Making a choice between 1911 9mm and .45

I am positively settled on a 1911 platform after experimenting with a couple of alternatives.  Now it's about 9mm or .45   I will shoot both for a while .   Would like to hear opinions 1911 in  9mm or .45 .

Its a no-brainer, if you're gonna have just one 1911 it should be a 45. I could argue your second one should also be a 45 as a backup.

zanemoseley wrote:Its a no-brainer, if you're gonna have just one 1911 it should be a 45. I could argue your second one should also be a 45 as a backup.

I own both .   I hear some shoot  1911 9mm.

You talking bullseye 2700 or service pistol ?

Are they both bullseye grade 1911's? If not sell both of them and buy a good quality 1911 chambered in 45 by a reputable BULLSEYE smith.

If they are both high quality I would still start with the 45 if you're new to bullseye and shelf the 9mm for a year or 2. The 9mm doesn't have enough advantages for a beginner to consider shooting both.

Chris Miceli wrote:You talking bullseye 2700 or service pistol ?

Service pistol.  Any matches where both could be used.

zanemoseley wrote:Are they both bullseye grade 1911's? If not sell both of them and buy a good quality 1911 chambered in 45 by a reputable BULLSEYE smith.

If they are both high quality I would still start with the 45 if you're new to bullseye and shelf the 9mm for a year or 2. The 9mm doesn't have enough advantages for a beginner to consider shooting both.

Both accurised good 1911's. I You had two great BE1911's, what if any advantage one have over the other?

zanemoseley wrote:Are they both bullseye grade 1911's? If not sell both of them and buy a good quality 1911 chambered in 45 by a reputable BULLSEYE smith.

If they are both high quality I would still start with the 45 if you're new to bullseye and shelf the 9mm for a year or 2. The 9mm doesn't have enough advantages for a beginner to consider shooting both.

What’s a Bullseye grade 1911?

45 if you are gonna shoot irons in bullseye and do service pistol. You’ll get to use it more. Could use either 9mm or 45 for EIC and CF. But more guns more triggers to learn. Stick with a 45 they are easier to reload for 50 yards

Depending on sights your ppc 1911 may not be service pistol regal

lablover wrote:

zanemoseley wrote:Are they both bullseye grade 1911's? If not sell both of them and buy a good quality 1911 chambered in 45 by a reputable BULLSEYE smith.

If they are both high quality I would still start with the 45 if you're new to bullseye and shelf the 9mm for a year or 2. The 9mm doesn't have enough advantages for a beginner to consider shooting both.

What’s a Bullseye grade 1911?

A 1911 with all tool steel parts, high quality barrel that has been properly fit for accuracy and to reduce recoil, also properly throated and tuned for LSWC. A quality trigger job that yeilds a repeatable break and reset just over the weight requirement. Front checkering/stippling and textured grips for a solid hold. A solid rib or frame mount to provide foundation for a red dot or quality adjustable sights. 3" maximum groups with quality reloads, 1.5"-2" preferable.

But I'm guessing you were being a smart a$$ about my terminology.

I was.  Makes me feel us lower grade folk don’t have a prayer in shooting good scores without a BE grade pistol.

What ever happened to get a good RO and go from there?

lablover wrote:I was.  Makes me feel us lower grade folk don’t have a prayer in shooting good scores without a BE grade pistol.

What ever happened to get a good RO and go from there?

I think that’s a great platform to start with

Chris Miceli wrote:

lablover wrote:I was.  Makes me feel us lower grade folk don’t have a prayer in shooting good scores without a BE grade pistol.

What ever happened to get a good RO and go from there?

I think that’s a great platform to start with

Thank you sir...I agree

Well you sure can pick up a RO and go from there. But you may also get frustrated. Then you have a $750 pistol that really needs a $350 trigger job, $600 barrel job and $150 for better grips and a scope rib. Oh and might as well weld and refit the rails for another $200. Now you've got a $2050 range officer. I think you're better off going to a lightly used pistol that was built from the ground up to be a wadcutter pistol.

Now if you just wanna dabble in bullseye and not sure if you're gonna like it then get a RO, worst case is at the end of the day you have a decent 1911 for your collection.

Having quality tools is conducive to obtaining good results but is in no way a guarantee.

Also I'm just speaking from MY experineces. I've owned 2 Les Baers, a Sig, a RRA and 3 custom 1911's including 2 45's and a 22 lower. If I were starting again today I would buy at minimum a used wadcutter pistol from RRA or a reputable smith if my budget allowed.

I still believe in the Indian and not the arrow phrase.

Apologies to the OP

I've seen people barely break 700 with a $4500 Sams pistol. The pistol can't make you shoot. On the other hand Zins won't win nationals with a stock RO. So there's a bit of common sense that needs to be taken into account but good tools are always a nice thing to have.

lablover wrote:

Chris Miceli wrote:

lablover wrote:I was.  Makes me feel us lower grade folk don’t have a prayer in shooting good scores without a BE grade pistol.

What ever happened to get a good RO and go from there?

I think that’s a great platform to start with

Thank you sir...I agree

Stock RO in .45. Stock barrel, bushing, trigger and springs. Added a rail (30.00) and a used dot (170.00). Cheapo (17.00) rings and went shooting. To get my 9mm RO to shoot like that I had to turn it into a 38 Super. Also legal for EIC. That pistol would take you to Master and probably beyond. The .45 is a better choice if your only keeping one.

I so gotta try that load.  Nice target Len

You can have a 2” RO for under 2,000

Not bad for 7 yards Len 

Chris Miceli wrote:You can have a 2” RO for under 2,000

I got to $2050 in my guesstimate above, guess I'm over budget.

Chris Miceli wrote:You can have a 2” RO for under 2,000

Chris, at what point does a person invest that?  When a person is a SS? Expert?  Stuck at expert.  Being on a tight budget I’d rather use the funds for now for primers, powder and lead.

Thank you

lablover wrote:

Chris Miceli wrote:You can have a 2” RO for under 2,000

Chris, at what point does a person invest that?  When a person is a SS? Expert?  Stuck at expert.  Being on a tight budget I’d rather use the funds for now for primers, powder and lead.

Thank you

Knock it off your gun shoots fine!  If your stuck in any class looking to the gun is the wrong place to be lookin'

lablover wrote:

Chris Miceli wrote:You can have a 2” RO for under 2,000

Chris, at what point does a person invest that?  When a person is a SS? Expert?  Stuck at expert.  Being on a tight budget I’d rather use the funds for now for primers, powder and lead.

Thank you

When you become serious about being competitive.