STI Rangemaster vs Les Baer?

[johnl]

Gents


I usually hate these type of posts but I'm in need of another 1911. I had a TargetMaster and knew that pistol intimately but sold it a little while back. Are the Baers really worth the extra 6-800 dollars more or are you paying more for the hype? My only real wants are a nice finish, crisp light trigger and nice tight groups. I guess I could go to Vancouver and visit Wanstalls and do a side by side fondle but wouldn't mind some real world input from actuall owners. Thanks

 

[johNTO]

I recently had a chance to shoot my Buddy's brand new Les Baer Monolith Commanche.
For ~$2,000.00 it was very impressive both cosmetically and mechanically. Very accurate right out of the box with no failures. The slide was tight and that full dust cover was a thing of beauty.
I'm not a 1911 fan but this one got my mind going to add one in my cabinet….

 

[crackerbarrel2]

I had a Les Baer Premier ll with the 1.5" guarantee upgrade.It was a very well built pistol,but for me I had better groups with my STI Rangemaster....Never a failure with either...

 

[Import]

Never shot the les Baer...but I'm am a confirmed Sti fan...have another couple on my radar....

 

[Mark-II]

Not a fan of flat finishes (or those fugly forward serrations), personally, which is one reason why I sold my STI.

I'm not sure if I'm ready to leap to LB, though. I have a Colt National Match that makes me smile all day, or at least for as long as I can hold it steady. Ragged hole accuracy, and dead ###y in that Vargas girl way

 

[Butcherbill]

I shot a Les Baer in the summer, it was very nice. Trigger was real nice, was accurate enough for me. Little rich for my tastes, I'd be afraid to drop the thing in the dirt lol. I enjoyed shooting it, put a couple mags through it.

 

[gdawg]

I had the Rangemaster and have a LB PII. The Rangemaster is my favourite of the STI line, and I'll probably get one again. One of the coolest looking 1911 on the market if you like FDCs.

Too bad you can't get the Rangemaster with the chrome finish anymore. The matte black finish from STI was my only concern, so the edge would go to LB in that area.
Both nice shooters, and more accurate than me though the LB does have an accuracy guarantee fwiw.
Given the extra weight, STI is the softer shooter.
Trigger on my Les Baer (with the factory job) was a little better than the STI.
The LB might have better resale because of the cache and that fact that it would be eligible for more games (if you get one without the FDC of course).

Tough call as they are both nice.

 

[tjhaile]

As a pleased Baer owner, that would be my recommendation. What you are getting for the money is more attention to hand fitting. Also, you can have it built differently from catalogue standard if you are having it made to order. For example, I ordered my Custom Carry without front slide serrations and with a solid trigger instead of a 3-hole one.

There are a couple things about the STIs that really rub me the wrong way:
1. Aesthetics: huge "billboard" slide markings combined with the extremely coarse front and rear serrations.
2. Ramped barrels do not belong in .45 1911s.