Tisas M1911

These are hilariously cheap right now...and I've read a bunch of very positive reviews of this and the Tisas Hi-Power.

So what else is out there for 1911s that look and feel like what was in the holsters of GIs in WWI, WWII, Korea, Vietnam? I've seen stuff like this and the Springfield GI for cheap ($500ish, or less) and I distinctly remember a glowing article for an M1911A1 clone for like $1500 or something crazy like that.

So...what's out there?

The Tisas is decent, especially in the looks department, but for my money - I’d prefer the ATI or the RIA. In my opinion, the Philippine guns have a better lock-up, which usually means better accuracy, so it comes down to if you like a great replica look and so-so accuracy or so-so on the looks and great accuracy.

This past year we've had a few of the Tisas 1911s transfer in through our shop. The pic in your linked article makes them look a bit nicer than what we saw, but then again we didn't wipe them down to make them purdy for the camera either. To me they weren't particularly memorable, but quality-wise they seemed to be on par with the Filipino 1911s that come into the country. I handled a couple of them when I verified their serial numbers as I entered them into our bound book, but I didn't try any of the triggers (I have a thing about dry firing someone else's gun without their permission).

quote:

Originally posted by bionic218:
The Tisas is decent, especially in the looks department, but for my money - I’d prefer the ATI or the RIA. In my opinion, the Philippine guns have a better lock-up, which usually means better accuracy, so it comes down to if you like a great replica look and so-so accuracy or so-so on the looks and great accuracy.

To be honest, I'm more interested in the "looks/feels" like an issue M1911 than I am in how the pistol actually shoots.

I already have accurate, reliable firearms, including a Kimber 1911 that has exceeded my expectations. Eventually I will track down higher-end 1911s as my income increases and expenses decrease. I've always wanted a TRP and a Wilson but couldn't justify the price.

This pistol would fall into my slowly growing collection of service arms - M9, P228 standing in for M11, M17, M18.

No way I could stomach that billboard on something that is trying to replicate a wwII era gun. Hard pass.

I have been very happy and pleased with my RIA.

quote:

Originally posted by Rob Decker:
and I distinctly remember a glowing article for an M1911A1 clone for like $1500 or something crazy like that

Do you recall who it was made by? I don't recall seeing any $1.5k M1911A1 clones... Usually they're in the mid-hundreds. Even the nicer clones, like the CZ M1911A1 and the Colt Classics, only run ~$800ish.

Perhaps you were thinking of the Dan Wesson A2, which is kind of an update/reimagining of the milspec M1911, with some further updates and the Dan Wesson semi-custom fitting. The MSRP was something like $1300, but even then, the street price was usually ~$1k or just under. And those are significantly higher quality semi-custom guns, with some nicer features and updates beyond the standard milspec, rather than a run-of-the-mill M1911A1 clone.

Or maybe you were thinking of true surplus M1911A1s, which are $1k+ due to their collectors' value from their history of actual US military service, which the modern clones lack.

Nah, this was represented very proudly as a top quality clone. It was a feature article in one of the many gun rags that lived in the bullpen at my old shop at Camp Atterbury.

quote:

Originally posted by bionic218:
The Tisas is decent, especially in the looks department, but for my money - I’d prefer the ATI or the RIA. In my opinion, the Philippine guns have a better lock-up, which usually means better accuracy, so it comes down to if you like a great replica look and so-so accuracy or so-so on the looks and great accuracy.

I had an ATI Commander in 45acp. Really liked it.

quote:

Originally posted by Rob Decker:

quote:

Originally posted by bionic218:
The Tisas is decent, especially in the looks department, but for my money - I’d prefer the ATI or the RIA. In my opinion, the Philippine guns have a better lock-up, which usually means better accuracy, so it comes down to if you like a great replica look and so-so accuracy or so-so on the looks and great accuracy.

To be honest, I'm more interested in the "looks/feels" like an issue M1911 than I am in how the pistol actually shoots.

I already have accurate, reliable firearms, including a Kimber 1911 that has exceeded my expectations. Eventually I will track down higher-end 1911s as my income increases and expenses decrease. I've always wanted a TRP and a Wilson but couldn't justify the price.

This pistol would fall into my slowly growing collection of service arms - M9, P228 standing in for M11, M17, M18.

There’s nothing wrong with knowing what you want. The Tisas does have a nice ODG finish that replicates the WWII parkerized look very nicely. I think you’ll like it.

I would get a Springfield Mil Spec or one of those Legacy series for less. Just make sure it has an NM serial number and a stainless barrel and bushing.

But I already have a CZ1911A1 that is really really nice for the price. And like all GI 1911's I get hammer and slide bite. Guess I need to buy shooting gloves.

quote:

Originally posted by Rob Decker:

quote:

Originally posted by bionic218:
The Tisas is decent, especially in the looks department, but for my money - I’d prefer the ATI or the RIA. In my opinion, the Philippine guns have a better lock-up, which usually means better accuracy, so it comes down to if you like a great replica look and so-so accuracy or so-so on the looks and great accuracy.

To be honest, I'm more interested in the "looks/feels" like an issue M1911 than I am in how the pistol actually shoots.

I already have accurate, reliable firearms, including a Kimber 1911 that has exceeded my expectations. Eventually I will track down higher-end 1911s as my income increases and expenses decrease. I've always wanted a TRP and a Wilson but couldn't justify the price.

This pistol would fall into my slowly growing collection of service arms - M9, P228 standing in for M11, M17, M18.

My best recommendation is to save up and buy that one good one. I prefer Ed Brown over Wilson and have both. Because you'll spend money on buying a poor quality one, then a mid grade or normal one or two or three, then you'll have wasted all that money because when you buy the good one.....wilson/brown etc. the others will just sit there collecting dust. Or if you do go this route, buy a Colt because you'll get your money back out of it when you go to sell it. Colt's 1911's have been spot on the last 5 years or so.

The RIA is decent quality for the money but if looks matter most you can eliminate them. They cut/shape the area around and above the trigger guard completely wrong.

quote:

Originally posted by jimmy123x:
I prefer Ed Brown . . .

Sadly, Ed Brown does not offer a USGI configured model. I personally wish they did, though it appears the Plain Jane segment of the 1911 market is well satisfied with more moderately priced pistols. Perhaps the marriage of Colt and CZ will result in a premium 1911A1 without all of the bells & whistles.

The most identicals to the originals are the Auto-Ordnance M1911A1 parkerised

I have the RIA A1 clone and really like it. No issues for me through my first couple of hundred rounds... shoots as well as any other "service" 1911 I've tried.

There is obviously a market for what I call "imitation army surplus."
It amazes me that the firearms industry cannot make a faithful copy of a standard military weapon. All these "clones" differ from real USGI in ways large and small.
You could change out the Tisa's grips, thumb safety, trigger, magazine, and mainspring housing, but there is nothing you could do about the big ejection port.

quote:

Originally posted by hjs157:
Perhaps the marriage of Colt and CZ will result in a premium 1911A1 without all of the bells & whistles.

Perhaps.

CZ already tried that with their excellent M1911A1 clones, which were great quality, but were discontinued.

Keep in mind, CZ owns Dan Wesson. With their M1911A1s, I suspect they ended up undercutting their own DW brand, producing a 1911 that was nearly as high quality as the entry level Dan Wessons, but with a significantly lower profit margin. CZ likely saw M1911A1 sales go up, but entry level Dan Wesson sales go down, so CZ ended up discontinuing the M1911A1.

They then fairly shortly thereafter introduced the slightly fancier entry level A2 under the Dan Wesson brand at a slightly higher price than the CZ M1911A1 had sold for, and have been releasing several other entry level Dan Wesson options at the ~$1k price point lately, like the Vigils.

So I'm not sure if CZ will want to compete against themselves again in the $700-$1000 1911 market. But maybe. Especially with some buyers being willing to pay a premium for the fancy pony logo.

There is a Freedom GI model now being made by Fusion that looks pretty good.

quote:

Originally posted by Rob Decker:

quote:

Originally posted by bionic218:
The Tisas is decent, especially in the looks department, but for my money - I’d prefer the ATI or the RIA. In my opinion, the Philippine guns have a better lock-up, which usually means better accuracy, so it comes down to if you like a great replica look and so-so accuracy or so-so on the looks and great accuracy.

To be honest, I'm more interested in the "looks/feels" like an issue M1911 than I am in how the pistol actually shoots.

I already have accurate, reliable firearms, including a Kimber 1911 that has exceeded my expectations. Eventually I will track down higher-end 1911s as my income increases and expenses decrease. I've always wanted a TRP and a Wilson but couldn't justify the price.

This pistol would fall into my slowly growing collection of service arms - M9, P228 standing in for M11, M17, M18.

If you're looking for authentic, why not go with a CMP issued gun?