First Post, looking for a .45 acp

[NikatKimber]

My personal advice, is buy a different caliber for a first gun. My first was a .45, and even 4 years ago when ammo was cheap I found myself wishing I'd gotten a 9mm so I could shoot it more. Had a buddy do the same thing. Told me "I want a .45" despite me telling him he'd be able to shoot a 9mm a lot more. No beans, but now he wishes he'd gotten the 9mm first. I think what rubbed it in, was at a gunshow, he bought 500 rds of .45 acp for $170, and I bought 1k rds of 9mm for $170.

My suggestion, is to shoot a couple .45s, and shoot a couple 9mms, and see which you like, and which you'd rather pay to shoot.

1911s are beautiful guns, but they're kinda the hot rods of the gun world. Expensive new, and require tinkering to keep going, or if you pay someone else to do the tinkering for you, you still have more frequent maintenance than other more modern pistols.

I bought a Kimber for my first. And I still have it. Great gun, but I wouldn't buy it again as a first gun knowing what I know now. It was extremely frustrating at times when my $650 gun wasn't running right.

 

[eby42]

I love my full-sized Kimber TLE II, FWIW. I'd definitely recommend Kimber, though I'm personally a fan of full-sized 1911's.

One thing you might consider in that price range are the polymer offerings from Heckler & Koch, particularly the HK45 (big fan of the ergonomics) but of course also the USP.

 

[Soulman]

My personal advice, is buy a different caliber for a first gun. My first was a .45, and even 4 years ago when ammo was cheap I found myself wishing I'd gotten a 9mm so I could shoot it more. Had a buddy do the same thing. Told me "I want a .45" despite me telling him he'd be able to shoot a 9mm a lot more. No beans, but now he wishes he'd gotten the 9mm first. I think what rubbed it in, was at a gunshow, he bought 500 rds of .45 acp for $170, and I bought 1k rds of 9mm for $170.

My suggestion, is to shoot a couple .45s, and shoot a couple 9mms, and see which you like, and which you'd rather pay to shoot.

1911s are beautiful guns, but they're kinda the hot rods of the gun world. Expensive new, and require tinkering to keep going, or if you pay someone else to do the tinkering for you, you still have more frequent maintenance than other more modern pistols.

I bought a Kimber for my first. And I still have it. Great gun, but I wouldn't buy it again as a first gun knowing what I know now. It was extremely frustrating at times when my $650 gun wasn't running right.

Well said. Maybe a Glock 19 or M&P 9c.

My first pistol I bought was a Springfield GI 1911 from OPS. I didn't have it very long before I bought a Beretta 92FS Inox from (think it was) GMThunder. The 9mm is a lot more fun and a lot cheaper to shoot. That's why my two fun guns are my S&W 18 22lr and Beretta M9.

 

[BuddyL]

For a 1st handgun the best 1911 .45, is a Glock 19 9mm. Half the money of your 1911 equals shoot more. A pistol you will not have to do anything to except get a holster and shoot more. You can for the same money get extra mags and ammo and shoot more. The G19 is easy to carry, easy to put by your bed, easy to keep in your vehicle and easy to shoot more. While you are trying to brake that 1911 in so it will run without hanging up you can get a G19 and shoot more. Every 1911 listed above is way prettier than a G19, but are you buying pistol for pretty or buying so you can shoot more. If you are wanting and can't get by the .45 thing look at the Glock 21SF or my peronal favorite and all time carry pistol the Glock 36. The old saying "beware of the man who only owns one gun, he probabley knows how to use it" is true because he gets to shoot it more. See the trend...........
have a day
bud

 

[Big50]

For a 1st handgun the best 1911 .45, is a Glock 19 9mm. Half the money of your 1911 equals shoot more. A pistol you will not have to do anything to except get a holster and shoot more. You can for the same money get extra mags and ammo and shoot more. The G19 is easy to carry, easy to put by your bed, easy to keep in your vehicle and easy to shoot more. While you are trying to brake that 1911 in so it will run without hanging up you can get a G19 and shoot more. Every 1911 listed above is way prettier than a G19, but are you buying pistol for pretty or buying so you can shoot more. If you are wanting and can't get by the .45 thing look at the Glock 21SF or my peronal favorite and all time carry pistol the Glock 36. The old saying "beware of the man who only owns one gun, he probabley knows how to use it" is true because he gets to shoot it more. See the trend...........
have a day
bud

One of the salesman At H&H told me the Kimber was the best bang for the buck. I would look for a good used Colt.

 

[BigRed82]

Caliber issue: .45 is nice to have. Expensive to shoot. The guys saying to go with cheaper ammo have a good point. I only have a .45 now, but I started out on 9mm. No matter what, go get yourself a .22 pistol. Ruger Mk model or a Browning Buckmark would be my suggestion. This is the cheapest and best way to get in some good practice. $30 gets you 1,000 rounds of plinking fun.

First, consider how much you plan to shoot.
Let's say you shoot 200 rounds every month. Let's even go more conservative and say 100. At the very cheapest price then - we're talking $33/mo for 12 months = about $400 in ammo. That's 100 rounds/mo. 25/week. 1,200 rounds a year. That's not much. Trust me. Back when 9mm was cheaper, I was willing to go through 1,000 rounds of 9mm in a month. Some guys will go through that in a week or two.

Let's look at 9mm. At the same rate of 100rnds/mo @ the cheapest price would be $18/mo for 12 months = about $215.
$400 will buy you around 2,200 rounds of 9mm instead of 1,200 of .45.
That is a 1,000 round difference. Just to put it into practical numbers. That provides a lot of practice. Practice makes better.

9mm handgun options:
Glock, S&W M&P, Springfield XD, Walther P99 - these are the ones I suggest the most. All striker fired. No external safeties to fumble up when in a self defense setting.

For those who want a DA/SA, look at SIG (P226/229/239), H&K (P2000, USP), CZ (P-01, PCR, 75, etc), Armalite (AR-24) and Berettas. Some will try to spin that these first two brands have "better" quality than others. All of these arguments are Ford vs Chevy, Toyota vs Honda. All of the manufacturers I have listed have excellent quality and are reliable. Every manufacturer can turn out a lemon, so don't worry about which is "best". Best is in the eye of the beholder. Handle all of them and see which feels best. Rent and shoot the top 3-5 that you like. Buy the one you prefer.

One more I'll mention is the Browning High Power. I haven't owned one of these, but it is on my list as the next centerfire pistol I'll be buying. I've bought and sold a tone of 9mms, and the BHP has recently become a bit of an obsession.

The 1911 might not be the best platform to start out with. While it is my personal favorite, the manual of arms is more complicated due to the external safety. Miss the safety, and you're in deep trouble. However, there is IMHO no sweeter trigger and grip than a 1911.
9mm 1911s: Take a look at the offerings from Springfield in the EMP. Under $1000, compact, sweet trigger, great handgun. I really like the EMP. I personally like it over the other 9mm 1911 offerings from the rest of the pack.

.45 1911s:
The saying, "You get what you pay for" generally is a truthful description of the 1911 industry. A $1000 1911 is usually head and shoulders preferable to a $500. Likewise a $1500 over the $1000. Likewise a $2000 over the $1500. Past $2500, you are paying for looks and tiny tiny improvements in things that the average Joe would probably never appreciate.
For under $1000, probably looking at a
Springfield Loaded or MC Operator,
a Dan Wesson CBOB,
a STI,
or a Colt Combat Elite XSE, etc.
These would be my recommendations.

Good Hunting and Enjoy!

 

[67RS/SSx2]

Thanks to everyone for the comments/opinions. I really do appreciate it and take them to heart.

Many have made good points in favor of other than 1911 .45 acp handguns. Even so (and as convincing as you all are), I will not be deterred (Ha)!

Originally, this all started when a friend priced me his 70 series Colt. Unfortunately, he came to his senses and does not want to sell it now. I did not realize you can still buy new Colts. Now I need to add the Colt lightweight Commander to the list!

Anyone know a good place to buy a new Colt?

 

[BigRed82]

Locally, H&H has a pretty decent Colt selection.

The cheapest price you will find will likely be from online retailers like budsgunshop.com. This would require the handgun to be shipped to your local FFL dealer who will likely charge $10 as the fee. There are several FFL dealers on this site that you could talk to, such as MajorMalfunction, AOTactical, MAS, etc. I generally go through a guy in Purcell. (Bill's Pawn)

If Colt is the brand you want, what are the bells and whistles (if any) that you are wanting? If I were to buy a Colt today, it would be the Colt Combat Elite XSE. Hands down. Already has good novak-like sights, decent trigger guard undercut.

The regular XSE models are pretty good too.

I personally don't suggest lightweight frames, but that's just me. I don't see how the benefit in weight, if that is a benefit, outweighs the downside in reduced lifespan. I like an all steel 1911.

 

[67RS/SSx2]

I like the looks of two Colts, the 04860XSE lightweight Commander and the 04012XSE Commander. I am not too concerned about the weight. Just liked the teflon coated receiver of the Lightweight.

Thanks for the heads up on the local FFLs. I will check into those. I am in El Reno (work in OKC) so will probably look for someone sort of convenient (although convenience is not top priority).

Thanks again!

 

[mons meg]

I'm gonna throw the CZ97 out there, they now have a decocker model in addition to the traditional DA/SA. It's basically a CZ-75 on heavy 'roids. That being said, the Witness series gets decent reviews as well.