STI Trojan 5.0 Review - Best 1911 for the Money

[tmd11111]

I've been getting a hankering for a 1911 in .40S&W lately and STI was on the list. I have two gun shops here where I live and neither carry STI. When I asked them both why I got the same response from both. "We used to but had too may problems with them and customer service left something to be desired." I take comments like that with a grain of salt because its their side of the story and not STI's or their destributor's. Anyways I've stumbled across a few vendors at gunshows who carry STI's and I handled a few. They seemed and felt ok to me but I didn't see anything on them to brag about, at least in comparison to my SA's, Colt, and DW.

 

[Texasjack]

I remember a conversation at Carter's Country (biggest gun store in Houston) about Glocks some years ago. Why don't you carry them? Oh, they're junk and people keep returning them, etc., etc. Like you, I took that with a grain of salt. Within a year they were selling Glocks and bragging how good they were. Yeah, they were just trying to get the distributor to cut them a better deal.

 

[Texas1911]

^^ Apparently you have you run both the Trojan and Spartan.
Care to describe any differences?

The Trojan has front stippling, is completely US / Texas made, and is hot tank blued (or hard chromed). It's also built on the STI high-grip friendly frame which has an undercut trigger guard. The barrel is also different (the Spartan is an Armscor barrel).

The front strap stippling on the Trojan is nice/unique looking. Does it provide good grip compared to LPI work?
For comparison, I really liked the stippling on Sig's Scorpion.

As noted, it's not as effective as a good checker job, but it's better than nothing. I find the TRP checkering from Springfield to be the best in the market, it's what I would call ... tenderizing.

If the Trojan is for non-carry, non-comp use, would you recommend the hard chrome option?

No. As long as you aren't subjecting the pistol to a lot of sweat and wear the parkerizing will serve you well.

I recommend the Spartan to anyone, it's a great pistol, as is the Trojan. I find the Trojan to be a better built pistol with some nice differences, but from a shooting standpoint, they both shoot good.

 

[Creatism]

Nice gun!! Now I might have to visit Georgetown

 

[Texasjack]

I stopped by the range to visit "my" Trojan this weekend. I asked about the price and if the salesman had said, "I could knock off a couple bucks...", I would have most likely bought it that minute. But he didn't so I came home to search through the couch for spare change to add to my savings.

 

[Glockster69]

Well, I have found all my spare change, I know what time "they" open in the monring and I'm gonna beat you to it.
After that I'm gonna post pics JUST to piss you off. Lol

 

[Rentz]

Great now I want one

 

[stx kid]

made in Texas you say? looks like I'm not going to get that ruger after all

 

[Texasjack]

Well, I have found all my spare change, I know what time "they" open in the monring and I'm gonna beat you to it.
After that I'm gonna post pics JUST to piss you off. Lol

tr1911 was right about you! Troublemaker!!

Now you know that won't look good with those plastic pistols of yours!

 

[ROGER4314]

STI guns are poor quality and their customer service sucks...........bullshxt! Now there's a lad who doesn't know what the Hell he's talking about. I have direct experience on both counts and disagree totally. I'd also put the STI Lawman up against any of the upper scale production guns. Their customer service is almost embarrassing in trying to do the customer right.

Flash

 

[macshooter]

I'm confused. They say their made in Texas but do slides and frames come from the Phillipines? Not a problem but just wondering. Seriously considering a full size, not sure just which one yet. What kind of warranty to they have?

Who cares? It's hard to make anything in the states that competes with the cost of labor in other countries. That's fucking paradise. I wish I could work there. A primo 1911 factory on the Guadalupe River. ****. That's heaven on earth. I speak as one who has lived on TX HWY 29 just west of there, short of Liberty Hill.

 

[jtriron]

STI guns are poor quality and their customer service sucks...........bullshxt! Now there's a lad who doesn't know what the Hell he's talking about. I have direct experience on both counts and disagree totally. I'd also put the STI Lawman up against any of the upper scale production guns. Their customer service is almost embarrassing in trying to do the customer right.

Flash

Very true

 

[98f150]

I would not feel safe having my life on the line with a $1000.00 1911 of any make. I own Wilson and Nighthawks for a reason a fine running weapon. Here is my latest that I picked up yesterday I bought it from Budsgunshop.com and transferred it to Storied firearms. A Nighthawk Talon-t with a custom Titanium Nitrate finish.

 

[Gramps]

I would not feel safe having my life on the line with a $1000.00 1911 of any make. I own Wilson and Nighthawks for a reason a fine running weapon. Here is my latest that I picked up yesterday I bought it from Budsgunshop.com and transferred it to Storied firearms. A Nighthawk Talon-t with a custom Titanium Nitrate finish.

Hate to be a dick and go off topic, but that's a load crap. At a training class in May a fella had two (2) custom 1911's in 10mm that constantly had problems (stovepipe, FTF, double feed, FTRB) one was a Wilson and the other a Les Baer or Nighthawk. The price of the gun does play into the quality but to make a statement like that is just unreasonable. Oh and my $500 polymer gun did not malfunction all weekend.

 

[Glockster69]

You are correct 98f150, ALL guns <$1000 are completely unreliable.
That's a fact I just created.

 

[98f150]

I would prefer a $500 Glock to a $1000 1911 but I would take a $3000 Nighthawk or Wilson over a $500 Glock.

Hate to be a dick and go off topic, but that's a load crap. At a training class in May a fella had two (2) custom 1911's in 10mm that constantly had problems (stovepipe, FTF, double feed, FTRB) one was a Wilson and the other a Les Baer or Nighthawk. The price of the gun does play into the quality but to make a statement like that is just unreasonable. Oh and my $500 polymer gun did not malfunction all weekend.

 

[Texas1911]

I would prefer a $500 Glock to a $1000 1911 but I would take a $3000 Nighthawk or Wilson over a $500 Glock.

I put 1,000 rounds through my .45 Trojan without cleaning it and it ran flawlessly.

Price point doesn't make a gun work better.

 

[ROGER4314]

Come on guys, the 'Net is already filled with crap.....don't make it worse. I've gotten to the point where I cite my resource (usually personal experience). If that sounds like bragging, I don't care.

Re: STI
The lower end guns are made in the Philippines. The upper end guns are 100% made in Texas. My Lawman is made and serviced in Georgetown, Texas. I know that because I've had my pistol factory serviced and they did a super job of modifying it to my specifications. They also went far beyond what I asked them to do. The cost?....zero/nada/zilch/nothing!

RE:
I would prefer a $500 Glock to a $1000 1911 but I would take a $3000 Nighthawk or Wilson over a $500 Glock.
Sorry, from personal experience, I don't agree. In over 50 years of messing with this stuff, I've owned a Hell of a lot of guns and that has NOT been my experience. The RIA 1911's are a prime example. They are inexpensive but do a terrific job! Price point alone, is not a vaild criteria for judging the effectiveness of a tool to be able to do its intended job. There are some exceptions. Jennings, RG, Rohm and some others are simply not acceptable.

Gun snobbery is just that.....snobbery.

Flash

 

[40Arpent]

I know that because I've had my pistol factory serviced and they did a super job of modifying it to my specifications. They also went far beyond what I asked them to do.

Flash, did you miss this comment a while back from OLDVET (full thread link below): "I also asked what it would cost to have them (STI) do a trigger job on this Spartan to improve the trigger action. The guy said they don't do that kind of work due to the liability if something went wrong."
Sound strange to you?

http://www.texasguntalk.com/forums/handguns/35421-sti-spartan-discussion.html

 

[Texas1911]

I don't think it's just snobbery, ... sometimes you just get tired of the hit and miss and just buy something uber-quality so you don't (presumably) have to put up with it. There's a lot that goes into the higher end guns that you don't get in the lower end stuff, but as a rule you are just stacking percentages in your favor. I've seen Nighthawk, Wilson, STI, Springfield, etc. all have issues. Shoot anything enough and it'll have a problem at some point.

I've replaced many a component in my guns. Broke a trigger pin in my Ruger, replaced the extractor in my STI Eagle, replaced a good number of mag springs and mags, replaced every component in my Glock 19 besides the barrel (twice), probably been through 5 guide rods in my Glocks, replaced a trigger pin in my Glock 17, replaced sights on my Glock because they wear beat to shit (twice) ... the list goes on.

Just how it goes. I think as you gain more and more experience and ability you start to look beyond the equipment.