[dicky0331]

ok this is more of a rant then anything, but why is it that eveyone here seems to think than you have to have a kimber or dan wesson, or a les baer to have a quality 1911? my sa loaded model shoots 2 in groups at 50 yds and I only paid $660 for it! that is roughly half of what a kimber costs.... and the pistol has never once failed to funtion after the first 50 rounds. now don't get me wrong, kimber and the others mentioned make great guns, but my sa is just as accurate and reliable as any of them. I think a lot of this whole expensive pistol thing is abou the name. I had shot a whole slew of 1911's before I bought the sa, colts, kimbers, les baer's, s&w's, and even an ed brown, and you know what not much difference in any of them.

 

[gorknoids]

Penis envy. Pure and simple.

 

[dicky0331]

funny...... I can afford to buy any gun I want, the perks of having minimal bills. what I am getting at is why do people buy there guns, or any thing for that matter, just because of the name?

 

[SGT-MILLER]

Alot of it is a way of justifying a big purchase. If you buy a nice Kimber for around 1200 dollars you will do whatever it takes to justify that purchase in your mind (i.e. telling people that Kimber is the only quality pistol).

The bottom line is most 1911s out there are very reliable due to the design itself. Here's a quick list of what I feel are good 1911s to buy.

Hi Standard
Kimber
Colt
Dan Wesson
Nighthawk
Norinco
Springfield
Para Ordnance
Taurus
Smith and Wesson
Les Baer
Llama (cheap knock off but still works)
Rock Island Armory
Armscor
Sig Arms (they do make a 1911 style pistol)
Wilson Combat

and the list goes on, and on, and on............

There's no point in preaching about how great one 1911 may be versus another 1911.

An example would be that I know for a fact that Kimbers are fancier then Rock Island Armory pistols, but my Rock Island Armory 1911 is my prized possession right now, and to me it's the best pistol right now.

One person's trash is anothers treasure.

 

[jeepcreep927]

Wow Sgt.!

I don't know if I'd go so far as you did with the last line, but the rest I agree with.

I am not a huge 1911 fan, but I do understand and empathize with the original post. I suppose it's no different than owning a really expensive cat (I use the cat anology because cats, like 1911's are, well, never mind ).
No matter what the papers say, at the end of the day it's still a frikkin cat, and the basics never change no matter what price tag or polished goodies it sports.

 

[SGT-MILLER]

jeepcreep posted:

Wow Sgt.!

I don't know if I'd go so far as you did with the last line, but the rest I agree with.

because I posted:

One person's trash is anothers treasure.

Well, I don't think that saying applies in every aspect of life. I guess an example would be someone saying that Norinco 1911 pistols are garbage and cheap "wanna-be" 1911 pistols. That person may truly believe that statement, but there may be other people out there that would love to have a Norinco 1911 just so they can have the pleasure of owning one.

It's like telling someone that just bought a brand new Ford "Hey, Ford sucks!!!!".

Its just one of those things that is just uncool.

To each their own. If everybody had the same tastes on this forum, this forum would be extremely boring....lol.

 

[jeepcreep927]

No, I meant that more like, there's really no room, in my opinion, for ANYONE who owns a firearm and is responsible, to look down on someone else's guns (assuming the other person is also responsible and makes educated decicions on a gun purchase). I would like to have another full size 1911 and was going to get a RIA. Unfortunately broken cars came first.

I realize it's not a Wilson or Les Baer, but I don't think I need to impress someone with the price I paid for a gun. 230 grains hits just as hard from either.

All said and done I guess it's personal preference and the depth of the pockets, but I wouldn't say one is fundamentally better than another.

 

[SGT-MILLER]

You won't go wrong with an RIA. These things seem indestructible. I'm loving mine, and it only cost be 400.00 (465.00 after buying some extra mags, and a hogue grip).

 

[741512th]

One good experience can make a life long customer and one bad experience can taint a reputation forever. I've only owned one 1911 and it is a Springfield.

It is a piece of crap. Furthermore, the factory made a shoddy, gross adjustment before shipping it off to the retailer that I only discovered when I was trying to get the damn thing fixed. From what I've heard, I just don't see Wilson Combat doing the same thing.

That doesn't mean the design is necessarily bad and I do love the big kaboom of a 1911, but it certainly tilts me in the direction of paying a little (or a lot) more next time for a brand claiming to be better.

 

[Dillinger]

I think some of it has to do with personal experience, and some from real world facts. There was a time when S.A. went through a downturn in their Q.A. that was so bad, they sent out full service pistols that did not have firing pins in them. That's kind of a hard thing to miss since it's kind of essential piece.

Are they still doing that? Of course not! They made changes and they are now trying to reclaim their market share. Are they turning out a good piece today? Yes, I believe they are. Is it the best one out there? No, I don't personally believe that to be fact.

Taurus did the same thing - their reputation was sliding hard and fast, so they spent some money on new CNC machines and some marketing to recover their names. Right now, I think they are turning out a pretty good product, but a lot of people will still tell you not to trust them.

One thing I will say is, you have to compare apples to apples. When you bought your S.A. - what was a comparably equipped Kimber selling for AT THAT SAME TIME. You can't compare what you paid for a pistol years ago with what a company charges for a similar product today.

Kimber definitely isn't blameless. They got cocky, they got a big head and they lost some market share as well. They have been working to regain it, probably for the last 6 to 8 years because the 1911 came back around into flavor again and EVERYONE was jumping on board.

But, in short response to initial statement - why do you have the Remington 700 design listed in your signature? The platform itself isn't the cheapest, nor is it the best one out there, but you believe in it and you like it. Personal Preference is everything...

JD

 

[matt g]

ok this is more of a rant then anything, but why is it that eveyone here seems to think than you have to have a kimber or dan wesson, or a les baer to have a quality 1911? my sa loaded model shoots 2 in groups at 50 yds and I only paid $660 for it! that is roughly half of what a kimber costs.... and the pistol has never once failed to funtion after the first 50 rounds. now don't get me wrong, kimber and the others mentioned make great guns, but my sa is just as accurate and reliable as any of them. I think a lot of this whole expensive pistol thing is abou the name. I had shot a whole slew of 1911's before I bought the sa, colts, kimbers, les baer's, s&w's, and even an ed brown, and you know what not much difference in any of them.

I paid $700 for my Kimber, new. For $40 I got a little nicer trigger than the Springfields have. I'm happy with having spent the extra $40. Also, it hase never fail to function on me, ever. Again, worth the extra $40. It came with an accuracy guarantee. Worth the extra $40...

I've had some bad experience with Brazilian and Argentinian arms in the past. I'll continue to avoid them in the future.

 

[Fayettedave]

I've got two SA 1911s - a SS Champion and a SS TRP - and I have never had any kind of problem or issue with either of them.