[bub72ck]

Originally Posted by Overkill0084

That's one of the things I like about SA: great selection.
I quite like the Black stainless look. Of the three you've listed, That's probably the direction I'd go. Just because of the look. Opinions vary, of course.

That's my favorite look. I'm sure Ruger will come out with some different designs in time but it's hard to wait. LOL

[AZL]

Originally Posted by bub72ck

Thanks for all of the input.

AZL you said you have a lot of Jams from the Champion. How many would you say you have had? For most Springfield models 1 out of 100 rounds is a lot. More than that?

I am talking about a level of unreliability that doesn't even make it to 20 rounds without jamming!

One Jampion I had couldn't run through a magazine without a ftf or fte. Whether I was using SA factory, Colt, McCormick, or Wilson (The BEST).

The second one would have a failure rate of 5 or 6 out of 50.

The others were nearly as bad.

Polish, ramp, throat, tune extractor and even install slightly longer ejector....none of the "go-to" fixes worked.

The Champion is NOT a good execution of the 1911. Remember...this is just a reworking of Auto Ordinance's "Pitbull" model (that sucked too) of sticking an Officer slide on a full size frame.

[AZL]

Originally Posted by bub72ck

I'm going to throw the Springfield Loaded into the mix as well. It comes in the black stainless with the dark grip and is in my price range. Decisions, decisions...

There's your answer right there.

[bub72ck]

Originally Posted by AZL

There's your answer right there.

How does the Loaded compare to the Champion from a reliability standpoint? Both being from SA I would imagine the engineering is the same. That really sucks about the Champion you had. That just sounds like a lemon of a gun. I have fen several hundred rounds through my XD and never had an issue and there are lots of stories on here about very satisfied SA 1911 owners.

But yet I think the loaded will be my choice. Just wanted to make sure people had some good results with it first.

[Overkill0084]

Originally Posted by bub72ck

How does the Loaded compare to the Champion from a reliability standpoint? Both being from SA I would imagine the engineering is the same. That really sucks about the Champion you had. That just sounds like a lemon of a gun. I have fen several hundred rounds through my XD and never had an issue and there are lots of stories on here about very satisfied SA 1911 owners.
But yet I think the loaded will be my choice. Just wanted to make sure people had some good results with it first.

A 5" 1911 is how Mr. Browning designed it. They will typically give fewer problems, all other things being equal. As barrel lengths get shorter, it requires more attention to detail by the builder to keep them reliable. Angles change, springs get heavier, slide travel and speed changes. I'm sure an experienced 1911 builder could go into great detail on all the possible variables. This is not to say that a 3" 1911 can't be reliable or that a 5" can't give you problems.
So your 5" Black stainless loaded should, theoretically, have a better chance at giving satisfactory performance.

[AZL]

Originally Posted by bub72ck

How does the Loaded compare to the Champion from a reliability standpoint? Both being from SA I would imagine the engineering is the same. That really sucks about the Champion you had. That just sounds like a lemon of a gun. I have fen several hundred rounds through my XD and never had an issue and there are lots of stories on here about very satisfied SA 1911 owners.

But yet I think the loaded will be my choice. Just wanted to make sure people had some good results with it first.

I currently own three LOADED models that I use teaching and as loaners when I teach a 1911 only class. I have had ZERO gun-related problems with any of them.

One didn't like Hydra Shok ammo....I polished the feed ramp a bit and problem cured.

One thing I do reccomend on ALL my 1911's: ****can the full length guide rod and install a standard setup. It makes it a whole lot less complicated and I have never found the mythical "gain in accuracy" associated with the FLG to be anything BUT a myth.

When I ordered my Les Baer....I specifically ordered it WITHOUT the stupid assed FLG.

As far as I have ever been able to tell, all the FLG does it make stripping the damned 1911 a pain in the ass.

[Harleygunner]

For what it's worth, I have the Ruger 1911,( took me months to finally get one), and my son has the Springfield "loaded" model. He's never had a ftf or any problems with it. I just took the Ruger out to the range this week, and have only put about 150 rds thru it, and had no problems. It was accurate right out of the box. First two shots at 10 yds were one in bullseye, and 1 inch out to 9 o'clock position. At 25 yds first 5 shots had one bullseye, and 4 within 2 inches to 9 an 7 o'clock.
I think you can't go wrong with either, ...and the price is very reasonable, especially on the Ruger. I'm a BIG Ruger fan, have three, can you tell ?