1911 carry ?

[NEB]

I know some will say it's not a "real" 1911, but I love my Springfield EMP in 9mm. Smaller grip circumference in a gun designed around the 9mm cartridge but with the tried/true design of a 1911. It fits my hand great, it's easy to carry, and it drives nails. I did have to polish the ramp just a bit to get it to feed reliably, but it's flawless now.

I also have a Springfield lightweight champion length Operator (has a rail) that is a great shooter out of the box in .45. It's digested every type of ammo that I've throw at it without a single failure (knock on wood). I keep a light on it and it serves as my bedside gun, but pull the light off, and it carries great in a quality rig.

When carrying a pistol with the weight of a 1911, you really need a quality belt and a well-designed holster. I've picked up a couple of belts from A&G Gun Leather, and I never knew the difference a true gun belt could make until I tried them out. I'll never go back to anything less in construction when I'm carrying.

--neb

[The Annoyed Man]

Springers are good, and can be found at a decent price point. A commander sized Springer would be great.

I'll second that. My Springer has been very reliable, and I bought it used at a fair price ($650). But, I'll add that if you look hard enough, you'll find a rash of complaints on the Interwebs about every gun make or model ever made....Kimbers included. I own a Kimber. My son owns one. His fiancé owns one. A couple of friends of mine have each bought one based on having a chance to shoot mine. None of us has ever had a single problem with them except for one minor issue with mine when I first bought it, and Kimber's customer service took care of it with one phone call at no charge. The gun was back up and running within less than a week, and has fired a couple thousand problem free rounds since then.

The point being, don't put too much stock in what people say about a particular brand of 1911.....unless everyone is saying that they are junk. Gun owners in general and 1911 owners in particular have tremendous brand loyalties, and to them anything else is junk. I had one very bad ownership experience with a Sig GSR Carry Stainless, a Commander sized stainless gun. She was a beauty, but she was also an unreliable and treacherous wench. I'll probably never buy another Sig 1911.....and yet there are a lot of people that swear by them. Are they good pistols? Very probably yes. Love or hate Sig pistols, they have an excellent and well earned reputation.

I would base my decision less on brand reputation, and more on whichever brand/model gives you the best combination of features at the price which you can afford. BTW, at the lower end of the price spectrum, RIA 1911s have a good reputation, but just be aware that they do have issues with the dovetails they cut into the slide for sights. They seem to use a proprietary cut, and the aftermarket for sights for them is somewhat diminished as a result.

[74novaman]

But, I'll add that if you look hard enough, you'll find a rash of complaints on the Interwebs about every gun make or model ever made....

This is probably the biggest lesson people who read gun forums should learn.

When it comes to guns, especially handguns....the choice is intensely personal. What fits you, feels good, is a good size for you to shoot/carry/conceal...may not fit someone else AT ALL.

Someone, somewhere will bash any gun possible. Best thing you can do is go by your own experiences.

I've had guns made by rossi, keltec, RIA, taurus, glock, ruger on and on.


Haven't had any major issues with any of them.

Other peoples experiences may differ.

[RPBrown]

As I stated before, if you get a good one its real good. Kimber must have more good than bad or they wouldn't still be in business. I actually know more people that have good ones than I do that have had a bad one. Just my luck that I got 2 bad ones because i really like the looks of some of them. Hmm, maybe 3rd times a charm. Have to think about that for a while.

[A-R]

However, I urge you to go to Academy and check out the Citadel 1911 in 3.5 flavor. It's a .45 and it's basically a rebadged STI Spartan..

Wondering if you could clarify this statement a bit ... Citadel is not assembled by STI in Georgetown is it? I realize the frames and slides of both are likely manufactured by Armscor in Phillipines (as are many lower end Springfields these days, all Rock Islands, etc.) But for my $0.02, I do like the idea that the guys in Georgetown assemble and function check the Spartans (especially since they're just up the road from me and I can - so I've heard - just bring my gun up to the factory for "warranty service" if I ever need it).

[68Charger]

Eh.. no, Citadel is not STI nor has anything to do with STI.

STI's Spartan series (from what I've read) have some STI internals but come from the Philippines. It's a very well made pistol regardless of STI on it or not.

Citadel comes from the Philippines, too. Somewhere over there. (I think). Though with let's say a Citadel I find more quality in their pistol than let's say a RIA. If you're at gun show, pick them both up (RIA/Citadel) and compare them. Citadel's just seem look and feel like more quality goes into them. I love RIA, don't get me wrong. Fine pistols, but at least for me, I can see the difference.

If you look at the Citadel and and STI, it really does look like the Citadel is a rebadged STI. I do love my STI grips though. :)

Edit:

Sorry if this post doesn't make much sense (to me it doesn't) for I had a long 14hr shift today.

Bleh.

Cheers.

[A-R]

No worries, I think I get your general meaning

[68Charger]

Here is a better explanation from: http://media.stiguns.com/USPress/BluePr ... partan.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

It's a PDF file, so have Adobe ready to read it. Cheers.



The slide, frame and barrel are made by Armscor in the Philippines. All the other parts except the [PA sight) are
made by STI, which ships them overseas; the guns are built by Armscor, then sent back to STI. At that point,
the Spartans are given to STI’s quality control people lied by Chris Schirmer) who go over them with a
fine-tooth comb, If a problem is found, typically it’s easier for STI to fix it in house; Spartans very rarely go hack
to the Philippines once they’re here.

The Spartan’s slide is made from extruded bar stock; the frame is cast. That last
fact does not turn me off the way it may some traditionalists. What would tell the tale was how the Spartan
kept that great fit once I put some rounds through it. In my experience, if a 1911 is going to shoot loose, it
does so in short order. Even many guns that seem nicely fitted out-of-the-box become rattletraps once you
put a hundred rounds through them. On the other hand, if a gun’s still perfectly tight after a hundred rounds, it’s
going to be tight for one hell of a long time.

[The Annoyed Man]

But, I'll add that if you look hard enough, you'll find a rash of complaints on the Interwebs about every gun make or model ever made....

This is probably the biggest lesson people who read gun forums should learn.

When it comes to guns, especially handguns....the choice is intensely personal. What fits you, feels good, is a good size for you to shoot/carry/conceal...may not fit someone else AT ALL.

Someone, somewhere will bash any gun possible. Best thing you can do is go by your own experiences.

[74novaman]

That actual comic is a gaming/nerd comic that's pretty good called "Penny Arcade" that I like.

Pretty sure the gun text is not their work though.

[The Annoyed Man]

My son emailed it to me.

[CC Italian]

That is awesome TAM you need to send that to Andy C! He will love that!

Glock-loving dogs!

Edit: Best laugh today! I laughed so hard I started crying!