How to pick a 1911 - what makes one stand out amongst the others?

FightingIrish said:
I really like the look of the Ranger II. I'm always a fan of the 4.25" barrels over the 5" ones. That's why the Ruger Compact is on the short list. So according to STI, both the Ranger II and the Trojan are approx $1150. Guess it boils down to size at that point?
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Size and features...the Trojan comes with a Bomar-type rear sight, the Ranger with a fixed. The Ranger uses a bull barrel, I think the Trojan does not. The Ranger comes with the STI recoilmaster guide rod, the Trojan with a more standard FLGR I think.

Pretty much a wash for me personally...I don't like Bomar sights, and I'd get rid of the guide rod in either case. But I prefer .45s in 5".

I think the Ranger II in 9mm would be a bit of a sweet spot.
 
misanthropist said:
Size and features...the Trojan comes with a Bomar-type rear sight, the Ranger with a fixed. The Ranger uses a bull barrel, I think the Trojan does not. The Ranger comes with the STI recoilmaster guide rod, the Trojan with a more standard FLGR I think.

Pretty much a wash for me personally...I don't like Bomar sights, and I'd get rid of the guide rod in either case. But I prefer .45s in 5".

I think the Ranger II in 9mm would be a bit of a sweet spot.
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I'm definitely leaning towards the Ranger II now. I prefer fixed sights and a bull barrel. Is there a big difference between a RecoilMaster and FLGR? Your preference is 5" for .45, is it just due to recoil or some other reason? I prefer shorter guns - wish we didn't have that stupid 106mm restriction here.
 
misanthropist said:
Size and features...the Trojan comes with a Bomar-type rear sight, the Ranger with a fixed. The Ranger uses a bull barrel, I think the Trojan does not. The Ranger comes with the STI recoilmaster guide rod, the Trojan with a more standard FLGR I think.

Pretty much a wash for me personally...I don't like Bomar sights, and I'd get rid of the guide rod in either case. But I prefer .45s in 5".

I think the Ranger II in 9mm would be a bit of a sweet spot.
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What do you think of STI Spartans?
 
I went with a Kimber Crimson Carry Pro for my first (and so far only) 1911. It wasn't cheap by any means, but I think worth every penny. I have to admit I didn't really get any use out of the laser grips, so I recently swapped them for some VZ grips and dumped the factory plastic MSH for a stainless piece with magwell. I am real happy with the way the gun both shoots and looks.

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CousinTony said:
What do you think of STI Spartans?
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Probably decent for an entry level 1911 but they won't have the hand fitting of any of their US guns.

I don't keep track of the entry level 1911 market much because to me an entry level 1911 is either raw material and only the frame and slide matter, or just a way to waste the same amount of money I could spend on a perfectly good Glock. Or, more probably, more primers, powder, and bullets. I don't have a very high opinion of "budget" 1911s because the 1911 is very dependent on hand fitting to run well. The famous contract winning 6000 round 1911 that won over the US Army was hand fitted by a guy most would consider "pretty knowledgable" about 1911s prior to the test, for example.

The cheaper they are, the less bench time they have in them. The less bench time, the less carefully fit the parts are. The less carefully fit the parts are, the less likely the gun will run like a 9mm Glock, which is what I want in a pistol.
 
^^I had to think for a second but I believe the only pistols I've never seen fail are HK's in any of their iterations. Put a Glock trigger in a P2000 or P30 and I'd own one in a heartbeat.

I have to admit that these build/brand 1911 threads have got me looking at 1911's again.

Must resist the urge to buy a Norinco 1911 and tools (to hand fit more parts I will need to buy to make it work as well as my Glock)

EDIT: Yeah, I think I just talked myself out of it...I'd rather spend the money on ammo at this point... :)
 
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KevinB said:
I've never seen the point of a 9mm 1911.
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The 9mm in a Colt Combat Commander is a fun gun to shoot and I've found that it is much easier for small framed shooters to master. For full-size 1911s my preference is the Detonics Scoremaster and the Colt Series 70s. In more practical terms I'd opt for current production Colt (they're well made and hold their value, but are a little pricey). However, I've been pleasantly surprised by the quality and accuracy of the Remington R1 line.
 
Has anyone shot a Sig STX? I like the looks of them, but have not seen one in person, they don't seem common.
 
Clobbersauras said:
^^I had to think for a second but I believe the only pistols I've never seen fail are HK's in any of their iterations. Put a Glock trigger in a P2000 or P30 and I'd own one in a heartbeat.

I have to admit that these build/brand 1911 threads have got me looking at 1911's again.

Must resist the urge to buy a Norinco 1911 and tools (to hand fit more parts I will need to buy to make it work as well as my Glock)

EDIT: Yeah, I think I just talked myself out of it...I'd rather spend the money on ammo at this point... :)
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resist at all costs...it starts with a Norinco and turns in to a need for guns like the above mentioned Detonics.

I'm building that Norinco of mine as a consolation prize because I missed out on a Colt that had been worked over by Joe Bonar AND Chuck Rogers (Novak's and Rogers Precision, respectively) and I would have happily paid the price of 4 G17s for it while feeling like I got a screaming deal because it was used and had a fair bit of finish wear.

It is best to never get in to 1911s. They are impractical, heavy, maintenance intensive and expensive to run, and for what? 8 shots of a caliber that AT BEST is marginally better than 9mm.

And a current production Corolla will probably run Nuburgring faster than a 66 GTO. There is no good reason, there's just loving the machine. But they will never love you back, just cost you money.

Stay away if you can.
 
misanthropist said:
resist at all costs...it starts with a Norinco and turns in to a need for guns like the above mentioned Detonics.

I'm building that Norinco of mine as a consolation prize because I missed out on a Colt that had been worked over by Joe Bonar AND Chuck Rogers (Novak's and Rogers Precision, respectively) and I would have happily paid the price of 4 G17s for it while feeling like I got a screaming deal because it was used and had a fair bit of finish wear.

It is best to never get in to 1911s. They are impractical, heavy, maintenance intensive and expensive to run, and for what? 8 shots of a caliber that AT BEST is marginally better than 9mm.

And a current production Corolla will probably run Nuburgring faster than a 66 GTO. There is no good reason, there's just loving the machine. But they will never love you back, just cost you money.

Stay away if you can.
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Way to rain on my parade, Batman.
 
misanthropist said:
resist at all costs...it starts with a Norinco and turns in to a need for guns like the above mentioned Detonics.

I'm building that Norinco of mine as a consolation prize because I missed out on a Colt that had been worked over by Joe Bonar AND Chuck Rogers (Novak's and Rogers Precision, respectively) and I would have happily paid the price of 4 G17s for it while feeling like I got a screaming deal because it was used and had a fair bit of finish wear.

It is best to never get in to 1911s. They are impractical, heavy, maintenance intensive and expensive to run, and for what? 8 shots of a caliber that AT BEST is marginally better than 9mm.

And a current production Corolla will probably run Nuburgring faster than a 66 GTO. There is no good reason, there's just loving the machine. But they will never love you back, just cost you money.

Stay away if you can.
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Was that Sparrow's gun?
 
misanthropist said:
resist at all costs...it starts with a Norinco and turns in to a need for guns like the above mentioned Detonics.

I'm building that Norinco of mine as a consolation prize because I missed out on a Colt that had been worked over by Joe Bonar AND Chuck Rogers (Novak's and Rogers Precision, respectively) and I would have happily paid the price of 4 G17s for it while feeling like I got a screaming deal because it was used and had a fair bit of finish wear.

It is best to never get in to 1911s. They are impractical, heavy, maintenance intensive and expensive to run, and for what? 8 shots of a caliber that AT BEST is marginally better than 9mm.

And a current production Corolla will probably run Nuburgring faster than a 66 GTO. There is no good reason, there's just loving the machine. But they will never love you back, just cost you money.

Stay away if you can.
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Well it's good someone tells the other side..
 
FightingIrish said:
I'm definitely leaning towards the Ranger II now. I prefer fixed sights and a bull barrel. Is there a big difference between a RecoilMaster and FLGR? Your preference is 5" for .45, is it just due to recoil or some other reason? I prefer shorter guns - wish we didn't have that stupid 106mm restriction here.
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I just switched the recoilmaster for a guide rod in my Ranger II. The recoil seems to be slightly less - maybe a little less flip than previously. But just enough for a bit quicker follow-up shot and a bit more controllable strong/weak hand. Now my Ranger is in .40 not .45. With a guide rod, I can try different springs to somewhat tune the recoil with different loads in .40. However I guess this is another caliber that there is no use for in a 1911...

With the shorter Ranger, you will have a little less of a slight radius compared to say a Trojan with a 5" barrel. This comes into play a bit with accuracy but like you I also like shorter guns. I am going to be looking at a STI Sentry and Trojan shortly.

As for use and value of 9mm and .40 in 1911s, definitely comes to play in the Classic division for IPSC/Single Stack in the US. With 9mm and .40 you can load to 10 (must fit the box with mag) and shoot minor. Bonus with .40 is that you can download or upload and shoot either major or minor depending upon the match. Add in that both of these calibers are significantly less expensive to shoot.

Some like the platform and some don't. They are usually not as reliable as Glocks or M&Ps, etc. but a lot of this has to do with the mags and the ammo. Once you get these working, your reliability should be pretty good. I have had a Glock break down on me in the middle of a match and seen more than a few other platforms break in matches and practices so not just a 1911 problem.
 
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