1911 pricing vs quality sweet spot

I've only owned 3 1911's - Norinco, Taurus and SiG. Each was a considerable step up. With the SIG ~$1000 used, I don't see how you'll get twice the gun if you buy one that's $2000. Fit and finish was great and I didn't see any shortcuts taken.
 
It's gotta work for you and your desires and your price point and your shooting game and your fondle factor and the movies you watch like "Band of Brothers" or "Monuments Men".... Ha ha ha ha. I just could not resist.

I owned five tweaked norcs at different points in my life. I have firearms ADD & ADHD. Those pistols have all come and gone. The one pistol that's been with me for over four years now ( that's a lifetime for me and guns) is my STI Spartan 9mm that I ordered sight unseen from Gunnar at Armco in Northern BC. All the work has been doe. And I just swapped out the grips for my fave Pierce Thin Grips that both my wife and I can agree on. :). My wife and I both shoot that pistol so effortlessly and we just plain rock with that rig.

I am even taking that pistol with me to the NSCC or National Service Conditions Championships this coming year. Last year at the nationals, I took a brand new and never fired Sig P226r just to see how far I could get with a new platform and my fundamental shooting skills. I was taught very well by KeithC of the w w w.milcun.com shooting school. I can say that I was a decent pistol shooter coming out of the infantry or PPCLI but after Keith's tutelage, I am way more self correcting these days. A finely tuned pistol can take you to the next level.


Yeah I will agree with you that there exists a sweet spot where price and returned quality balance nicely but you have to find that out for yourself. :D

Oh by the way, my fav 1911 movie moment is in Monuments Men, Bill Murray's character gently and quietly convinces the SS officer who stole the Renoir to give up by pointing the 1911 at him. :)

Cheers and keep on learning

Barney.
 
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When I first decided to or started out doing some semi serious paper punching, I went with a 1911 customized by a local gunsmith. Following that initial 1911, over the years I had one more custom job and a 'number' of Gold Cups. Fairly recently, I got the ich for 1911's again and now have three, with plans for a bit more paper punching. One of the three is a 'wanna be' 1911, a S&W 4506. This I got from the family and estate of a shooting buddy.



Also, another customized item that was the personal 1911 of the gunsmith and friend that built my first custom job.



Most recently, I was given the opportunity to acquire a Kimber (custom shop) Super Match II.





Without a doubt, of the 1911's I've ever had,:D the Kimber is the smoothest and sweetest of the bunch, by far. Unbelievable trigger.
 
The BEST 1911 i have seen for the money is a Remington R1 Enhanced . My buddy bought one for $849 new and the thing looks and feels like a $1300+ Kimber , blows away the STI spartan or SR1911 for around the same price .


remington_1911_r1_enhanced_9mm_zps150b6ccd.jpg
 
Johnn Peterson said:
Without a doubt, of the 1911's I've ever had,:D the Kimber is the smoothest and sweetest of the bunch. Unbelievable trigger.
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I know some folks like to slag the Kimber, although not sure why. Perhaps they think they are pricey or perhaps they have had a bad experience, or maybe it is just a "Ford/Chevy" thing. I have the least expensive Kimber, a Custom II, and I got it for a very good deal slightly used on EE, so that represented good value (sweet spot) for me. The trigger on it is extremely nice and the grip and sights are good for me. Not sure I would spend $1,500 on one of the fancier units though because I think most of the higher models just have extra bells and whistles that don’t contribute to my (personal) enjoyment and also bump them out of the “sweet spot”.

Assuming you like the 1911 grip, sights, IMO, are easy and not too expensive to swap out so it really comes down to trigger for me. If the trigger is crap, do I want to spend time/money to improve it or instead just pass on that gun and go for a different, likely more expensive gun, from the get-go. To me it is like buying shoes; I close my eyes and focus on how they feel on my feet, or in the case of a gun, close my eyes and focus the trigger pull. If the trigger pull passes muster, I will open my eyes and hope they/it is not ugly, but I may buy anyway if the fit is right. Whenever I’ve bought on looks before fit/function it has been a mistake every time. Sorry, I think I got off track...My point is, pick those functions/features that are most important to you and make sure you get what you want in those areas. You will be willing to pay more for them and less for other features/aspects.
 
NVShooter said:
Sorry, I think I got off track...My point is, pick those functions/features that are most important to you and make sure you get what you want in those areas. You will be willing to pay more for them and less for other features/aspects.
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Agreed,:) no arguement there. There's no way I'd be willing to lay out the cash for a new in the box Super Match II. This one was like new, not a mark on it and it was well within the dollar value prices you've quoted as being of interest to you. At that, I couldn't turn it down. I called and 'chatted' with the Kimber people, located in Kalispell Montana I believe. Apparently, considering condition and price, it almost borders on the defination of 'gift'. One of my 'better' deals.
 
I have a Dlask Pro model. It is a $1500 gun right now. I have been trying to call the company to order a Pro+ but he does not answer the phone X3. The Dlask is Canadian made and a hell of a good 1911 but. I'm not sure where he is, he does not answer his e-mail either so? After 2x bad experiences on EE I'm going new and pay the price, the EE has bumbed me out!
 
JimmieA. said:
I have a Dlask Pro model. It is a $1500 gun right now. I have been trying to call the company to order a Pro+ but he does not answer the phone X3. The Dlask is Canadian made and a hell of a good 1911 but. I'm not sure where he is, he does not answer his e-mail either so? After 2x bad experiences on EE I'm going new and pay the price, the EE has bumbed me out!
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Joe has made a commitment to complete existing work (backlogged). As a result, phone and e-mail answering have taken a back seat for the time being...so I've been told. The trouble with doing good work :)
 
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NVShooter said:
Joe has made a commitment to complete existing work (backlogged). As a result, phone and e-mail answering have taken a back seat for the time being...so I've been told. The trouble with doing good work :)
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That is cool and good but when I want to buy I want to buy. I will wait a bit and try again than Wilson CQB is my thing.
 
I had a Remington R1 and a Smith & Wesson that cost twice as much. The Remington was nicer.

For that matter, in cars I have owned, among other things, an Isuzu with Lotus-tuned suspension, a SAAB, an Alfa Romeo, and an Aston Martin. My favourite car of all time? Nissan Sentra.
 
NVShooter said:
I know some folks like to slag the Kimber, although not sure why. Perhaps they think they are pricey or perhaps they have had a bad experience, or maybe it is just a "Ford/Chevy" thing.
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Some people here on the forums do not care to buy Kimber 1911's because apparently they do not care about their Canadian customer base and don't need our business. I remember a fellow forum member stated he was told this by Kimber customer service when he was trying to get an issue with his Kimber 1911 resolved.
 
The sweet spot for me is a Springfield. I've got six of them, and all are great pistols. Two were bought new, the rest used ee specials. Iirc all were around the $6-700 price range . I sold one, but recently bought it back.

Most of em, pic taken before my second Mil Spec pickup:



Good shooters, good quality. My old beat up Mil Spec is probably my favorite pistol, other than unnecessary tinkering all I ever do is change out the recoil spring from time to time.

 
STI...our club has a 9mm, an entry level Spartan. This pistol makes my groups look like I'm a marksman, which I am not. Hard to beat for the price. You're good to go right out of the box.
 
I just received my norinco 1911 45acp, have not had a chance to shoot it yet. You can definitely tell its a "Chinese knockoff" compared to my s+w mp 40 and ruger sr9
Im not knocking the firearm, just commenting on finish and quality control.

I will probably end up getting a (different) ,,, another one, but this will do for now.
 
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Bought a STI Lawman and never looked back, even the Ruger gets left in the safe. Went down the road of starting with a Norc and telling myself it was just as good as those high end guns. Next the SR1911 and once I handled the STI could not go back as you really do feel the quality and the way it shoots it even makes me look good. I have never had a gun that puts bullets through the same hole, it just shoots. When you rack the slide it feels amazing and the barrel bushing fit is tight, worth every penny. The only regret is that I should have left the others and bought the STI first but then I would not have been able to really appreciate it. My advise is to shoot some lower end 1911's and work your way up in quality until you reach the point you find what you want and are willing to pay for then buy that gun. As they say cry once.
 
ken 1 said:
Bought a STI Lawman and never looked back, even the Ruger gets left in the safe. Went down the road of starting with a Norc and telling myself it was just as good as those high end guns. Next the SR1911 and once I handled the STI could not go back as you really do feel the quality and the way it shoots it even makes me look good. I have never had a gun that puts bullets through the same hole, it just shoots. When you rack the slide it feels amazing and the barrel bushing fit is tight, worth every penny. The only regret is that I should have left the others and bought the STI first but then I would not have been able to really appreciate it. My advise is to shoot some lower end 1911's and work your way up in quality until you reach the point you find what you want and are willing to pay for then buy that gun. As they say cry once.
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Nice gun.. I held off for a long time before getting my first 1911.. I like quality shooters and read like a fiend before buying and ended up with one Spartan and one Trojan.. I'm very happy with the quality.. if I had any criticism it would be the finish could be a bit more durable.. My CZ's finish is tough as nails, that is something STI should consider improving for us Anal types. (Probably a cost thing they thought was not as important given it is a competition type gun)
 
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