Sharp Springer and photograph.

And welcome to the Armory!

I think its good to remember that the 1911 is a totally different concept in gun than the newer polymers or for that matter most new guns. Its one of the main reasons they are still so popular.

I kind of think of it as one is a disposable gun and the other not. The 1911 was never designed to be maintenance free from point A to point B but last literally forever with maintenance. It was designed and first produced in quantity back when part interchangeability was still fresh in everyone's minds.

People take different approaches to 1911s. Some buy them and keep them as is which works very well for those who don't shoot them a lot or plan to. Others buy one then trick it out and yet others buy one already tricked out. In many respects, the 1911 is much like the AR in that you can modify them probably more than any handgun on the market.

Another aspect of 1911s is other than just a basic gun, they can also be what we call a "Safe Queen" or almost a work of art that many have issues shooting or carrying due to their collectability and cost. Many of us, including me have more than one typically a top of the line work of Art and a tricked out lower model for range and high volume shooting. A common warning on boards when someone buys a top of the line is "Don't let it be a safe queen." A lot of that advice comes from personal experience.

In choosing a 1911, its a very good idea to keep how you intend to use it in mind from the very start.

Personally I'm one that if you are indeed going for a work of Art, go for it all the way type and get real beauty. Mine is a Kimber Eclipse which is just beautiful gun. My target gun is a Springfield Custom.

Now I like my guns but they aren't the only one's out there and I know enough to know someone can trick most of them out to be exceptional guns.

Tj

I agree! I am shooting an auto ordinance and a springfield! Nether come close in price to the DW! I cant say enough good about the springfield and there customer service Look into there trp line! Kimber Great guns

thanx for the kind words

agreed.

for the price range, i would take a springer mc operator or trp over a DW. just MHO

This post has been edited by HAL-2000: October 20th 2009 10:19 PM

That TRP is full of MIM parts. DW is all Ed Brown.

not all dw parts are brown-the trigger is chip mccormick, i think the slide stop is too. and the mag release is from an anonymous vendor lol.

springer's mim is good quality. true, there is some bad quality mim stuff out there, but not from springer. springers pro model (which has mim parts) is the only 1911 submitted for the FBI HRT 20,000 round tests that could pass all the tests-including reliability and durability.

both DW and springer are good quality stuff, i just prefer springer.

as for dw parts, you can find just as many pics of broken dw parts online as springer. it's rare on both quality makers, but it happens.

This post has been edited by HAL-2000: October 21st 2009 12:07 AM

I don't know which is funnier, you trying to re-badge a TRP as a Kimber, or Dan Wesson as an Ed Brown.

Funny how all those happy TRP owners, LEOS and civilians alike, have been fooled into believing their TRP is a quality gun.

lmao

I would like to see some examples of current production DW small parts failures. The FBI selected the SA because SA was the only one who had the capacity to sevice the 100's of guns sold. Regular maintenance of all pistols was part of the contract.

Don't knock MIM. Granted, they have no place on a high end gun, but in lower end guns they have, and will, work well. Many MIM parts are made to a higher surface hardness than many forged parts. The only time you'll run into issues, is with crappy MIM stuff, stuff with voids, or stuff that hasn't been ground properly and treated properly. QC is much more important with MIM, but get some good parts, and there's nothing wrong with it.

I doubt that there will be many failures in Dan Wesson 1911s Oak. They are great pistols, definitely one of the best for the price.

As for your Springfield/FBI comment, do you believe that Colt, Kimber, or Smith and Wesson would not have the ability to service their pistols?

Look, Oak, I'm not bagging on any of your guns. You have some very nice 1911's that I would love to personally own. The thing is that you always talk about Dan Wesson and Les Baer like they are the only 1911's worth owning.

For the money, TRP is not any better than a Kimber. I never said it was not any good. It is over priced though.

I will put my Dan Wesson Valor up against any Ed Brown or any other 1911. Any time. It's not as Prestigious as my $3500 Harrison / Les Baer, but in fit and function it compares favorably.

This post has been edited by oak1971: October 21st 2009 12:28 AM

you can google the dw issue you asked to see, that's how i found it. everyone has broken parts now an then, springer and dw included. it's certainly not a widespread issue with either one, but there are always rare manufacturer defects with any gun.

as for the fci test comment-i think springer passing all the fbi's tests had a little to do with it's adoption........

sorry double post

This post has been edited by HAL-2000: October 21st 2009 12:31 AM

There were others, including Les Baer. They refused the contract due to the requirements of maintaining the guns for the life of the deal.

That's because they are.

What did YOU say? Kimber make a good 1911 with MIM parts. So does SA.