Looking to buy a 1911, Suggestions? Comments?

I would go for the norc + 1000k ammo deal.
you can have a chance to handle a 1911 again and make sure you like it.
sell it for a better one and youll still have ammo left over with some money made off the norc you just sold.
 
tazik said:
My Rem R1e :
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That's a really pretty R1E. I have one myself, but it doesn't look that nice. Maybe it's just the photography?

http://2.bp.########.com/-pp-SlNTltfU/T_Pgf6ectTI/AAAAAAAANZY/vwKx_RDne48/s1600/P7031364.JPG

To the OP, I was going to get the Norinco 1911 Police originally, but when I picked on up in person, I didn't like it very much. The example I held in my hand was loose and rattling, the slide was loose, the barrel and bushing were loose, and the finish was horrendous inside and out. I ended up spending about $500 more than my original budget on my Remington R1E and I have to say it is a superb pistol. It was tight all around, the finish was immaculate, it came with all the bells and whistles, and when I took her to the range, it practicall shot itself. I was getting awesome groupings, despite the fact that I am a crap shot with horrible skills and no experience. For me, it was a lot of money, but it was worth it. It's pretty to look at, a pleasure to clean and fun as hell to shoot. But I babied it. I worried about it all the time, and didn't want to get a single scratch on it. Fast forward a year later, I was humming and hawing over a beater gun, and the Canada Ammo deal for the Norc + 1000 rounds was one, had been on for a few months before I finally caved and got one after reading over 3000 decent posts about this batch of Norcs. My Norc had a decent finish on it (exterior anyway), the tolerances were tight all around, and performed just fine at the range.

I'd say it's a good starter pistol, one that you won't feel bad scratching up and shooting, and maybe even tinkering with in the future, and I don't think you'll regret buying it. What I've found is that saying "Buy Once Cry Once" saying is meaningless in the 1911 world because I now have 3 1911s and I only want more.....
 
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I have a sig, an sti, and several SAMs. Of them all I like the sig the most. A word of advise on the Ruger sr1911 if you decide to go that route buy it in person so you can handle it first. I have seen some nice and tight and some that rattle like a baby toy (talking about frame to slide fit). Some say it doesn't matter for accuracy and that is debatable but it bugs me if its that sloppy.
 
Thanks for the advice guys.

I probably won't buy anything in person as I live in a pretty remote area and can't leave town in the summer due to work.

The Norc i would assume to be a rattletrap of sorts, if I bought one I would accept it as it is.

I'm leaning more towards the norc and a rifle right now. We'll see if I stay in that line of thought when i have the money together.
 
tjhaile said:
Generally, people like Hilton Yam who have seen a lot of rounds go through several Kimber 1911s are not fans:
http://10-8performance.########.ca/2010/07/kimber-warrior.html

The original Kimbers made prior to the introduction of the Series II were mostly good guns for production 1911s, but their current business model appears to be based on selling countless variations of flashy-looking guns while cutting corners on small parts and QC. When CEO Ron Cohen moved from Kimber to SIG Sauer, he proceeded to apply the same approach there, thus ruining that company as well.

The popularity of Kimber 1911s can be explained by the following:
1. The reputation built by their early pistols.
2. Slick advertising. Apparently, people still buy gun magazines.
3. Lots of dealers have them in stock.
4. The number of people who shoot their guns a lot is a small subset of those who buy handguns.
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See, now I would disagree with you on this.
I don't read gun mags and I don't get down to gun stores much, maybe once every couple years.
And until my dad got his I had only heard of Kimbers in passing.
So my first experience with one was when my dad got his.
And now I have one.
So all I can go off of are the 2 I have shot.
Both are smooth and tight and flawless.
Granted neither of us went with the flashy ones.
He went with the compact pro carry II and I went with the base model one.
So when people ask me to tell them what I think is the best 1911 out there I can only go off of the ones I either own or have sampled myself at the range. And in my 40 some years I think I'm only missing a couple of the uber high end ones.

So for me, norinco = ruff but solid, be prepared to play Lego with them.
Ruger, rem, Sam, sti = solid good quality right out of the box
Kimber..... Dream weaver.

Now if someone with a Wilson or les want to send me their toy for me to form an opinion on, hehe
 
tjhaile said:
Generally, people like Hilton Yam who have seen a lot of rounds go through several Kimber 1911s are not fans:
http://10-8performance.########.ca/2010/07/kimber-warrior.html

The original Kimbers made prior to the introduction of the Series II were mostly good guns for production 1911s, but their current business model appears to be based on selling countless variations of flashy-looking guns while cutting corners on small parts and QC. When CEO Ron Cohen moved from Kimber to SIG Sauer, he proceeded to apply the same approach there, thus ruining that company as well.

The popularity of Kimber 1911s can be explained by the following:
1. The reputation built by their early pistols.
2. Slick advertising. Apparently, people still buy gun magazines.
3. Lots of dealers have them in stock.
4. The number of people who shoot their guns a lot is a small subset of those who buy handguns.
Click to expand...

Interesting read about the Kimbers.
But a couple things that I got out of the write up.
1) the article is 3 years old and is pulling data from before that. So the data is getting towards the outdated side.
2) those pistols he is talking about is a specific one, Kimber Warrior. I'm not sure what that gun is so ill go look it up here in a sec, but I'm assuming its a service model.
3) those are some pretty high round counts, maybe not for guys doing IPSC or other stuff, but for me plinking at the range once or twice a month I will never even get close to the ammo count that those guns had on them.
And lastly the feel I got from that article the guy wasn't shaming the guns suck, he was saying he didn't like a couple parts in them.

But it was a interesting read and I thank you for pointing it out to me.
 
Budget top production tier quality? Simple really: STI.

I'd buy STI, or wait until I could plunk down the cash for a Nighthawk, Baer, or high end Wilson Combat.

Anything else is either too inferior to the STI (Norinco, cheap Kimber, SAM...), or not any better (if at all) for more money (expensive Kimber, Sig)...
 
I have put 6000 rounds through my STI Trojan (er...with some slight SV mods) as I run IPSC Classic........NEVER a single feed, ejection issue, part breakage, etc.
Now the Kimber I HAD ... there is a reason as to why I sold it.
My wife runs an STI USPSA and I am having a custome 1911 made on an STI forged frame and slide.
There is a reason why STI is popular in both 1911 and 2011 as competition guns. They are customizable, hold up to the high round counts, and are accurate shooters.....my vote is obviously STI.
 
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