As I have done with revolvers, I have sold off over two thirds of my 1911s over the last six months to a year. Gone are my low end and mid range models. I owned them long enough to form impressions and write a guide, but they weren't doing much for me beyond that. I never had an urge to shoot any of them and they aren't the sort of thing that is collectable in any sense, so off they went.
My collection is now comprised of only high end customs and semi-customs. I did keep one Colt. Its a 1967 pre series 70 National Match which fits in with my current standards far more than anything they could hope to build today.
At any rate, I feel I actually improved my 1911 lineup quite a bit just by moving out the "noise" in my collection. In this case, less is most definitely more. That's not to say that lesser 1911s can't be great guns and really enjoyed by their owners. However, its hard to go back after shooting the best. I have always encourage folks to buy quality over quantity and I can't stress that enough now. In my opinion, its best to buy once and get what you really want instead of wasting money only to upgrade later.
Left to right...
Top row: Guncrafter No Name, Nighthawk Predator II, Nighthawk Enforcer, Ed Brown Kobra Carry, Ed Brown Classic Custom, Colt National Match, Ted Yost Retro Custom
Middle row: Volkmann Combat Custom, EGW Custom, Wilson Combat Super Grade, Wilson Combat CQB, Les Baer Concept V, Les Baer SRP, Valtro 1998A1
Bottom row: Pistol Dynamics Signature, Rock River Arms Limited Match, Springfield Professional, Springfield TGO1, Infinity Custom, USFA 1911, Unertl DLX
My collection is now comprised of only high end customs and semi-customs. I did keep one Colt. Its a 1967 pre series 70 National Match which fits in with my current standards far more than anything they could hope to build today.
At any rate, I feel I actually improved my 1911 lineup quite a bit just by moving out the "noise" in my collection. In this case, less is most definitely more. That's not to say that lesser 1911s can't be great guns and really enjoyed by their owners. However, its hard to go back after shooting the best. I have always encourage folks to buy quality over quantity and I can't stress that enough now. In my opinion, its best to buy once and get what you really want instead of wasting money only to upgrade later.
Left to right...
Top row: Guncrafter No Name, Nighthawk Predator II, Nighthawk Enforcer, Ed Brown Kobra Carry, Ed Brown Classic Custom, Colt National Match, Ted Yost Retro Custom
Middle row: Volkmann Combat Custom, EGW Custom, Wilson Combat Super Grade, Wilson Combat CQB, Les Baer Concept V, Les Baer SRP, Valtro 1998A1
Bottom row: Pistol Dynamics Signature, Rock River Arms Limited Match, Springfield Professional, Springfield TGO1, Infinity Custom, USFA 1911, Unertl DLX