9mm?

[smpos]

Looking for a reliable out of the box 9mm 1911.

My current choices SA 5" loaded.
STI Trogan 5"

Which is more reliable out of the box?
Is the STI worth an extra $400?

Any other suggestions for similarly equiped pistol without increasing expense or going custom?

[OUSooner]

Personally I would take the SA straight up even if the price was the same and heres why. I rented both before I bought my SA 9mm and the Sti jammed a few times and hardly ever locked the slide back on the last round. Also with SA your getting forged frame and slide as opposed to cast by Sti(doesn't bother some people). Also you get great customer service, loaded coupon(for extra savings on mags and merchandise)and of coarse the lifetime warratny. I have about 800 round through mine now and is one of my favorite guns I have.

[smpos]

Have you had any problems or issues with your SA?

thanks

[OUSooner]

No, I have not had any issues of any kind. 100% reliable. Maybe not quite as accurate as my .45 but still really good.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v481/OUSooner/6fcef7a1.jpg

[nemesis]

Also with SA your getting forged frame and slide as opposed to cast by Sti(doesn't bother some people).

It shouldn't..... Les Baer and some other high 1911 semi-customs use cast frames I believe. :)

[HAMMERHEAD]

My SA 1911-9mm was not reliable at first.
After a break in of about 500 rounds, it's running fine now.
Offhand accuracy has been outstanding, better than any other auto I've owned, including my Glock 20 with match KKM barrel. The great trigger combined with the lowest recoil you'll find in a 9mm make for outstanding 25 and 50 yard accuracy.
Whichever brand you choose, make sure you get the Metal Form magazines, they seem to be the key in getting 9mm to feed reliably in a 1911.

[rjp59]

I bought a barely used SA 1911 9MM loaded w/adjustable sights
and shot it for the first time yesterday.

Not one failure to feed in 100 plus rounds. I was using white box
Winchester 115 gr. and Georgia Arms 124 gr GD JHP +P's.

I was pressed for time but was very impressed with the loaded
9mm. Everything was tight an well fitted with the exception of the
front sight which is a little sloppy outside of the dovetail.

The two mags that came OEM are what I assume Metal Form refers to as
their "front ramp" type. They have an indented rib that runs up and down the front of the magazine tube, but no spacer running down the back of the inside. The cartridges ride lower using a regular flat
follower and fed without a hitch in my limited session.

The gun shot some tight groups, but I was primarily interested in
breaking it in and familiarizing myself with it and testing for reliability.

I have an Ultra Compact 9mm that has given me feeding problems and I am going to see if SA will exchange the two std. magazines that came with it with the 8 round "front ramp" type.

It felt great to shoot 50 rds. of easy to aquire ammo at a cost of $5 a box. After several more sessions I hope to gain the confidence in the peice to replace my custom Delta 10mm as my house gun.

I dont think you could go wrong with a Colt, Kimber, SA, or STI in
9mm. Just realize that all may need some adjustment or component change. However, my personal opinion is that the newer SA loaded are
the best bang for the buck. Talk to Jason at Oklahoma Police Supply.
He sells them when in stock for a nose under $700.

[kassenz]

dont forget about the old Detonics. Fine quality. Ive seen a few on GunsAmerica.com

[RENEA]

Originally posted by kassenz
dont forget about the old Detonics. Fine quality. Ive seen a few on GunsAmerica.com

Looks like they're back in business!

[MXRacer101]

Originally posted by OUSooner
rented both before I bought my SA 9mm and the Sti jammed a few times and hardly ever locked the slide back on the last round.

I had the samething on my rental Trojan and my purchased one. I dropped 1 lbs on the recoil spring. Solved the problem. Never happended again after some 5,000 rounds.

[MXRacer101]

Yes, I was at the same crossroads about a year ago. I went with the Trojan. After you consider that the Trojan has a fitted Match barrel and a very light trigger, your SA will run up to the same price after you add a fitted match barrel (and/or fitted match bushing) and competition trigger job to get it on the same level as the STI.

The Trojan's major weakness is in its finish, it needs to be hard chromed IMO. The STI's fit is superior to the SA’s IMO. The SA is assembled (not hand fitted) using Imbel Brazilian slides on Imbel frames. SA’s custom shop pistols are awesome, but this model is not a custom shop model.

SA (non-custom shop) == Drop-in parts.
STI == Hand fitted slide, frames, barrels and bushings.

Basically the STI’s have the same attention to detail of the SA Custom Shop weapons. Ask your gunsmith the same question or a shop that specializes in competitions weapons like Dawson Precision or Brazos Custom Gunworks. I did... the rest is history.

If you don't need a competition level weapon, save the money.

[MXRacer101]

This is the most accurate weapon (by far) in my collection which include Custom Shop Kimber's. Two of the Custom Shop Kimber's are IDPA CDP weapons.

This one will be used in IDPA ESP next season.
http://student.metrotech.org/~kkitchen/trojan_eagle.jpg

[smpos]

I agree that adding the extra parts and service to get the SA to shoot like the STI may make up the difference in the cost. But wouldn't having to refinish the STI put it even further away in overall cost?

[MXRacer101]

Originally posted by smpos
I agree that adding the extra parts and service to get the SA to shoot like the STI may make up the difference in the cost. But wouldn't having to refinish the STI put it even further away in overall cost?

Yes, it does. However, you can wear off the original finish before hard chroming it. The SA's are fine weapons, I've owned several and still own one (PX9151, I believe). It really depends on what you want out of one. I personally wanted my investment all up front, others like a little at a time like a build project. The SA is a very strong weapon, just not quite on the same level w/o a little more work. It can get there and exceed it if needed and your wallet permits it too.

Good Luck...

[M1Garand]

SA makes excellent 1911. For value and features, you cannot go wrong with a SA.

If you are going to pay the extra money for STI, you might as well go for Les Baer.