[Dogomatic]

Gentlemen:

Hello! I am a Viet Nam Era former Marine who stands at 5'8 inches with medium hands who is interested in a 1911 for home defense & plinking!
I am willing to spend up to 1300 dollars!
I seek a 1911 that is first- reliable and second- accurate.
I perfer a barrel lenght of 3.9 inches up to 4.25 inches!
How this 1911 does in rapid fire is also important to me.

I am open to opinions about all 1911's and also if you shot the 1911 your recommendations and how it handled.
Thank-You for your advice!
__________________
There's No Life Before Coffee!

[skullcrusher]

First, thank you for your service and welcome to the forum. If you stop by the introductions thread, many members will welcome you.

Second, for the money you are willing to spend, you have plenty of choices but I'm not sure about in the barrel lengths you are talking about. Plenty of people will have their opinions about makes and models. I, for instance, love my Springfield Loaded in 5" barrel. It is my only one at this point, so my opinion is a tad restricted.

What are you looking for? Home defense, target practice or concealed carry? Or, all of thee above?

[NGIB]

Welcome. At the price range you specified you have lots of options. Do you want alloy or steel? Bushed or bull barrel?

First thing I'd recommend is the original 4.25 inch 1911 - the Colt Commander. Available in alloy or steel...

[Dillinger]

Welcome to the FTF Community Marine and THANK YOU for your service!!

Skull is right, if you stop by the introduction sections you will find many new friends ready to welcome you into the fold.

I will second what NGIB ( one of our resident 1911 connoisseurs ) has asked.

With the shorter barrel, you have options that come with a traditional take down style of the 1911's you are used too, with a barrel bushing, or the "newer" style with the bull barreled models that are more of a pain to field strip.

In addition, since the smaller versions are being designed in this day and age for carry, they are offering plastic frames, aluminum frames & slides, but there are also steel frames and slide models available.

Many members here have owned and shot a wide ranging variety of 1911 pistols on the market today, so odds are good that someone will have first hand experience on a model you are looking at purchasing.

From my personal experience, I would go with a steel frame and slide, with a traditional barrel bushing, in .45 ACP

Please give us some more information and perhaps some models that you are interested in purchasing.

JD

[JonM]

ive owned a wide variety of 1911's over the years and i keep going back to the colts over and over. i currently own a new make series 70, a colt new agent, springfieled 1911-A1, Ithaca 1944 make 1911-A1, and a kimber 1911 22 conversion unit. in the past i owned a gold cup, wilson, kimber and S&W. the one i didnt regret selling was the kimber. it just never felt right.

[DrumJunkie]

Can't go wrong with a Colt. They have been putting out quality 1911's for a long time. Some say they are a little pricey..And they aint cheap. But they are Colts after all. I've yet to own or shoot one that was not spot on.

Para Ordenience has a few pistols in the shorter lengths. THey make them with steel and alloy frames and and for the non 1911 purist the LDA trigger systems.

Can't talk 1911's without looking at Springfield. These are my personal favorite in 1911's. I've had many 1911's over the years and none I've enjoyed more than my Springers.

Kimber makes some pretty good pistols but I personally do not like them but they sell a lot of pistols so they must be doing something right.

There's others but we're getting to the upper end of the spending limit. I'm sure I've missed a couple but there will be someone along that will fill in the blanks. Follow some of the links and check out a few pistols. You'll see the one you want

[Tarheel]

Originally Posted by Dillinger

...or the "newer" style with the bull barreled models that are more of a pain to field strip.

I can vouch for this. I'm a newbie compared to others here but I can give you what I've learned the hard way.

I have a Kimber Pro Carry II. I love the size and 4" barrel but it is a pain to field strip. In order to remove the guide rod from the slide you have to insert a small wire tool into a hole in the barrel while the guide rod spring is compressed. It can be done but it's tricky. With a new spring I have to get help sometimes (my hand strength isn't what it used to be).

I was almost ready to sell my Kimber after months of not being able to get it to work reliably. I had FTF, FTE and failure to return to battery at every practice session. After finding this forum I learned of the importance of springs and mags. I've since added Tripp mags so often recommended here and a new guide rod spring. Malfunctions have disappeared.

I've shot 3", mine and 5" barrel pistols. Recoil is as you'd expect.

Re. accuracy, it's better than me.

If I had it to do over again I'd get a 70 series rather than 80 and I'd drop Kimber from my short list and focus more on Springfield and Colt. Ah, next time.

[IGETEVEN]

Colt, Springfield, S & W, Para, and STI would all be great 1911 pistols in your price range, all good shooters and a few different models to choose from.

Personal preference, the Colt, S & W, and Springfield would be my top three 1911 choices, very reliable and they are available in both SS and steel frames and 4.25 and five inch.

[Dogomatic]

Originally Posted by Dogomatic

Gentlemen:

Hello! I am a Viet Nam Era former Marine who stands at 5'8 inches with medium hands who is interested in a 1911 for home defense & plinking!
I am willing to spend up to 1300 dollars!
I seek a 1911 that is first- reliable and second- accurate.
I perfer a barrel lenght of 3.9 inches up to 4.25 inches!
How this 1911 does in rapid fire is also important to me.

I am open to opinions about all 1911's and also if you shot the 1911 your recommendations and how it handled.
Thank-You for your advice!
__________________
There's No Life Before Coffee!

P.S.
Members I'm using this 1911 to protect my family at home!
What I need in a 1911 is
(1) a barrel bushing
(2) a steel frame
(3) a 5 inch barrel

I kindly ask if someone could recommend a Springfield model ( to fit medium hands) that for love of my family is reliable and then accurate!

Kindly share your firing experience with a Sringfield model!
Thank-You for your time & info!

[NGIB]

Now that you've specified a steel 5 inch gun, a great choice would be a Springer Loaded. I have 2 and have had others and they are a great value. I'm a fan of Springer as they build a good gun and are priced reasonably. All single stack 1911s have the same basic grip size so if one works - any will work...