ken_mays

Not that I've ever had to; in fact, I'd say the Brown I own is flawless. But you can't even talk about Brown with other 1911 guys without someone moaning about Brown being mean to him on the phone.

It's an Ed Brown in all but name. Looks like the primary benefit is that you may not have to deal with Ed Brown.

Now.... this! BRN-1911 Inspired by the Classic Custom 1911 of the '80s - Built by Ed Brown & Available ONLY from Brownells The Brownells BRN-1911 Retro Custom Government Pistol is the first handgun in our Retro line of vintage-inspired firearms. We developed it in partnership with Ed Brown, a legendary name in custom 1911s, a maker of second-to-none 1911 parts, and a longtime Brownells partner. The BRN-1911 harkens back to classic custom 1911s of the 1980s, when customization of the "Forty-Five" moved beyond simply installing target sights and really took off. The BRN-1911's classic '80s features include the two-tone color scheme, Bo-Mar type adjustable sights, fine checkering on the front strap, crisply checkered double-diamond Cocobolo grips, and an overall uncluttered, elegant appearance. With the BRN-1911 you get a full-size Government Model with a match-grade 5" barrel. The slide of blued carbon steel looks like a classic military 1911 slide with the skinny, vertical serrations at the rear - but forget about the looseness and sloppiness of an old G.I. 1911! When it comes to fit and finish, the BRN-1911 slide is pure Ed Brown. To underscore our pistol's clean appearance, there are no markings on this slide. It's topped with a fully windage/elevation adjustable Bo-Mar rear sight (still the best in the eyes of many 1911 aficionados), paired with a square-profile front sight with crisp anti-glare serrations on its rear face. 416 stainless steel frame 4140 carbon steel slide, blued finish 416 stainless steel match-grade barrel & bushing Adjustable Bo-Mar rear sight Adjustable target trigger Internal parts: all Ed Brown, all the time! Two 7-rd magazines included Comes with padded pistol case Down below, the frame of natural-finish stainless steel contrasts handsomely with the slide, a popular look in the 1980s. The frame and ALL of the internal components are CNC machined - no penny-pinching MIM stuff here! Of course, the fire control group parts - hammer, trigger, sear, disconnector - are ALL Ed Brown, resulting in one sweet trigger pull. The high-grip extended beavertail grip safety protects the web of your hand from dreaded 1911 "hammer bite," while the 25 lpi checking on the front strap gives you excellent "purchase" for recoil control. Each BRN-1911 Retro Custom Government Pistol ships in a Brownells Signature Series pistol case. Modern-day raceguns offer still more bells-n-whistles, but we dare you to find a 1911 that is more comfortable - and fun! - to shoot. The pride of ownership in possessing a superb custom 1911 from one of the premier custom shops is just a bonus.

I'm a big 1911 guy and I've dealt with the CMP in the past, but these 1911s hold no interest for me. I already have a couple of specimens that are representative that I never shoot anyway. I suppose it would be smart to buy a few for investment purposes but I just really don't feel like dragging myself through the process.

Yes, it is awfully light. A friend also has one and he's loading 80 or 90 grain .380 bullets for it. The powder charge is very light as well but he told me he's going to go a little higher because when the charge is that light, ignition is inconsistent and he'll occasionally get a stovepipe.

I've had one for a few months. The notable thing about it (other than the general "well-thought-out-ness" of it), is that it will run reliably on really light loads. I ran a batch of 115gr FMJ on top of 2.2 grains of Titegroup (this is about half of what my standard 9mm load is for pistols) and the Ruger was still ejecting cases 5 feet away. I have a Tasco PDP5 red dot on mine for Steel Challenge and it's just the ticket IMHO.

Price?

I see them in a couple of pawnshops from $250 to $280 routinely. With the introduction of the 2.0 models, the Shield 1.0s seem to be have lost some value.

The Glock 26 seems to be very accurate given its size. Many folks have found themselves shooting tighter groups with G26 vs G19 or G17.

My only experience with the Phoenix was about 10 years ago when someone brought me one to fix. The hammer had worn a divot in the underside of the pot metal slide, and it was causing a noticeable hitch when the slide would move forward or back. There wasn't much to be done about it aside from telling the owner to contact the factory for repair. I never heard whether they replaced it or not.

When it isn't difficult to find used M&P Shields for well under $300, I would give Taurus a pass. The PT111 gets some positive reviews but there are also plenty of complaints, and for years I've heard Taurus may or may not end up fixing the problems with a particular gun. I wouldn't mind owning a PT92 but I'd rather not take a chance on any "native" Taurus design. If you are still interested, you can often find the PT111 under $200 on the used market.

My thoughts: I don't the idea of using a Government length frame with an Officer's sized slide. I'd rather it be the other way around, if anything. No texturing on the mainspring housing means it will try squirm around in your hand, and the bobtail makes it worse. I'm not really a fan of the Series 80 firing pin safety. The safety lever seems mighty wide for a carry 1911. Clark/Para ramped barrel in .45 means it will probably be more finicky than a standard unramped barrel. Ramped barrels are great for 9mm / 10mm but in .45 they're more of a headache than anything. I like the new XS rear sight; I personally found the old express-style rear nearly useless. Accuracy results seemed good. 3" from steel cased ammo at 25 yards from a Ransom rest (which I assume they used) isn't bad for a production 1911. MSRP is $1250 but there is just no way. I would be looking at a Dan Wesson for close to that kind of money. For $800, it would be worth a look.

My imaginary S&W product managers

Yeah it's hard to imagine what they were thinking. "We are getting a flood of complaints about the 4.0 version; everyone says they wish it were .4" shorter."

Complete BS that they won't ship to C&R FFL holders.