You know, I've been thinnking a lot about exactly how my Combat Elite is supposed to be so much better than this gun. It is better, but really not that much. It has a match barrel, but I have read that regular Colt barrels are basically match grade. It has an enhanced hammer and three hole trigger, which I am not sure inproves the function of the gun, but it looks cool. It has low mount sights, which are usefull for carry, and fancy grips that I took of anyway. It has a beavertail grip safety which may or may not be an advantage, depends on the user. So I can see why it cost a couple hundred more. It's fancy, and slightly tighter, which could be a matter of chance rather than a deliberate effort on Colt's part. In a self defense situation I would not be any better off with it, and it's not so fancy that I won't carry it and use it. And I actually think the three dot sights on the 1991 have pretty dang good visibility even if they snag on my Remora car holster, which is a pretty small deal.
And all of this makes me think about the $2k+ 1911's out there. They are nice. I will have one someday, no doubt. But I see it going like this... At some point I'll be able to justify the cost without feeling queasy, and I'll get one. I'll never carry it because I'll be too afraid of wearing the finish or scratching it. It will be a range gun/safe queen. After a while I will sell it to finance another high-end brand and repeat the process. I'll have fun and spend a lot of money but.
None of them have the Mystique and Povenance of Colt. All of them have hundreds, or thousands, of dollars in diminishing returns on workmanship. No doubt they are finely crafted and just pretty amazing machines bordering on art. But to what end? In the end I remember it's a gun. A dirty, loud, tool meant to be used in the most harsh and unfortunate circumstances.
I've only been shooting since September of last year. What you just read is just the latest iteration of what I've felt in my gut the whole time regarding 1911 brands.
So anyway.... I'm going to the range in about 15 minutes :rock: