Best places to look at/buy 1911 in Maryland

[Biggfoot44]

My list :

Flat Mainspring
Long Trigger
At least a little bit of beaver tail , just to prevent bites
Thumb safety a little bigger than GI , but not too much
Sights a little more visible than GI

Non ambi preferred
No rail preferred

 

[rseymorejr]

He told me he bought it from a friend out west. That's about it. I was just confused that the frame indicates it's a Remington but the slide has Colt on it. I'll keep digging I'm sure there is more to the story. My dad's texts are very brief.

The one I got from the CMP had a Colt frame and Remington Rand slide

 

[TheOriginalMexicanBob]

My list :

Flat Mainspring
Long Trigger
At least a little bit of beaver tail , just to prevent bites
Thumb safety a little bigger than GI , but not too much
Sights a little more visible than GI

Non ambi preferred
No rail preferred

Everything you need...nothing you don't.

 

[MDElite]

I went through the itch to get a new 1911 a few years back, and I'll kind of relate what I went through to get what I ended up with.

Initially, I was all about the Springfield Range Officer's model - I figured that would be a great way to go and a great bang for the buck.

The more reading I did, the more I started to look into other features that I thought would be nice to have:

⦁ checkered front strap
⦁ beavertail backstrap
⦁ ambidextrous safety
⦁ adjustable rear sight (not necessary, but something I thought I wanted)
⦁ magwell
⦁ tritium night sights
⦁ Skeletonized/lightweight trigger and hammer
⦁ accessory rail
⦁ stainless steel - I'd never owned a stainless pistol
⦁ match grade barrel

Clearly, the Springfield RO model doesn't have many of those features, so I set about looking for pistols that did, which led to some other pistols, and additional questions, such as how man lines per inch I wanted for checkering.

I had a progression of pistols I'd landed on while I was saving money, and at each point, I thought, well, if I spend a few dollars more, I can get x, y and z, etc. I looked at Springfield, Remington, Sig Sauer, Smith & Wesson, Kimber, Colt...

Ultimately I decided on the Dan Wesson Valor. It had just about everything I wanted on a single pistol, no MIM parts (I can't see a line for the slide release on either of the DW pistols I currently own.) and a combination of aesthetics and features that I really liked. The sights aren't adjustable, but I was willing to live with that for everything else I got, plus at the time I could order directly from CZ USA and get a pretty deep military discount that put that pistol in the same price class as anything else.

I have not been displeased with this pistol at all. It has run like a champ from day 1 - it eats any and all ammo I've ever tried with it, and it's more accurate than I am. It may not be a Wilson, Nighthawk, Ed Brown, Les Baer, etc, but it's still an heirloom quality gun that will stand the test of time and will be enjoyed by my kids' kids, God willing that we still have the right to own them in the years after I'm gone.

So, this is my long-winded post to say that buying a pistol like a nice 1911 isn't something to take lightly. Really decide what you want, and find the gun with the features that has the most of that from a maker that has a solid reputation for quality. Don't settle because that's what your LGS happens to have the in store - be willing to wait to get exactly what you want. You won't regret it.

I'll absolutely own more Dan Wessons in the future because of how nice my first two are. I swapped the original grips with some VZ Operator II's. The only things missing on my DW Silverback were an ambidextrous safety, and a magwell, but I installed the Stan Chen magwell myself, and I'm trying to figure out what to get for an ambi-safety.

View attachment 462613 View attachment 462615

I like the Wilson Combat bulletproof safety. I think it's the tactical model.

Look into the 10-8 Performance Armorer Block. It makes filing the ambi a breeze.

Armorer Block, 1911/2011

www.10-8performance.com

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