I have always loved the 1911. The first handgun I ever shot was a Colt Govt. 1911 back in the late 1970s. One of the first guns I ever bought was a Kimber 1911, and my wife’s first handgun was a Smith and Wesson 1911. Although many would argue the peak of the 1911 has passed, as the design is well over a century old, the fact remains that almost all modern handguns draw heavily from the design.
One of my younger friends is devoted to polymer striker-fired handguns. He loves to remind me of the 1911’s limited capacity, overall larger size and heavier weight, a tendency towards jamming (especially over heavy use without cleaning), and less impressive ballistics compared to more modern platforms. I do not dispute any of these things, but there is something iconic about the 1911. I love the feel, the experience of firing it, the history, and the overall sound and recoil of .45 ACP. Thus, I continue to add 1911s to my collection.
If you only plan to have a single handgun for carry and defensive use, I think there are many better options on the market than the 1911. I personally carry a Glock 17, Walther PPQ, or IWI Masada — all higher capacity, polymer striker-fire, 9mm handguns. However, if you are adding any guns to your collection beyond your basic defensive tools, it is hard to imagine a better pick than a 1911. Originally designed by John Browning in the first decade of the 20th century, it was officially adopted by the U.S. Army in 1911 and was patented on February 14th, 1911 (another reason to celebrate Valentine’s Day).
Once you decide to buy a 1911 there are many options available to you. Several companies are producing highly reliable 1911s at more accessible prices (~$500) including Rock Island, Taurus, and American Tactical, Inc. Most major manufacturers have 1911s available ranging in the $800-$1200 range including Ruger, Smith and Wesson, Sig Sauer, Springfield, Remington, and of course Colt. Beyond these major manufacturers, there are multiple companies that almost exclusively produce higher-end custom 1911’s.
Higher End 1911’s
There is no set definition of a higher-end 191.1 For some, a $500 gun might be at the top end of what they are willing to pay for a handgun. For others, higher end might refer to guns that cost thousands of dollars. For the purposes of this review, I am defining higher-end 1911s as handguns generally available with yearly production runs with a retail cost of over $1,000 but under $2,000. I would define truly high-end 1911s as those costing over $2000. This definition eliminates some larger production run cheaper 1911s (often offering very similar advantages), and more boutique 1911s such as Les Baer, STI, Nighthawk, and Ed Brown while also eliminating rare, historical, or very limited runs (I am looking at you Meteoric Iron 1911s from Cabot).
Review of Five Higher End 1911’s
Based on the parameters already defined, I examined five 1911’s of various higher-end retail prices. Starting with the cheapest to most expensive I examined the Sig Sauer We the People, the Smith & Wesson Engraved, the Colt Texas Longhorn, the Springfield TRP, and the Dan Wesson Valor. All five of these 1911s were full-sized (5” barrel) versions chambered in .45 ACP. The objective tests are provided in Table 1 comparing each 1911 on loaded weight, single action trigger pull, velocity, power, gel penetration, and retail price.
Subjectively, each of these handguns is well manufactured, aesthetically pleasing, and a joy to shoot. All of them have shot thousands of rounds and I have never had any issues with both ball practice ammo and several brands of defensive rounds including Federal Premium HST, Sig Sauer V-Crown JHP, and Hornady +P XTP. However, it should be noted that I tend to fully field strip and clean my 1911s after
every use (50-200 rounds).
The Sig Sauer We the People is actually my wife’s 1911s and it is a beauty. The finish is distressed steel with a raised star pattern on the aluminum grips. The slide is engraved with 1776 on the left-hand side and “We the People” on the right. The trigger is skeletonized and a straight back, curved, single-action trigger with a short clear reset. The sights are SigLite three-dot night sights and the action, though stiff, is reliable. The safety is ambidextrous.
The next gun is also one of my wife’s 1911s — the Smith and Wesson Engraved with a glass bead metal finish and engraving on the slide and frame with engraved wooden grips. The trigger is also skeletonized, straight back, and curved trigger and is similarly clean in its break and short reset. The sights are white three-dot sights, and the action is similarly reliable but stiff. The safety is right-handed. The Smith and Wesson Engraved comes with a wooden storage or display box. Both guns are very similar in form and function with a very easy trigger that 1911s are renowned for.
The Colt Texas Longhorn is an example of a Colt 1911 reworked as a dealer exclusive (in this case Talo). The finish is gloss black with wood-engraved grips. The gun features gold plating on some parts, gold inlaid Texas longhorns on the right-hand side, and a single Texas longhorn skull on the left-hand side.
The trigger is solid and deeply recessed into the frame. The trigger press is very short and smooth with a quick reset. The sights are simple black front and rear sights. The action is a little easier than on the previous guns. The safety is right-handed and coated in a deep royal blue, slightly contrasting with the gun’s black finish. This gun is almost too pretty to shoot, but I do not believe in safe queens so it has seen limited loving use.
The next gun is the Springfield Tactical TRP with a stainless finish and Cocobolo wood grips. The grips on this gun are noticeably more aggressive and it features a slightly flared blended magwell. The skeletonized and curved straight-back trigger is very smooth and quick to return to reset. The sights are tritium three-dot sights. The slide’s action is similarly stiff as with the other guns but has a certain smoothness to the action of racking that is hard to quantify. The safety is ambidextrous.
The final 1911 is the Dan Wesson Valor with a bead-blasted stainless steel finish and carbon fiber G10 grips. The magwell is also slightly flared for easier reloads and the gun features black rear sights with an orange and yellow front night sight. The trigger is skeletonized with a straight back flat-faced trigger with a very easy trigger press and almost immediate reset. The safety is ambidextrous. Like the Springfield, the racking action is a little stiff but has a similar hard-to-quantify smoothness to it compared to the first three guns.
Summary
All of these are great-looking and fun 1911s for shooting. I have carried the Dan Wesson on some occasions. The Springfield and Dan Wesson both are slightly smoother in action, feature night sights, have blended flared magwells, and their triggers are very smooth (though to be fair I have yet to find a ‘bad’ 1911 trigger). Are they worth the money? That is subjective and will vary from person to person.
Like many things, there are diminishing returns to the amount of money spent compared to objective improvements when looking at firearms. Each person needs to decide what options such as ambidextrous safety, smoother trigger, better sights, cleaner finish, and specialized grips are personally worth to them. For me, I love all my 1911s from the least expensive Rock Island or Iver Johnson to my most expensive Ed Brown or Les Baer. However, when I want to enjoy shooting a 1911, I tend to gravitate to the middle of my collection such as the guns listed here.
