I bought my Colt 1911 back around 1976. I put on larger sights, long trigger. beavertail safeth, pacmyr grips with flat mainspring housing. I had a pistol smith do a trigger and throat job when hi put the bigger sights on it. With a good shot behind it it will give 3 to 4 inch groups at 25 yards. That is all I can ask for.

I have been fortunate enough to fire newer Colts, Rugers, Remingtons, and Taurus. They all seem to shoot tighter than my old Colt. And the all have better sights and triggers.

I have had Colts, liked them, but sold them. Currently own a S&W 1911 Tactical Rail, probably the best shooting 1911 I ever had in my hands, and I have shot many Kimbers and Wilson Combats, I will never part with this one. For a little smaller version I have a Safari Arms Enforcer, extremely accurate and again another pistol I will never part with.

The original 1911 made in 1905 & 1906 (it took awhile to get it approved by the Army Brass) was made to function under all types of weather. Now it must also be able to hit the target at 25 yds or 75 ft.

The ones I fired at Fort Lenardwood, Ft. Benning etc. would rattle when you shooke them. They had to because the tolerances were NOT that close as the Kimbers, Colts, Springfields, STI's are today.

A 1911 was supposed to be able to hit a torso target of a man, which as we know is at least 14 inches across and 14 inches tall excluding the head. It must be able to function in the muddy trenches that were created back in World War 2. Not to mention being able to fire in sub-zero weather too. They certainly were not target pistols but worked well in those trenches fighting German troops.

One of the finest made 1911's today (super accurate) is made by a company called: It featured in the NRA magazine and their tolerences are less than 0.0001 on their 1911 model pistols. Price is a mear $5,250 dollars per pistol. They are 2 inch guns at 50 yds!!! Almost all 1911 models I have shot over the years (a bunch!) have been able to keep a 6-inch group with match ammo at 25 yds, and that is good enough for a CCW tool on the street. The .45acp makes a big hole and penetrates very deep, according to the FBI.

I really like the new model S&W 45 but reading this thread not to many guys mention it. I was serious about the Kimber but got the Smith. Lot of thought and comparing. Is there a major complaint against the Smith with some of you guys that have better intel than me? One complaint against the Kimber is that it is over $1000.00 bucks for a pistol and one clip. Mini B-ich, but it did catch in my craw. Kick myself for trading Colt Officer for Smith 44 mag mountain gun, but I like the mountain gun and last gun show i went to the Colts were few and insane price. Again, I got rid of a gun I liked in a trade and should have both in my safe. I notice Fritz liked the Smith and that counts a bunch.

MY first 1911 was in 1972 ( year after I joined the PD ) It was a Colt Commander, Liked it a lot for carry but it took some work to make it function 100%.
In 1975 , the day my second son was born I went to the shop and traded the Commander in for a pair of Combat Commanders in Nickle Satin, One in 45 the other in 38 super (one for me ,one for the wife )
BOTH needed only to polish the feed ramp to make them function 100% Accuracy was a problem though but back then a pair of Barsto Barrels self installed made them VERY accurate .
Then in the 80s started playing with adding stuff like safeties and Beaver tail grip safeties etc. MOST shot well and most all carried well . Had a Detonics ( Both 45 and 38 super ) my first real exploration into the Sub compact 1911. Reliable but as accurate as throwing rocks. When I retired from the PD( first one I worked for ) in 2000 Sold all of my autos( with the exception of one 10mm) and bought ONE KIMBER ULTRA CDP II Carry that now faithfully . I have no problem qualifying with that gun ( shot a perfect score with it this past summer in quals. ) for my Fed. Carry permit .
IF I had to choose for OUT OF THE BOX BEST i'd choose Kimber Hands down !. JMHO

Deaddoc4444,
Have you ever shot the Smith&Wesson 1911? They are better in my opinion. Just want your thoughts. Kimber is just another brand. Did you shoot one of the Smiths?

In the 80's I owned a Colt Commander. It functioned 100% - as long as I used a Colt magazine and round-nose bullets. It didn't seem to like other magazines. Accuracy was "functional". In more recent times I've found the Ruger P90 to be very reliable, and fairly accurate as well. Likewise, one relative with a Ruger P97 has found the same thing. I've been able to get some good experience with the S&W 1911 owned by another relative. A very impressive 1911. Beautifully made, and accurate. One that has surprised me the most is the Kahr CW45. Designed for concealed carry, it's surprisingly accurate, comparing quite favorably to the full-sized .45's (the chamber is tighter than the Rugers).

I have 2 Para's a Govt. model and an officers, and a 80 series Colt stainless Commander. The Para's shoot better groups. The Colt has only had a few hundred rounds through it, I did have to do minor work on the extractor, and had a problem with two of the Colt OEM magazines. I requested the factory trade me the 8 round mags for the 7 round mags -and all my feed/jam problems went away. I always number each mag-so when I shoot, if I have a problem I can see if it is the same mag or not. After this I have no problems with 230 gr ball or HP's. I have polished the ramps on all. Other than that just shooting a lot of rounds helps get rid of some problems. I also clean after every outing. Both of my Paras are 100%. I carry the officers model and have complete confidence in it.The recoil spring gets changed every 1000 rounds. As a side note these smaller 1911s need a good hold of when firing, or you may get a stove pipe at some point. I need to shoot my Colt more, and if I do have problems I will resolve them as needed.IMO, A site The M1911 Pistols Organization has basic information on extractor tuning, 3-point jam, and about anything else in the way of a fix for problems that is in the reach of anyone with some mechanical apptitude and simple hand tools.

I love my 1911's, have a bunch of spare parts from customizing several, and bought tools from Brownell's for the 1911. I had some training in the Army in weapons repair, my first M.O.S. was small arms repair. I learned a little, but not much from A.I.T. training on the 1911, M-16, M79 and M60. But now tend to rely on the excellent manuals by Jerry Kuhnhausen and Patrick Sweeney's Book of the 1911,when I can't remember , due to old age brain fogging, how to fit a new barrel or swap out some internals. I can highly recommend the Caspian multi tool designed for the 1911 owner. It had all the allens and screwdriver bits for the 1911 and bushing wrenches built into the plier ends for both the Government model and the Gold Cup bushings. And as an added bonus, the handles are a cool irredescent lizard looking green. Tool was around $35 as I recall, and will always have a place on my pistol belt. I wish I had a pic of it to post, will have to get around to that soon.

I have several 45 ACP's, both auto and revo. The one gun I haven't seen mentioned (may have been and I flat missed it) is the 4506 S&W. It is the model that came out after the 645. I bought a fix sighted version as just soon as they became available back in the late '80's (IIRC, 1988). It was highly reliable and pretty darn accurate with about anything. Like a fool I sold it a few years later (or traded it, can't recall now). Several years ago now I started looking in earnest for another one. I finally found one that was still in the box and didn't appear to have had more than possibly one 20 round box run through it. It is a 4506-1 with adjustable sights. It is also extremely reliable and VERY accurate. It is my daily carry gun. the 3rd gen S&W's were some of the best auto's ever made, and I will never let this one go.

I've owned only 3 45s. The first one was an Argentine-made Colt 1911 purchased at a K-Mart in about 1967, and was manufactured ca 1928 or so. I still have it. I believe my Dad paid about $75 for it then, and I've put a scant 1,000 rds through it. Shoots just fine but of course it has the ancient, tiny military sights that no one would think of using these days.

My second 45 was a new Sig P220 Elite Stainless, which I bought in 2009 and just sold this past weekend. It was an extraordinary gun, with the standard DA/SA trigger with short-reset feature. Very sweet. As much as I liked it and as dead nuts accurate as I could shoot, I seldom did after purchasing my 3rd 45, an M&P 45 Compact.

The little $500 plastic M&P is the sweetest-shooting 45 I've ever fired, and I shoot it better than any other 45 I've ever shot, for the kind of shooting I do and am interested in (from the holster, as fast as practical). It feels better than any other 45 I've ever held, including HKs, Glocks, Sigs and 1911s. I don't believe I've ever held or fired an FN in any caliber other than 7.62.

After having put about 18,000 rds through the MP45c in IDPA and range shooting, I'm not sure I'll be buying another 45--other than possibly a more bullseye style gun. For a gun that looks like a child's toy inside, nothing I've tried compares to it for me--at least not for what I'm willing to spend on a handgun.

I like 45 to say the least. It has stood the test of a century of small arms development, and near as I can tell the only thing to challenge it (in my mind, at least) would be the 10mm--which is very quickly becoming my new favorite.

__________________
“If I had to live my life again, I'd make the same mistakes, only sooner.” T Bankhead

The very best .45acp caliber pistol for the money ($500-dollars) is a GLOCK hands down and will fire under all sorts of conditions. It will not come close to shooting a 2 inch group at 50 yards. However, it can with its 14 rounds get you out of a tight situation in a big hurry, if the case may be.

Yes, I have a Springfield or two along with the COLTS, Kimbers, Para-Ord, STI, Rock Island and a couple more I can't remember at the momment. Some are pieces of art work, some are simply a tool. Some shoot OK and a couple are Dead Dick! on any 8 inch pie plates out to 75yds. The only one that can stand close to my GLOCK 10mm is my GLOCK .45acp. It has a track record like SECRETARIAT!!!

I'll put my 4506 against any Glock, and day. I've fired both many timers over. I didn't have to pay anywhere near 4500 for my 4506 either.

Agree. The 4506 is a workhorse pistol that is unstoppable and very very reliable. Might be heavy, might be un refined in some folks eyes, but it will always go bang......

__________________
Chris in NH.

"some days, I wish my dogs could talk"

here is the Caspian multi tool for the 1911.

Oh that is way cool!!!

__________________
MikeG

American Made, I will just say this about your pistol verses a GLOCK: The Glocks have been tested time and time again and never had a situation where as the pistol would not fire. I know for a fact that your pistol put under those conditions would not pass the test period. Once more neither would the Kimbers or COLTS either.

Now when it comes to dependability and NOT JAMMING, the GLOCK is going to win hands down no matter what the test might bee. Now try firing some 250,000 rounds without a hiccup through your .45acp pistol. It will not happen as I already tried that one my self several years ago. Again the GLOCK WINS HANDS DOWN. I hate poly pistols by the way and own now, over 20 .45acp 1911 models. Yeah, from the $450 dollar Rock Island to the high dollar models.

I have nothing against Glocks other than their looks and the trigger mechanism. I shoot them extremely well.

However, I am calling BS on the rest of your statement, especially the part abopput jamming, and you can't back it up with any real world data either. It is YOUR opinion. Just the same way my post was mine. I have fired enough rounds to know what works and what doesn't. The S&W 3rd gen pistols are highly respected, accurate, reliable, and have been tested time and time again. Many, many LEA's have issued them as duty weapons. You can't tell me they all didn't test them pretty thoroughly. Some may have bought them base on the bulk price they got, but I know for fact some departments that did the same with the Glock when buying them for their officers.

I stand by my statement, and in my experience they are as reliable if not more so, and are more accurate than the Glocks on average.

I have a Kimber Stainless II, a Kimber Gold Match II, and a Glock model 21. The only one of the them I couldn't live without is the standard Stainless II. I bought this gun, loved it, and quickly decided to step up to the Gold Match II. I haven't found the Gold Match to be worth the extra expense vs. the entry level model. The Gold Match is maybe a bit more accurate with certain factory loads but, with the medium loads I do at home, the Stainless II seems about equal in terms of performance. The Gold Match is prettier.

I haven't had a lot of experience with poly guns, and the Glock 21 that I own was the first one I had ever fired. I can relate to sandog's issue with the trigger. I had never shot double action before I got that piece... Even if I was shooting a double action handgun, I would always cock the hammer manually. I obviously couldn't do that with the Glock so, there was a steep learning curve with that one.

I'm pretty good with it now but, I probably put 3,500 rounds through that gun before I could hit a stinkin' thing with it. LOL

AmericanMade, perhaps you have not read much about the testing of the GLOCKS but you show me were your brand of pistol or any other for matter has shot over 250,000 rounds without a hiccup.....NOT JAMMED etc. The other side of the coin, is to take the tests that have been given to the GLOCK pistols, without them JAMMING or simply breaking on firing line.

I hate poly guns but I sure don't mind betting my life on them 24/7. I have in my vaults close to 2 dozen various model 1911's and out of all of them, I pick up the GLOCKS bare-none for self-defense. You can call my words BS or XY I don't give a hoot! I been around the horn more than once and know the facts. Your pistol might stay with my Glocks on the range but I dought that very seriously under all conditions.You need to check out the tests that have been done on GLOCKS for the past 20 years or so before you make a rude statement. Now BS right back at you sir!!!