- Location
- West Quebec
^^^^^ One sweet gun
First 1911
- Thread starter snipe(+)show
- Start date
^^^^^ One sweet gun
Dude, that's Hilton Yam - he most certainly knows exactly what he's talking about, having been involved in violent fugitive work in Florida, and being a pistolsmith - among other things. You couldn't have chosen a more appropriate piece. Larry Vickers says pretty much the same stuff about the 1911 - it requires a commitment from the user, which is OK for a "fun gun" but not really appropriate for a duty gun. Incidentally, if you want to see a gun fail take a course with a bunch of 1911 shooters, by late in day one, 1911's are starting to go down, unless the shooter takes his/her lunch break and cleans the gun. Polymer guns just chugg along.
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I would not consider Series 80 to be much of a big deal one way or the other. It is possible to get a perfectly acceptable trigger pull with it and it is much more reliable than any of the other firing pin blocks, such as the S&W and Kimber ones that are actuated by the grip safety.
Personally, I think STI guns are painfully ugly with their garish markings and slide serrations, but to each his own. Ramped barrels in a .45 1911 are just plain wrong, though.
Scott Bear
Regular
- Location
- Prince George
I bought mine at ARMCO in Prince George. Probably added $150 to the price so in total it was about $450 when all said and done. At one point I think they had a list on their website of all the work done. I believe the slide was "squished" and then lapped to the frame so the slide-to-frame fit is amazing. Smoothing of internal trigger parts to smooth out the trigger pull etc.
My buddy got one of the unmarked ones through the CanAm deal and it was nice and tight as well so depending on the one you buy you might not have to get any work done on it. You could strip it and get a very very fine stone and smooth the trigger parts yourself. You can find them at Brownells. Every time I order they just charge me a $10 flat rate for shipping across the border so it becomes very economical when you are trying to get parts and gunsmith tools (and magazines). I think you are limited to $100/order so if you order more they split it up for you (a stupid US rule). Some times you can't even find the right tools in Canada so it is even better.
A great resource for $20 to tune it yourself:
http://www.amazon.ca/Gunsmithing-Pistols-Revolvers-Patrick-Sweeney/dp/144020389X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1411492525&sr=8-1&keywords=gunsmithing+pistols
It is made out of Chinese steel (5150 tool steel I think it is called) so it is a bit heavier than others and I here cutting the dove tail for the sights is a pain if you need to expand it for different sights, but a smith can do it. On a good day I can get two shots in a single hole at 25 yards.
Scott Bear
Regular
- Location
- Prince George
And.....
It eats any ammo I feed it. I tried 185gr HP (hollow point), 200gr HP, 230gr HP, 230gr RN (Round Nose) and 230gr. SWC (Semi-Wad Cutters). It likes the 230gr the best for accuracy so the twist in the barrel must be the original design for the 230gr projectiles.
I picked this pistol because of the price, the steel, the non-ramped barrel and lack of a firing pin safety. At the price I figured if I worked on it and screwed it up it would still be worth the money to fix it. Night sights would be nice, but for now the stock sights are fine for the amount of shooting I do.
A good way to get started with a 1911 because you will be paying double for ammo compared to a 9mm. Magazines will be your biggest issue for malfunctions so spend the money on some good ones.
One day I might get a higher end 1911 that is a bit lighter. Mine has forward slide serrations which I'm not a fan of, but this is only cosmetic. For now this one puts lead down range just as well as any other.
It eats any ammo I feed it. I tried 185gr HP (hollow point), 200gr HP, 230gr HP, 230gr RN (Round Nose) and 230gr. SWC (Semi-Wad Cutters). It likes the 230gr the best for accuracy so the twist in the barrel must be the original design for the 230gr projectiles.
I picked this pistol because of the price, the steel, the non-ramped barrel and lack of a firing pin safety. At the price I figured if I worked on it and screwed it up it would still be worth the money to fix it. Night sights would be nice, but for now the stock sights are fine for the amount of shooting I do.
A good way to get started with a 1911 because you will be paying double for ammo compared to a 9mm. Magazines will be your biggest issue for malfunctions so spend the money on some good ones.
One day I might get a higher end 1911 that is a bit lighter. Mine has forward slide serrations which I'm not a fan of, but this is only cosmetic. For now this one puts lead down range just as well as any other.
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1riot1ranger
CGN Regular
- Location
- Calgary, AB
I can't feel the diff in trigger pull between my Series 70 or 80 1911s.
I just removed the series 80 bits in my Sig 1911 Target and replaced with a shim. Went from 3lb 10oz to 2lb 14oz way better pull - I would not believe it could make that much difference if I hadn't experienced it before and after. For the price of the shim (10-20$) you can try it and if you don't like it put the series 80 parts back in.
I recentely bought a s and w 1911. Its #108284.It is my third 45- first a model 625 s and w. second, an sti spartan. sold the 625 and the sti. I think this ones a keeper. I am not a great shot, but with my 1911 i can group my shots around 3 inches at 15 yards and getting better with practice. The guy at the local gun store highly recomended it, although they carry tons of kimbers. I researched the model and I could not find a single bad review.
PPCLIGullyPlatoon
Regular
I was hell bent on a Kimber, but a serious IPSC friend of mine turned me on to STI, and I managed to find one here for $800. Part and parcel of why I like this pistol so much is, when I had a problem with the slide stop (the previous owner changed to a modified version, which just didn't work that well), they sent me a new one --- no cost, and no questions asked (except for, "what calibre is it?"). I dunno, I don't think you're going to find a better entry into the 1911 world, or better customer service
PPCLIGullyPlatoon
Regular
I doubt you'll be disappointed with either pick.
I'll throw another bucks and get the lawman instead. Classic look than trojan
that's awesome! I can relate, got P14.45 Ltd, Springer TM and Sistema Colt while waiting for my LB PII in less than 6 months. then GI springer from EE. now thinking of selling my turntable to finance a lawman and my kidney for a Wilson supergrade classic.
1st 1911 i fired was a spartan & yea loved it
