Why do 1911s cost so much?

[JAB]

This may be a dumb question but please forgive my ignorance. I really know very little specifically about 1911s and I'm just wondering why they seem to be so expensive. Heck, even the 'cheap' 1911s seem to be pretty expensive.

For my example, I am going to use Taurus. The MSRP for the least expensive Taurus 1911 that is chambered in .45acp is $757. They list one of their 24/7 models chambered in .45acp for $475. Both are from the same company and both throw the same bullets downrange. The 1911 does not turn the .45 round into a photon torpedo any more than does the 24/7. So why does the 1911 cost roughly $300 more than the other .45?

Taurus has a 1911 chambered in 9mm listed at $677 and a 24/7 in 9mm listed at an MSRP of $452 - still a difference of more than $200 for a pistol from the same company that would put the same 9mm holes in something.

So what is the deal? I could understand an all metal gun costing a little more than a part-polymer one but that doesn't seem to explain it all. It isn't like the 1911 is some new, cutting edge design that still has to be priced high enough to pay for research and development. It's not like there isn't plenty of competition making 1911s to help keep prices down. These aren't 'boutique' guns - they are mass-produced Taurus pistols. Surely it doesn't cost that much more to build a 1911 - or does it? Is it just the mystique of the 1911 that allows every company who makes them to keep the prices up relative to other pistols in the same chambering? Is this just an example of pricing to what the market will bear as so many people want a 1911?

[Guest jackdm3]

Tooling a lot of steel/aluminum = $

Tooling plastic = not so much.

Edited March 23, 2010 by jackdm3

[Il Duce]

look into the Para GI Expert

[Steelharp]

RIA.

[Guest cheez]

'cause they can.

[Guest HvyMtl]

definitely you can get a 1911 NIB for under $500 - look for Rock Island Armory or Firestorm (the new ones, not anything over 1 year old) These are inexpensive as they are produced with cheap labor in the Philippines.

Production style - various ways parts are made, and how much is machine and by hand - plus the popularity of the brand... are the differences.

Quality does impact price.

Edited March 23, 2010 by HvyMtl

[molonlabetn]

1911s require a bit more attention when being fitted together, on top of being entirely machined metal instead of 50-cent polymer molds with stamped frames pressed inside... you'll find that the cast-frame 'GI' guns are more in the $450-$500 range though, and function just as well albeit with a shorter expected life and looser tolerances (less accurate). But very few people could test the fatigue limits of a cast-frame 1911, much less a more expensive forged frame, so that really shouldn't be a consideration, unless you plan to send $10,000 worth of ammo through the gun (in which case, spending an extra $300 on a forged frame 1911 is a drop in the bucket).

[BigK]

'cause they can.

I completely agree with this seemingly abrupt answer.

There seems to be some kind of prestige of ownership associated with a 1911. Whether it's warranted or not, I'm not judging it...I just admit it's there.

Personally, I'd love to have a Kimber Ultra Carry II, but I cannot afford one. However, if I did have $1000 to spare...I'd get 2 CZ's RAMIs instead.

[I_Like_Pie]

Same reason AR type guns cost $800....as answered above....Because they can.

[Guest jackdm3]

You can find a Llama .45 for $350 at a pawn shop, but ...

[Oh Shoot]

Because most of them don't bore you with their reliability right out of the box like say a Glock or XD.

- OS

[Il Duce]

Because most of them don't bore you with their reliability right out of the box like say a XD.

- OS

dont ya just love it lol

[Garufa]

1911 is not a model...it's MSRP.

[Guest redbarron06]

Because most of them don't bore you with their reliability right out of the box like say a Glock or XD.

- OS

Really?? Wow I have owned 3 new 1911s and one used one and none ever had a single malfunction. I did have a couple of problems out of my G22 and my H&K USP.

I aint saying, I am just saying, know what I am saying?

[ShamGlock]

Really?? Wow I have owned 3 new 1911s and one used one and none ever had a single malfunction. I did have a couple of problems out of my G22 and my H&K USP.

I aint saying, I am just saying, know what I am saying?

Limpwrister!!!!!!!

[Hgunner]

I think a better question would be why do Glocks cost so much.... I remember reading somewhere that it only cost Glock about $75 to make one. Anyone got the straight scoop on that?

[Guest redbarron06]

Limpwrister!!!!!!!

I dont think so.

[Guest redbarron06]

I think a better question would be why do Glocks cost so much.... I remember reading somewhere that it only cost Glock about $75 to make one. Anyone got the straight scoop on that?

At a place in Atlanta I bought my new 22C for 429. Moved to TN and sold it for almost 500, used with about 2K rounds through it and carried every day for over a year. Checked the same place I got mine from about a month ago and Ican still get any model for right around 500.

[Steelharp]

Because most of them don't bore you with their reliability right out of the box like say a Glock or XD.

- OS

What a crock of Shoot...

[creeky]

1911 is not a model...it's MSRP.

Bwahahaha!!! I love that!!

[timcalhoun]

Because it is worth every penny.

If a person would detail strip a stock springer and compare it to one of my customs, you would see in short order the superior quality of the parts and fit. It would be evident quickly how much hands on work the smith did. When you rack the slide you would feel that everything is working in harmony, and the gun will not beat itself up. The accuracy will be superior and one should easily expect to shoot it into its third barrel with little to no problems. You cannot expect that from a factory built gun, and like a Kimber TLE I had, you will probably start having problems with broken MIM parts or cracked frames etc before 100k maybe before 50k in some cases.

Probably means little to most shooters that shoot a couple thousand rounds a year, and there really is no reason to spend the extra money for most. But never think you are not getting your moneys worth because you definitely are. The question is...is it worth it to you? Warning though, when you get your first it is really disheartening to carry an over the counter gun again.

[Guest Plainsman]

The 1911s do seem to have a bit more "personality" to them over the standard Glocks and XDs, etc.

[Spiffy]

Most Elite Teams use them...... but they are secondary weapons to those groups. In a 10 round limit world, 9 rounds of 45 is what everyone wanted. Since the ban is over...... well they can't lower the price just because.

[JAB]

Thanks for the answers, guys. Looks like it was as I suspected in my OP - partly they are higher because it costs a little more to manufacture them but mostly it is simply because people are willing to pay that price. Nothing wrong with that.

Again, I'm talking mostly about factory production guns. Obviously, a custom gun of any type is going to be more expensive.

It usually takes a revolver to get my juices going. To me, semiautos are tools. They have some advantages (capacity being the main one) over revolvers and I carry them, sometimes, but they don't inspire any great amount of feeling in me (nor, to be honest, do they inspire as much confidence as does a wheelgun.) That said, I recently fired a 1911-style pistol chambered in 9mm (was a S&W - don't know the model number, etc.) and was impressed with it's pointability. I just had a small dot of the type folks use to write prices on for yard sales up as an aiming reference (I use them to cover holes in paper targets to extend target life - are about the same size as dots sold for that purpose but cheaper) and ended up putting two holes in that little dot with the rest of the rounds hitting within 1/2 an inch of the perimeter (giving me probably a 1 inch group) at ten yards, offhand - and this was the first time I'd even held a 1911 style pistol. Honestly, I have to work pretty hard to do that with my own handguns with which I am familiar and have practiced. I'm not going to run right out and buy a 1911 - and I'm not paying a grand or even close for one - but I will be keeping them in the back of my mind. I might prefer a 9mm chambered one (I know - that's blasphemy to some) just because I already have 9mms, plus the ammo is cheaper so I could shoot it more.

Edited March 23, 2010 by JAB

[Garufa]

Most Elite Teams use them...... but they are secondary weapons to those groups. In a 10 round limit world, 9 rounds of 45 is what everyone wanted. Since the ban is over...... well they can't lower the price just because.

Elite Teams of what? What does ban have to do with anything?