta,yatta,yatta.....both made in the Phillipines.
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No, not true. The Spartan is the only model of STI that is manufactured from a mixture of parts made in the Philippines and parts made in the US. All other STI firearms asides from the Spartan are fully made and manufactured in the US. Once assembled Spartans are shipped back to STI in the US to pass final inspection. All Spartans come with STI's warranty, which in itself carries some value.

All SAM firearms are fully manufactured and QA's in the Philippines.

SAMs are good guns. I toured the SAM factory in the Philippines 2 years ago, and was very impressed with both the knowledge and skill of the people who put them together. That being said, my vote between an SAM and a Spartan would be for a Spartan. My STI firearms are on a never sell list.

Thanks,
Cal.
 
icelink said:
A SAM for 700$ OUCH man u could get a used colt, ruger, maybe even a kimber for that price
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Sure you can... Bone stock and "Lightly used", right??! Let me know when THOSE deals come up on the EE!!

As I said, it was less than $700 ($624 actually because of professional discount), including taxes and shipping. Plus, I needed the rail for my purposes... Railed 1911s usually run a lot more.
 
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I would say to get the gun you like. The ammo costs for 45 ACP are the biggest factor in total cost of ownership. New 45 ACP rounds average 45 to 50 cents a pop. When I reload, I can get this down to about 22 cents for copper plated projectiles. Lead projectiles are a bit cheaper.

Say you expect 10,000 rounds out of the gun before you trade it. That's about $2500 to $5000 in ammo so getting exited about a 200 dollar difference in price is false economy. Get what you like and enjoy it. The more rounds you intend to fire the more time you will spend with the gun and you want to enjoy your range time.

If you are planning on occasional use, the Norincos are nice.
 
calvados.boulard said:
No, not true. The Spartan is the only model of STI that is manufactured from a mixture of parts made in the Philippines and parts made in the US. All other STI firearms asides from the Spartan are fully made and manufactured in the US. Once assembled Spartans are shipped back to STI in the US to pass final inspection. All Spartans come with STI's warranty, which in itself carries some value.

All SAM firearms are fully manufactured and QA's in the Philippines.

SAMs are good guns. I toured the SAM factory in the Philippines 2 years ago, and was very impressed with both the knowledge and skill of the people who put them together. That being said, my vote between an SAM and a Spartan would be for a Spartan. My STI firearms are on a never sell list.

Thanks,
Cal.
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Thanks for the clarity Cal. Can't say I'm not jealous of your tour:(...My confusion had come from when I had seen "made in the Philippine's" on the Spartan. Anyway, I can say that my new SAM Thunderbolt looks a LOT like the Spartan. Either way, both are nice guns and if STI is closing, and someone wants what the Spartan offers, the SAM Thunderbolt will fill the order. :)
 
Hamsta said:
I would say to get the gun you like. The ammo costs for 45 ACP are the biggest factor in total cost of ownership. New 45 ACP rounds average 45 to 50 cents a pop. When I reload, I can get this down to about 22 cents for copper plated projectiles. Lead projectiles are a bit cheaper.

Say you expect 10,000 rounds out of the gun before you trade it. That's about $2500 to $5000 in ammo so getting exited about a 200 dollar difference in price is false economy. Get what you like and enjoy it. The more rounds you intend to fire the more time you will spend with the gun and you want to enjoy your range time.

If you are planning on occasional use, the Norincos are nice.
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Hey! I like your math! If that's the case I can "tell the wife" that the considering the used Rem 700 I was thinking about buying is going to run me about $800, and if I can convince her that I figure I'm going to shoot about 7000 rounds with it at about a $1/round while I own it, I could save us about $1000 by simply buying that used Serbu I seen for $6500 and still have some $$$ for ammo!! :D
 
TPeck said:
I'm looking at picking up a 1911 and am wondering if anyone has any experience with guns in the 800 - 900 range? I am interested in a GI length not a Commander length. I was looking at an STI Spartan and a Remington R1 but I'm no expert so I'm not sure what I should be looking for. The Spartan had adjustable sights, full length guide rod and front slide serrations where the R1 did not. I like the idea of front slide serrations but I have no idea what difference a full length guide rod makes. So if anyone owns a 1911 in this price range and can make a recommendation based on their experience I would like to hear it.

I should also point out I have not ruled out getting something cheaper like a SAM but 800-900 is the top of my price range.

Thanks
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Be patient. You can pick up a pre-owned Springfield GI off EE or one of the sponsors for about $600 at times. Perfect pistol to start.
 
To the OP:
I faced a similar decision recently. I was looking for an affordable, 1911 made in North America with authentic 1911 features (internal extractor, no full length guide rod, no series 80 safety, etc). My choice was a lightly used Ruger SR1911, purchased from the EE for less than your stated price range. I am thrilled with the quality for the price. I owned a SA Loaded model previously which I sold, reluctantly, in order to fund a Milsurp M1911A1 purchase and although the SR is lacking a few features of that model (front serrations, ambi. safety), the quality is actually better in my opinion.
 
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ive got a Ruger SR1911 and a SAM Thunderbolt and also a Kimber Custom II.
so there are the ones that i can speak too first hand.
i paid about the same for all 3.
i fluked out and got the Kimber at the Easter Sale at TSE a couple years ago.
if you have all 3 together there is no comparison - the Kimber is twice the gun.
now im not saying this as a Kimber fanboy because i love my ruger and im loving my new SAM but if you want the best gun for the money your talking its the Kimber.
now, keep in mind a couple things; that Kimber is bone stock.
so no bells and whistles at all.
but the blueing and the fit is like warm butter, just cant beat it.

at the end of the day i tell people to go with the Thunderbolt because it is a quality pistol and has everything on it you could ever want to add on AT a inexpensive price.

but if you can find a Kimber Custom II on sale for the same price youd be silly to not pick it up.
also nothing wrong with Remmy R1 Enahnced, i just find their prices are going up very fast, you could get one on sale last year for 600-700 now you cant see them for under 1k.
STI is good as well i just dont own one, some day ill pick up one but so far i dont have one, the ones ive shot where ok but they didnt make me want to run out and buy one right then and there, but that was years ago and ive seen some really nice products come out last couple years.

SAM thunderbolt if you want to have some money left over and not have to do any work or upgrades.
Kimber Custom II if you can find one on sale.
Ruger SR1911 because while they are rattle traps shoot uber nice.
 
another Ruger Sr1911. The Sam in stainless is nice as well, but the Ruger seems very high quality, and mine at least is VERY accurate. In better hands than mine it makes 5 shot one hole groups at 10m.

And while I like the Kimbers, they are not the same price as the Ruger or the Sam. Not in reality anyway. some people might get lucky but its not a common price.
 
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