Should I buy a GSG 1911

[Blackstuff]

Just to add to your choices/confusion, theres now also the Magic 9 barrel/bushing system, although it is £150, its supposedly the dogs danglies and looks soooooo good!

Discussed here;
http://four4islands.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=2930

[bradaz11]

Well my airsoft 1911 fits one of my spare cowboy holsters and as mine is for wild bunch shooting it'll need to fit in and a high speed rig won't do.
Add for £150 for the upgrade to get 1" groups at 10/20 yards. Is it worth it? What do the other makes of additions gain in accuracy? Is it comparable?

[Daryll]

This weekend will be my first chance to try out my Pro TSC with the PES system installed, so i'll let you know...

[froggy]

Add for £150 for the upgrade to get 1" groups at 10/20 yards. Is it worth it?

No intent to p*ss on GSG owners'parade (I am one of them) and I also know UK beggers can't be choosers but at the end of the day is that really worth throwing good money at a pistol made out of such cheap zinc based alloy ?
Let's keep in mind that the fair value price for that sort of "quality" pistol would be below GBP 200 , which is actualy, more of less the US retail price .

To me, it looks those GSG 1911 are fast becoming the equivalent of pimped-up Ford fiesta with "go-fast strips" & "turbo" stickers in the back ...

[Blackstuff]

And that's a problem because......... I know no one gives a flying f**k in France about what their cars look like (mainly due to the bumper car style parking regime) but come on, look at this beauty!!

[froggy]

I bet that lucky driver also owns a fully mod GSG 1911 with super killer red dot and complimentary "seen on Call of Duty" chinese laser !!

mainly due to the bumper car style parking regime
Pfffff .... perfectly legit !! It's even called "parking à la Francaise" according to my "only one in the shop queuing" roastbeef wife

[MistAgain]

There is nothing wrong with the GSG 1911 . It certainly makes a good base to add go-faster goodies too .

We should thank Tunnel for all their work on it in its early days , Edgars would not have spent time and money working with GSG to get it up and running .

I remember in the good old days shooters were more than happy to buy the Norinco or the Auto Ordance 1911 because it was cheap , and then spend a small fortune adding decent performace parts to it .

Not everyone wanted to or could afford to spend £2000.00 plus on a state of the art STI Race Gun , even the Tarted up Jericho cost over £1000.00 .

[froggy]

I think you are missing my point MistAgain. I am not saying GSG are bad especially since, anyway, we have not got much choice

On the other hand, I am questioning the logic of fitting very expensive & quality kit on what is fundamentally, unlike LB Revolvers which are proper firearms, a very cheaply made product to start with.

certainly makes a good base to add go-faster goodies too

The GSG is, I think, made of some kind of zamac, hardly a material associated with quality & durable firearms . No matter how much money you'll throw at it will change that fact. The same way that a pimped-up Fort Fiesta will never be a Porshe whatever expensive kit you invest in it .

So, bearing that in mind but also that this GSG UK LBP already costs the same as a spanking brand new Glock, I question the worth of investing even more on them ? Especially considering that the price of the extra kit/tricking it out, will buy you a quality second-hand superb "out of the box" pistol like a Cz75 that, in addition to your GSG LBP here in the UK, you can shot abroad.

shooters were more than happy to buy the Norinco or the Auto Ordance 1911 because it was cheap , and then spend a small fortune adding decent performace parts to it .

While a Shadow cost GBP 550... My point precisely ! We live in a free-world, each one to their own

[MistAgain]

Froggie , it certainly is true that we do not have much choice . There could actually be a small increase in choice , but it would require cooperation between the maker , the existing importer and the third party who would assemble a UK legal .22lr pistol.

And that will never happen!

The GSG certainly is made from some sort of Zamak Alloy , I suspect its injection moulded and comes from the mould almost ready to run. This is a big plus in keeping costs down .

So the question of value for money is what it all boils down to .

The GSG Frame/Slide unit should be good for 50,000+ rounds , the Low Mills 1911 Frame/Slide unit should be good at least 200,000 rounds . Of course minor parts will need replacing on both guns during their lifetime .

If you shoot a lot the Low Mills 1911 is the best option , and it does offer a higher resale value , but for the average shooter the GSG ticks all the boxes and is right now, very good value .

As for spending the cost of a GSG on a second hand CZ75 that can be stored and shot abroad , this should not even enter the equation as probably less than 1% of UK shooters would consider this option .

We could get really complex and include the K-22 in the discussion …..but lets not go there !

[froggy]

We agree MistAgain .

Given, the situation & choice we have in the UK, so far, I was happy to pay 450 for my GSG. Is the gun worth that sort of money or is the quality on par with a brand new Glock of the same price ?
I dont think so. So, while I can agree to fit expensive extras on a good quality gun, I am not 100%convinced the GSG "entry version" fits that description for that purpose. The GBP 300 more expensive K-22 or LBR is indeed a different story.

What I am saying, is that the GBP 150 "improvement" of quality parts many fit on the "basic" alloy made GSG is actually very close to the price of a quality hand gun on the continent. € 200 will get you a S-H Cz75 in the C.Rep and €uro 300 in France, a DES 69 which is a proper Olympic Class match pistol.

A friend has the GSG 22lr LBP in the UK and once a month goes to shoot his big (and expensive) Bro in Belgium. Quite a few fellow members of my UK Club go with him & went down that way.