New 1911 failures

[Bigeasy]

Local Sheriff's Dept SWAT Team carried Springfield Armory 1911s, some w/ 40K rounds thru them, 100%.  They bought new Kimbers and sent them all back within 30 days with breakage and warranty issues.  They have new Springfields now.

Wow, so all the Kimbers broke or wouldn't work properly?  What department was that, specifically?

Larry

[Lloyd Smale]

out of the box colts and kimbers have been the best for me. Springfields the worse. All can usually be made to run with a little work though

[Savage]

I have carried 1911s since 1970 on duty as a LEO. Colt 70 series, 100%; ParaOrdnance X 2 100%; Springfield Armory 1911-A1 100%. Local Sheriff's Dept SWAT Team carried Springfield Armory 1911s, some w/ 40K rounds thru them, 100%.  They bought new Kimbers and sent them all back within 30 days with breakage and warranty issues.  They have new Springfields now. O erxperience with the others FWIW. Also carried a Detonics SS Mk VI 3" for a while as a backup in an ankle holster until I saw one in "just good" condition at a Gun Show for $1200.!  That one is a safe-warmer now.  Note: Brownell's sells Chip McCormick Power Mags at good prices and they are SS, and have never failed me in any of my 1911s.

I too would be interested in learning more about that dept. Extremely rare that any dept would put 40k rds thru any issue weapon, at least none I've been associated with or heard of. In my own experience, Springfields are good pistols. My preference is for the Kimbers.  I'm also having trouble with the 100% reliability for 40k rounds out of any pistol. In my 50+ yrs of shooting and carrying, both for competition and for a living, I have never seen such a pistol.
I too, have had good experiences with the CM mags in numerous 1911s. Just replace the springs every couple of years, and they keep on running!
Savage

[Mike in Virginia]

I'm beginning to think you can't do better than Springfield.

[Savage]

Springfield makes a decent 1911 for the money, but you can do better. If this is a shooter's first 1911, I'm betting he will be happy with it, as long as it runs most of the time, and is "Off Hand Accurate". Even an entry level 1911 is much easier to shoot well than most other pistol platforms. It's probably not a bad idea for a 1911 newbie to buy an entry level pistol and shoot it for awhile. That gives a basis for comparison should he later want to replace it with a more refined model.
Savage

[jimster]

I only bought 4 new 1911's in my life, 3 of them were made by Colt, they all worked out of the box, last one I bought new was in 2002, a Springfield mil-spec put together at Imbel Brazil, with the high three dot sights.  I have been lucky because that ran out of the box to, although I had to tweak it to get brass to go another direction besides the top of my head.  I would agree with the others here that made a simple list of what is usually wrong when there are problems, and those are easy fixes and not too expensive.  Although I have changed my mil-spec with other small parts over time, I still have all the parts that came with it, they all worked.  For a first 1911 I would just say get one with sights you can see, and buy from a place that has good customer service in case something more expensive is wrong with it besides those things listed already listed by Dee and williamlayton.  Springfield is a good one, far as I know the frames and slides are still forged at Imbel Brazil.  Where they get put together after that varies, but the basic pistol is there with all the holes in the right place. Their customer service has a good reputation and sometimes it does come down to just that, no matter what you buy.

[gypsyman]

MDI, if it was me, buy one in your price range. Take it out and shoot it. Guns are like cars. You can get 99 out of 100 good ones, just try and not be 100. Better to have one and try it, than keep wondering. gypsyman

[S.S.]

+1
To me plain jane is the way to go with a 1911. the more it is "Improved"
the less reliable it becomes!

I disagree on several levels. Perhaps I do not understand what you are saying.
Blessings

By improved I mean altered from it original design. All the things folks do to tighten them
up because they are loose.

[williamlayton]

I don't recall the Department---may have been the LA ??---but they had ejection problems with the external ejector when Kimber first used them and they gave them back.
I understand these issues have been worked out.
Personally, from a cosmetics standpoint, I don't like the external ejector. i have never owned a Kimber but if any one wants too they can send me theirs and I will have it fixed and put it in the rotation.
 
Blessings

[Savage]

William,
I'll even take those with that ugly non functioning external extractor! Hard to believe that a company like Kimber can't make a working external extractor when just about every one else in the world seems to. It's not exactly rocket surgery!
Savage

[williamlayton]

Assembly lines are simular to hand built but not the same---even hand built can have an issue.
Blessings

[FourBee]

mdi :   I am shopping/researching to buy my first 1911.
 Which manufacturer is most consistant at turning out good guns (Cheap too?).

mdi : I saw the RIA plane jane, matt finish M1911A1 and bought it.

mdi :  I just wanted to get off on the right foot in my 1911 quest...

Well; mdi:   for an inexpensive get off on the right foot 1911A1, you made a good choice in the RIA .  Should you ever decide one isn't enough, the sky is the limit, and you'll know whether you want a Colt, Kimber, Springfield or a Custom job, or maybe even another ROCK ISLAND.  Have fun shootin that RIA.  

[1911crazy]

I listed my new Auto Ordnance army ww2 copy 1911a1 as a low budget 1911 but its really much better than that.  It functioned flawlessly for 250rds, then up to 500rds and its now 500rds +++ and still flawless.

Now what are my chances of that happening again?  Can lightening strike the same spot twice?

I think getting a new 1911 with out of the box reliability/dependability is a crap shoot with any make, any price 1911.

I have a new brazilian manufactured springer w/ key safety but we haven't fired it yet.  Soon i'll post when we do put the heat to it.  I been hoping someday to purchase most of the low budget 1911's to see if they will function right out of the box or not.

I carried a wheel gun for many years because my 1911's didn't function good enough to trust as CCW guns. I finally have a few 1911's that i can trust with my life now.

[Mike in Virginia]

The more stuff I read about 1911s and all the quirks and problems, the more I think about going back to a six-shooter.  I love the concept of the 1911 platform--easy to hide, easy to shoot, plenty of oomph . . . , but a malfunction once every ten reloads is simply unacceptable.  A double-action six-gun that shoots with the same authority is difficult to conceal, slower to reload, and bulkier, not to mention the number of rounds they hold.  But still, a FTF or FTE during a gunfight is unthinkable.  If a man could be confident with six .44 Special rounds, and could manage to carry it regularly and comfortably, he could forget about failures.   

[Mike in Virginia]

Cancel that.  I went to the range today with my newest 1911 and shot it and shot and shot it some more.  No malfunctions, and busted lots of big rocks into little ones.

[Savage]

Great news, Mike! That's the kind of performance I'm accustomed to with mine. 
Savage

[Mike in Virginia]

Thanks for the response, Savage.  I've been worried about my previous offensive posts.  I'm glad we're still friends.  Mike

[Broom Rider]

Most of my 1911's are Colt's and most have not been trouble free.
RIA guns have a good following and they have the reputation of excellent customer service. There's people that have had issues and Ivan or Arnel in Nevada either fixed the gun or replaced it with absolutely no hassle given. They're good people. The RIA is made in the Phillipines. If you want a few bells and whistles they also make a tactical model and a Match model with BoMar style adjustable rear sight. If you get carried away with the RIA guns, they make a 6" version of the Match model and all of them are considerably under a grand.
Springfield is and always has been made by Imbel in Brazil. Most of the guns are completely made there but the upper end guns are shipped here incomplete and the fitting/assembly is done by SA.
It depends on how much $$$ you want to spend on which gun people will recommend but there's still no guarantee they'll run right.
SA Milspec gets recommended often as well.
Good luck with your 1911.