I am looking for my first 1911. There are a ton of choices and "era's"

Currently looking at a pre 70 series, 1967 vintage, Colt National Match.. It's in great shape, but a shooter.

Colt made, accuracy and reliability, are primary requirements. How much should I budget ?

Any advice ?

Better check to see if it has the lightened slide.
If so you will have to run powder puff loads.

Bob

I have a Series 80 steel frame commander as a carry gun,
runs like a top, despite looking like ass from a parkerized refinish,

I have a handful of military originals, all run,


I have a mid 70's 38 super I have not shot yet, but also have a pre 70's series LW commander that runs like a top

I have a Chow, Clark Longslide, and a Shockey, (modified for Bullseye)
all run fine,

SA, Detonics, and a Argy 1927.
all good, tho I did have to replace the springs in the Argy, and retired the Detonics to range only since it is hard to find a new sear spring for it (it doubled a few times, so no more carry)

basically, they all do good if maintained and kept clean,


I prefer the series 70 and pre 70 guns myself,

My preference is Series 70. Look for a Ruger SR1911 Commander, sub $800 range.

quote:

Originally posted by JohnO:
I am looking for my first 1911. There are a ton of choices and "era's"

Currently looking at a pre 70 series, 1967 vintage, Colt National Match.. It's in great shape, but a shooter.

Colt made, accuracy and reliability, are primary requirements. How much should I budget ?

Any advice ?

70 series vs. 80 series is generally referenced to describe the internal safety. If you lock the slide back and look at the underside of the slide and don't see a circle, you've got a 70 series, which many shooters feel is best. This applies not only to Colts, but many other makes.

Pre-70 series had a stronger barrel bushing, assuming no changes made to the specific pistol you're looking at, but also lacked a ramped barrel, and tended to be less tolerant of bullet profiles other than round nose hardball. The big test was always whether they'd feed semi-wadcutters.

Some people really prefer pre-70 series, and it does go back to a time when Colt stil hand-fitted parts.

Other than barrel ramp issues (feed issues related to bullet type), the two weak points on the 1911 are the magazine feed lips, and the extractor; all internal extractor 1911's will eventually begin to have a failure to extract and require that the extractor be "tuned," which traditionally meant removing the extractor and bending it with the thumb, until it started to fail to extract again. Better extractors are available today, but the problem is inherent to the design.

Look for barrel linkage play (push down on the barrel hood while the slide is forward and in battery; look for vertical movememt, indicating play in the barrel link. There shouldn't be any.

Look for a loose firing pin retaining block (back of the slide, firing pin pokes through where it's struck by the hammer). Play in that firing pin retaining plate is common with use, but play allows the extractor to rotate, which can affect reliability.

If its in good shape, a pre-70 national match would be a great pistol.

quote:

Originally posted by lyman:
I prefer the series 70 and pre 70 guns myself,

Concur. Even took my 1987 Colt MKIV and converted it from a Series 80 back to Series 70 configuration. It is the only Series 80 I own of all my 1911s.

Get a base model dan Wesson or SA and call it a day. I saw pre CZ Dan Wesson for 900$ yesterday.

Just got for it and shoot it until you’re tired of it

If you want a Colt, the recent "series 70" reissues would be my choice, though the Colt Competition series is a lot of gun for the dough.

If you want THE BEST 1911 for the money, get a Dan Wesson IMO.

Forgive me if I've posted this before, but I am from the era that when one bought a brand spanking new Colt 1911, he might as well save some grief by taking it directly to the gunsmith 'cause it wasn't gonna feed anything reliably but round nose FMJs.

I also realize some buyers had better luck with theirs, but I never did and I owned a bunch of them.

I know that Colts of a more recent vintage are better now, but I still don't want to take a chance.

If I was wanting a 1911 and didn't care about how much money I spent (like that is ever gonna happen), I'd get a Wilson or one of the other top of the line (and price range) 45s.

But I heard so much about the Ruger and then the Ruger Commander Lightweight, that I bought one and, sure enough, it works, works all the time, hits the target where I hold the front sight and is, in my opinion, great.

And, the price was great, too.

Bob

This message has been edited. Last edited by: straightshooter1,

Series 70, Springfield Loaded.

Dan Wesson if you can spend more.

My one and only 1911 is a Dan Wesson Vbob in 45acp. Those are series 70. I would hands down buy it again. It is accurate, reliable, and sexy - All in one package.

If you can't quite afford a DW right now, my advice is to wait a bit longer and save up for one. Do it once, and do it right.

Ruger. Springfield. Sig. Dan Wesson.
Of those, The Ruger is all you need but nothing you dont.

quote:

Originally posted by 1KPerDay:
If you want a Colt, the recent "series 70" reissues would be my choice, though the Colt Competition series is a lot of gun for the dough.

If you want THE BEST 1911 for the money, get a Dan Wesson IMO.

I have a Colt Competition S/S 9mm government. Ordered it when the S/S version first came out, sight unseen. My serial number is in the 320's. Anyways, it's slide to frame fit and barrel bushing fit rival my Ed Brown and WC. Grip safety has a little side to side play and trigger a little up and down play......trigger is very crisp with almost no take up, albeit a little heavy I'd guess around 5lbs, gun is very accurate and a great shooter. That's what I'd buy......

Or spend the extra money and get an Ed Brown or WC if you're looking for a great shooter with terrific accuracy.

+ bazillion on the Dan Wesson 1911s. I have four of them. Fantastic pieces!

quote:

But I heard so much about the Ruger and then the Ruger Commander Lightweight, that I bought one and, sure enough, it works, works all the time, hits the target where I hold the front sight and is, in my opinion, great.

Yep...that's my experience with both a 5" and a CMD. Great guns and with all the nice options you need and none of the "mall ninja" crap. My two Rugers had good triggers and ~2" groups at 25 yds with selected handloads, right out of the box.

That said, both are heavy for CC as are all steel framed 1911's. My son gave me a Sig 1911 RCS as a Christmas present years ago which is my carry gun. Superb accuracy, light weight alloy frame with a Commander length bbl. (4" actually), with an Officers 1/4" shorter grip but still takes 7 round Officer Model mags that fit flush. Tritium sights, ergonomic controls, checkered front and back strap, nitrite coated parts...It's truly a great carry gun. HTH's Rod

Thank you for all the advice.. Sounds like the pre 70-series NM Colt will do nicely. It's nearly new looking (for 1967) and great plum patina.

Cant wait to try it out.

Will post a range report.

Thanks again... John

I have had a few 1911's. Nothing like my fiend who has 48. But my Dan Wesson Classic Bobtail has been near perfect. I used a Kimber Raptor in USPSA Limited 10 for years. I have two Sig 1911's and the Stainless Super Target is one I would never sell. All except the Kimber were flawless out of the box. The only issue the Kimber had was shooting JHP's an issue I solved with better mag springs. (Wolfe Springs in Wilson Mags)