I get inquires about these guns every few months. Specifically inquiries about what I think of them? Well here is my current position.
As for fit, my belief is these guns are much better fit than most 1911s in their price range. A comparable make to this fit wise would be the Rock Island Armory (RIA) offerings.
Fit is very important when it comes to 1911s in that guns that are fit well maintain a measurable level of performance. 1911s that are not fit well, even if they run and shoot currently, will beat themselves out of that. Leading to breakages and accuracy issues.
So no…the, “I’ve had X-brand gun for Y years and never had a problem” statement doesn’t apply if the owner doesn’t actually shoot a whole lot. Many mid-tier 1911 companies count on the fact most of their customers are borderline delusional and don’t really shoot as much as they believe. The biggest proprietor of this hustle is Kimber.
With that said, reading this you might be thinking I would recommend Tisas 1911s over Kimber. Not so fast! Just like with Kimber, that depends on the price. And that is still at play with the Tisas offerings.
Tisas appears to be coming straight at Kimber’s throat. They are planning on offering more and more features for higher & higher MSRPs. Which will put them right up into the Kimber price neighborhood.
But here’s the problem. A lot of this crap doesn’t matter. Dudes who are 1911 curious will buy their first 1911 based off of curb appeal & proximity. Kimber currently is segment leader in this starter-house business model. But that first time 1911 guy could just as easily end up with a RIA, Springfield, etc. Doesn’t matter.
If after a while that buyer really gets into 1911s and wants to see what the possibilities are, I recommend he sell his “intro 1911” and buy up from there. Or put another way, don’t sink a bunch of money into your first house trying to turn it into a mansion. No matter how you try to rationalize it, you’ll lose your ass.
Same on these Tisas. Even if they are better fit than Kimber’s I still see all kinds of deficiencies that would cost big money to address. The most obvious needing to be dehorned. Handling all of these Turkish 1911s is like grabbing a box of razor blades. Which isn’t the most enjoyable experience for dudes who shoot a lot.
So what are you going to do? De-horn all the parts on your Tisas? It’s your first 1911. You probably don’t have the skill or knowledge to do that. So it’ll have to be farmed out professionally. At an hourly rate. And whatever finish was on those parts that needed to be de-horned? It’ll all have to be replaced.
And did I mention you are probably dehorning inferior parts to begin with? So then what? You are going replace a bunch of OEM stuff with Ed Brown or Wilson parts? Still fit at an hourly rate. That’s insane. Or at the very least an example of how poor people stay poor.
These intro 1911s should all be viewed as what what they are. Ms. Right-Now. Not Mrs. Forever. Buy them right as a package. Have your fun. Figure out what you like or don’t like. Blonde. Brunette. Redhead. Tall. Small. Big Tits or Itty-Bitty-Tiny-Bikini. Only then…do you trade up to a higher quality girl later.
Some of the MSRPs listed on these Tisas are starting to flip the value proposition out of whack. Just like Kimber, none of these girls is anything more then Ms. Right-Now Material.
Date accordingly….
Sincerely,
Marky
www.John1911.com
“Shooting Guns & Having Fun”
Areas of focus: Defense and National Security, Modern Light Weapons, Small Arms, Weapons Training.
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