Can't go wrong with a Colt, IMO.
I'm still leaning towards the Springfield TRP.
I really believe the TRP is way overpriced for what you get.
I on the other hand think it's about as close to custom you can get without paying custom prices.I really believe the TRP is way overpriced for what you get.
Not even with those plastic MSH's?
Correct!My Colt Special Combat (probably 30 years old now) is the best looking 1911 I own. Love that mirror royal blue finish.
But personally, I will not pay the premium for the name.
Everyone should have one Colt 1911, though. Just because, right?
I think that's been my problem with Colt, I used to have one and I can't say it was any better than other brands at a much lower price.My Colt Special Combat (probably 30 years old now) is the best looking 1911 I own. Love that mirror royal blue finish.
But personally, I will not pay the premium for the name.
Everyone should have one Colt 1911, though. Just because, right?
Correct!
Actually, the Colt is a copy of a Browning.Roger that. Just remember...everything else is just a copy!
Bob
Actually, the Colt is a copy of a Browning.
Unlike the Winchester model 94, the company that John M. Browning working for and designed at that time. The 1911 (which it was designated after the U.S. military accepted it) was designed before he worked with Colt to produce it. Due to the high demand in 1911, Springfield Armory also then started to produce in 1911. By WWI the demand was so great that many companies produced it. So you can split hairs and say it was a Colt handgun that started it all.Need to study up a little...Colt 1911 was designed by John Browning, working for Colt, in 1906. Browning had already designed a .38 pistol for Colt and just upsized it for the Army trials (the Army wanted a .45). It went through several revisions until adopted by the military in 1911. It was never copied from "a Browning". That would be kind of like saying the Win 94 (or 86, 92 or 95) was copied from "a Browning". During his lifetime John Browning worked for Winchester, Remington, FN, Colt and a few others. He and his family only owned a gunshop in Utah and sold their guns (like the Browning single shot High Wall, before Win bought the design and manufacturing rights) on their own name for a short while. But it's all good. After all, this IS the Internet.
Bob
He didn't work for Colt, he collaborated with them, otherwise Colt would have applied for the patent on the 1911 and not Browning. I didn't say that he worked with Colt in 1911, yes, it was much earlier. Maybe reading John M. Browning/ American Gunmaker instead of Colt's history of the 1911 would give you a better understanding of it's conception.Don't know what you've been reading, but here's the facts:
"In 1906 the US Military, under the direction of General William Crozier of the Ordinance Department, began evaluating several pistol designs along with the suitability of a new cartridge that was designated the .45 Automatic Colt Pistol (or .45 ACP for short). As these military tests continued over the next several years, the Colt pistol began to emerge as the clear favorite. The Colt pistol that was submitted for these military tests was designed by John M. Browning."
Above quote was taken from the Browning website.
And this:
"When the Army announced its intent to replace the .38-caliber revolver with a .45-caliber pistol several companies leapt at the chance for a lucrative government contract. John Browning had already been developing a semi-auto pistol FOR COLT (my emphasis) designed around a .38-caliber cartridge similar to the .38 Super. For a genius like Browning, it wasn’t too difficult a task to upsize both the pistol and cartridge to .45 caliber.
The pistol trials began in 1906, and samples from Colt, Savage, Smith & Wesson, DWM, Knoble, Bergmann and White-Merrill were tested. Both the Browning and Savage designs were selected for further testing. That testing revealed some shortcomings in both pistols, and the Army asked for more refinements in the designs. Browning traveled to Hartford, Conn. (COLT'S factory), to supervise the changes. He teamed up with a young Colt employee, Fred Moore, and they painstakingly ensured that the pistols to be submitted were the finest they could produce." ((American Rifleman, March 2011)
It was a COLT pistol, not a "copy", designed by JMB, working for Colt. Actually, Browning got paid in royalties from Colt, instead of a straight fee, which was why he left Winchester. When Springfield Armory and Remington-UMC started production of the 1911, they got a production exemption and Colt got paid for it.
Not splitting hairs; it was a Colt pistol. Browning started working for Colt in 1896, when he started designing the future 1900 and the (later) 1911. Hope this helps.
Bob