Originally Posted by spacedoggy

What about the S&W line of 1911's. I don't hear much about them just my dealer tells me they are great guns.

I have two of them, my first is the all steel classic model, Blued, spring and plunger type, novak low profile three dot sights, cherry grips, no front slide finger groves, it's got about three thousand rounds thru it of all kinds of good and junk ammo and has never missed a beat, accuracy is as good as my gold cup any day, I bought my second about three months ago, that one is a Titamium framed Commander sized gun, stainless all over except for the frame, great contrast in color, that one has the full lenght guide rod, front styrations and also sports the same novak sights, the grips again are really nice, but in
cocobolo this time, this gun is easier to carry at a little over an inch shorter and at 28 ounces as opposed to the 41 ounces of my full sized steel 1911.
Both guns have most of the goodies that we used to have to pay for, like lowered ejection ports, beveled mag well, combat sights, beaver tail grip safety, checker mainspring housing, full length guide rods and springs and the price while not cheap is not bad considering what you get and what you don't have to do to them.
My only real concern was the external extractor which has been a problem in alot of semi-auto pistols, and one that is causing Kimber alot of problems lately, but stopping to consider that all of Smiths guns have used this system for decades with no trouble, I think S&W knows somethig that the rest doesn't about externals, so I took a chance and haven't had a problem, this new one now has about five hundred or more rounds through it and not one failure to feed or fire, it's been 100% reliable, and soon will have earned the right to be one of those that I would bet my life on.

I do prefer the semi-custom guns. i have the following and each project a certain presence and character. i can's say which is ultimately the best, because they exhibit a varying degree of art, funtion and faults. however they all are remarkably accurate and reliable. here we go:

nhc predator




sa trp op


les baer trs


wilson cqb


used to own a buch of stuff, but they are all gone and these are the final pieces that i believe are the best guns for me. couple of other additions would be a government sized Ed Brown and a commander sized NHC in the future. Enjoy.....

Kimbers or Springfields without the external extractor "improvement" and guns without the "improved" firing pin block, and without any locking device.

My next .45 may have to be the Kimber with the aluminum frame. I think a full-size Government Model with a lightweight frame would be the bees knees.

That's a sweet looking Nighthawk

Originally Posted by Shipwreck

That's a sweet looking Nighthawk

hello shipwreck,

are you going to get that personal nhc? i saw your postings in various forums spelling out the specific features you would want on your nhc. hope you get one soon. regards and take care.

By the way, CASPIAN makes an arched, checkered or smooth MSH if you want one.

I carry a SS Springfield mil-spec though the only original parts are the frame,slide,barrel,trigger and safety. I like it cause it's low maintenance and reliable. I prize my Blue Colt srs. 70 reissue. sise by side, it's a finer weapon. not as thick as the Springfield, it is a superior product period. That doesn't mean it's anymore reliable then my Springer, just finer. Funny thing is, After modifying the SA to get up to par, I've probably got more money in it then the Colt!

For all day carry, I like mly Colt Officer's ACP Lightweight.

For Bullseye shooting, I like a Caspian/Springfield gun I've had for several years.

For house protection, I like my Taurus PT1911 backing up the Mossberg 500.

My "barbeque gun" is a Colt Gold Cup modified by Cylinder & Slide.

Tigerseye

COLT! Enough Said!

I voted Colt. Never a malfunction right out of box. No so called break in period. Have yet to experience a malfunction with my Colts. Same for the two I gave to my two oldest grand sons. I do have a new unfired Colt so knock on wood. My Les Baer PII had some return to batter issues but only had to finger push slide forward. Typical of LB. Merry Christmas to all, Smokeless

Prefer the SA's myself. Been carrying an SA gov model [ milspec ] since 82 thats got over 35K through it.

Presently carry an SA milspec Champion LW most of the time in the cooler weather. When it warms up considerably here in the desert, I revert to the G17 or G26.

Brownie

Back in the 1960's as a young Police officer I read a lot by Jeff Cooper and purchased a well worn 1911a Colt WW2 veteran for the price of $35. The dealer also had a National Match Kit (Slide complete with adjustable sights and National Match barrel) for the price of $35 also. I bought it also. The NM barrel fit the stock Gun and the combo was quite good. I did some target shooting with the adjustable sighted slide but the sharp sights usually cleared my holsters with leather fuzz on the front sight so I used the stock sighted slide for duty. I did a lot of shooting with it and was quite comfortable patroling our small town. Unfortunately some town folks commented about my cocked and locked .45 to the Chief and he strongly suggested that I use a .38 revolver. We struck a deal and I carried my model 58 S&W in .41 Mag. which looked conventional enough for the Chief.

To me there is nothing like a Colt.

I agree with Magnum - It needs that little horse on the side for best balance!

These are my Colt's Series 70 45 ACP Government Models. Top one made in late 1970 and bottom one (repro) I just bought new in August. The only mods they have are the Gunsite Low Mount Thumb Safety models, extra strength firing pin springs, flat MSH replace the arched ones, and, on the original - King's Hardballer sights replaced the original tiny ones and the collet bushing has been replaced with a solid one.



I can't honestly say neither has NEVER malfunctioned but, only very rarely and, most of the time, it was not the fault of the pistol - usually magazines.

Having only been a 1911 owner since 1500 EST today, and having gone directly to the range with my new Kimber....I would have to vote Kimber. What a great gun!

Originally Posted by tjq

Having only been a 1911 owner since 1500 EST today, and having gone directly to the range with my new Kimber....I would have to vote Kimber. What a great gun!

Congrat pic please

For IPSC competition, most shooters opt for the SV or STI wide body 1911s.
In limited division, you can use 140 mm mags that hold up to 20 rds of .40 S&W ammo. Of course, the drawback is that these guns are expensive usually costing $1,500 to $3,000 (or more for open guns with compensatgors and scopes) but one must pay for his/her hobbies if it really trips your trigger, so to speak.

Originally Posted by reflection01

hello shipwreck,

are you going to get that personal nhc? i saw your postings in various forums spelling out the specific features you would want on your nhc. hope you get one soon. regards and take care.

By the way, CASPIAN makes an arched, checkered or smooth MSH if you want one.

Sorry, I didn't notice this until now...

I ended up buying a PS90 w/ the money instead. I thought about it a lot, but chose that...

I have had a lot of 1911 and the Kimber has been my best gun ,I do like the Colts (older ones ) and the Nighthawks,STI and Ed Browns do make me think more about getting one .

here is my Procarry



Doc

I kinda like my Wilson. Kinda pricey but good.

Mike

Interesting to see the results and Para Ordinance's place in the poll....

I went with the COLT for the simlpe reason it's in Stainless Steel and looks PURDY. My S.A. keeps on ticking but it's like a Chevy 350 engine and needs tweeking to make me happy. Love to get full sized Rock Island kit and make my own the way I'd like it. Hands down the 1911 is the only way to go! Sorry Shipwreck,you can do so much with this gun just like the 350 Chevy.

I voted for Smith & Wesson 1911s:

- Own Several
- All work and are accurate
- Smith & Wesson Service/Support is the best (if you need it - which I haven't)



James

very nice hardware !!! ...........

Very nice pistols there Extremist. Looking good.

man those are some nice guns