Re: Best 1911 under $1,000.00; under $750.00 ??
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Cvedrick</div><div class="ubbcode-body">You get guys that rave about RIA all the time, but you never hear about them going for 1k, 10k, 25k, 250k rounds. The word I have on them is they have cheap springs and the frames tend to crack right around the bolt stop holes. Their prices are not good enough to warrant purchase, last I looked a Springfield GI was abotu $100 more.....</div></div>
And the Springfield GI is made and assembled in a factory owned by the Brazillian government. That is superior how again?
Cheap springs? Really? Have you ever priced what a complete set of springs goes for? You can get ever spring in the gun, even the one in the mag catch, for under $30...and still have spares for a few of them.
If you've never heard of an RIA going for a high round count, it's because nobody you know has shot one enough to matter. They have a lifetime warranty and are an excellent value. I probably wouldn't buy one because the STI Spartan, which is made in the same factory, offers a better bundle of features for a slight increase in $$$, but it does NOT follow that the RIA is junk, or that for some reason one will last substantially longer than the other.
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Get the STI, They are what Kimber claims to be and totally fail at. They are made 100% in Austin texas by guys that know what they are doing.
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I love STIs, too, and I have a US-made Eagle and a Armscor-made Spartan. Both have STI's name on them. If a company like STI will put their name on a Philippines gun, and back it with a lifetime warranty, why aren't they good enough.
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Take a count and look at the guys shooting 3-gun and IPSC at a pro level. Most of them shoot STI for one reason or another. Only drawback to STI is they do not use stainless steel. Happens I am a bit favored towards them cause the IPSC regionals are held at my local club and STI has a large pavilion they set up to check out all of their stuff. </div></div>
There really is no such thing as "pro" level 3 gun. There isn't really a uniform sanctioning body for 3 gun at all.
STI is popular with match shooters for a number of reasons, the most important of which is that they're the only company that makes factory, mass-produced guns for certain types of competition, especially USPSA.
All sorts of guns are popular in IPSC. IPSC is the international-rules USPSA. The USPSA rules favor American style guns and STI does really well there. STI doesn't really make IPSC-specific guns, although custom builds based on STI's design are often used.