~Top 5 1911~

[will4me]

I have several 1911's from RIA to Ed Brown and a few others not mentioned here.
I Switch my EDC between a Ruger SR1911 full size and a Sistima Colt made in 1955 its a Model of a 1927 colt and both have Never FTE / FTF ever.
I have over 3k rounds thru the Sistima and 5k Thru the Ruger.
My Ed Brown has only had one FTF and that was on the first Magazine and it has never repeated again ever in over 2k rounds.
I have a RIA I just got and that thing is a Great shooter and I have not had one FTF or FTE in that one either.
I have owned colts that I did not like and others I did not like but I always go back to the 1911 platform.
I did carry my Grandfathers 1944 Remington Rand but now it just sits in the safe and that pistol has never had one FTF or FTE from the time I have owned it.
I owned several Kimbers and have had bad luck with them no FTE but plenty of FTF's.
I started with a Colt Series 70 and have never looked back.
My Ed brown is the one I shoot when I want to shoot bullseye YMMV.

My EDC's

 

[hseII]

What ever happened to Clark Custom? Had a shop on the end of a range outside Shreveport (I think).
The only reason Glock guys beef about 1911's, is:
1. they can't afford one.
2. They are too lazy to clean their guns.
3. They have never owned one (at least not a good one.)

Sorry guys, just kidding, but if you had any real contact with the family...

Clark Jr. Took over.

Haughton, La

 

[ASK4783]

I have several 1911's from RIA to Ed Brown and a few others not mentioned here.
I Switch my EDC between a Ruger SR1911 full size and a Sistima Colt made in 1955 its a Model of a 1927 colt and both have Never FTE / FTF ever.
I have over 3k rounds thru the Sistima and 5k Thru the Ruger.
My Ed Brown has only had one FTF and that was on the first Magazine and it has never repeated again ever in over 2k rounds.
I have a RIA I just got and that thing is a Great shooter and I have not had one FTF or FTE in that one either.
I have owned colts that I did not like and others I did not like but I always go back to the 1911 platform.
I did carry my Grandfathers 1944 Remington Rand but now it just sits in the safe and that pistol has never had one FTF or FTE from the time I have owned it.
I owned several Kimbers and have had bad luck with them no FTE but plenty of FTF's.
I started with a Colt Series 70 and have never looked back.
My Ed brown is the one I shoot when I want to shoot bullseye YMMV.

My EDC's
View attachment 288883

Two sweet looking pistols!

 

[2001SportTJ]

I have several 1911's from RIA to Ed Brown and a few others not mentioned here.
I Switch my EDC between a Ruger SR1911 full size and a Sistima Colt made in 1955 its a Model of a 1927 colt and both have Never FTE / FTF ever.
I have over 3k rounds thru the Sistima and 5k Thru the Ruger.
My Ed Brown has only had one FTF and that was on the first Magazine and it has never repeated again ever in over 2k rounds.
I have a RIA I just got and that thing is a Great shooter and I have not had one FTF or FTE in that one either.
I have owned colts that I did not like and others I did not like but I always go back to the 1911 platform.
I did carry my Grandfathers 1944 Remington Rand but now it just sits in the safe and that pistol has never had one FTF or FTE from the time I have owned it.
I owned several Kimbers and have had bad luck with them no FTE but plenty of FTF's.
I started with a Colt Series 70 and have never looked back.
My Ed brown is the one I shoot when I want to shoot bullseye YMMV.

My EDC's
View attachment 288883

Will, you can't mention an Ed Brown and NOT post a pic of it.

 

[gaprider0]

Heirloom precision makes some awesome guns so does Harrison and volkmann

 

[no clever name]

Your question really has three sets of answers. 1911's are typically broken down into three categories, production guns, semi custom & full custom. Productions guns are the dan wessons, springfields, colts, kimbers, etc. DW is generally thought to have the best production guns currently out there.

Semi customs are your ed browns, nighthawks, wilsons, les baers, guncrafters, volkmann's etc. They all make great pistols so pick the one that gives you the best combination of features you're looking for. These guns are in the $2,500 to $4,500 range. I've had pistols by all the names I listed and my favorite is brown. I think all of these guys can do work approaching full custom also.

Full customs are the money is no object category, you pick how you want the gun built send in the deposit and wait up to a couple of years before you get to hold it. Ted Yost, Chuck Rogers, John Harrison, Paul Liebenberg, Ned Christiansen, Mark Morris and tons more custom builders.

If you really want to spend 6K + on a custom do some research here, http://forum.ltwguns.com/index.php this is the site most of the custom guys post on.

 

[Patronus]

I break 1911's down into price ranges.

There's the RIA range at $350-$500 and the three in that range I like most are RIA, Taurus and Iver Johnson. The Iver I had was the only 1911 I ever felt whose slide racked almost as smoothly as a Beretta. Oiled glass.

Then theres the $600-$900 range which includes Ruger SR1911's and Sigs. I've had both and while I loved the Ruger, it was still too big/heavy for my taste. It only comes in stainless and I prefer black any way. My favorite is the Sig Ultra(officer size). It holds 7 rounds stock and takes any 1911 mag so when I carry it I'm carrying two 8 round mags back.

Above that there's the $1000-fugedaboutit range. Colt, Kimber, blah, blah...if you are spending THAT much for a carry, get all of them..you be rich anyway. I actually had a $1300 Colt Wiley CLapp commander but I couldn't bring myself to holster it. It was THAT beautiful(and expensive). LOL.


Two things I would say NEVER do are:

1) Get a Para Ordnance (double stack at least). I have had a P12-45 and a P14-45 and while both felt and looked great BOTH were jammers. Bad jammers. Para manual even said the P14-45 has a 250 round break in period. Uhhh WTF? I also had problems with them shorting the rounds. What I mean is if yoiu chambered a round for carry, then later meptied the gun to clean it or just to remove the JHP, they would usually have shoved the slug into the casing. Mostly just a 32nd to a 16th of an inch but it's kind of scarey. makes you wonder how it affects chamber pressures. And;

2) Never put a Hornady Critical Defense with the rubber/teflon/whatever hollow point insert in it into the top position in the magazine. That damn rubber tip acts just like a break pad on the feed ramp. From the second spot in the mag on down it always fed but no matter which 1911 I tried them in if it was in the top spot in the mag there was probably a 50% chance it would stop the slide cold.

 

[jbi1104]

I like Colts and Springfield for lower priced 1911s. I like Wilson Combat or Baer for your semi custom, higher end 1911s. And I like any pistol built by Harrison or the guys at Heirloom for the high end full customs. Here are two that Harrison has built for me and both will run all day, every day.

 

[sinac84]

One that's as reliable as a G21. Unfortunately nobody makes one!

This.

It only took one post for someone to mention a Glock.

 

[gump1]

No one mentioned the Springfield Pro PC9111 or PC911LR). I would think winning the FBI contract award qualifies it for a spot in the top 5. I have it and and Ed Brown SF Carry and think the Springfield is just as good.