1911 $1000 plus. What are you using?

[Hoss Shoer]

I’ve been using a Springfield Armory loaded target 1911 for Wild Bunch. Recently I’ve been looking around at what could possibly be the next level 1911.  I know that there are plenty to choose from in the $3000 plus range. I’m curious what you are using in the $1500-2500 range and why. 
thanks in advance. 
Hoss Shoer 

[Garrison Joe]

What's your most important requirements that a new gun would have to meet?   In other words, what fails to give you full confidence with that Springer you have? 

My experience is that if the gun runs reliably, I can tune the rest quite easily to satisfy my operation of it.

good luck, GJ

[Jorge]

Agree with GJ.

I have used STI, Colt, Ruger, and Rock Island 1911's with success, and I see many others using 1911's costing less than $1200.

It is your money, and it is nice to have a nice 1911, but you might be overspending for Wild Bunch.

Just as important may be producing good quality ammunition that always functions in the 1911.

[Jorge]

And, I forgot to mention that GOOD magazines are a necessity!  Spend extra on them.

[Burt the Undertaker]

Other than personal preference, there isn't a need to run an expensive 1911. I agree with Joe and Jorge, tuning the pistol, quality ammo and reliable mags are the important parts.

[Dantankerous]

Hoss Shoer,

I have been out of WB for a few years but when I shot more often than not I used a Springfield Armory GI. Not the current Mil-Spec model, but the older GI model. It worked great and I think I paid $400ish for it probably 2015 or so, maybe earlier. I sold it. Wish I hadn't. I have only one 1911 currently and it is the Colt WW1 1918 reproduction. Super nice gun and it wasn't cheap. It indeed falls into your price range. I have used it in several matches and it has been 100%. I'd prefer to not use it in competition however. Do you need an expensive 1911 for this game? No, but it should be reliable and sometimes, sometimes it might be expensive to get to the reliability we want. I am currently looking for another 1911 and will most likely spend over $1000. Why? Because that is just the price range anymore, if you don't count Tisas, etc... which may very well be an excellent choice but I have never personally seen one. Do we have a want for an expensive 1911? Well maybe so! If you want it, buy it. It won't instantly  make you a better shooter of course, but it will be satisfying. 

[El Chapo]

In that price range, my choice would be a Dan Wesson.  To answer your question, I'm not using a $1500-2500 1911 in WB.  I do shoot a Nighthawk in USPSA.  Before last year, I was shooting a $600 STI Spartan for USPSA for a long time.  My WB gun is a Kimber that is 25 years old.

Edited September 22 by El Chapo

[Griff]

Quite frankly, if I were to get another 1911, whether for WB or just plain to own... it would be Colt's 1911 Classic.  MSRP of $1,069.  6 of my 7 current 1911s can be used for WB as is... 2 in modern, 4 in Traditional, only 2 of which are Colts (a GI issue & a Gold Cup).  However the ones I use for WB are a pair of Taylor Tacticals.  One that I won in at a match (finished in the right placement)😉... and another that I bought as a backup.  The model I have is no longer available.  The frame is patterned like a 1911, not a 1911-A1, so it doesn't have the chamfered area by the trigger, which for folks with shorter fingers is an issue, me, not so much.  IME, any 1911 in anything other than a full race gun needs a couple of things to make it reliable... 1 - a slight alteration to the ramp to feed a wider variety of bullets, and a trigger job, crisper is how I describe it.   Magazines should not be an after-thought.  I have gotten by for the past 15 or so years with CMC "Shooting Stars".  Others prefer Tripp Research, (now CobraMag).  You cannot go wrong with em.  I have one very similar to them, an 8 rounder, marked as a KimPro TacMag.  It's been a reliable mag, but I don't have it as my 1st string of mags.     

[Lonestar Hoss]

At the risk of making someone a little peeved, I can recommend Desert Eagle 1911's. When I could still do WB, I didn't want to tear up my Colt's or WC's, so I thought I would try one of them. All I did was change the grips and main spring to accommodate a lighter load, and with WC or McCormick magazines, I've never had a FTF or ejection problem. I liked it so well I bought a commander, and used it for years as an EDC. The only thing I didn't like about that was with Kydex, it wore some of the blueing off. I have since had that resolved with a custom Cerakote job, and she is sure pretty now. If I can dig through the safe, I will try to get some pictures, if anyone is curious.

While I lack the knowledge of a lot you on here, I have enjoyed figuring out how to make them run. No one explained to me that a 1911 doesn't just dig a rabbit hole to go down, but it turns into a network of tunnels, with many twist and turns, and goes deeper than you could have guessed.  

[Lonestar Hoss]

These are my 3 main 1911's.

Full size DE. It was an early one, and has the billboard on the side, but it's probably my best .45.

Full size Colt, and it's my back up WB 1911. Works great, but I don't want to beat it up too bad.....

My commander DE, not WB legal, but was carried a lot, also an earlier model, but 'smith filled in the billboard, and then Cerakoted the slide. It has a set of Crimson Trace green laser grips, which is almost unfair, but I've never had a problem with it. 

 

[El Chapo]

This is mine that I use for USPSA.

[Dantankerous]

My only 1911 currently. Colt 1918 reproduction. Factory stock, shoots WB and gets carried. 

 

[Lonestar Hoss]

Those are sweet! I've always wanted an early production Colt, but haven't found the "Right" one yet. My brother, and my best friend are both FFL's, and every so often they see Tisas under $200. We have been thinking about getting a couple, and seeing if we can drop in a Nighthawk ignition system, just to see if it would work. On paper, it should, but you never know......

If we do, I will report on how it goes.

On a different note, how many have gone down the 2011 hole? I have a couple of Staccato's, one a double stack 45, and it shoots like a 9. Actually I think it's an STI. Then I had to get a couple of WC's, just for grins. Then I found a DWX, and it's a completely different animal. The good news is that it fits 1911 holsters just fine. and the factory magazines hold a couple of more rounds than the others do. You either love the grip, or you don't. Personally, it works for me. Which led to me rescuing an Italian police issued Browning Hi Power, and doing a complete rebuild and Cerakote as it had been rode hard and put up wet. Literally. It was rusted pretty bad, but looks brand new now. I would get  pictures, but I will have to wait until tomorrow, if anyone is interested?

I felt bad posting pictures, but if we can see some other cool guns, and hear their story, that would be awesome. We are kind of the keepers of history, and my brother is a striker kind of guy, but he will shoot anything I bring to the range. Especially if I bring the ammo. 

Let's keep this one going, and if you're just perusing the post, but have something cool, please chime in, and if you have pictures, let's see them.

[Lawman Mark II]

Ruger SR1911.  Except for double diamond grips, a brass bearing glued into the front sight, and a Cylinder & Slide Shop sear spring, it's all stock.  

[El Chapo]

13 hours ago, Lonestar Hoss said:

Those are sweet! I've always wanted an early production Colt, but haven't found the "Right" one yet. My brother, and my best friend are both FFL's, and every so often they see Tisas under $200. We have been thinking about getting a couple, and seeing if we can drop in a Nighthawk ignition system, just to see if it would work. On paper, it should, but you never know......

If we do, I will report on how it goes.

On a different note, how many have gone down the 2011 hole? I have a couple of Staccato's, one a double stack 45, and it shoots like a 9. Actually I think it's an STI. Then I had to get a couple of WC's, just for grins. Then I found a DWX, and it's a completely different animal. The good news is that it fits 1911 holsters just fine. and the factory magazines hold a couple of more rounds than the others do. You either love the grip, or you don't. Personally, it works for me. Which led to me rescuing an Italian police issued Browning Hi Power, and doing a complete rebuild and Cerakote as it had been rode hard and put up wet. Literally. It was rusted pretty bad, but looks brand new now. I would get  pictures, but I will have to wait until tomorrow, if anyone is interested?

I felt bad posting pictures, but if we can see some other cool guns, and hear their story, that would be awesome. We are kind of the keepers of history, and my brother is a striker kind of guy, but he will shoot anything I bring to the range. Especially if I bring the ammo. 

Let's keep this one going, and if you're just perusing the post, but have something cool, please chime in, and if you have pictures, let's see them.

I have been shooting 2011s since 2008 in competition.  There are a ton of options now.  Contrary to the current fad, which I am convinced will fade, the 2011 is not a carry or duty gun, it's a tool for winning matches.  I have been shooting a 9mm in LO this year, I will be transitioning back to single stack after the NM Sectional which is in October, and probably shooting that for the foreseeable future because I enjoy single stack.  Back in the day, before the division died completely, I shot Limited with an STI Eagle for ~16 years.  Unfortunately all the iron sight divisions are pretty much dead, so it's pretty rare that I get the limited gun out these days.

[Lonestar Hoss]

I had a Ruger SR1911 for a while, but had an instructor that had gotten tired of "Loaning" his WC 1911 with mammoth grips to new shooters, and then they would drop it, or throw it on a table, so I re-homed it to him. Seemed like a good idea at the time, but it's one of those that I should have hung onto. 

SWMBO wanted a 1911, so I found her a Colt commander in 9, a single stack, and she really liked it for a while. Still does, but she had me order several different grip panels, pink, purple, red white and blue, and I can't remember what else, but she has taken a shine to the CZ Shadow 2 Compact now. We moved a couple of years ago, and I need to find my 1911 grip box ( I have a couple of them ), and see what her preference is, probably orange for pumpkin spice season, and see if I need to change them out for her. She had options for it, but we don't go to the range like we used to. I have almost as much 9 as I do 38 and 45, ( Both kinds ), my 650 and SDB are getting lonely, but I have so much in reloads and factory right now, I probably will never have to reload again. I should see if I really need 2 Dillons, and maybe consider getting rid of one or the other.

I apologize to the OP, as I didn't mean to take over his thread, but I really enjoy seeing what other folks have, and what they are used for. I really like seeing old school metal frames. Now that I'm semi retired, I don't have to answer to corporate power trippers, and I will admit that I generally have something on me at all times, and I kind of have settled on the Hellcat as my EDC. I know it isn't cowboy, or WB approved, but I've never had a problem with it, it rides well, functions well, and it isn't picky about what it has in the magazine. Personally, I like the 147 and 124 HP's, but it will do 115 or 117 RN or HP's, and not have any hiccups. Personally, I still like having regular sights, but I have a couple that have red or green dots, but I just haven't spent enough time adapting to those yet. I have a couple of PDF/CQB items, and they have dot sights, but they only get to go for a ride if we go to a large metro area, which isn't often. I have a new Mossberg that I need to finish putting together to go behind the seat of the truck. I still love my '97's, but in the midst of modern problems, sometimes a modern solution is the answer.

I will try to get a few more pics in the next day or so, but I'm working on bringing an old trailer back from the land of bad things, and I have been tied up working on it. That's a whole different problem, and very not WB at all, but still an interesting part of the real world. I hope that we can still see some interesting items, and the stories that go with them. I know this is pointed to WB, but if you do this, and also a different kind of shooting, there are those of us that like everything. What do you have, and why do you like them?

Happy trails to all, and bless us all.

[Lonestar Hoss]

10 hours ago, El Chapo said:

I have been shooting 2011s since 2008 in competition.  There are a ton of options now.  Contrary to the current fad, which I am convinced will fade, the 2011 is not a carry or duty gun, it's a tool for winning matches.  I have been shooting a 9mm in LO this year, I will be transitioning back to single stack after the NM Sectional which is in October, and probably shooting that for the foreseeable future because I enjoy single stack.  Back in the day, before the division died completely, I shot Limited with an STI Eagle for ~16 years.  Unfortunately all the iron sight divisions are pretty much dead, so it's pretty rare that I get the limited gun out these days.

I carried an old Staccato for a couple of years, and with the Texas heat and Kydex, it needs some love. It still runs like an old Singer sewing machine, but it's rough looking. I've been talking to my Cerakote guy, and this one may get a "Jurassic Camouflage"  theme, because, why not? I know a 10mm would be more appropriate, but with my worn out wrist, those aren't fun to me. I've been driving him crazy trying to come up with an idea for the grip panels on how to mix and match the Texas Star and Captain America symbols into something different. We haven't settled on anything yet, but he has a new laser that he wants to "Practice" with. I kind of have several projects that I want to do, but nothing is etched in stone at this point.

The thing I notice is that having a tried and true firearm is  kind of like have a '57 Chevy, sometimes you just need an outside point of view to breathe new life into it. Well, that and an unlimited check book. Yes, sometimes it's hard to have a vision of what could be, but we have so many options out there, that a couple of phone calls, and the next thing you know, you can have a collaboration that puts a smile on your face. Then there are the ones we have that it would almost be a sin to change. My better half is a curator of collectables, and there are some things that just won't fly. She had me pick up a couple of MP-5's, and to my way of thinking, I could make the cool factor go up, a lot. Well, that was a non-starter, but a different one in 22? I had one tricked out, and low and behold, that is first up in front of her safe for varmint control.

One of my off the wall deals was an actual Winchester 1885, in 6.5 Creedmoor. Something about a 19th century rifle in a 21st century caliber. A buddy of mine borrowed it, and took it to far west Texas, and after hitting out to over 1500 yards, he really wanted it. Me being somewhat attached to it, wouldn't sell it. Eventually, I picked up a couple of more in that caliber, but on different platforms, and he had already bought one he liked. I eventually sold it on the wire, and the purchaser picked it up for his son on a ranch. As long as you have a vehicle to carry it around on, you're good. Did I mention it was heavy as all get out, but that thing was accurate.

I really enjoy seeing and hearing what other folks have, and who knows, maybe we can inspire each other to try something different? By the way NM rocks, and you be safe, and have fun out there.