Posted: 12/1/2004 6:40:54 PM EDT
| O.K. I think I'm going to join the ranks of 1911 owners soon. It has nothing to do with caliber ( I have a taurus 92 in 9mm which is a pretty nice pistol ) shortcomings. I just want to start making a collection of wwII type weapons. Shootable. Not just to look at. So I'm not above replicas. So, I just looked at the springfield GI version. I think I'm in love. The 1911 is just so comfortable compared to the taurus 92. It's like it was made for the hand. But anyways, I've got a couple of questions. Those sights, they're pretty small. To me it doesn't seem like I'd care that much because I'm not a race gun shooter. What do ya'll think? Plus I like the looks of the colt WWI replica and to boot it has the model 70 firing mechanism, which means you get that firing pin block in order to carry one in the chamber, hammer down, if you want. Plus it's got that deep blue finish compared to the sandpaper finish of the parkerized springfield. Then there's always the kahr arms. Or, I could go with something a little more modern with better sights but that would kind of defeat the purpose of collecting wwII guns. What do you all think? Which one would you get. And if there are any more choices, feel free to fill me in. |
| First, try decaf........second, take a deep breath.........Good, much better now.......Springfield offers a "Mil-Spec." version which is very similar to the GI, but with a couple of updated improvements.....Slightly better sight (taller with 3-dot I believe) but in the same style as the orig. Only a trained eye could tell the diff from the outside, but much easier to shoot with. Also, has a lowered and flared ejection port. Again, undetectable to the casual observer, but aids in reliability in ejection. One or two other diffs but you'd have to check out the springfield web site and/or catalog. |
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The Colt repro costs a whole lot more. It's a much better 1911 than the SA milspec. But if you are just looking to start a collection of WWII type weapons, go with the SA milspec. You're going to need the money for the other weapons. Edit to add: What's wrong with the caliber? It helped win the war as a submachinegun and sidearm damnit. 
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...................nevermind
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IMO the Auto Ordinance version is closer to the original WWII version: www.auto-ordnance.com/ao_1911pkz_f.html Ignore the  above........, but do stick to fmj/hardball if your choice is the non-highspeed 1911.Mike |
I got a 1911 Milspec Parkerized... and I shoot it regularly. I don't need all that fancy crap on a 1911 to shoot well. I plan on eventually getting a Stainless Milspec, then just having it accurized and having the trigger tuned. Maybe a different rear sight, but that's it. |
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One point in the original post was inaccurate: The model 70 guns DID NOT have any sort of firing pin block. It's the series 80 (and later) that have this. At any rate, having the hammer down on a loaded chamber is a bad idea with the 1911, mostly because there is no truly safe way to drop the hammer. Cocked & locked is safer. |
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I don't want to sound mean, but you need to do a bit more research about 1911's--these have been written on here and especially at 1911forum. GI M1911's and M1911A1's had small sights--the best replicas are the WWI and WWII replicas by Colt. But when you're in the territory of that amount of money you could also be looking at the new series 70 Colt repro, original series 70 and pre-series 70 commercials, shooter grade USGI and Argentine military/police 1911's. If you don't mind the series 80 firing pin block--then look at the new roll mark 1991--and NO IT DOES NOT allow you to carry hammer down on a loaded chamber--I only yell, because this idea is a threat to the safety of you and those around you. The SA GI ain't too bad for the money from what I've been told--it has different firing pin diameter, short frame tangs, post-war commercial style thumb safety, MIM and cast internals, and the Internal locking system Mainspring housing. The SA "milspec" has a few more "upgrades" from true milspec. If you could find a 5" Norinco that hadn't been changed from stock (homegunsmithed), it would be very close to WWII USGI at a reasonable price. All of the above choices have forged frames and slides. If anything in the above post, reads like code to you, you need to do more research. -Chad |
I personally would rather shoot a 1911 that has a beavertail style grip safety over the Milspec. That's really my biggest issue with the old school 1911 style. |
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Thank you all for the responses. I'm going to respond to all but in no certain order and direct quote. Thank you for the tips on the no hammer down. I have a 92 fs and it can be carried that way, as I thought many do, so I guess I was mistaken on the 2 issues. The model 70 series doesn't have it and even if it does it's not safe. O.K. I didn't realize that. I know the real wwII guns had small sights, they're just really small and I'm skeptical about how they'd work. (although like I said I'm not going for speed, just fun and possibly the occaisional crazed drunk driver in northern alabama{another story}). I got no problem with the .45 caliber, and I even admit that it probably has the edge over the 9. I was just pointing out my motivation was not because I thought my 92fs wasn't an excellent choice for self defense. As far as hammer bite goes, I rented the milspec once and did not have that problem so I wasn't sure what the fuss is all about. I have smaller hands though and maybe a little less meat to be in the way on that part of the hand. Either that or I was inadvertantly holding too low and didn't know it. And how much is one of them colts?????? I definitely like the price on the GI .45. $ 439.00 at gander mountain. And I may trade something to knock it down a little but I'm still debating. It seems the consensus is to go with the "milspec" version instead of the "GI". Which may be the right way to do it. Them grips that say US in the middle on the GI version isn't really exactly what they had back then either, so the point is none of them are exact and you may as well go with something with a little better sight picture, eh??? Wanna know something weird, I actually like the way the look better without the palm swell, but that isn't a big deal to me. I could always change that too. There we're probably plenty of them floating around in WWII without the a1 upgrades. Don't you think? |