Inexpensive 1911 auto

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flip1

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I am wanting to get an inexpensive 1911 auto, in eaither .45 or 9mm.

This will be largely be an addition to my collection, but will be shot on occasion, so it needs to be of decent quality.

I have looked at the Norinco's, but was considering Auto-Ordanance.

Any comments or suggestions???

Thanks
 
Norinco = Inexpensive

They are decent guns to shoot out of the box. They can be improved with a little work.

It depends what your expectations are. How much do you want to spend? What factors are most important to you?
 
flip1 said:
I am wanting to get an inexpensive 1911 auto, in eaither .45 or 9mm.

This will be largely be an addition to my collection, but will be shot on occasion, so it needs to be of decent quality.

I have looked at the Norinco's, but was considering Auto-Ordanance.

Any comments or suggestions???

Thanks
Click to expand...
Have you considered Tanfoglio's Witness - $582 gets you a dovetailed front sight, a high rise beavertail, commander hammer and serrated trigger.
 
Inexpensive Norinco ;)

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flip1 said:
I have looked at the Norinco's, but was considering Auto-Ordanance.

Any comments or suggestions???
Click to expand...

Norc = good deal for the money. Especially if you get it via Armco or send it to Armco for a tweaking after you buy it from somewhere else. That said, I picked up one of the new series Norc commanders last summer. Other than a detail strip to clean all the factory gunk out of it, I replaced the trigger with an adjustable aluminum one & replaced the cheap grips with a set of double diamond hardwoods with new hex grip screws. Shoots fine right outta the box with a nice trigger pull. And feeds/shoots factory Fiocchi 230 gr JHP's like there's no tomorrow...


2007-09-01_174507_zzzNorcC1.jpg


The Auto-Ord will only be okay if you can get a real good deal on it. If it's an older model [pre-Kahr ownership of Auto-Ord] then it may need tweaking before it will shoot reliably. The basic frame & slide should be mil-spec so it might be a good platform to do your own mods off of. Again if the starting price was right.

Personally, I don't think you can beat the $325 price for a spankin new Norc 1911A-1 from Marstar, though.

Deals on 1911's do come up, though. Here's a "frankenpistol 1911" [made up of various parts - Norc frame, Colt USGI slide, Springfield barrel, Wilson combat sites, etc] that I got off the EE awhile back under $325 total...

2007-09-01_175843_zzzNorc3.jpg
 
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NAA said:
2007-09-01_174507_zzzNorcC1.jpg
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Notice that most Norinco 1911s (not the above) have had their sights replaced with ones that you can see. If you go for a stock gun you may also want to also consider the extra expense of add ons. Yes you can shoot them as built but not many want to. Still a good deal.
 
"Inexpensive" and "1911" generally don't go together. It costs much more to manufacture a 1911 compared to say, Glock or S&W M&P. A cheap 1911 is likely going to be a) unreliable, b) have rough/poor fit and finish or most likely c) all of the above.

There are some people who are perfectly happy with their cheap 1911s, but if you are a demanding consumer, look elsewhere.
 
The Rock Island Arsenal (Armscor) 1911s offer a lot of gun for the price but I would opt for the Norincos. The Norinco is the best bang for the buck out there and this time the joke is on the Yanks. How, so? Americans can no longer buy Norincos as they are considered "assault weapons" by our BATF! Regards, Richard:D
 
Rudy H said:
Notice that most Norinco 1911s (not the above) have had their sights replaced with ones that you can see. If you go for a stock gun you may also want to also consider the extra expense of add ons. Yes you can shoot them as built but not many want to. Still a good deal.
Click to expand...

I'd tend to agree generally that the Norc 1911's could do with better sites from the factory. That said, even with my nearly 50 year old peeps, that need reading glasses, I can still pick up the nibby sites on my Norc's [the commander .45 and the NP-29 9mm] to get the rounds where I need them to go. I'm talking practical combat distances, not 25 yard bullseye shooting, though.... ;)
 
Another vote for Norinco (I own two, no issues, but as NAA says clean thoroughly - very thoroughly) especially one of Armco's (brilliant work), alternatively the STI Spartan is a lot of pistol for $719.
 
I've owned a Norinco and I have an STI Spartan. The value of a Norinco 1911 is great and it can be modded to do go great things. However, out of the box it has small sights, sometimes sharp bits, and questionable finish. The STI Spartan is ready to go out of the box with excellent sights and good ergonomics, but it is cast, not forged (the Norinco is forged), and it has a FLGR that makes it more difficult to field strip. Keep in mind you will have to detail strip and clean the cosmoline out of a Norinco before the first time you use it.

For Norinco, go Armco, no question about that. Have him put better sights on it, grips of your choice, and maybe a beavertail, and you're good to go.
 
I saw many many people very happy with their norincos, but ofcourse someone got upset because of a lemon pop out. Having said that, if you buy from one of our site supporter Marstar, even you got a lemon, they will get it replace. I do go with Tanfoglio.

Trigun
 
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