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Was looking to get a new carry weapon pretty soon and was wondering why those of you who carry the 1911 made that your carry weapon.

Also, is rock island armory any good, theres one at the local pawn shop for $349.

My other choice, which I think is more pactical for concealment is a ruger LCR .38sp. The guy in my local gun shop always tries to sell me a keltec but I dont know how reliable those are.

Feel free to throw out some other sugestions.

I made the 1911 my carry weapon for multiple reasons.

Slim - I can carry it multiple ways; OWB, IWB, 3 o'clock, 5 o'clock etc.
Reliable - the 1911 is a battle tested machine and has been proven reliable time and time again
Comfortable - it is comfortable any way I decide to carry it.
Accurate - I chose the 5" version and it is very accurate
Safeties - I like the combo of grip and thumb safeties (I also own a XD so I understand that guns w/o are also safe)

There are many other reasons but those are the meat and potatoes and are in no particular order.

If you are looking for a good budget 1911 I would highly suggest the Springfield Armory GI or Mil-Spec (I did the Mil-Spec since it had the lower and ported ejection port). Then over time customize it to your liking by adding certain parts.

Here is a link to the new cylinder and slide Trident. Its a good article and good base for a new 1911 owner.

http://www.cylinder-slide.com/Trident%2 ... tion-1.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

ENJOY!!!

I carry a .45 ACP 1911 in either 4.25" (Commander) or 5" (Full Size) because of all the reasons stated above and I want to send the very best bullet (BIG) should I have a need to defend my life or the lives of my Family.

Rock Island is what it is. Very entry level 1911. If you own one, you won't get much back if you decide to sell it.

I too would recommend a Springfield for it's quality, fit & finish, reliability and most probably the best customer service people in the industry. When you decide to sell it and move up to something more expensive, you won't have any problem getting practically the same as what you paid for it.

The biggest problem with 1911's are that they tend to multiply in your safe like rabbits!

I carry a 5" RIA Satin Nickle Tactical in a Bianchi Pro IWB on a daily basis. It is my carry gun and as such has become a part of me. I disagree that a Rock Island .45 is a low end pistol with very little resale value. Personally, I have never sold a gun that I did not regret selling later on. So I just keep buying more...

I have a high end IPSC Colt Model 70 that was custom built for me by a friend/owner at Vandenberg Custom. I would never think about using it for daily carry. Too much time and money invested in it.

The RIA was the perfect gun for the purpose and the price paid for it was within my budget. It carrys well, goes bang every time I pull the trigger. There is a difference between cheap and inexpensive. There is nothing cheap about a Rock Island Armory pistol. The price point puts more of those pistols in a working man's hand than Kimber or Springfield or Colt could ever dream of.

Just my $.02...

I agree with all the above posts. I carry a 1911 everyday. I have several, different sizes, from 5" to 3". Although I tend to like
Kimber and Colt, I do have a RIA 5" Tactical. It has been very reliable. No, it does not have the sights or same level of fit & finish
as the Kimbers BUT it also doesn't have the same price tag either. It is a dependable entry level 1911.
That said, I tend to carry the 3" Ultra or a commander sized pistola on most days.
You can't go wrong with a 1911, and there are endless customization options should you decide to change it up to your personal liking.

Because a 1911 is a beautiful work of art.

USA1 wrote:Because a 1911 is a beautiful work of art.

I knew I was forgetting the most important one...

USA1 wrote:Because a 1911 is a beautiful work of art.

XtremeDuty.45 wrote:I made the 1911 my carry weapon for multiple reasons.

Slim - I can carry it multiple ways; OWB, IWB, 3 o'clock, 5 o'clock etc.
Reliable - the 1911 is a battle tested machine and has been proven reliable time and time again
Comfortable - it is comfortable any way I decide to carry it.
Accurate - I chose the 5" version and it is very accurate
Safeties - I like the combo of grip and thumb safeties (I also own a XD so I understand that guns w/o are also safe)

I'd say that pretty much sums it up. At the end of the day, it is a battle tested design that due to its slimness, accommodates CC extremely well. I carry a Five-seveN at work, but on weekends I go back to my Colt Commander. There is a reason that the basic 1911 design has held up to the test of time so well.

I have two 1911s that I carry. You'll never regret buying one, regardless of which brand you start out with.

+1 I agree with everything everyone has said...for me the 1911 is a classic, battle-proven design, that functions well and looks good to boot.

My only 1911 so far is a Commander-sized (4.25" barrel) Kimber Eclipse Pro II. I replaced the stock wooden grips with Hogue molded rubber grips, and the black rubber really looks sharp and business-like with the two-tone Eclipse finish of the Kimber. I also have stocked up on Wilson Combat and Chip McCormick magazines. I carry the 8-round WC magazines as part of daily carry, and I have some 10-round Chip McCormick mags for going to the range. (They stick WAY out of the bottom so I use them only for more capacity at the range.)

I think if I were to buy another 1911, it would be a full-sized Wilson Combat pistol.

In addition to all the other great reasons below for choosing the 1911 as a personal carry gun, here are a few more of mine:

- The 1911 fits perfectly in my hand and points naturally to put bullets where I want them to go seemingly without effort.
- It's been thoroughly rung out by generations of great shooters. Its pluses (many) and minuses (few) are very well documented. If you do your homework, you know for sure what you're getting - unlike with the latest whiz bang pistol that's just appeared.
- The trigger pull on a good example makes it easy to be accurate. I see no reason to put up with a crummy trigger even if it can be made to deliver decent accuracy with lots of extra hard work.
- A whole world of customizations to fit every taste are readily available.
- I don't have to worry about a manufacturer going under and taking my parts supply with them.
- I feel comfortable that, within the limits of what can be done with a handgun, this design has the best available balance among concealment options (in various barrel lengths and frame materials), carry comfort, natural pointing, ammunition capacity, terminal projectile performance, and safety.

XtremeDuty.45 wrote:I made the 1911 my carry weapon for multiple reasons.

Slim - I can carry it multiple ways; OWB, IWB, 3 o'clock, 5 o'clock etc.
Reliable - the 1911 is a battle tested machine and has been proven reliable time and time again
Comfortable - it is comfortable any way I decide to carry it.
Accurate - I chose the 5" version and it is very accurate
Safeties - I like the combo of grip and thumb safeties (I also own a XD so I understand that guns w/o are also safe)

Excaliber wrote:In addition to all the other great reasons below for choosing the 1911 as a personal carry gun, here are a few more of mine:

- The 1911 fits perfectly in my hand and points naturally to put bullets where I want them to go seemingly without effort.
- It's been thoroughly rung out by generations of great shooters. Its pluses (many) and minuses (few) are very well documented. If you do your homework, you know for sure what you're getting - unlike with the latest whiz bang pistol that's just appeared.
- The trigger pull on a good example makes it easy to be accurate. I see no reason to put up with a crummy trigger even if it can be made to deliver decent accuracy with lots of extra hard work.
- A whole world of customizations to fit every taste are readily available.
- I don't have to worry about a manufacturer going under and taking my parts supply with them.
- I feel comfortable that, within the limits of what can be done with a handgun, this design has the best available balance among concealment options (in various barrel lengths and frame materials), carry comfort, natural pointing, ammunition capacity, terminal projectile performance, and safety.

I couldn't have said it better except to say they sure are purty.

I carry a stainless Officers Model. I like it because it's stainless, it's flat, and it's a 45. Also because I prefer a gun with a safety.