Win

I have two .45's: a 1911 Tactical, and the compact model. I'm very pleased with both, completely trouble free. I shoot the full size all the time. The stock grips blow. I put some traditional walnut double diamond checkereds on the full size, and a wrap around Hogue on the compact. At the risk of being heretical, I think of 1911's as a commodity gun. I have the two RI's as commodity 1911's, and a Colt O 1918 WW 1 replica for a "real" 1911. These are my only points of reference, FWIW.

At the show? Gun show prices always seem high to me, but for the odd ball calibers, it's that or mail order. I paid $22 / box of 20 for 45-70, and $13 / box of 20 for 45 Long Colt. Bitteroot Valley Ammunition Co. Locally, I think gun and ammo prices seem to be up about 8-10% from what they were a year or so ago.

Anyone make it to Wanenmachers (sp?) yesterday at Tulsa? I drove over and spent a few hours gathering up some 45-70 and 45 Colt, neither of which can be sourced locally in any variety or at a reasonable price. They claim to be the "world's largest". I'm dubious of that, but it is big - 11 acres indoor and it was packed wall to wall and elbow to elbow inside. Even spending all day, both days, it would be impossible to see more than two thirds of what's there.

Bill, I looked at one the day before Christmas at a lgs, and it was a bit more than $400 iirc. I thought that was too high. At $340-360, it would be in my safe.

In the "your ccw setup" (or similar) thread, there is this comment: "I carry three so I can access one." And, after thinking about this, I question whether carrying more than one concealed handgun is legal in my state. A quick (very quick) glance at the act reveals that the singular "handgun" is used. Example: §5-73-315. Possession of license — Identification of licensee. (a) Any licensee possessing a valid license issued pursuant to this subchapter may carry a concealed handgun. .... And my license also says handgun, not handguns. It is titled "Concealed Handgun Carry License" I am authorized to carry "Any legal handgun". I didn't look at the case law to see if the point has been decided one way or the other. Do you other guys have licenses that explicitly authorize the carry of more than one concealed weapon?

I have the .45, .40, and 9 in handgun, and the 995 carbine. I've been telling myself for the last year that the new .45 carbine is going to be my next weapon purchase, but I always seem to drag home something else. Ill probably keep that carbine here at the office when I get around to getting it. I have the .40 handgun in my desk beside me, right now. The .40 was the first I bought, mostly to see for myself since I had read so much negative about them, and it turned out to be a dependable tack driver. An ugly, heavy, tack driver, but still a tack driver. So after that, I picked up the carbine and the other two. So, anyway, emboldened by the cheap Hi Points working fine, I've bought some Tauri and mine have worked fine, although I acknowledge that is not the universal experience with either brand. Since they're not very expensive, the risk of getting a POS is not a big deal to me. If or when that happens, I'll just suck it up and move on.

I'm a professional person, so if I can't carry it in my pocket, it does not get carried. I typically carry one of the following, in a pocket holster, usually a De Santis Nemisis: Walther PPK in .32 ( my favorite ) Sig P238 Beretta Tomcat Beretta Bobcat Ruger LCR ( my 2nd favorite, although I don't really care much for Ruger guns). Can't open carry in Arkansas unless you're on your own property, but I don't do that.

I have five, three semi autos, and two revolvers. Four have been problem free, number five was a black friday doorbuster from Academy sports that i haven't shot yet. I rather like the ones that are knockoffs of the open slide Beretta's - I prefer the frame mounted decocker of the Taurus. I only got interested in guns after the last presidential election, so I have no preconceived notion or bias about any particular brand. I've even got four Hi Points that have been trouble free, not that I want to stir that pot!

Thank goodness the AR is not all that, either. We had an attempted massacre at a local courthouse a couple of days ago. (Google: "crawford county courthouse shooting") that by miracle only resulted in one woman being shot in the leg, a non life threatening wound, and ended with the crazed perp shot down on the courthouse lawn. Anyway, the local newspapers are reporting that video surveillance cameras in the courthouse and outside show the gunman's weapon repeatedly malfunctioning, and the cops claim to have recovered 25-30 live rounds about the premises. The weapon? An AR of some variety. I think the Mini's are a reasonable and reliable choice for a SHTF weapon. The AK is probably a better choice than either a Mini or an AR. In Arkansas, no ccw in courthouses, so this guy was unopposed. To make matters worse, cellular 911 calls went to the wrong county, and the intial response went to the wrong courthouse.

Well, at this point I'm committed to 7.62x39 as I have a new Mini 30 and a cheapo (WASR-10) AK47, so I don't think it's crazy to consider buying (either) one. I keep the AK47 at the office, and the Mini 30 at the lake house as one never knows where one will be when the SHTF. Hi cap mags do exist for the Mini 30 - I have a factory Ruger 20 round mag, in addition to the supplied five rounder. Pablo, Sig also makes the 556 in 7.62x39 as the Sig 556R. They're about $1200. My Mini 30 was about $700 IIRC. I got my AK when they were cheap, which wasn't that long ago. The Sig is on my to do list, but I just haven't gotten around to it yet.

Well, if you like the 1911 you would probably like the Hi Power.

Are you just looking for random suggestions?

Walther also makes, or used to make, a small poly gun in 9 and 40. PPS, or something like that. It was very compact and would probably be a good carry gun.

What is the intended use? CCW? How will you carry it? The Sig P250 compact is pretty small. I don't know if I would want anything smaller than that in a .40. The DAO trigger on the P250's has an easy pull. When I CCW, I pocket carry, and I think the Sig is probably too big for that. At least for my pockets. I usually carry a Bobcat (.22LR), Tomcat or PPK (.32 ), Sig P238 (.380) or an LCR. The LCR is a nice carry gun, as is the PPK.

I pulled the trigger, so to speak, on the Colt 1911 Rail Gun in 22LR this week when the local Academy got another one in. it sure looks like a nicely made gun, and is sized almost identically to a real 1911. It comes with only one magazine, unfortunately. I'm moving my office and have a lot of other stuff going on, so it will be awhile before I get to shoot it, but I bet it will be fun. I've got the .22 bug lately; I bought a Taurus .22 revolver a couple of months ago, and might get a .22LR bolt action.

Also been looking at lever guns for awhile and when the local Academy Sports + Outdoors got a Marlin 1895G Guide Gun in 45 70 Govt I took the plunge. I'm hoping to do some hog hunting this fall and plan to use either the guide gun or a Mini 30 in 7.62x39.

I've been looking at the new "Colt" 1911 22 Rail Gun. It's branded Colt, but made by Walther and imported through Umarex so it has the Arkansas import marks. Not much in common with a 1911 other than looks, though. Nearly bought one last night.

I like the digital camo finish - I've thought about picking one up. Plain jane Hi Powers with the 75 year roll marks can be had for about $700 pre tax right now, a bargain, I think.

Clearly the pistol pictured above has an extended slide stop, but it's not an RIA branded weapon. Some RIA's may have that release but my tactical does not. I don't think the compact RIA does, but it's been several months since I've seen mine. I keep the tactical in my safe at the office, so I'm certain it has a standard slide release. There are no issues with the sight dovetails on my tactical, nor do I expect any. there may be some RIA's somewhere that have that issue, but It would be low on my list of things to worry about. I don't buy guns mail order, so I don't worry about things a pre purchase once over would reveal. There are legitimate things to gripe about RIA's. The factory wood grips truly blow and need to be replaced right away. Parkerized guns are not all that attractive. The RIA is not as nice as a $1k plus Colt, and I can't imagine anyone would expect that it would be. But the RIA's do shoot good. A person does not have to spend a grand to get a good working, accurate, 1911. I don't know anything about the other budget 1911's, I just have the RIA's and the Colt.

My compact Rock Island 1911 shoots fine, I don't carry it - it's too big, but I would no have problems trusting it if I did. The full size RIA is a good shooter as well. I have a "better" 1911, but I always shoot one of the RIA's. They seem just fine to me, a non sophisticate, and are fun to shoot. I don't think a person has to spend a lot of money to enjoy a reliable, good shooting, 1911. edit: I guess I should add that my "better" 1911 is a Colt WWI replica, the 1918 model. That's probably as close to a true 1911 as it gets these days.

I thought you were looking for a metal .45? In the $500 to $600 - ish plastic fantastic segment, I'm partial to the Beretta Storms because I like the italian looks of the Beretta, and the rotating barrel. I figure looks are as good a reason as any to buy a gun. I've looked at the FN's a few times and really didn't see anything that distinguished them from the others in their segment. Not that that means anything; they're all fine weapons. I think that if there is a gun you like, just get it, it will probably work just fine. If you don't like it, just toss it back in the safe - it's not like they eat anything or take up a lot of space.

A friend of mine has an LCR with the hard plastic Crimson Trace grip and I did not enjoy shooting it at all. I like the softer rubber standard grip on the LCR, and have been thinking real hard about getting a plain jane LCR. So many guns, so little time.

I saw a polished Rock Island in 38 Super today, for $479 (IIRC). I passed on it and bought a Mini 30 Ranch instead; I'm long gun poor at our lake house. It sure was a nice looking gun, though.

That looks like it fell from the ugly tree, and hit every branch on the way down! I wouldn't give $10 bucks for it!