9mm 1911

[unknown]

Hello!

I am looking to purchase my first 1911. I would like it to be a 9mm to keep a consistent caliber amongst out other pistols. My options seem to be pretty narrow.

Have any of you had experience with this brands or have other recommendations?

Thank you for your thoughts.

Kimber Stainless Target II
http://www.kimberamerica.com/1911/custom-ii/stainless-target-ii

SMITH & WESSON 1911
http://www.smith-wesson.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product4_750001_750051_766209_-1_757775_757751_757751_ProductDisplayErrorView_Y

Springfield Range Officer 1911
http://www.springfield-armory.com/products/1911-range-officer-9mm/

Colt XSE 1911 Government
http://www.colt.com/Catalog/Pistols/XSE™Series.aspx

[wrench]

In our house, we have a Springfield Loaded stainless 9mm, and a 9mm Range Officer. Both have been great pistols, don't have any issues, accurate, pleasant to shoot.

[KArnzen]

As wrench already mentioned, the Springfield Loaded in 9mm and the Range Officer in 9mm are both great guns. Personally I think that Springfield 1911's get you a better bang for the buck compared to Colt and Kimber.

Two others to think about, besides the ones you've already mentioned:
Dan Wesson Pointman 9: http://arnzenarms.com/product/cz-dan-we ... -stainless
STI Trojan: http://arnzenarms.com/product/sti/compe ... nish-fully

The Pointman is in a bit higher price range, but Dan Wesson makes some of the best production 1911's out there - it's hard to beat them without going into the $2500+ custom shop 1911 territory.

[mmcnx2]

I'm not a kimber fan, so those would not even be on my list. Colt's future is a little shaky right now so not sure I'd make that investment.

Smith's are nice if you can live with that darn external extractor.

The Springfields are great - a loaded is a shooting machine. The DW is a lot more money but it is by far the nicest production 1911 in 9. The STI's are good, if you are buying new, consider looking at Brazo, he adds a few custom options to the STI and does wonderful work.

On the less expensive side of the table a Taurus stainless in 9 is a very solid shooter.

[gun_fan111v2]

I added a couple of things to a Springfield RO (magwell, fiber optic front sight, new grips of course) and am very happy with it. Was looking at S&W and DW as well but decided 9mm does not warrant front strap serrations so better save a few hundred.

[Doc Harvey]

Southwest Arms also has the double stack Rock Island 1911, and at a very good price.

[PhilaBOR]

Love my Springfield Loaded 45. Tried the Rock Islands at the NRA show and really liked the triggers.

$.02

[MJY65]

Smith's are nice if you can live with that darn external extractor.

I'm generally not a fan of external extractors on 1911s, but it may have some merit in this case. My understanding is that the smaller diameter of the 9mm case presents a bit of a challenge in tuning internal extractors.

[rottenit]

+1 on the STI/Brazos

[870TC]

viewtopic.php?f=9&t=18171&hilit=+9mm

[UnaStamus]

Smith & Wesson is having significant quality control and customer service problems. I would avoid their pistols right now. The only thing I would buy from S&W at this point would be their revolvers.

I owned a Kimber and was very disappointed with it. It was accurate and had exceptional fit and finish, but it had horrific reliability due to overly tight tolerances. Kimber's warranty is worthless too since it's only one year and they make you jump through hoops. They have some of the most infuriating and difficult warranty and customer service I've ever encountered. I had a Kimber rifle on order from them and they jacked up the order twice, turning a 16 week wait into a 24 week wait because they forgot to click a button to put the build in the queue. They admitted that it was a mistake, but refused to insert my order into the production slot that it would have been chronologically, and said that they would only put it in the back of the line. Keep in mind that this was for a rifle that likely would have been used as a SWAT sniper rifle. I chewed their ass over it, but they didn't seem to care one bit. They honestly weren't upset over screwing me, so I told them to cancel the order and they didn't even bother to dissuade me. After that I was absolute done with them so I sold the Kimber 1911 and will never own another product from that company. I will either buy a Springfield, or step up to a Wilson Combat. I have talked to several gunsmiths over the years of my Kimber ownership, and every one was complimentary of Springfield.

It baffled me how a craptastic buisiness like Kimber can stay in business, and how they could possibly be getting so many contracts with LAPD SWAT and SIS divisions. Then I found out that Kimber undercuts a lot of people on the bid. Add to that the LAPD is basically buying the guns with the intention of doing their own work, as the LAPD armory has several trainied 1911 pistolsmiths who do all of their own repairs. They have numerous spares to hand out when guns go down and need fixing. I realized that since LAPD intentionally doesn't use Kimber's customer service or warranty, it's a non-issue for them.

[Dave Timm]

I would strongly second the recommendation of a Dan Wesson. Their products are truly excellent and about as close to custom as you will get on a production 1911. When you detail strip one you will see the frame serial number engraved on all major components indicating they were fit and matched to that gun along the way. I attended a 1911 armorer course a while ago and we exchanged guns among the students. We got to see several different brands and models. I was very happy of my investment with DW. On top of that their customer service is great, a customer brought a DW in the shop and wanted more info on it since it wasn't a production model. Their tech spoke with me for about 20 min, well after he gave me some info on the gun but then overall about the company and how they do things.

If you can't afford a custom high end 1911, DW is going to be very tough to beat in my opinion.

[Randygmn]

Dan Wesson is owned and built by CZ. If that's what you're looking for then that's ok. Its true that Colt is heading for trouble, but they've perfected this platform. Their 9mm pistols are top notch too. A agree with UNA about kimber. On top of everything else, their pistols really are hit or miss. RIA makes some good quality, inexpensive stuff that seems to work if budget is a concern. Of course, if you've got money to burn, Wilson Combat can't be beat. And then, there's nighthawk.

[onebohemian]

. . . RIA makes some good quality, inexpensive stuff that seems to work if budget is a concern. .

I picked up a used RIA about a year ago through armslist local. Was cheap and has worked great. Quality is what I expected from a low end 1911. Good enough for an entry piece. Again, hasn't malfunctioned once so RIA at least got this one tuned correctly.

[PHATSPEED7x]

Para ordnance is another brand to look into.