# 1911 newbie



## donk123 (Jun 6, 2013)

so if you had your choice, would you rather have a springfield loaded or a colt railgun? please tell why. thanks for any info, am a 1st time 1911 buyer.


----------



## ponzer04 (Oct 23, 2011)

maybe the new Springfield loaded (USMC) variant. it comes with texture on the front strap where the others don't. I was gonna say Colt for the first time just because it is a Colt. Maybe the USMC Colt variant is in your budget, that gun would be a bit neat.

Feature wise they seem very comparable. Good luck with your choice


----------



## GCBHM (Mar 24, 2014)

The Springfield Loaded model. I posed that very question to my local dealer and he explained that he would choose the Springfield over the Colt rail gun b/c it is a better made gun. It is tighter, tolerances are are better. So I bought the Springfield MC Operator, which is a USMC version of the Loaded model. Same gun, just with a different color scheme. In fact, Springfield made the MC Operator to compete for the USMC contract that was eventually awarded to Colt. Great gun! Love it. I'm going to get another SA Loaded for sure! 

Colt is in trouble financially, and I don't know if their QC is what it once was. If you get a custom job from them, you're probably getting a great gun, but production models, I'm not so sure. I would go with the Springfield. Also have a look at the TRP. This is a really nice pistol (Chris Kyle used one), but doesn't have rails. I went with the Operator b/c I wanted rails.


----------



## tony pasley (May 6, 2006)

As a 1911 newbe I would say the springfield instead of the rail gun. I personally recommend starting with a basic model to learn from.


----------



## BigCityChief (Jan 2, 2013)

I own 19 1911 pistols and avoid rail guns. IMO, the rail throws off the balance on an otherwise beautiful firearm.


----------



## Sierra_Hunter (Feb 17, 2015)

My last 1911 was a milspec Springfield and I loved it. It functioned flawlessly with everything I fed it even 250 gn radical swaged HP bullets.


----------



## Hurryin' Hoosier (Jan 8, 2011)

Just out of curiosity, why do you want a pistol with a "rail"? Do you plan to mount anything on it, or is it just because of the "fad"? I, personally, have zero use for one. Get one of the new 70 series Colt Government Models. I've purchased two (one blued and one stainless) in the past year and both are about as close to perfect as I've ever seen.


----------



## dakota1911 (Jun 9, 2015)

Given only those two choices I would say the SA. I can sort of see a rail now that green LASERs are coming down in price. In Colt land I would look at the new Series 70 or if you can afford about $1.3K then a Colt/Talo Wiley Clapp Gov. This is assuming you want a 5 inch pistol. 

I own several SAs and many Colts so I would have to hear when the Colt was made and when the SA was made, and where for SA as a lot of theirs were made by Imbel in Brazil, before I would agree to a SA being made better than a Colt.


----------



## Spike12 (Dec 10, 2008)

I've had both SA Loaded and a Colt Mk IV Series 80 from the bad years. My particular SA Loaded was nothing to write home about from a finish stand point, in fact it was horrible. 

But I have to say both companies have cleaned up there act to the point where it would be a difficult choice if you limit your self to those two. Personally I agree with an earlier poster - I have guns w/rails and I don't see it on 1911s. It makes finding a good holster more difficult too. 

I guess I'd just go down the feature list of both and pick the one that fit my 'style' the best and not look back. Personally I'm a S&W Series E guy as I have two and the Commander size with the Scandium frame is my carry gun.


----------



## rglassma (Mar 21, 2015)

Considering all the different 1911s out on the market, I am a bit confused as to why you would want either of those two guns. Both companies have many models, and all have their pluses and minuses. You haven't identified the purpose of the gun. Is it going to be a range gun? Is it for home defense? Is it for carry? What features are you looking for that made you choose one or the other?

If I was new to 1911s, I would start at a lower price point to be sure that I was satisfied with the platform before investing over 1,000.00 in a 1911. If I was really satisfied with my first one, I would probably look at offerings from Dan Wesson over both of them.

I think we need more information about your overall needs before choosing a gun.


----------

