9mm Budget 1911 Pistols
The 9mm chambering is the most popular pistol cartridge today, and manufacturers of the 1911 platform are capitalizing on that popularity.
Hi, I'm Todd Woodard, editor of Gun Tests magazine.
In the September 2024 issue, we looked at three economy 9mm 1911s costing around $500.
The were the Taurus 1911,
The Rock Island Armory (RIA) Rock Series M1911 A1 FS Tact II,
and the Tisas 1911 Duty B9.
All three of these 1911s are set up in a similar fashion with fixed snag-free sights, ambidextrous thumb safeties, single-stack magazines; thin, checkered synthetic grips; and no-nonsense matte-black finishes.
But inexpensive doesn’t necessarily mean cheap or unreliable, or does it? Here's a little more about these guns:
We like the Rock Island Armory’s 70 Series action. It was the most accurate 1911 of the bunch.
The Taurus felt good in hand, especially with the textured front grip strap and mainspring housing.
The right paddle on the Tisas’s ambidextrous thumb safety was a hair thinner than the left paddle, but that did not hinder operating it.
The Rock Series M1911 A1 was smooth cycling, had a decent trigger, and offered a
comfortable grip. Accuracy was very good. The magazine was its Achilles’ heel.
Rock Island Armory Rock Series
M1911 A1 FS Tact II 51632 9mm, $415
The Taurus 1911 was the most expensive of this trio.
Its accuracy was fairly good, even with the heavy trigger pull.
Cycling was smooth. The single provided magazine was not acceptable, but it wouldn’t be a big loss to discard.
Taurus 1911
1-191101-9MM 9mm Luger, $521
The Tisas 1911 Duty B9 was the least expensive pistol, but its fit and finish were good.
The trigger was too heavy for precise work, so accuracy was just okay. Cycling was fairly smooth.
The magazine was not its strong suit.
Tisas 1911 Duty B9
10100530 9mm Luger, $416
The Rock Island and Taurus pistols used a GI-style barrel bushing that required a bushing wrench for disassembly.
We did not need a bushing wrench to remove the Tisas barrel bushing during disassembly.
Left to right are the Tisas, Taurus, and Rock Island Armory. All three 1911s had nice, comfortable beavertails. We preferred the checkering on the mainspring housing of the Rock Island Armory.
Left, the Tisas had a smooth front grip strap, so to control it, we needed to grip the gun firmly during speed shooting. Center: The checkering on the Taurus looked as if it was wasn’t completed. Right: We liked the serrated front grip strap on the RIA.
The RIA (left) had a plain front blade that got lost on a dark target.
The white-dot front sights on the Taurus (center) and Tisas (right) and are easier to acquire on a dark target.
These are three decent handguns. But one was a half grade better than the other two.
To see which one is the best gun for the money, subscribe to Gun Tests magazine today.