been eyeballin the 1911E...sweet and beautifully made gun in colt commander size but $1500...I have a P345 same size but not as sweet but it shoots incredible and is also double/single action and I removed the crappy mag safety so works like a.45 should...can be disassembled with your eyes closed...cant decide whether to trade up or be happy with the ruger, own too many guns so the ruger has to go if I trade up + will help pay for some of it...like to hear some owners of the 1911 and experience with it
S&W 1911E vs. Ruger P345 .45's
- Thread starter marlin58
- Start date
The E is a pretty good gun and it's the only external extractor 1911 I'd bother with but $1500 is a lot for that.
I have no particular love for the 345 but if yours works well, I don't know that the E will do much the 345 won't.
Besides which, if you step up a few bucks you can get a Baer, which is kind of the entry-level semi-custom. They're not the works of art Wilson is putting out but they're typically extremely accurate as their effort goes into the barrel fitting process, at the expense of some detail stuff and cheaper internals (relative to Wilson, I mean. Their small parts quality is at least as good as the S&W). But it allows you to get a semi-custom 1911 relatively cheaply, that performs at a pretty high level. Baers are kind of the bang-for-buck option in the semi-custom world.
A Baer UTC or Thunder Ranch (basically the same gun) will often go for 17-1800 in pretty near mint condition and it's a better example of a 1911 than an E, no offense to S&W fans.
So there's my thoughts. If you want a 1911, and you're prepared to deal with a $1500 price tag, just pick up a minty Baer for $1750 or so and own a pretty decent semi-custom.
I have no particular love for the 345 but if yours works well, I don't know that the E will do much the 345 won't.
Besides which, if you step up a few bucks you can get a Baer, which is kind of the entry-level semi-custom. They're not the works of art Wilson is putting out but they're typically extremely accurate as their effort goes into the barrel fitting process, at the expense of some detail stuff and cheaper internals (relative to Wilson, I mean. Their small parts quality is at least as good as the S&W). But it allows you to get a semi-custom 1911 relatively cheaply, that performs at a pretty high level. Baers are kind of the bang-for-buck option in the semi-custom world.
A Baer UTC or Thunder Ranch (basically the same gun) will often go for 17-1800 in pretty near mint condition and it's a better example of a 1911 than an E, no offense to S&W fans.
So there's my thoughts. If you want a 1911, and you're prepared to deal with a $1500 price tag, just pick up a minty Baer for $1750 or so and own a pretty decent semi-custom.
Embarrassingly enough, I couldn't shoot that Scandium framed E-series 1911 worth a darn. It may have been too light at 29 oz or perhaps the sight radius or both.
It was the most beautiful gun in the bobtail design however. I tried and tried but had to trade it off. Sigh...
It was the most beautiful gun in the bobtail design however. I tried and tried but had to trade it off. Sigh...
The only thing you'll run into the is the resale of the Ruger, you're looking around 350 shipped seems to be the going rate and I found that a little high. If you can shoot it, it doesn't have any problems, unless you REALLY like the look and feel of the 1911 and have the cash to burn, have at it. I tend to stick to the old addage of 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it'
