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Worst 1911 you have ever owned

30K views 197 replies 176 participants last post by  IronFilex 
#1 ·
These days it seems like 1911's are all fairly high quality even the cheapest, but there was a time when such wasn't the case. So which 1911 that you have owned in the past claims the worst spot.

I'll start off with my AMT 1911 hardballer. The biggest pos in the 1911 realm I have ever owned. It jammed and when I got it fixed it broke at the frame.
 
#149 ·
USED: Michigan Armament kit gun, I purchased in 1991. It was dirty, maintenance was non-existent, and it was beginning to rust... on the INSIDE! :eek:

I was smitten by, "1911." :rolleyes: It was cheap, and so was I - I was in college. I never fired a SINGLE round through it, though. I couldn't. It locked up tight on hardball, and how I kept from shooting myself while trying to UN-lock it, still amazes me.

I went to a pawn shop in a different town, and got a 24" color TV, a VCR (yeah, it WAS 'ancient of days,' then - it was a VHS though :p), and a hundred dollars cash in trade for it, and considered it a GREAT deal!!! I got the hell OUTTA there, before he tried to load it!!!


NEW: Norinco 1911. Early 1993. I was still cheap, and STILL in college (I went back to college in 1990 at age 23, FYI), and so was the Norinco. I'd always loved their ammo and AK's; I figured - "Hey - for $300 & change, how BAD could it be?!?!" :rolleyes:

SUCKTACULAR, as it turned out. :mad: Jammed on the SECOND mag of hardball. Needed a throat job worse than Joan Rivers. :mummy: Unloaded THAT one while working in radio in MS shortly thereafter.


After THOSE back-to-back experiences - my FIRST TWO experiences with 1911's, no less - I learned my LESSON, when it comes to 1911's. I ALMOST gave up on them completely after that piece of Norinco experience. I wouldn't buy another one, until late 1995, while in grad school in SC. Broke the piggy bank, & got a Springfield 1911-A1... and STILL have it today! :cool:

The Springer, a S&W, and 2 Kimbers later, the lesson is LEARNED - ya' GET what'cha PAY for. Period.
 
#150 ·
Maybe it is sacrilege to say it, but my Wilson Tac Elite.

It was very finicky about ammo. Even with the one it liked the best, Hornady 200 gr XTP's, it would jam about 1 or 2 rounds per hundred, which was not good enough. Most any other ammo was a non-starter. Sent it back twice, and the problem continued.

In fairness to Wilson, my other Wilson (Stealth) was flawless and a joy.

After someone put a Baer SRP in my hand, my two Wilsons were traded for two Baers.

The Baers have run any ammo flawlessly, and do it well.

I have been very happy with that trade.
 
#151 ·
Old thread resurrected but, I'll play. Worst hands down was a SA TGO I bought new right after I retired. This was a fancy 'Rob Leatham Legend-Series' in 45ACP, a Custom-shop gun. Where do I start, the Adjustable rear wouldn't hold it's setting, Elevation kept dropping about four clicks. Front sight- The Fiber-Optic inserts would fall out every time I could get it to feed and fire. And, this was the biggest problem, getting it to feed two rounds in a row, kept jamming halfway up the ramp. First time I took it out, it took almost 25 minutes to get ten rounds off. Tried everything, Extractor tension, shape, smoothed the ramp(It had a ramped barrel),tried eight different magazines, the four SAs that came with it, two 47Ds and two CMC shooting Stars. Tried three different FMJs, WWB, REM-UMC and Federal, tried my 230gr.RNL reloads and some ASYM I borrowed from a friend. Tried running it wet, dry and in-between. Tried new springs, nothing worked over an arduous three week period in which SA Customer-Service and the Custom-Shop kept claiming it had to be something I was doing.

Finally, I found the cure. Took it back to the LGS and traded up to a Kimber Pro-Carry II and a boatload of cash back(I had been keeping the owner updated on my problems with the SA), the Kimber ran great.
 
#154 ·
My two ( they are a tie) were a Auto Ordnance and a Fusion.

Both were a pieces of trash that did not work and had terrible workmanship.
 
#155 ·
My worst was a brand new Colt Enhanced model purchased about 1997. Fortunately I had in mind to send it to Teddy Jacobsen (Actions by T). After a complete action job, a new plunger tube, and his own brand of magic it became my best 1911 until I started building my own. Now I'm partial to my Caspian and Wilson based home builds.
 
#159 ·
Hands down my old Kimber Custom TLE II, I disliked it so much I took a 3 year break from 1911's. Failure to feed/extract, smug customer service, went through the standard "reliability" smith work and it got SLIGHTLY better. But still crappy to the point were people noticed lol. Not to mention I even rode it to about 500 rounds hoping it would improve with time, nope not at all.
 
#161 ·
The worst is a Taurus built in 2007. It is not fitted as well as the newer PT 1911's I own, but it has been very reliable. Looking at the rear of the gun where the slide mates with the frame, there is a pretty significant difference in the mate between it and the newer ones. The others I own are newer, so they don't even qualify for the worst of the best. Never owned a 1911 that wasn't 100% reliable, even if the fit wasn't what it should have been.
 
#164 ·
Wilson Combat KZ-45. The worst gun I have ever owned, period.

It would not run a mag without 1-2 FTF's or FTE's. Doesn't matter what kind of ammo. I tried the mags from my buddy's KZ-45 (which ran perfectly), didn't help.

Send it back to Wilson. I get a call.

"What Bubba gunsmith did you have work on this thing?"

"Ummm... you guys. It's a new gun, never touched by anyone but Wilson Combat."

"Oh."

They "fixed" it, sent it back. Still didn't work. I ran a total of 1,000 painful rounds through it, finally, and they gave me a refund on the gun.

I got a CQB after that, which ran perfectly.
 
#165 ·
Around 1990 I bought a Colt Gov't model in stainless. Initially looked good, but the quality of the build was so bad I got rid of it after about a year. That did not stop me from buying a Colt Commander in stainless. That was a fair quality pistol, with a typical 25 yard grouping of around 4 inches. My Kimber Eclipse has been excellent and one of the most accurate pistols I have ever shot.

THE most accurate was a S&W 4516. I have no idea why it was so incredibly accurate, but it was a breeze keeping it well below 2 inches at 25 yards from a sandbag rest. I'm still puzzled about that one.
 
#166 ·
the kimber ultra ten two

It sounded like a good idea. Compact double stack ten round polymer frame.. but it only fed premium ammo the aluminum ramp then started to wear then did not even like premium.then the hammer would not cock unless held. The reason for that was a cracked sear spring that had to be special ordered. Now that it is gone all my guns are steel and i am happy again.
 
#167 ·
A tie. An AMT Hardballer and an ODI Viking (think stainless Combat Commander with a factory Seecamp double action conversion). Both were total boat anchors, circa 1980.
 
#169 ·
Tough question at best----would be a tie between a Randall and a Ed Brown Custom Classic. The Randall had to have work done on it (feedramp angle changed and new front bushing fitted) to make it reliable and accurate. The Brown I have not fired since my Smith (Jess Gibson) welded up the hood (poor fitment) and fixed the garden sprayer trigger pull. Will do that in a week or two.
 
#170 ·
I've owned a number of 1911's over the years. Truth is I wish I still owned them all.

I've always taken my 1911's to my trusted gunsmith for a reliability 'treatment' pretty much right out of the box. Some needed it, some didn't. Since my g.s. helped me put the first few hundred rounds through each, he could identify any problems on the spot.

I guess the "worst" 1911 I've owned was an Officers Model. It was loose in every possible way. But then again, it was reliable.

The way I see it, even if it won't shoot, it's still prettier than a Glock:biglaugh:
 
#171 ·
Own Currently:

Springfield Ultra Compact SS--Broken extractor(replaced with WC Bulletproof extractor), but is amazingly accurate for a 3.5" barrel. I love the way this gun points and shoots. This is a keeper for me.

Owned and regretting selling:

Taurus PT1911ALR--Shot every kind of ammo I put through it, and NOTHING ever broke on it. Will probably get another one eventually.


Not owned but shot plenty:

Springfield LTWT Operator Commander--Flawless, on my shortlist for next 1911 purchase


Kimber TLE/RL Commander model--absolute jam o matic, couldn't get any type of mag to work in it without FTF.


Colt Government Size model, not sure which model it was--not a bad shooter, had occasional FTE, but overall not bad.

Would like to shoot someday:

Wilson Combat-Any

Dan Wesson--Any

This is my experience to date.....
 
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