Which 1911 is the best

We will start with a history and general outline of this type of pistol. Then, we will jump into an outline of companies who make these guns.

We will then focus mainly on your options for a at each different price point. We aim to give you a comprehensive outline of what you can expect to get with each price that you are willing to spend. With this, you can match your choice to your needs and choose the perfect pistol for you. The pistol is an American icon. It has been in the the hands of 5 generations and its popularity is still rising.

This pistol has become synonymous with power, durability and the American military. The high versatility of the perfect and straightforward design of the gun made it appropriate for different purposes from self-defense to hunting, target-shooting or competitions. The standard back then was the. This was exactly what JMB had in mind when he crafted the semi-automatic pistol that would pass the most rigorous US military tests.

Simulations included shooting the gun after it has been thrown in mud, submerged in acid or loaded with deformed cartridges. Over test rounds were performed at the time on this piece of metal, which was the only one to emerge from the competition with other notable brands such as Smith Wesson and Savage.

The U. The is a single action, magazine-fed, recoil operated, semi-automatic pistol, usually working with a. For more about ammunition — check out our bullet and caliber guide. The empty case is then ejected by a kick in the rear, the slide is pushed forward by a spring and pulls a new cartridge from the angled magazine, depositing it into the firing chamber. The recoil spring keeps the vital components in place. The great thing is that this pistol can be disassembled and reassembled by using its components as tools.

The model employed by the military comes with a grip safety and a manual safety, while commercial models also include a firing pin safety. The original M, originally produced by Colt one of the original AR makers , has become a portfolio item for a broad range of manufacturers, both American or foreign, and nowadays you can find s manufactured in South America, Asia or Europe.

It is almost like every major company has their flavor of the classic, yet the pieces are not equal. At the beginning of the century, the was made primarily by Colt or Springfield Armory, which belonged to the Government. Starting with WWI, Remington also got a license to produce it along with other Canadian and local companies.

Since the pistol is a standard, whenever a gun company is expected to be taken seriously, it develops a of its own. It is both a benchmarking and a maturity test at the same time. For you the buyer, this creates both an array of opportunities and a headache to select the best piece of metal for your money. Most guns in this range are not produced in the U. You can expect minor flaws, but they still score high in reliability and can act as a trustworthy partner for self-defense. The important thing you need to keep in mind off the bat is that you can expect some correlation between price and quality.

While not absolute, you can definitely expect to receive a more quality gun the more you are willing to spend. Not only will they have more quality parts and accessories, they may be durable and last longer.

However, this is not a perfect rule, so it is still worthwhile surveying the options below. It can be used immediately, with no breaking in period required. Usually, displays no failures in either department, including feed, chamber, fire or cartridge eject. The most annoying feature can be the fact that the flat sides do not fit the grip frame perfectly, a problem that can be addressed by installing aftermarket grips. The RIA is a great choice for self defense.

If you want a simple weapon to defend your home and family this is an affordable choice that is highly reliable. A good, solid value addition to your armory. It has an extended slide stop for safety and beavertail grip for comfort.

Expect a skeletal combat hammer and a tuner trigger. The wooden scaled grip might seem odd, but can be replaced if you want something more aggressive. The nice thing about this piece is that is hammer forged, and you can see that by checking the serial numbers on the parts.

A good crisp short trigger completes the ensemble. It comes with two magazines and a bushing wrench from most gun dealers. If you will settle for nothing less than American, the AO A1 pistol should scratch your patriotic itch.

Be sure to give it enough time and rounds, lubricate long bearing-bearing surfaces and expect some malfunctions during this time. If you do not have the patience and just want a weapon that works just out of the box, this is not the option for you.

Great choice and value once again. In this price range, you can expect a high standard of quality. As long as you are not looking for anything custom made, but more for a long-lasting piece of equipment, you are in the right place.

The SA mil-spec comes with an original short trigger and a GI style thumb and grip safety, as well as a GI hammer. The performance and accuracy of this gun are impressive , just needs some little extras, like a beavertail grip safety. The full-length recoil guide rod makes the Deagle operate and cycle much smoother, also improving the lifetime of the slide. The grip made out of checkered wood enhances control. For ease of recharging the beveled magazine well can help a quick change. It has an extended thumb safety and beavertail grip safety.

The shooting accuracy of this piece is hard to match, offering an excellent price-quality ratio. You can choose the simple or enhanced model of the made by one of the first manufacturers after Colt. It does not wander too far away from the original WWII piece, with a crisp trigger, dovetailed rear and front sights, and checkered double diamond walnut grips. A subtle evolution of the standard is the lowered and flared ejection port for eliminating the empty cartridge faster and more accurate.

The Remmy is an enhanced model, which comes with extended beavertail safety. It comes with a full range of accessories such as sights, triggers, and grips to transform it into a tool suited for your needs. The stainless-steel gun features a beavertail safety grip and a thumb safety, and its distinctive feature is the Titanium firing pin. Produced from a single piece of metal to keep the homogeneity of color and hue, it also features the lowered and oversized ejection port.

This is one of the guns that keep the original design as much as possible, including the three-dot sight. It comes with a bushing wrench and it is a favorite for sturdiness and reliability. It has no loose parts, and has one of the easiest recoils. Recommended as a great gun for a beginner since it is supposed to work flawlessly straight out of the box.

The most useful feature of this gun in the green fiber optic front which helps in an accurate target acquisition and fast switching between targets. The two eight rounds magazines keep you in the game, while the skeletonized trigger is crisp and precise. The only downside of this gun can be the grip which is made from polymers, and some might consider cheap-looking, but has no impact on the superb performance.

It is difficult to find this pistol these days. But if you are willing to search the used market or ask around, you may be able to find this. If you are really keen on this model, it may be worth the search. A step up, but this is where the real quality comes into play. These are the kind of s you can get and keep for years. Not your typical.

You can buy it and shoot it on the same day, no break-in period needed. This one scores high on safety, featuring a large beavertail grip safety against slide cuts. The thumb safety is ergonomic, offering an excellent firing grip with the thumb on top not under the safety lever. The sights, front and rear are dovetail-mounted in the slide, yet some adjustable sight would improve that a bit.

The three-white dots, a standard option which comes in handy during night-time enhances accuracy. The gun might seem too sharp on the edges; it could use some rounding. It also has a pronounced recoil, more than the. One of the few models with an ambidextrous thumb safety , and the standard extended beavertail grip. The Loaded. You can attach lights, red dot, and lasers. The only downside could be the fact that it uses seven rounds mags instead of 8.

Good features still run in the family with a few modern twists, including white dot sights and a lowered ejection port for extra reliability. It also has a great recoil spring system, long trigger, and a flat mainspring housing like the Colt legend. The list of additions and tweaks soon became well-known as civilian shooters cycled through the Matches and came in contact with these early tuned guns, with the budding competitors promptly heading to their local gunsmiths with a list of demands.

By , Colt got into the game proper, offering their National Match. Today, many makers offer comp and race gun-oriented models while others work National Match features into their standard production guns— and will usually be happy to tell you all about it. From the beginning, Mr. Browning designed the M around his. While the fat grain round is a handful, it has the benefit of being subsonic, lending this attribute to great use in suppressed firearms.

On the contrary, almost as soon as it was introduced, Colt started marketing it in other calibers such as. Then came the Prohibition-era. In , Colt developed the Ace, a. Eventually, 9mm Luger and 10mm Auto were added to the menu and have since become widespread. The final choice on caliber between four modern options—. Ultimately, each of the below pistols are great choices overall, especially when you consider the breadth of options with this handgun. Good luck! In the business of making MA1s for over 40 years, Auto-Ordnance has been owned by Pennsylvania-based Kahr for the last half of that and in that period has really stepped up their game.

Of course, the company that kicked the whole thing off over years ago is still cranking out Mr. When it comes to top-tier s , Ed Brown has been making them in spades for a generation. Besides competition and carry models, they have a whole Tactical Line of which the SOCOM variant is so operator-level it will make you cry. A rail gun that is ready for any accessory, it is also suppressor- and optics-ready right out of the box.

Kimber, now centering their operations in a new facility in Alabama, has long been delivering a host of s to the market in multiple flavors.

Born in the U. One such country that started rolling their own, so to speak, is the Philippines, where Rock Island Armory got so good at it that they started exporting their locally made versions to the States in Since then, they have perfected their game, making rock-bottom see what we did affordable style pistols in a multitude of calibers to include their own interesting. No longer content to let Colt have all the fun, in the past decade or so, other American gunmakers with household name brand recognition have jumped into the market and done it well.

When it comes to. The company, now centered in New Hampshire rather than Germany, has a lot of irons in the pot but still found time to enter the market in In Sig fashion, they currently make several superb examples of the breed including Fastbacks with rounded grips, the all-black Nightmare, and the high-end Emperor Scorpion rail guns, the latter with a flat dark earth PVD finish over a stainless steel frame and slide, G10 grips, and SIGLITE night sights.

Illinois-based Springfield Armory started making their own forged receiver and frame A1 models in , introducing them in both. Now, fast forward 35 years, and Springer is still in the biz and doing a fine job of it, having supplied the Marines with updated Government models for several years.

Today, their Ronin series guns, still using forged slides, are hard to beat. With a s-ish throwback two-tone design of a hot salt blued forged slide with a lightweight satin Cerakote-finished forged alloy frame, they are available in both full- and commander-sized variants in either 9mm or.

Talking once again of imported s, Brazilian-based Taurus introduced their PT models over 15 years ago and have made them in a staggering variety of calibers including being one of the few to market a. Their stainless models are affordable and feature-rich, including Heine or Novak sights, front slide serrations, extended beavertail grip safety, skeletonized triggers, and a flat mainspring housing.

Best yet, with a large factory recently completed in Georgia, they are increasingly American made. Ultimately, each of the above pistols are great choices overall, especially when you consider the breath of options in with this handgun. What is it about the vaunted. We examine this classic. The most classic and timeless of American firearms, the has sleek lines that are instantly recognizable and a fan base that has spanned centuries.

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We take this striker-fired polymer frame pistol through its paces and. We use years of experience, deep research, and hands-on testing to scrutinize our product recommendations and provide you with as close to objectively accurate results we humans can muster. After all, it takes a village. Email the editor. The Best Weatherby Shotguns. The Best 6. Recce Rifle Ultimate Guide. Tavor TS12 Review. The Best.

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For self-defense purposes I recommend spending a little more money to get the rails so you can mount a laser or a light under its 5-inch barrel. The Springfield Loaded operator is yet another sleek looking pistol, it has pretty much everything you need such as accessory rail, two-tone styling and night sights.

It works perfectly so you will not be disappointed. The Sig Sauer Stx is an excellent option for duty carry. There are a few s in the Sigs offering but nothing quite beats the Stx. It comes with a wide mag well, nitron stainless steel slide and also a custom burled maple grips.

It looks elegant and it works. The guns in this range are affordable but they are more reliable than other pistols in their class, this is also the most popular category since most people just want a gun that shoots when you pull the trigger and does not care too much about the bells and whistles and tactical values. Other than the stampings on all their guns, Springfield Armory makes excellent guns, one of their best models is the Springfield Armory mil-spec.

It has a 5 inch barrel and you can choose between stainless steel or a parkerized finish. The Remington R1 Enhanced is also a good pistol for two reasons.

For one, Remington is one of the first manufacturers of cold contact in the ramp up production so you are getting the build expertise and it shows in the R1. Another reason I like the R1 is because of the future proof potential, you can upgrade the R1 to what you want it to be, that way you have a solid gun right out of the box and you have the option to upgrade it to suit your need better.

At this price range you start to see the quality beginning to fall off somewhat, it shows in the Ruger sr For one the trigger is a bit spongy, it lacks that crisp trigger you expect from more expensive models. There are not many s in this category that I can say are good, this is for those who want to get a taste of what the has to offer but does not want to risk spending a fortune on one.

For this, I recommend the Rock Island Armory Despite its unassuming looks, it does its job well which is more than I could ask for considering its price.

It shoots when you pull the trigger, it is reliable and reasonably accurate, so I can say with confidence that this is a safe first investment if you want to step into the world of s. Dakota Potts is a gunsmith, armorer and gun rights advocates. He enjoys learning about firearm history and technology. He has his own website at pottsprecision.