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Ranking 1911's

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PieterCoetzee

Master Class
How do you rate the current batch of 1911s

For me (but Im open to debate) it goes like this:
TOP TIER
Colt
Springfield
Kimber
Sig

CLOSE Second
Ruger
Smith & Wesson
Rock Island

Honorable Mention
Girsan
Tisas


Theres a few which I dont have a clue
Fussion
Global Ordnance
ATI


I left out the ones no longer in production like Para Ordnance, Detonics, Safari Arms, Essex....
 
PieterCoetzee said:
How do you rate the current batch of 1911s

For me (but Im open to debate) it goes like this:
TOP TIER
Colt
Springfield
Kimber
Sig

CLOSE Second
Ruger
Smith & Wesson
Rock Island

Honorable Mention
Girsan
Tisas


Theres a few which I dont have a clue
Fussion
Global Ordnance
ATI


I left out the ones no longer in production like Para Ordnance, Detonics, Safari Arms, Essex....
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top tier...........in "my price range"...

i'd have to go get log book to see what i got, and i'm too damned lazy to get up right now



close second

RIA, Girsan, Tisas,



no honorable mention category for me.
 
I dont doubt theyre all well built and decent shooters. This is like rating cars what are YOUR favorites? What would YOU pick to shoot and carry?

If you gave me any of them, Id say thanks and be grateful BUT if I could pick from the smorgasbord Id pick in the above order.

Its certainly at least partially a snobary thing. The funny thing is that Im not that way about ARs. Once you get below Knights, Daniel and maybe a few others, I could care less. If had Anderson and PSA and Spikes that I thought were fine; BUT ask me about Hunting rifles and optics and Im all about Big names and $$$
 
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PieterCoetzee said:
I dont doubt theyre all well built and decent shooters. This is like rating cars what are YOUR favorites? What would YOU pick to shoot and carry?

If you gave me any of them, Id say thanks and be grateful BUT if I could pick from the smorgasbord Id pick in the above order.
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i would not carry ANY 1911, cuz they are ALL heavy for me at my age.

i'd NOT pick a name brand i never heard of, or tested myself, meaning that there are some small manufacturers out there, selling what they build.....

i'll stick with the names i am very familiar with, and with-in my price range, of under $2,000.....

higher priced 1911's may be more accurate, however, if one cannot shoot a $400.00 Tisas or Girsan, then that person will not shoot an "up to" $6,000 Ed Brown, or Wilson either.
 
Name recognition, price point, over the top pricing.........

I've seen high end 1911s that choke if the custom loaded ammo was loaded a half grain too light.

Yeah, I'd love to own a true high end model, but I have an ATI, two TISAS, a Rock Island, two Colts, and two MACs, that work just as good (better actually) as any high end I've ever seen.

I rank by what works, names are secondary.

And before we get into the name game, I have owned, and gotten rid more than my fair share of "quality " 1911s, because their quality was severely lacking......
 
I'd move Kimber to the second tier. Not a fan. :rolleyes:
The rest I pretty much agree with. I own several Rock Islands and they're very good guns. I recently traded into a Ruger and so far have been really impressed with it.
I have no experience with S&W, Sig, Girsan or Tisas.
 
Grayfox said:
I'd move Kimber to the second tier. Not a fan. :rolleyes:
The rest I pretty much agree with. I own several Rock Islands and they're very good guns. I recently traded into a Ruger and so far have been really impressed with it.
I have no experience with S&W, Sig, Girsan or Tisas.
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Kimber is definitely a mixed bag. A fair amount of problems with their legacy 1911s, but their newer guns - the DS 1911s and 2011s seem to really have raised the bar for Kimber. The relocation and new mgmt seemed to have made a big difference.
 
Grayfox said:
I'd move Kimber to the second tier. Not a fan. :rolleyes:
The rest I pretty much agree with. I own several Rock Islands and they're very good guns. I recently traded into a Ruger and so far have been really impressed with it.
I have no experience with S&W, Sig, Girsan or Tisas.
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if you like the RIA's, you will most certainly like the Tisas and the Girsan.......Sigs (my STX, is an 80 Series) but it is spot on. my S&W Series E, is a super spot on shooter as well
 
Hmmmmm all good points. I had forgotten about the SIG extractor.
Old_Me said:
if you like the RIA's, you will most certainly like the Tisas and the Girsan
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Ive seen both and they dont look bad, Im just wondering if the tier one guns (whatever they are) are worth the EXTRA $$$

I didnt used to be a KIMBER fan, mainly because of their over the top advertising; but the more I see them the better they are warming up to me. They are still in the pricey category (along with Colt, SIG etc). I always feel like theres a balance point between $$$ and practical use quality

I feel like Im leaning towards Kimber as a Tier One but I keep wondering if Colt isnt worth the extra $$$
 
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PieterCoetzee said:
How do you rate the current batch of 1911s

For me (but Im open to debate) it goes like this:
TOP TIER
Colt
Springfield
Kimber
Sig

CLOSE Second
Ruger
Smith & Wesson
Rock Island

Honorable Mention
Girsan
Tisas


Theres a few which I dont have a clue
Fussion
Global Ordnance
ATI


I left out the ones no longer in production like Para Ordnance, Detonics, Safari Arms, Essex....
Click to expand...
For production, I’d agree with your top tier and close second.

After that, it’s a toss up.
 
Annihilator said:
Good Choices but I’ll be different and say Sig needs moved down, to me there not an actual 1911 due to their external extractor, even though I own a Sig, like a S&W, also not true to the original 1911 design, just me
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Just me, but I think an external extractor is a positive improvement on the original 1911. It was designed that way at the request of the military to stop the troops from messing with the extractor. The internal extractor has always been the weak spot that often requires tuning and is a pain to do, not so much the external extractor. Now Sig’s recent direction in slide cut is a different thing altogether. I don’t want my 1911 to look like a P320.
 
SimonRL said:
Just me, but I think an external extractor is a positive improvement on the original 1911. It was designed that way at the request of the military to stop the troops from messing with the extractor. The internal extractor has always been the weak spot that often requires tuning and is a pain to do, not so much the external extractor. Now Sig’s recent direction in slide cut is a different thing altogether. I don’t want my 1911 to look like a P320.
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Agreed
 
SimonRL said:
Just me, but I think an external extractor is a positive improvement on the original 1911. It was designed that way at the request of the military to stop the troops from messing with the extractor. The internal extractor has always been the weak spot that often requires tuning and is a pain to do, not so much the external extractor. Now Sig’s recent direction in slide cut is a different thing altogether. I don’t want my 1911 to look like a P320.
Click to expand...
I agree with the internal extractor is a weak spot, I was referring to aesthetics to the original design, that’s all
 
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