To each his own! I wouldn't really call a Kimber Ultra a high-end pistol - $1K and a plastic mainspring housing is more what I'd call a midrange 1911 - but they are perfectly nice to shoot. I find it strange that they use plastic parts, though, and that alone might push me toward a Springfield in that price range.
Hey now...the stealth bomber is made out of plastic! I'm staying away from 1911s just because they can get so expensive. Plus I have small hands, so they aren't comfortable for me.
With most pistols in the $500 range, Kimber is definitely higher end. I wonder what the average price for a pistol is?
I didn't mean to be snarky. 1911s are just more expensive than modern pistols on the whole. $500 will buy only a very modest 1911 (whereas it will buy an excellent, bombproof polymer gun like a Glock). $1,000 will buy a midrange 1911 like a Kimber or Springfield. $1,500 will buy what I'd consider a high-end production 1911, like a Springfield TRP. If you want a truly high-end 1911, like a Les Baer, Ed Brown or Wilson Combat, you're talking $2,000 to get your foot in the door, and can easily spend $3-4K or more. Personally I am a Glock guy, but I totally get the appeal of the 1911.
I'm going to go with brain washing....
Money spent =/= quality level all the time. And not really for "high end" 1911's. After now doing complete dis-assemblies on them, I can tell you that there is very little difference between most decent 1911's at a good price and the "high-end" ones at ridiculous prices.
The thing is, a "decent" 1911 is not a cheap proposition - it's a $1,000 gun. And there is absolutely a difference between the high-end stuff and the mainstream stuff. Certainly there are diminishing returns as you spend more, but a TRP is a much better-built item than, say, a garden-variety Kimber, much less a relative cheapie like a Charles Daly (which, in turn, still costs more than a Glock). I am anti-1911 at all, but one can't credibly argue they aren't expensive relative to alternative choices.
Personally if I were buying a 1911 I'd probably get a Springfield Professional, but honestly I love expensive toys and I hate feeling like I should have spent a bit more to get something better. I by no means need a pistol that nice, any more than I need my JP rifle.
Rock River doesn't make 1911s anymore, do they?
They sure do...friend bought one a few weeks ago
but I meant to type Rock ISLAND not Rock River for the 1911
derp.
sorry
RRA for the AR for sure tho
RRA does have a poly 1911 coming out
I hate videos like that
"Oh look a box. Wonder what's in it?"
"OH WOW A GUN!"
"Lets touch everything in the case"
"OK done"
Shoot the thing, field strip it, show us how it looks when carried. Videos like that make me want to punch the person that made them in the face.
the title does say "quick look" not "detailed review"
I didnt think you were snarky.
$2000 for a nothing special gun just doesn't make sense to me. That's two really nice non-1911 guns. I love the way 1911s look. I love their history and how they are still popular. I just can't justify spending that much without getting a big reward.
Same reason I don't want an AR. So much money involved and its not something I can use every day.
For some, function has a base price for guns and that is pretty much the only price acceptable to them. Other 'hobbyists' there are 'coolness factor' price allowances which are tough to justify dollar for dollar to those not sharing the same desires.
A Sig p226 can generally be had for ~$900, but when I saw a limited production equinox in 9mm, I had to have it at $1250. Only one example of how 'desire' costs me extra money in this expensive hobby
$2k isn't necessary for a well functioning 1911 that addresses your interests as you stated. However, if the timing is right, your interests in the 1911 certainly serves a justification of getting a $1200 1911 over a $600 polymer handgun or a $900 Sig.
That's awesome that its local. Its one of the reasons I want a rock river ar and 1911.....its as local a gun as I can get
I wonder what the average price for a pistol is?
For the record, Rock River is ONLY producing the poly 1911 according to their website. And please don't believe that Rock Island is local to IL. Rock Island guns are made in the Philippines
The thing is, a "decent" 1911 is not a cheap proposition - it's a $1,000 gun. And there is absolutely a difference between the high-end stuff and the mainstream stuff. Certainly there are diminishing returns as you spend more, but a TRP is a much better-built item than, say, a garden-variety Kimber, much less a relative cheapie like a Charles Daly (which, in turn, still costs more than a Glock). I am anti-1911 at all, but one can't credibly argue they aren't expensive relative to alternative choices.
Personally if I were buying a 1911 I'd probably get a Springfield Professional, but honestly I love expensive toys and I hate feeling like I should have spent a bit more to get something better. I by no means need a pistol that nice, any more than I need my JP rifle.
And I have my Girsan I will go toe to toe with any high end 1911 out there. I've stripped it and compared it part to part with many other higher priced 1911's. There were some parts that I upgraded to my preference, but seriously it is literally as good as any other "high end" 1911 out there. Shown the disassembled pics of it.
Now I've seen some people get some 1911's that were literally badly machined. There are some pics of someone that disassembled a few Taurus 1911's and they had burrs and tooling marks all on the inside of the firearm. Obviously not a "good" 1911 with bad machining and attention to detail marks on those.
The difference you get with a "high end" 1911 versus just a good one that doesn't have bad parts or machining problems is that the "high end" is tuned to some semi famous person's shooting preferences. Take a Les Baer. It's a damn good 1911. Arguably one of the best. The only thing that separates it from my Girsan seriously is the tuning to the firearm. A tuning that if I wanted a Les Baer style tuning I can easily do to my 1911.
Even Taurus 1911, with the less than idea machining marks, can have some TLC put into it to make it just as nice as anything out there. Of course taking the time to polish a $700 is pretty stupid an idea when one can get something around that price range in another 1911 and now have to put that much effort into the gun. Still, one can get some RIA or Tisas and put just a little effort and time into the gun to make it the rival of any Les Baer out there. Might require a few swapped out cheapie parts from Brownells though. Still a far lesser price for the entire setup.
So I went to the range again this past Saturday. 4th time with my sr1911 and this time, i had 4 misfeeds (never had one before this visit). Same type of ammo (blazer brass though come to think of it, it might have been pmc bronze).
On a side note, I've had my heart set on the walther ppq for my CCW. At the range, I rented a Walther PPS 40 caliber and holy guacamole, that was a painful gun to shoot! My trigger finger felt like it was being cut and the webbing of my primary hand would hurt with each shot. I haven't been able to find a PPQ locally but I'm hoping the ergonomics on the PPQ are much better than the PPS. Anyone have an opinion about the two?
Misfeeds on a 1911 are often extractor tension or a dirty feed ramp.
Check the OAL of the rounds you're using against known good rounds. Shorter = worse typically.
Could also be magazine or guide rod/spring.
Was it the same round number in every magazine or was it sporadic?
Misfeeds on a 1911 are often extractor tension or a dirty feed ramp.
Check the OAL of the rounds you're using against known good rounds. Shorter = worse typically.
Could also be magazine or guide rod/spring.
Was it the same round number in every magazine or was it sporadic?
Sporadic. 2 of them were with the first round. The other two were roughly rounds 3 and 4. I thought it could be some limp wrist action but I figured that wouldn't cause the first round to misfeed
You have what is, no doubt, a perfectly adequate, cheap, Turkish gun which cannot compare favorably in any meaningful respect to something like a garden-variety Springfield or Colt, much less a Baer, Wilson Combat or Ed Brown.