Anyone ever broken the safety on their 1911?

[Tombs]

You can't base build quality strictly on a $ sign! Does $5000 in cash trump $1000 and a man with skills? Nope!

Yes it does, every single time.

Unless you are one of the greatest 1911 smiths on the planet. Because $5k would get you a 1911 built from scratch by the best on the planet.
Even then, parts quality becomes an issue fast, like you discovered with your safety.

And kimbers aren't exactly great, so hoping to surpass one is like building a hotrod with the goal of beating a honda civic.

 

[philbert001]

I had the MIM plunger for the firing pin block on a Kimber TLE break in half. Turned that pretty Pistol into an expensive paperweight. The rear sight had to be removed in order to replace it. What a pain.
Since then, I prefer a 70 series without the extra stuff to make my pistol safer and (sometimes) less reliable. I also make it a point to try and replace cast or MIM parts that are critical to the pistols operation with tool steel parts.

Kinda where I'm at! What else can you do? I'm not paying Ed Brown $3000 to do what I can do myself!...Unless he has mammoth tusk grips and a mammoth scrotum holster for me!

 

[Tombs]

Kinda where I'm at! What else can you do? I'm not paying Ed Brown $3000 to do what I can do myself!...Unless he has mammoth tusk grips and a mammoth scrotum holster for me!

Because you know, grips and a holster are all that separates a hipoint from a cabot 1911.

 

[Pughead]

$1500 is the cut off between getting a better 1911 and flushing money down the toilet. Every penny past $1500 just flush, same thing. If GOD himself spent the seventh day hand crafting the greatest 1911 the world has ever seen, guess what? Not worth a penny more than $1500. Sure you can spend more and TELL YOUR FRIENDS ALL ABOUT IT (because that's what it's really about) but you still end up with a nice $1500 1911

 

[Pughead]

Kinda where I'm at! What else can you do? I'm not paying Ed Brown $3000 to do what I can do myself!...Unless he has mammoth tusk grips and a mammoth scrotum holster for me!

Oh he does! Only set you back $5000 extra!

 

[philbert001]

Because you know, grips and a holster are all that separates a hipoint from a cabot 1911.

I know purple means sarcasm...What's pink mean?...(I've got a few guesses!)

 

[Tombs]

$1500 is the cut off between getting a better 1911 and flushing money down the toilet. Every penny past $1500 just flush, same thing. If GOD himself spent the seventh day hand crafting the greatest 1911 the world has ever seen, guess what? Not worth a penny more than $1500. Sure you can spend more and TELL YOUR FRIENDS ALL ABOUT IT (because that's what it's really about) but you still end up with a nice $1500 1911

Going to seriously sit there and tell people that nighthawk is no better than an off the shelf kimber?



The average 100% US made, semi-custom 1911 runs ~$2500. Now, much above that and yes, you're just paying for specific features and extras.

 

[Pughead]

Going to seriously sit there and tell people that nighthawk is no better than an off the shelf kimber?



The average 100% US made, semi-custom 1911 runs ~$2500. Now, much above that and yes, you're just paying for specific features and extras.

Yup.

 

[NHT3]

As usual, serious question is lost and thread turned into a urinating contest.
I have seen them break, ( I believe I've replaced 3) probably a MIM part but I've had $1000 Springfields apart that had MIM thumb safeties.
1911s are from another era when pistols were hand made and IMHO you get what you pay for when you buy a 1911. Try Ebay for the safety, you can probably get it for a reasonable price, shipping included.
[FONT=&amp]NRA Life Member[/FONT][FONT=&amp]-- [/FONT]NRA Basic pistol instructor
Certified Glock armorer—GSSF Member

1911, M&P & Ruger MK III Mechanic

 

[1911ly]

I have a cheapy $450 1911. It's a Citadel with a abmi safety. It has better then 20k rounds threw it. I have only replaced the recoil spring. I have polished the hammer and sear contact area and replaced the trigger with one that has a over travel stop adjustment. I have a nice 4lb trigger that i love. I have had it about 4 years. It's a work horse. I have shot with guys that have Kimbers, Colts etc. Mine keeps up just fine. I am happy with it, just like Phil is with his.

 

[PGRChaplain]

I sent you a PM.

 

[88E30M50]

There is a place in our holsters for just about every level of 1911 out there. There is a lot of truth to getting what you pay for, but that is not always the case. I have a handful of 1911s that span quality levels from RIA up to an Ed Brown. I believe the difference in a bunch of them comes down to the metalurgy, or what type of metal is used in the construction of the gun. My RIA is a decent gun for the $479 I paid for it. It's got something like 1000 to 1200 rounds through it and I've found significant amount of peening in a couple of places that tell me the steel used in the frame and slide are not all that hard. The Ed Brown has an unknown round count, but is definitely used. Yet, the machine work is as sharp today as when milled at the factory. Of my two Colts, one was built in 1944 and the other in 2012. The 2012 is disappointing in a couple of areas but is a good gun with a bit of work. That was a $900 pistol. Is it twice the pistol that the RIA is? No, I don't think it is, but I also think it will be around and will be shot by my great grandkids some day where as the RIA will most likely not. The 1944 Colt looks like it was dug up from a forest in France somewhere but is still a great shooter.

When you disassemble the RIA, you see where the corners were cut. You can see the pits in the castings and flaws that they were Ok with shipping for the price. The softer steel cuts their cost by increasing the life of the cutting tools. Even with the softer steel, they still have a lot of internal tool marks that you don't see on the Ed Brown because the Ed Brown machinists sharpen or replace the bits on their tooling more often. With an RIA, you get lower grade MIM parts that sometimes fail. Not all MIM parts are equal, but none are close to tool steel in quality. When I swapped the internals out of my Colt for tool steel parts, I swapped the Colt MIM parts into my RIA to replace the cheaper MIM parts it contained. You can see the difference in the quality of the Colt MIM parts over the RIA MIM parts.

Another thing you lose when you buy lower end 1911s is production tolerances tend to be greater. For most folks, they never notice a difference, but occasionally those tolerances stack adversely and result in a marginal gun. That's why you see such a love/hate relationship with RIAs and other lower end guns. Most folks get a gun that has tolerances that somewhat equalize into a gun that works well but the guy that gets the gun that has the tolerances stacked either too tight or too loose comes to hate the fact that he cannot seem to get it to work no matter what he tries. Higher end 1911 builders have tighter tolerances and have a much smaller chance of building a marginal gun, if there is any chance at all.

But, as I said, I like all of my 1911s. But, they are not all equal. The RIA is worth what I paid for it, as is the Ed Brown. The 2 1911s that I have that will not make 50k rounds are the RIA and my Kimber Compact. The RIA seems like it will loosen significantly with use but the Kimber's issue is the aluminum frame. It's a great gun, but I dont' think that the aluminum framed 1911s are high round count guns. I'm guessing I'll find frame cracks eventually if I push that gun hard. The guns that I do expect to out last me and be shootable by my great grandkids are my Remington, Colts, Sig and Ed Brown.

But, saying that there is no value in a 1911 that costs more than $1500 is something that can only be said by someone that's never taken a higher end 1911 apart. It's like saying that there is no difference between a Ford Fusion and a BMW 3 series. They are both great vehicles that have their place in the world, but take them apart and you quickly see who invests big dollars in engineering and who builds to a price point.

 

[churchmouse]

Dare I say that this gun has better frame to slide fit than ANY Springfield or colt I've EVER seen!? I dare! It does! If I wanted to pay too much money for a poorly fit gun, it's easy enough to find one!
I think as soon as I replace any sub-par parts, I'll have $700 in a gun that's better than a $1000 Kimber! Come shoot with me! I'll prove it!

You have not felt my Springers. Colts, yeah, Springers ( above GI Mil-spec) no way.

I have fondled and shot a few of your model and for the most part they ran pretty well.

Do you ride the safety with your thumb???
Is so by a good replacement part for it.

Sounds like you will eventually have a very nice 1911 with all the parts and bits you are using......

 

[Hoosier8]

I had a bad one on a Springfield that would not pass the test where if you pulled 4 times with the safety on, the gun would fire. I went through about three of them until I found one that would pass all the tests. I picked them up at the 1500.

 

[PGRChaplain]

OP, Besides the Masen I messaged you about I have stock Colt used $10.00.

 

[philbert001]

Do you ride the safety with your thumb???
Is so by a good replacement part for it.

Sounds like you will eventually have a very nice 1911 with all the parts and bits you are using......

Sure do! Ride it like a rented mule! Frame to slide fit is great on this little Phillipino pistol, and as spare cash allows, I'll swap out everything else with good parts. At that point, I think I WILL have a great little piece!

I ordered the Wilson Bulletproof tactical, so hopefully, I'll never have to replace it again!

 

[churchmouse]

Sure do! Ride it like a rented mule! Frame to slide fit is great on this little Phillipino pistol, and as spare cash allows, I'll swap out everything else with good parts. At that point, I think I WILL have a great little piece!

I ordered the Wilson Bulletproof tactical, so hopefully, I'll never have to replace it again!

The safety's on your gun was not made with that shooting style in mind. The one you ordered will be just fine.

 

[drillsgt]

Kinda where I'm at! What else can you do? I'm not paying Ed Brown $3000 to do what I can do myself!...Unless he has mammoth tusk grips and a mammoth scrotum holster for me!

True, you can get all high quality parts to build a nice 1911 for around 1100.00, when you're paying 2500.00 or more for Wilsons etc. (which I like, don't get me wrong) anything above that you are paying for the labor, overhead, and profit but not many people can do the work themselves so you got to pony up the cash.

 

[philbert001]

True, you can get all high quality parts to build a nice 1911 for around 1100.00, when you're paying 2500.00 or more for Wilsons etc. (which I like, don't get me wrong) anything above that you are paying for the labor, overhead, and profit but not many people can do the work themselves so you got to pony up the cash.

Agreed! I intend to build my next one from scratch, and KNOW I'll be close to Wilson money by the time I buy all the tooling I don't already have, but the next one will be cheap! (Like lays chips! Ya can't just build one!)

Don't get me wrong, the high end 1911's make me salivate, same as anyone else, but I won't be droppin that kind of cash on a gun until I get these four kids out of the house! Plus, you pay for perfect, then you don't get to tinker and tune!

 

[Grelber]

$1500 is the cut off between getting a better 1911 and flushing money down the toilet. Every penny past $1500 just flush, same thing. If GOD himself spent the seventh day hand crafting the greatest 1911 the world has ever seen, guess what? Not worth a penny more than $1500. Sure you can spend more and TELL YOUR FRIENDS ALL ABOUT IT (because that's what it's really about) but you still end up with a nice $1500 1911

My Father shoots a $750 Springfield range officer. After you spend maybe 50 to get a decent trigger job it is a very nice gun and goes to your point that very nice 1911's can be had for well below 1500.

I'm lucky and have a Les Baer Premier 2 (about 1900 now I think if you shop around). The extra money takes you to a whole nuther level of tight tolerances and quality components, downsides are that break in takes a bit longer, if you want to play with different components (I went to a flat trigger recently and have played with different mainspring housings & etc) it seems like fitting is always more of a pain than it should be, and I don't know that I will ever be able to work on the gun without using the bushing wrench. Whether paying beyond $1500 for a better built gun was "flushing money down the toilet" or not is up to the individual I guess, personally I would buy the same gun again.