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im getting out of the army here pretty soon (dont worry, its honerable lol)

i have been thinking about getting myself a 1911a1 as a retirement gift. ive always owned glocks, and have never owned a 1911, but i have my little heart set on at least owning one. i am open to falling in love with its thin design and easy cc... but we will see when we take our first blind date.

anyways, just snooping around on gunsamerica, im looking at prices... firestorm seems to be the cheapest nib, but looks like junk from the pictures.

id really like a springfield gi and 500 is my limit. im very open to used guns.

what other options are out there for around 500 in a carryable 1911?

id love to run to the range and just rent some stuff out, but here in afghanistan all we have is beretta m9s, and its not my cup of tea lol.

we have alot of 1911 guys here and i look forward to reading your suggestions.

oh and just for grins, no "thanks for your service" posts. it gets old. just think it, and ill use my jedi powers to give you a your welcome.

You are right about the Firestorm. Have you considered any of the guns made by Armscor in the Phillipines? There are several brand names Rock Island is one they are simple GI style no frills guns that you can get for under $500. Springfield and Taurus also make some 1911 pattern guns in your price range. Good luck in your search and keep your head down. I loved it when I was a short timer.

cool.

yeah i saw the rock island. havent seen armscor. good looking out.

short timers rule

Another vote for Rock Island here. Good solid gun.
Most owners I've known swear by them.

Taurus is also worth a look. It has all the bells and whistles of higher priced 1911's.

speepdaedeesi wrote:id really like a springfield gi and 500 is my limit. im very open to used guns.

You might be able to find a used Springfield GI for $500, but I wouldn't count on it. However, you could probably find a used Taurus PT1911 for around that, and they make a very solid gun. Also, when I was at the last Fort Worth Gun Show, I saw a Rock Island Tactical, new in the box, for $450, with all the good stuff on it. It was very impressive for that price point. They have one drawback, and that is with regard to the interchangeability with aftermarket sights, but that is not insurmountable, as our member AndyC can tell you.

RIA for sure.

Warning...A couple of months ago I went shopping for a entry level 1911 with a "budget" in mind.
That all went to heck when I started looking at the Kimbers.
Now I'm making payments on a Kimber Stainless Pro Carry II.

You have been warned.

speep:

The link below is for a Springfield Armory GI for $516.00
from http://www.budsgunshop.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;. They are in Kentucky but you
can have them ship to a Texas FFL.

Bud's website is a great place to browse for low prices, pix,
tech details of guns, and some user feedback. It's more fun
than having to jump from one gunmaker's website to the next
when you want to compare various brands.

Happy shopping.

http://www.budsgunshop.com/catalog/prod ... s_id/32588

SIA

I strongly suggest you look at the Taurus PT1911 at $519.

http://www.budsgunshop.com/catalog/prod ... s_id/17285" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Shooting Times review
http://www.shootingtimes.com/handgun_re ... index.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.shootingtimes.com/handgun_re ... ndex1.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I own a Springfield Loaded SS full size. Springfield factory refused to work on functioning issues. Spent $400 on my own.
Springfield GI went back to Springfield twice.
Kahr Auto-Ordnance 1911-my mistake
Kimber Eclipse Pro II-had issues. resides in back of safe
Taurus PT1911 blue - perfect. converted to .460 Rowland
Taurus PT1911 blue - perfect. traded to buddy for new HiPower
Taurus PT1911 blue - perfect
Taurus PT1911 SS - perfect

I've had four of the PT1911's without a hiccup. I rate any one of them better than my Springfields or my Kimber.

+ 1 for the RIA

You said you wanted a 1911 for carry. To me that means something smaller than a 5" 1911.
That being said, RIA has about the best bang for the buck in 1911s. For that matter, any of the Armscor products in various brands would do fine.
I've had a number of 1911s, long and short. The Phillipine guns work fine, but in looking back, the medium-priced 1911s that I have retained are heavily weighted toward Springfields. Right now I have zero Phillipine guns. If I were shopping for one, I'd probably look at the High Standards, mostly because the slide markings are more subtle.
So I'd pay a small premium for a Springfield. Even a base GI micro can be had for $500, and it's a great base for upgrades as you figure out what you like.
But that's just me. It's had to go wrong with anything on the market right now.

Mike1951 wrote:I've had four of the PT1911's without a hiccup. I rate any one of them better than my Springfields or my Kimber.

speep, generally speaking, you're going to find brand loyal aficionados showing strong for their brand in any discussion of 1911 pattern pistols, and like Mike1951's experience above, each is going to report recurrent problems with other brands and poor customer service those manufacturers, and near or absolute perfection from their favored brand and manufacturer's customer service. (Mike, meaning no disrespect to you in particular; I was just using your post as an example.)

In our gunsafe, we have the following 1911 pattern pistols:

• A 1943 vintage 5" Ithaca 1911-A1 which was my father's Marine Corps sidearm in WW2;
• A 5" Taurus PT1911-AR;
• A 3" Stainless Kimber Ultra Carry II;
• A 4" Kimber Pro Raptor;
• A 5" Springfield Loaded Parkerized.

They are all excellent pistols. They are all extremely reliable. The stainless Kimber and the Springfield are both in my carry rotation, and I trust my life to them both. The reason I don't carry the Kimber Raptor is that it is my son's not mine. But he already has a holster for it, and when he turns 21 (5-1/2 months from now), he is going to get his CHL, and he plans to carry the Raptor. I don't carry the Ithaca because it is a family heirloom. I don't carry the Taurus because it is my son's.

But they are all good pistols, and they have had little or no trouble.

I didn't misrepresent anything.

The Springfields didn't work.

All of the Taurus (Tauri) were flawless.

If I didn't urge someone to research the Taurus, I would be guilty of a misservice.