OK here is an attempt at real answer: I almost always recommend a GI Milspec as a first 1911. Get a basic no fills gun. Shoot 500-1000 rounds out of it and get a feel for the platform. If you like it move on to step 2 which is the rabbit hole of upgraded models with beavertails, extended thumb safeties, magwells, better rights etc... I think getting to know the basic platform informs a new 1911 shooter with the experience to choose the right options on an upgraded gun. Not the options someone else recommended or told you that you needed but the ones your shooting the basic platform showed you that you needed. I tend to prefer 70 series non-firing pin safety guns but 80 series work. Flame suite has been dawned.
1911s that punch above their weight: Basic guns with basic features but they run reliably.
These are 1911s which are value guns built to a price in point as entry level pistols.. These come with some compromises. Things like cast frames. MIM & plastic parts. It does not make them bad it makes them what they are.
-Tisas/SDS 1911. These are forged frame and slides with some cast or mim parts. GI gun start at around $325 and more modern versions run into the $600 range. They are well made for the price and most people report excellent reliability. They are my current #1 recommendation for a first 1911
-RIA has been a budget 1911 maker for a while now. Here you get cast frames with forged uppers and slides. There will be a mix of MIM parts and cast part. Prices have gone up on these which is why they end up on the #2 spot. For the most part good quality guns that run out of the box but prices now start in the $450 for a milspec so the Tisas is a better value.
-SA Defender is the entry level SA It can be had at about $600. It is a step up from the RIA or Tisas because it has a forged frame, slide and barrel and it’s not made in a 3rd world country with what amounts to being slave wages. They have good customer service and are the lowest base gun I would ever put custom changes into.
The next level is a GI Colt: The Magic of the Prancing Pony
-These days that is the Colt Classic blued or in SS. Colt feature wise is the same as the ones listed above. GI sights, plastic mainspring, GI thumb safety etc... You do get national match barrel on these guns. They were at one time as low as $700 and have been as high as $1100. These days if you shop smart, they are $850-$900. The reason Colt is its own category is that there is something about the Prancing Pony that sets it apart from other brands. You can buy a Colt at $850 shooting 1000 rounds out of it and sell it for what you have in it as long as you have not idiot scratched it. No other brand can claim the same. IMHO If you do custom work on a gun a Colt will always have higher resale than any other base gun.
The Next level is Production guns with custom Features: They Look like custom guns but they are still mid-level production pieces.
-Tisas is still in this mix with upgraded guns with custom like features for $550+ All the other comments still apply.
-SA have several flavors. These days it is the Loaded, The Ronin & The Garrison. These start at in the $850 range. You are getting more bells and whistles and the guns are getting more tailored to a purpose. Gun games, concealed carry etc... Quality is high and there is a lot of value here because the upgrades if you like them want them need them will cost you less than if you had a smith do them to a base gun.
-Colt Competition 1911 is the next level. Good guns selling for about $1000 these days. Novak sights and fiber optic front. Thumb safety, beavertail, trigger is all upgraded. Like the GI Colt these will hold their value better than others.
The Final Level is higher end Production guns: You are into the level of well-built solid production guns. For many people this is the level at which they stop playing. The law of diminishing returns is really kicking in here.
-SA had guns like the Emissary and the TRP at this level. You are getting a lot of the same guts but with more refinement in the feature set and the fit and finish of the gun. You are now in the $1100-1500 range. Good guns but at this price point they are losing value.
-Colt Combat Elite, Colt Gold Cup, National Match, CCU, Combat Rail etc.... all fall into this price point. Good solid performers but you to be the "value" is really diminishing here in the Colt line. You have to love the configuration. When you are getting to $1500 + Production Colt a better option starts to come into the picture.
-Dan Wesson for me is the best in this category. It is the gateway drug to higher end 1911s. Here you are getting all forged tool steel parts, match barrels, nitride finishes. Not quite tuned triggers but some of the best triggers that will come off a production line. They are owned by CZ but are smaller than the others mentioned. At this level the DW wins on refinement. All of this comes at a price. The Pointman starts at $1700 and you can go up to a Valor for $2300. Personally, I would buy a Valor over a SA TRP because the overall quality of the product
From there you can get into the semi-custom builders like Wilson, Nighthawk, Les Baer etc.... 99% of 1911 shooters will not move into that realm so I leave that for another thread. Here are some other makes I have left off.
-Ruger SR1911 it is a solid gun and when it sold for $650-$700 it was a good value. They are now $900 guns and IMHO not worth the new cost.
-Kimber they are overpriced for what you get. Lots of MIM parts and have known weak points. They changed the industry and at one time made solid guns but these days they are a marketing company who happens to make 1911s. Resale value is terrible.
-Sig make a 1911 like product. I call it that because it has an external extractor. Also, everything I said about Kimber now applies to Sig. #roncohen
-S&W they also use an external extractor but do it better than most. Their guns run but they just don't appeal to me. They are left off my list for purely subjective reasons.
-Do not buy a Remington
-Taurus 1911s are OK but who really wants a Taurus and resale is poor. They were built to me a price point and it shows in the product.
