# Shot a 1911 for the first time yesterday... not impressed



## USAFgsm (Dec 18, 2006)

Well I was thinking about getting a 1911 in the not-so-distant future, so I decided to rent one at the range yesterday since I had never fired one before. 

Man was that thing a piece of crap. It jammed every other shot. It was a Griffin (or something like that, a brand I had never heard of), which they admitted is not a very quality gun, but the only other one they had was a Kimber and I couldnt shoot it since it was not working either, and they said the Kimber is always tempermental, too. Now I had always thought that Kimbers were supposed to be good. 

So now I have a bad taste in my mouth. If I decide to get a 1911, am I going to have to spend 1500 bucks just to get one that shoots? Im sure a lot of it depends on how it is maintained.


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## Revolver (Aug 26, 2006)

USAFgsm said:


> So now I have a bad taste in my mouth. If I decide to get a 1911, am I going to have to spend 1500 bucks just to get one that shoots? Im sure a lot of it depends on how it is maintained.


No. The opposite can be true. some expensive 1911's are fitted very tightly. It adds to accuracy but detracts from reliability(clearances). I have fired $1000+ Kimbers. They were plenty accurate but to me they didn't feel right(beavertail grip safeties and flat MSH's I guess). The owners reported their irritation with the lack of reliability of their $1000+ pistols. The one owner said he liked his Ruger P90 much better as it has outperformed his Kimber.

One individual I know who owns Springfield Armory 1911's wears by them. These are the GI models. Everyone else who I have inquired about these pistols says the same.


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## michael t (Jan 26, 2006)

So all 1911 are trash because or 1 range gun and kimber is suppose to be tempermatenal. Wow. First you don't need to spend 1500 for a good 1911 
You can buy a Colt for less than a 1000. Rock island 450 and many others that shoot and work fine. I have last week bought a used, never fired Colt officer model next to me. Total investment 650 including tax. The never fired. Went as soon as I got home grabed a box of ammo and out Back door Oiled slide rails 50 rounds perfect 100 rounds remington HP perfect box Corbon yep perfect. Now carry with Corbon DPX .
Go find and shoot a good 45 auto I now have several Colts and looking to enlarge my collection.


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## USAFgsm (Dec 18, 2006)

michael t said:


> So all 1911 are trash because or 1 range gun and kimber is suppose to be tempermatenal. Wow.


Well I re-read my post, and sure enough I didnt see where i wrote that anywhere. I DID however ask you guys who have experience with the gun if they are pretty much all going to be unreliable or not. Especially since they said this particular Kimber (which I have heard is a good brand) is a piece of junk, too.

Thanks.


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## crashresidue (Jan 13, 2007)

Cheers USAF,

I've shot tons of 1911 A1's - and even the Army's old pistols SHOT.

I presently own a Springer Stainless Loaded ($1000) that is ALL she's supposed to be! Also Springer sells a Mill Spec for about $450 that is "almost" as good.

Find a range that's got other manufacturers - you'll be pleasently surprised.

She's a GREAT "airframe", got years of good service behind her, and I've alway found her to be reliable - even after being dunked in a rice paddy.

I've never heard of the brand you shot - that might be the problem!

Try again - and let us know if you like her any more.

Gentle winds,
cr


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## Mike Barham (Mar 30, 2006)

My experience is that 1911s are more tempermental and generally not as reliable as more moderns designs (Beretta, HK, Glock, SIG, etc.). I say this after shooting and carrying a 1911 for about twelve years. It's truly an enthusiast's gun that needs more care than modern designs. If you are willing to do that, great, carry a 1911. If not - and I'm not anymore - get a more modern design.

Griffin is a third-tier manufacturer. I have heard and personally seen many problems with Kimber, including one fiasco with a colleague at Galco. If I had to buy a mid-tier 1911, I'd get a Springfield.

To run well, 1911s need:

* to be made by a quality manufacturer
* have excellent magazines
* have a properly adjusted extractor
* have ammo they like, which often varies from gun to gun
* a "ramp and throat" job if using anything but ball (most 1911s come this way now)
* sometimes other work like a polished breechface

People also tend to futz around with their 1911s, adding parts of questionable value that invariably reduce reliability. 1911s generally run best when left as close to stock as possible (as Col. Cooper said, "sights you can see, a trigger you can use, and a dehorning job").

The plus sides of the 1911 design are that it remains the easiest serious pistol to shoot fast and well, and its flat design makes it easy to conceal. For me, these advantages don't trump the greater reliability of more modern pistols, which you pretty much load and go. YMMV.


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## USAFgsm (Dec 18, 2006)

Hey guys, thanks for the replies. I have been seriously considering a Mil Spec as my first 1911, because it is relatively inexpensive and I have heard good things about it. I guess I was just startled when neither of the 1911s at the range would work worth a damn. 

Thanks again guys.


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## Benzbuilder (Sep 7, 2006)

You have to consider that range guns take alot of abuse. Find a friend who has a Springer, Colt, or Kimber. You will change your mind. I carry a Kimber TLE II SS daily. It has never failed to feed any ammo I choose to feed it.

Update you profile to include your location. Someone close to you would be glad to help you with your endevor. I know I would.


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## raveneap (May 5, 2006)

I've got a Springer Stainless Loaded that is an excellent 1911. I've also got a Taurus PT1911 that was about half the price of the Springer and is every bit as good a shooter as the SA. My son recently got a Rock Island Armory 1911 for around $350 NIB that's proving to be a great shooter. So, you don't have to spend 1000-1500. There are plenty of good 1911's out there. This is my SA:










and my Taurus:


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## John Holbrook (Jul 2, 2006)

Try to shoot one of these, the SW1911. I have owned a total of three, and found that they are totally reliable with anything I could stick in the mag! The top pistol is a full size example, and the bottom one is the Commander size.

Another note. There are more makers of 1911 pistols than at anytime in the last 100 years!!!!!


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## Baldy (Jun 21, 2006)

I have a S&W 1911 .45 sc-pd that has been perfect right out of the box. I quit counting at a 1,000rds of down range ammo. I have fired everything I have made and a lot of store bought ammo in it. I carry it where ever I go. Hope you can find one as good as this.









Best Baldy..


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## katana8869 (Feb 3, 2007)

I had a SA Mil-Spec that I put 1000's of rounds through and it never failed, ever. I own a SA Trophy Match now and it has the same story. I'm taking my new Kimber Pro Carry out tommorow and I expect more of the same.

Both of my Springfields are less ammo picky that my Glock 30 or XD45C when it comes to reloads. I reload alot of LSWC's and both the XD and the G30 get completely gagged by them while the 1911's eat them like candy.


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## sniper350 (Jan 6, 2007)

It doesn't seem to matter how much you spend on a 1911-concerning reliability &#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;what matters is how well the firearm has been fitted ! Unlike other handgun designs that allow for many tolerances to build on one another and still have the pistol function&#8230;&#8230;the 1911 needs to be fitted well in order to work well and LAST a long time.

If you are going to select this type of firearm as a self defense weapon - you would be wise to learn all you can about the fitment OR know a good gunsmith that you can drop the gun off to -periodically . For me I love knowing what make's a good gun work, so I don't mind learning all the fitment tests you may need to know to troubleshoot your 1911.

I haven't picked up a 1911 yet [ excluding a Wilson or Nighthawk - I haven't had the pleasure of taking them apart ] that I haven't found something that needed some "minor" attention. With all mass produced products you are going to get that person on the assembly line who's "close enough" is just a bit wide of what everyone else is building that day. Most of the time, its no big deal &#8230;&#8230;&#8230;some minor polishing and you are back in business !

To give you a good example of what I am saying above : I bought a used SIG 1911 GSR. It was fitted very well at the barrel and Slide. Almost too tight [ as some have stated ]. The "lower barrel lug" needed some polishing as it was riding a little hard - up on the Slide Stop Pin. If the Barrel's Link Pin would have been .0015" longer - this condition would not have existed. With such a small difference, only minor polishing was needed on the barrel lug's radius to correct the situation. I also found two raised square dimples on both sides of the Slide where it contacts the Guide Rod Stop during recoil. Whether they were there by design (?) or the Slide missed a finishing step - these raised areas were pounding up my guide rod stop - badly. I used a Micro-file and removed the raised areas, so now the entire area of the Slide that contacts the Guide Rod stop; does so evenly - and problem solved. No more deep dimples are being pounded into the Guide rod stop. It is adjustments like these, that are annoying to 1911 owners; but that are sometimes necessary for a perfectly functioning pistol. My SIG has never jammed or failed to fire - in 2 thousand rounds and counting. I shoot the cheapest ammo [ Blazer aluminum cased ] I can buy and it shoots flawlessly as fast as I can pull the trigger. It is my CCW weapon&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;.. and I trust my life to its reliability .

Can I burry this 1911 in dirt and sand [ like a Glock ] and still have it function 100% - no I doubt it. But will it fire as fast as I can pull the trigger when drawn from my Blackwater Holster - and put an attacker down - Yes I think it will. That's the reason I carry it. But if I had to track through Mud and roll around in sand and dirt - my choice for a CCW weapon would be the Glock 23 !

JF.


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## teknoid (Mar 12, 2007)

"Can I burry this 1911 in dirt and sand [ like a Glock ] and still have it function 100% - no I doubt it. But will it fire as fast as I can pull the trigger when drawn from my Blackwater Holster - and put an attacker down - Yes I think it will. That's the reason I carry it. But if I had to track through Mud and roll around in sand and dirt - my choice for a CCW weapon would be the Glock 23 !"
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Interesting... I don't want to start an argument, but 1911's have seen some pretty hard use through the years (war, etc.) and seemed to be pretty reliable while doing it. Properly maintained, a little dirt won't bother them much. There aren't many weapons that have proven they can take abuse over such a long period of time and still function.


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## tex45acp (May 26, 2006)

teknoid,

Before judging the 1911 in that manor, I would suggest that you talk to a Vetran of Foriegn Wars that carried one as a sidearm. That is the reason that I shoot and carry the 1911. My dad carried one in some of the worst conditions imaginable during WW2 and it never failed him. It saved his life many times. Now I know that the newer versions of the 1911 are built much tighter than my dads, but I have dropped mine in the sandbox, during a competition, picked it up and it functioned flawlessly. 

tex


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## sniper350 (Jan 6, 2007)

I didn't mean to say that the 1911 design is not tough and robust ........

yes, John Browning's torture test proves the 1911 can take the dirt and sand....... but Tex45Acp touched on what I was getting at...in that some of these modern day 1911's are built so tight - it takes very little to cause them problems.

My GSR SIG 1911 has almost zero Barrel Hood to breach Face gap...........it is so close, I can't measure it. It is this type of type fitting that can cause problems, I think. Sure the 1911 is getting more and more accurate - but at a cost IMHO

JF.


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## teknoid (Mar 12, 2007)

tex45acp said:


> teknoid,
> 
> Before judging the 1911 in that manor, I would suggest that you talk to a Vetran of Foriegn Wars that carried one as a sidearm. That is the reason that I shoot and carry the 1911. My dad carried one in some of the worst conditions imaginable during WW2 and it never failed him. It saved his life many times. Now I know that the newer versions of the 1911 are built much tighter than my dads, but I have dropped mine in the sandbox, during a competition, picked it up and it functioned flawlessly.
> 
> tex


That's what I was saying. The top part was a snip from Sniper. I also agree that some of the newer 1911's might not be able to hack the abuse the "originals" did. That is more the fault of the maker than the design, though. That's all I meant. A Colt or a Springer (and others) are still pretty tough. The "cheap" models are like any other inexpensive clone- wannabes.


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