Re: Best 1911 for under $1000
1911's are a very personal weapon. You need to do your homework and decide what is important to you and what isnt. After you come up with a list of minimum requirements you then seek out the manufacturer that builds that pistol. If that pistol is out of your price range you can make the decision to settle for a lesser weapon or save your pennies and buy the gun that you will always want. In the big picture spending a $1000 on a gun or $2500 is a negligible difference compared to the literal buckets of money you will spend on ammo over the life of the gun. The 1911 is a design that was invented before the advent of the modern production techniques we now use to manufacture weapons. It was built by craftsmen, gunsmiths, because that's how it was done back then. The dated design does not lend itself AS WELL to the modern way of doing things. This is why the $2000 plus dollar 1911 exists. These pistols combine the best of both modern processes and good old school gunsmithing, by hand (an expensive and time consuming process) The sub $1000 1911 market is a hit or miss world, the pistols recieve very little hand fitting and use a lower quality parts list and as a result end up being less reliable than a modern combat pistol design. These things may only matter to the person who will carry a 1911 into harms way, a dedicated range pistol need not function reliably 100 percent of the time. This opens the door to a few pistols that I feel are a good deal at their price point.
Some basics I feel are important in a 1911:
-made in America (this can be much harder to decipher than you think)
-forged frame and slide (much stronger than cast)
-all tool steel internals (m.i.m. parts are fine but not the best)
-standard modernized features (lowered and flared ejection port, dovetail sights, beavertail grip safty ect... all have become standards for a functional reason, so unless buying the 1911 for nostalgia alone I would recommend these features.)
-tight barrel lock up (this is much more critical than frame to slide tightness, which is almost purely done for aesthetics.)
That said, personal experience has taught me:
-that Springfield makes some decent pistols around a grand and has good customer service
-the litle known Doublestar 1911 has an impressive parts list and performed well
-Kimber will never get a dime from me, nor will Para or Taurus
-cheap 1911's are a gateway drug to semi and full custom, bank account draining, divorce causing, 1911's....
