Tisas M1911A1, opinions wanted

[johntheplinker]

Not being a big handgun guy this is a brand I've not seen before. The one I looked at seemed to be a tight, well made near copy of the old government model. Biggest differences I noted was a lower ejection port and semi wide hammer spur. I've been kinda thinking about getting a M1911A1 just for old times sake, as that is what I was issued most of my military career. Not going to use for carry or home defense, just an occasional shooter. I've looked at other cheaper copies such as Rock Island and have seen a few poor reviews of those as well as not being too impressed by quality. Trigger pull was actually decent, a little stiff but very smooth, feed ramp looked good, controls worked crisply. Factory mag is a Mec Gar also. Price would be about $450 OTD.
So for those of you who have heard of and handled this brand and model, what are your thoughts?
And one last question. Who makes good 1911 mags now?

 

[churchmouse]

Nope. Not me.
JMHO of course.

 

[wcd]

Nope. Not me.
JMHO of course.

What he said. I would think you would be better served with a Defender series 1911 from SA if you can find one. I have never had an issues with Wilson Combat mags.

 

[Trapper Jim]

Any Springfield . Unless you live in Turkey

 

[Dean C.]

Going to just back everyone else up here, pick up a Springfield that meets your criteria. As far as 1911's are concerned they are honestly the cheapest I am willing to personally go. Wilson Combat mags are GTG as well, I am a fan of the aluminum basepads.

I have a couple plastic baseplated WC magazines that after a couple seasons of Single Stack started to give me issues (I think probably from being beaten into the mag well a million times but still).

 

[bcannon]

Save just a few more pennies and get a SA milspec at least...

 

[Expat]

For $450 it would be tempting right now. I don't see any other brands available in my locals. I wouldn't have high expectations but you never know. Someone is buying them because they keep importing them. Sort of like the RIAs, I have never bought one, but some people obviously like them.
As far as mags, if it likes the MecGar that comes with it, I would buy a couple more. Wilson and Tripp are the expensive ones that everyone seems to prefer but I have had pretty good luck with the MGs, Metalforms... I have a couple of chip mccormick that don't function well enough that I would carry with them.

 

[Magyars]

I'm going to go against the consensus here.
For plinking I think it's fine. I believe they are series 70. And based on some of the other imports I have played around with it all feed, fire and eject along with the best of them....not likely to be as accurate.

 

[Lushamania]

I had a really long post typed up, but then the page crashed and I lost all of it (even after hitting “Save Draft”).

The gist of it was my girlfriend just got this firearm yesterday, as her birthday present. She loves it, it fires exceptionally well, and satisfied a low-price entry to the 1911 platform that she wanted. She wanted a fun gun for the range and she got it!

Oh, she got the 9mm version and I found it to be razor accurate!

We did a lot of research beforehand, reading reviews and watching videos, and we couldn’t find anyone that didn’t have positive things to say about it, especially for the price.

Here’s the Military Arms Channel video that sealed the deal for us.


As for magazines, my girlfriend picked up 3 Mec-Gar magazines. We’ve not received them yet, but I am certain they’ll be great, considering the company.

 

[KG1]

I've had pretty good luck with the couple RIA's that I've owned in the past. If I had to choose between a TISAS or an RIA I would still go with the RIA.

With that being said I would tend to agree with others about spending a little more and going with a Springfield if you can find one.

 

[Route 45]

I've been kicking around the idea of getting a 1911 to play with. The Rock Island and the Tisas are the only ones on my radar. It's going to be a toy, I've got an M&P 2.0 45 and a Shield 45 if I feel the need to carry 230 grain slugs. No reason to spend $700+ to go plinking. $450 is a great deal right now on a 1911A1 clone, and the Tisas seems to get good reviews.

If you plan on seriously getting into the 1911 platform for whatever reason (defense, competition, collecting, etc), I'd look elsewhere and spend a little more coin. But for a range toy? Heck, why not?

As far as worrying about where it was built...well, the Philippines doesn't seem like such a bad place to source a WWII replica, given the actual history. And I don't much care for Turkey, but as far as I know, at least they are not voting for gun control in Illinois.

 

[KG1]

I've been kicking around the idea of getting a 1911 to play with. The Rock Island and the Tisas are the only ones on my radar. It's going to be a toy, I've got an M&P 2.0 45 and a Shield 45 if I feel the need to carry 230 grain slugs. No reason to spend $700+ to go plinking. $450 is a great deal right now on a 1911A1 clone, and the Tisas seems to get good reviews.

If you plan on seriously getting into the 1911 platform for whatever reason (defense, competition, collecting, etc), I'd look elsewhere and spend a little more coin. But for a range toy? Heck, why not?

As far as worrying about where it was built...well, the Philippines doesn't seem like such a bad place to source a WWII replica, given the actual history. And I don't much care for Turkey, but as far as I know, at least they are not voting for gun control in Illinois.

These are all valid points that I can't disagree with. It all depends on what one's expectations are and what the intended use for one is.

I can't really see spending an exorbitant amount of money if it's just going to be a range toy.

Budget choices like an RIA or a TISAS should be sufficient to fill that purpose.

 

[Route 45]

I've considered the Ruger 1911, but the prices have gone way up on them. I seem to remember them on sale for $599 a couple of years ago? I'd go $600-$650 on a Ruger before I'd get a Rock Island or Tisas for $450. But the least expensive Ruger on GunBroker right now is $900, so that's out. Might wait for the Rugers to come back down in price, I think they eventually will.

 

[KG1]

I've considered the Ruger 1911, but the prices have gone way up on them. I seem to remember them on sale for $599 a couple of years ago? I'd go $600-$650 on a Ruger before I'd get a Rock Island or Tisas for $450. But the least expensive Ruger on GunBroker right now is $900, so that's out. Might wait for the Rugers to come back down in price, I think they eventually will.

Hopefully so. I picked up a Ruger several months back for $700 OTD when I was able to find one. That appears to be a bargain right now. I'm still happy with the purchase.

 

[DoggyDaddy]

I've never handled one of the TISAS but I've been impressed with other Turkish "clones" that I've had. Very well made, good fit and finish. The Turks seem to make good stuff, including ammo (ZQ1 for example).

 

[DadSmith]

I got a Rock Ultra FS 10MM for Christmas. Thumb safety was bad got it set in they installed a new one and total turn around was 14 days total. I'm satisfied with RIA customer service. If it isn't right they had no problem giving me a pre paid shipping label and they fixed it good. Now my Thumb safety is very crisp and doesn't flop around like it was before.

Thanks to Churchmouse who I ask about it because it was my 1st 1911. So he confirmed that it wasn't right.

 

[thompal]

I got a Tisas 1911A1 a little over a year ago for $375. Fit and finish are fine, both inside and out. The trigger is smooth, but kind of heavy. About two months after I got it, everything shut down for the virus, so I've only got about 2000 rounds through it. I had one FTF after about 40 rounds, but I'm pretty sure it was a magazine issue, because it happened with one of my more worn out mags. Other than that one, it's been flawless with 230 gr FMJ (WWB and some WWII surplus) and with Federal HST.

 

[johntheplinker]

Hmmmm guess I'll have to think about that one. Just something I saw in a LGS. In no rush to buy so I can keep looking and see if something better pops up. Thanks for the help!

 

[G192127]

I say go for it.
Every gun company makes a lemon now and then...along with alot of good ones.
I remember when Taurus came out with their low buck 1911-all the ninneys said "beware, can't be anything but junk" my buddy bought 1 and it's still running strong.
Then there's Hi-Point...reliable×3...
Some people say glock is spelled "crap". To many people base their options on 1 bad apple.
Buy the pistol.

 

[JTL165]

1911 is mostly a plinking pistol now so id say do it