Personally I like the Les Baers, but I'm a little impartial! :-) The one on the right is a PII with 1.5" guantee at 50YRDS from a ransom rest! Funny all the guys on the 1911 forums say you shouldn't carry the guns with a 1.5" guarantee because they are built SUPER TIGHT, but mine has never had ANY feeding problems! Granted... if I could carry, I would carry something smaller and lighter.

 

Wilson makes great guns. So does Les Baer.

 

That is an awesome statement!

I think the best 1911 is the one you practice with, know works, and have plenty of spare parts for.

 

So long as it makes a big hole in a 5" circle at 10 feet, it's as accurate as it needs be for self defense purposes. In short: Basically every 1911 made is as accurate as you need it to be.

Target and competitive pistols are generally much less reliable in practical situations.

If you want something that goes bang every time and is as accurate as you'll ever need it to be, I'd just get the original-- Colt 1911A1 Government with a mag well and some GOOD quality mags. Good mags are more important than what pistol you buy, IMO.

Also, for carry, I love the Colt Defender.

 

I'm getting a Kimber Desert Warrior for my next .45:

 

Man thats a hell of a pistol... I have a friend who has one, he loves the hell out of it.

 

I have put about 600 rounds through my nighthawk talon 2, with Wilson combat mags, and I absolutely love it. If I wanted something really special I would get a Wilson Tactical Supergrade, but for under 3500 this thing is pretty tough to beat.

 

Normally I carry a springfield champion 1911... But every couple of months I wear it out and something breaks and I need to repair it... If I've learned one thing about 1911's you'll learn how to fix guns fast if you shoot enough... every four or five thousand rounds something new and unique happens. Oddly enough that is probably why I love 1911's so much.

 

I love my Kimber Custom II, it's definitely worth the money. But I wouldn't carry it daily.

In case you're wondering, my daily piece is a CZ52.

 

Wilson makes a great gun. The haters just don't like Arkansas boys. It's a prejudice I run into on here often. People don't realize we're not all backwoods rednecks like tblackj.

Lots of good recommendations in this thread and elsewhere, but Wilson is always a great choice in a custom gun.