From: pafford@metis.rtp.dg.com (Randy Pafford)
Newsgroups: rec.guns
Subject: Re: .45 caliber handguns
Date: 19 Nov 92 15:13:31 GMT
Organization: Data General Corp., Research Triangle Park, NC

In article <1992Nov17.023032.19198@igor.tamri.com>, donb@igor.tamri.com (Don Baldwin) writes:
|> At this point, I'm considering various .45 caliber handguns, with an
|> eye towards purchasing one of them within the next few months.  Unfortunately,
|> purchasing all of them is not an option. :(
|> 
|> My strongest inclination is to get a 1911 Colt or clone, because of the
|> fact that it has been around for 80 years and is still one of the best
|> (and THE best, in the opinion of many people) combat handguns in the
|> world.
|> 
|> However, I have a couple hangups about the gun that may be baseless or may
|> be factors that will influence my final decision.  One of those hangups is
|> that, if I buy the 1911, I seem to have two choices:  either save my
|> allowance and spend the extra cash on a Gold Cup OR get the low end model
|> and spend approximately the same amount of money having it customized (to
|> handle non-FMJ loads and in the interest of accuracy).  (How do the
|> Colt 1911 variants (e.g., Combat Commander) stack up in this regard?)
|> 
|> Last weekend, I visited Trader's gun shop in San Leandro (CA) and I thought
|> I saw a better alternative.  They had a Springfield Armory clone going
|> for $700, the salesguy promised target gun level accuracy...however, when
|> I slid the empty magazine in and tried to work the slide release, it
|> didn't work; we had to pop the magazine out a little, release the slide
|> and then slide the magazine back in.  Is that a Springfield Armory quirk,
|> a 1911 Colt/clone quirk or a quirk of that particular gun?  If it's a
|> Colt/clone quirk, that would tend to rule out my getting a 1911 COlt/clone.
|> 
|> Anyway, after all that rambling, here is the question I would like to
|> ask:
|>     Is it possible for me to get an accurate 1911 Colt/clone for less
|>     than the price of a Gold Cup (about $800) and STILL have it be a
|>     versatile combat handgun?
|> 

Don,

How accurate a gun do you need?  Something like a SIG or stock 1911 should
shoot 3 inches (or perhaps a little better) at 25 yards.  Try different
ammo to get the one that groups the best.  3 inches at 25 yards is certainly
good enough for self-defense.  A target gun should shoot better than
3 inches at 50 yards, and would also require (usually) trigger work so the
shooter could use this accuracy.  I have no personal experience with
the Springfield  clone (what model was this?) for $700, but I _seriously_ 
doubt it will shoot 3 inches at 50 yards.  You should be able to pick 
up a Gold Cup for less than $700; I paid $625 two years ago. The Gold Cup 
won't shoot 3 inhes at 50 yards either, nor will any other production 
centerfire semi-auto except for perhaps the Sig 210 at around $1,800 (anything 
else out there, netters, this accurate from the factory -- I can't think 
of any).  A gun used for paper punching demands adjustable sights also.

For a gun to be used _both_ for paper punching and self-defense, I would
prefer the 1911.  Being a) single action and b) beloved by pistol smiths
it's easy (given $$) to get whatever level of accuracy you want out of it.
I don't think of the Glock or SIG as being well suited for target work
I will say that for shooting things fairly close, quickly, a Glock (and
there any many many SIG fans out there too) is hard to beat -- and shooting 
fast and close is the main use of a self-defense gun.

New Colts, incidentally are throated and should be pretty reliable i.e.
feed non-FMJ loads -- right from the box.

If you like Glocks, you might consider buying the Glock and a decent .22
pistol; use the .22 for paper punching and practice other skills with
the Glock.   If you shoot a lot, a .22 can pay for itself quickly.
On the other hand, if you really want to do target shooting with a .45 --
serious target shooting -- you are going to have to buy a 1911 and pay
for some modifications.

Randy