Please enlighten me Mike. What's so wrong about it, should I be concerned?

No, it's just that dual recoil springs are usually used in micro (3.5") 1911'2 and have to be replaced quite frequently. I'd want to know the logic behind using this on a standard 1911 before plunking my money down

My uneducated guess is that being a competition pistol, it's entirely possible it's going to go through a bunch more rounds then a regular carry pistol, and so it has dual recoil springs to handle the abuse of high round count a little bit better. It means you don't have to change the single recoil spring as often. But I could be totally wrong.

I am with pig on this, a full size with any type of "system" seems very unnecessary.

On a smaller size I can see the advantage. My Ranger II a 4 inch barrel set up has STI's "recoil master" system. Have never had a problem with it and you can tell the difference with the recoil with it. Very soft and quick shooting.

HOWEVER when it goes bad they are very spendy to replace, like $100, for a recoil spring set up. I think that is ridicules. When I do need to replace it I probably will because STI cuts the gun to fit their system. They know what they are doing but you could easily go with out. They work in my opinion in non full size 1911's, in a full size just a complete waist.

The only thing I will say is my "system" has a bunch of rounds and I see no need in replacing it anytime soon. I don't think the life is any shorter than a traditional set up. Heck I think it would last longer with the dual springs but I am no engineer.

Check this out.........how the "STI" system works. Hide the frame and the slide and you can see it in action. Besides this is fun to mess with.

http://www.m1911.org/loader.swf

I'm with pig. I would save a little more and go with a Dan Wesson. 1911's are addicting!

Friends don't let friends buy Mimbers. I would stay away from the RIA's for your first 1911.

Thank you for the great advice and recommendations so far, all this is helping me avoid mistakes on my first 1911.

On the reloading side of things.... take a look at this post from 2013 or so. It shows my setup (which has changed a bit since I moved south). I now have one entire bedroom of the house for reloading.

the tools:

Harbor Freight 18 lb tumbler.
Lee 4 hole turret press (I use it in batch mode, not semi progressive
RCBS Powder handler.
A separate 4 hole plate for each caliber I load. Once the dies are set properly, you should not have to touch them again. Very repeatable.
Dies in the caliber you want to load.
Dillon or Wilson go/no go gages. one in each caliber you reload.
For pistols: RCBS, LEE, Hornady or Dillon dies that are titanium.
For Rifle: You MUST, absolutely MUST lubricate the cartridge before depriming. Failure to do so will jam the cartridge in the die, making both worthless.
Hand primer or use the Lee turret to prime (I find hand priming to be faster)

Here's the link to the reloading section:

http://www.cotep.org/forum/showthread.php?t=1815

Enjoy! Ask any questions you would like answered via PM, my link or this post.

PS. Everyone likes to do things the fastest way possible. In reloading, that would be progressive. That said, I would not recommend a progressive machine to anyone just starting out. If you got it set up correctly, then you would produce good ammo. If you make a mistake in the setup, you may find yourself with a few hundred pieces that you will have to break down and rebuild. You can pick up the Lee 4 hole complete kit for $154 at Amazon. You'd need to purchase the dies for .45acp and of course the components. But $154 is a far cry from the price of a Dillon 650 @ around $550 without the bells and whistles... for a hobby that you might not enjoy doing. Here's the Amazon link:

https://smile.amazon.com/Lee-Precisi...ndex+value+kit

DaFadda

Couldn't agree more. I started with a Lee single stage and glad I did. I got to understand the basics of reloading and its a great way to learn. You can sell reloading stuff pretty easily. If you have somebody you really like you can give them a good deal to get started.

Basic Dillon 650 is $599. If you buy the better mounting stand, roller handle, case feed, extra lighting, trays I could go on and on. I have about $1100 in mine with extra plates. I did swap out my RCBS dies for Dillon dies as well. Didn't need to do that but man the Dillon dies are spendy but so easy to set up.

Awesome info. Would buying a used Lee turret be a good idea? I'm sure there're are many switching from this to progressives and good prices for full setups could be found.

Also, I think I've narrowed down the 1911 to a SA Loaded. 1911 forum seems to also agree this would make a great first 1911.