[coastguardgunnersmate]

Hello all, I was at work today when a guy stopped me and showed me his 1911 he just ordered. It was an American Classic commander edition, .45 for 400 bucks. He asked me my opinion on it and I have never heard of this gun. Just seeing if you guys agree that by price alone, it would appear to be to good to be true. Anyone own or fired one of these 1911s? Any input is appreciated.

[orangello]

Is that the one that is made by the company that makes the Bersa Thunder pistols? Or is this one of the ones made in the Phillipines?

I'm not a 1911 guy, but if i ever go for a 1911 in .45acp, i would want to handle a 1911 made by the people that made the BersaThunder i had (loved it). I have lusted after the Springfield's as "American Made", but i've read that their frames are made in South America, so i'm not sure why i would pay that much more for the basic Springfield model.

[trip286]

Some of springfield's frames and slides are made in brazil, supposedly on old Colt equipment, but as far as I know there's no way to tell between them and the US made ones.

American Classic? I'm clueless, but I'd like to know more for sure.

[Magnaiter]

American classic, distributed by Eagle imports Inc. located n Wanamassa, NJ.
New 2010
MSR$$ was 600$ , depending on the shape the gun was n, 400 may make a 95% gun

[Olympus]

American Classics are made in the Philippines. They are made by a company called Metro Arms. They are imported by Eagle Imports, who also imports Bersa guns. American Classic and Bersa both share the same warranty centers.

I own an American Classic Commander like you mention. There have been a large amount of issues with this model. Mine fell I to this category too. There have been issues of the frame being incorrectly cut, feed ramps being out of spec, mag catches being defective, and a whole list of other things. From what I'm seeing, warranty centers are getting a TON of business by working on these guns. Mine had massive failures right out of the box. I never got to shoot a full mag through mine before I had to send it back for repairs. Repairs were made, but I decided not to chance it, so I sent the gun to my gunsmith who scrapped everything except the slide, frame, and barrel. I really enjoy shooting mine now, but it's nothing like stock.

I would tell your friend to keep his fingers crossed.

[powwowell]

My experience with Metro Arms, American Classic II, is just the opposite of the experience of Olympus.

I bought a used one as a Christmas present to myself. It was 99%, in fact I thought it looked new. Fit and finish was terrific, a nice blue. The pistol is very tight. I admit that 120 rounds, of 230 grain round nose, is not a long history, but the pistol has been 100%. Accuracy is outstanding.

[DallasShooter]

Sorry that Olympus had difficulties with his American Classic, but my experience has been the opposite - my American Classic II is an awesome gun...no problems at all after 1000 rounds and is a pleasure to shoot. It has a lifetime warranty and has an excellent blued finish. It was very favorably reviewed in American Handgunner Magazine (see page 88 of digital edition of march/April issue at http://www.americanhandgunner.com/digital-editions/ ) only thing the reviewer did not like was the grips.

I doubt that there is any manufacturer that doesn't have a lemon slip through from time to time, but my American Classic II is the best, most accurate pistol I own.

[Jesse17]

I too had to send mine to the warranty center. I have the 5" American Classic II and it very rarely would feed the first round or two without jamming. I was running WWB 230gr. ball and the first round (and sometimes 2nd or even 3rd) would 'nose dive' into the feed ramp and stop there.

The warranty center polished the feed ramp, and throated the barrel (not that that had anything to do with my issues), and now it eats FMJ and lead TC all day long. Zero issues since.

From what I've seen on other forums, I'd guess you have a 20% - 40% chance of having to have it worked on when you get one new, but still a great value even when you factor in the shipping. Just plan on the possibility of needing it worked on when you get it.

[kystang90]

I looked at one of these last time I was at buds and it looked good. But for the price range your talking it's hard to beat RIA I love mine!!

[coastguardgunnersmate]

He said he ordered it at centerfireguns.com and it was a sale he was lucky to hit.