[BoneDigger]

OK, I went to Gander Mountain today at lunch to just look around. While I was there I decided to look at two compact 1911 variants. One was the Colt Commander and the other was the Para Carry. Bot guns were very heavy and I hear that they are prone to FTE and the such. I realize that these guns have a long history, and there is a certain charm to them, but is one of these WORTH $550 MORE than the PT145? If so, please explain the reasoning.

Todd

 

[gjk5]

Worth is subjective really. For those who worship at the altar of JM Browning nothing but a 1911 will do , and the more expensive it is, why the better it MUST be. 1911's are great guns but IMHO overpriced almost across the board.

 

[Flyer]

I have quickly noticed the same thing.

 

[michaelfm]

Many of the regular guys who shoot at my local range will shoot nothing but 1911's, and they have to be top name, top of the line, big bucks, etc. A braggin rights thing. (Some people call them gun snobs....) Hey, if you can afford it, and nothing less will do, fine by me. Myself, I'd rather spend $300 on a Taurus I can carry daily, and spend the $700 or more on something else (ammo, fishing trip, new set of truck tires, big screen TV, etc, etc) While those big name guns are nice, don't get me wrong, I just don't want to have $1000s tied up in guns that mostly sit in the safe. And if you wear out your Taurus, send it in. They should fix it for you!

 

[gjk5]

Yep, if I spend $2-$3K on a handgun it better jump out of the holster by itself, shoot the BG twice, run over and kick him in the nuts and then put on a suit and tie and represent me in court.

 

[Flyer]

Yep, if I spend $2-$3K on a handgun it better jump out of the holster by itself, shoot the BG twice, run over and kick him in the nuts and then put on a suit and tie and represent me in court.

Amen brotha!! :thumb:

 

[michaelfm]

You got that right! :clap: :yipee:

 

[Cimarron]

For another observation, you know I've noticed that a lot of those guys with high dollar guns will list all of the added/upgraded parts, trigger jobs, finishes, etc. that they've put in their guns. When I bought my first PT 24/7 I sat and looked the hardest for the "add-on" to spend money on... I finally decided that about all I could spend my money on was ammo to shoot it.

I've also noticed that a guy buys a $600 gun, puts $300 of "add-ons" on it... and then sells it for $750. Never thought that sounded real intelligent.

 

[michaelfm]

The guys I get a kick out of will do just that: Spend $300 to $400 on custom grips, sights, 4 extra stainless mags, custom holster, then shoot their smokey reloads that they didn't do right in the first place,and complain when the gun doesn't cycle right. :guns:

 

[Flyer]

lol ....

I'm really liking my 'cheap' 'pos' Taurus right now.

 

[gjk5]

When I took my CCW class in Dec. the old guy and his buddy next to me had both gone out and bought Kimbers to take the course, not regualr shooters at all. During the classroom portion we all checked out each other's guns and they BOTH said that the dealer told themto stay away from Tauri, unsafe and unreliable.

Next day at live fire they had two instructors helping them with the famous Kimber ejection problem on their $800 dollar guns while my $294 PT145 was blastin' away (along with the "cheap" Ruger next to me)


The whole "You get what you pay for" crowd cracks me up, that adage doesn't apply when half of what you're paying for is the name and the bling, nothing of substance.

 

[BoneDigger]

I had a similar experience at my CCL qualification last weekend. A woman shooting a 1911 variant (compact) got one lodged in the barrel and it would not extract. She ended up using the instructors "POS" Bersa Thunder .380 and it never had a hickup. Go figure...

The worst shooting of the day was by a guy that had a Sigma. Total score possible was a 250 (I shot 246, bummer), and he shot a 180!

Todd

 

[pgreen7436]

The worst shooting of the day was by a guy that had a Sigma. Total score possible was a 250 (I shot 246, bummer), and he shot a 180!

Todd

I really believe Sigma's are not for beginners. I struggled for a long time with mine until I could get the trigger squeeze down and stopped pulling it. Now I can do pretty well with it but prefer the Single Action Semi's much more.

 

[Flyer]

When I took my CCW class in Dec. the old guy and his buddy next to me had both gone out and bought Kimbers to take the course, not regualr shooters at all. During the classroom portion we all checked out each other's guns and they BOTH said that the dealer told themto stay away from Tauri, unsafe and unreliable.

Next day at live fire they had two instructors helping them with the famous Kimber ejection problem on their $800 dollar guns while my $294 PT145 was blastin' away (along with the "cheap" Ruger next to me)


The whole "You get what you pay for" crowd cracks me up, that adage doesn't apply when half of what you're paying for is the name and the bling, nothing of substance.

That is just to good. I had a smile after reading that.

 

[michaelfm]

Indeed! Need we say more?

 

[msgttbar]

My 2 45's. Gen 3 PT-145 and Rock Island 1911A.
A daily carry piece and a fun range gun. They both were under $350 new in box. Soooo you don't have to smoke and drink to have fun with a 1911. BTW it shoots like the original Colt with no FTF or feed problems.

 

[big jim]

I have never been a 1911 fan, my favorite was the Browning High Power and used one for 15 years. But I am a 45 ACP fan and transistioned to a Ruger P-97DC I bought on sale for $300. Built like a brick outhouse and very accurate with my reloads. Unfortunatly it went out of production a couple months after I bought it (it's retired now). I have for 40 years allways wanted a Kimber and saved up for a year to buy one. I would not call myself a gun snob but do like a totally stainless steel 1911.

Almost bought a PT-1911, but it was in 38 Super and I could not find a stainless PT-1911. So I did the next best thing purchased a PT-92 AFS

If I'm hunting it's my Taurus Tracker in 357 mag that goes with me.

and if Illinois ever makes it legal to carry in this State the PT-140 will go with me.

Not all 1911 owners are jerks or gun snobs, it's upto each individual's taste.

Jim

 

[Jeff56]

There are things to be said for 1911's. It is true that the most accurate auto's are almost always 1911's. But then again many competitions are setup so that you pretty much have to use a 1911 if you want to shoot.

The thing is I didn't want to buy a target pistol when I bought my PT-145. I had a Sig P-220, which is a tough as nails combat pistol and accurate to boot, but I had a hard time concealing it in the summer months. So I went looking for something smaller. I considered all sorts of guns. I had the money to buy a lot of different guns too. I could have gone as high as $900 if I wanted.

But I never found a single pistol I liked completely until I picked up this Taurus. I couldn't believe the gun I wanted was also the cheapest decent .45 I could find (Hi Points don't count for CCW and don't even get me started on a Jennings). I had heard all the rumors so I went home and did the research before I laid down my money. To my surprise the vast majority of 3rd Gen. Mil Pro PT-145 owners were way more than satisfied. They loved their guns. So I bought one knowing I had a good dealer that would back me up and knowing I had a lifetime warranty and knowing I had the Sig to fall back on just in case. But I haven't carried that Sig more than once or twice since then and that was only because I was riding an ATV and a shoulder holster is a blessing in those conditions. I didn't have a shoulder holster for the Taurus.

My Mil. Pro has not missed a single beat since I've owned it. I've put about 5000 rounds through it including lots and lots of different kinds of ammo looking for the best and not one single problem has come up. That is amazing for any gun.

I did notice a little wear on my slide just tonight. I may eventually need to send it back to Taurus but for now I'm just going to try some lube and hope it doesn't wear any more. I hate to put too much lube on because that can cause a lot of problems.

I will have to say I did have a problem tonight. I was cleaning the Taurus after doing some practicing and I was about to take the slide off. I was holding the gun sorta awkward because the release pin was giving me trouble when suddenly the slide kicked off of the catch and slid forward. My middle finger on my left hand was in the chamber at the time. OUCH! It didn't hurt too bad at first really but I couldn't get the thing off. It was like being caught in a bear trap (I guess - I haven't really been in a bear trap so I can't compare directly ). I even got my wife to try to pull the slide back because all I could grab with my caught hand was the slide. Aye Carumba! My wife couldn't pull the slide back. I was looking for something to hook the trigger guard on when I finally got the slide to move back to slide my finger out maybe 1/16th of an inch. Hmmm... It's starting to hurt pretty good by this point. So I did the same thing and moved my finger another bit. I did that about 15 times and finally got my finger out. I thought I was going to have to sleep with that thing on me. That spring is strong when you don't have a good grip. I couldn't reach around the slide with my left hand and grab anything at all. I was pushing against the chamber with my caught finger but get this - I was sticking my finger right into the chamber so it barely got any push at all.

You can bet I'll watch my pinkies better from now on. I've been cleaning guns for 45 years and I've never seen or heard of anything like that. Here's some good advice. This is no fun at all. I don't suggest anyone try this at home unless you're one of those people that like pain.

 

[bre346]

With all the talk about a 1911 I may have to start thinking about acquiring one.
Would my son-in-law's PT 945 count?

 

[olfarhors]

Well unfortunately Bre NO!!
there are 1911's then there are the "OTHER" 45 ACP's!