1911 build.

[John B.]

Ok guys, I need some opinions... obviously with 1911s the sky is the limit with what you can do to them. What I'm trying to do is get the best bang for my buck, excuse the pun. I'm just not sure what to do. I'm thinking about buying the cheapest 1911 possible, maybe a Rock Island? And just upgrade the internals. Would I be better to go that route or should I just spend the extra money and find a good deal on a Springfield?

I'm looking to stay in the $700 range. Any and all opinions welcomed and appreciated. Thanks guys.

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[CCHGN]

IMO, go to a 1911 smith and have them build you a 1911. They'll likely have a used frame and slide and then all forged parts and live happily every after. For around $700, you'll have a 1911 as good those costing 2-3 times that.

 

[bkitzel250]

What exactly do you want to do with said 1911? Unless you know what you want, there's really no reason to "upgrade" parts, and remember the more aftermarket parts the less its worth generally, unless a well known gunsmith works on it. Try to find a 1911 with the configuration you want from the factory, its very easy to screw up fitting parts and it never necessarily means its making it better. Rock islands are great guns and the internals are perfectly fine, they have plenty of options so I'd find one configured the way you want and go from there.

 

[bkitzel250]

Plus remember if you buy a 1911 and modify it it probably won't be under the factory warranty if there is any defects. In the $700 range the Springfield range officer is a hell of a lot of gun for the money. I personally have owned two rock islands and liked them a lot, plus the warranty is top notch.

 

[boatbum101]

+ 1 on the Springfield Range Officer .

 

[ChrisC]

MR Desert Eagle 1911 is hard to beat in the $700ish price range. has nicer trigger pull out of the box. my 2nd choice is the SA RO.

 

[Dan1612]

+1 on the Springer. If you modify the Rock, you'll never recoup what you put into it, should you decide to sell. Springers are better fit than Colts and have better customer service than Kimber. Functionally, all it needs is a trigger job to run close to some of the best.

You could always commission a good Smith to start blank with a Caspian frame and slide, and use Wilson internals, but you may end up a bit over budget. If I were in the market, that's how I'd do it. It'd be a custom build and it's quality would set its price on the used market, not its brand name.

 

[donr101395]

8-9 years ago I had the Smith at Jay's in Pensacola build a Commander for me with a Colt 1991 as the base. He did a great job on it, but it will never be worth what I have into it. Luckily I didn't have it done to sell. I had him strip it down to just the frame, slide and barrel then replace everything with Ed Brown parts except for the C&S fire control parts and Heinie sights. His cost was reasonable at $800 including parts. Had I not received the gun as a gift though it wouldn't be worth it to pay to upgrade it other than it was what I wanted. For the same cost of buying a lower end 1911 and having it built up you could buy a Springfield TRP, have a trigger job done and be done with it or a Springfield Range Officer have a trigger job done with money left over. I just bought a used Range Officer for $100 less than I have into the re-built Colt and it's arguably a better gun than the Colt.

 

[Dan1612]

Having a gun thoroughly reworked is definitely more expensive than starting with a frame and slide.
Jays, as of lately has gotten really proud of their inventory. Their Smith, however, did do a fantastic job on 2 Kimbers of mine.

For your needs and budget, Range Officer all the way.

 

[Fletch]

My 2 cents on best bang for the buck in the 1911 platform......I'd say buy a Rock Island Tactical, don't mess with a thing, shoot the crap out of it, lube often, and enjoy the lifetime warranty and excellent customer service if you ever need it. The Filipinos have a long history with the 1911 and stand behind their product for life. It's a great value and you aren't paying for slick gun mag ads and sponsored shooters.

 

[poff09]

Only shot a couple rounds out of 1..but Ruger SR1911 seems to get great reviews..get a lot of "upgrades" for under your $700


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[YELLOWZR7]

I just acquired a R I A and was never into 1911s and never thought i would be , having carryed a jeriko 941 (baby eagle) for years. im really sorry for being a 1911 hater for all these years. having said that, all im going to do to mine is change the wooden grips and go with that. six days out of seven its the baby eagle for my carry but on the seventh its 1911 time.

 

[Marquezj16]

Only shot a couple rounds out of 1..but Ruger SR1911 seems to get great reviews..get a lot of "upgrades" for under your $700


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+1 with the RUGER SR1911. Mine has been awesome. Accurate and runs 100% with factory and reload ammo.

 

[Bay Ranger]

I've been very happy with my SR1911 too. Great "shooter" gun. I've run through various production ammo , including Tula steel, and haven't had 1 malfunction of any kind. Mine's a full size and I will be keeping my eye out for a Commander size at a decent price. "Good luck finding one" I've been told. The Commander seems to be in very high demand.

 

[Dan1612]

Springfield loaded should serve you just as well as the Range Officer, but has fixed sights. Kimbers are comparable, but you get better customer service with Springers, Rugers are comparable as well, but like Sig, they haven't been in the 1911 game very long. Sigs also have silly extractors. +Springfield+