Verified answer

The Remington is made in America.

The Taurus is made in Brazil.

The Citadel is made in the Philippines.

The Remington has a long history of quality firearms manufacture, including 1911s, that some say has gone down hill in the past few years since they became part of the Freedom Group, owned by Cerberus Capital Management.

Taurus makes good value guns, but has had some quality control problems in the past. If you get a good gun, you get a good gun, but if you don't it takes effort to get resolved. Taurus 1911s have many of the common upgrades the people want in a 1911.

Multiple companies make 1911s from the Philippines (not sure if it is the same factory or not). For the most part these guns are good quality, true to the Colt design (and even use old Colt factory equipment). Don't know about Citadel, but others like Rock Island Armory and Metro Arms turn out decent guns for the money, that many say are a great value.

A 1911 is a pretty large gun to carry concealed. It is rather narrow, which is a good thing, but the length and height can make it a challenge. If you want to carry concealed, then look at the shorter barrel versions. Also be aware that, unlike many modern CCWs, the 1911 is properly carried "c0cked and locked", so you need to understand what that means.

Remington has had some QC problems - they seem to have a handle on those

Taurus can be hit or miss... in my opininon- for what most dealers gets for them I'd save another $200 and shop for a used Springfeild Armory or Colt.

Citadel/Rock Island are the same factory- different brands. They offer all 3 1911 frames in 9mm, 38 super and 45 ACP. Before the panic they were selling the base models less than $500 in many parts of the country. Not a Colt...but not bad for a entry 1911 and the frames are good enough to build on.

I have to chuckle at this "1000 round" benchmark. We probably shoot close to that in a weekend training session a couple of times a year. While any inexpensive 1911 or other semi auto may go bang when deployed from a night table after a 500 round a year schedule... most "hard use" 1911's end up with $1000 of work added to a $850 frame Or a $600 Glock or Springfeld XD will do the same.

All the models you mentioned will have cast parts and MIM small parts now days.

Ruger's 1911 is in the same price point as the Remington... and not a bad pistol if you can find one.

I have never had the pleasure of having the remington nor the citadel,...more is the pity.... But I carried a taurus 1911 for about 3 years.

Now I'm 6' 4" and go 240. I can conceal carry a full size 1911 with no problem, though there are those who will say that the full size is too big for cc. I never had any big problems to speak of.

My taurus was reliable and shot quiet well. I really had no trouble with it such as a failure to fire or feed using either cheap ammo or the expensive stuff. All told I ran pretty close to a thousand rounds through that gun and I regret having to let it go.

It shot clean or dirty and the shots grouped well, considering it was a 45 and a defensive handgun. To be honest, I never measured the groups, but I estimated them to be somewhere in the neighborhood of 2 to 2 1/2 inches at the magical 7 yards. That ain't bad for a gun that had no alterations or special work.

I was very surprised by that gun all things considered... I found it to be reliable, accurate and a pleasure to own.

Now, be fore warned: there will be those who will scream from the rooftops about how any taurus handgun is junk and should be used for nothing more than a paper weight.

Fact of the matter is, I have had mixed results from taurus myself... I had a raging bull in 44 rem mag, had the 8 3/8 inch barrel and weighed about 12 pounds...

Anyhow, the raging bull developed a failure to fire after less than 100 rounds.... I can't really say what the problem was, I got rid of the thing.

So my experience with taurus has been mixed. I got the 1911 first, had great luck out of it and then figured I would also have good luck from the 44. I was wrong.

If I had gotten the 44 first and had all the trouble with it that I did, I probably wouldn't have gotten the 1911.

I guess it was just luck for me that I got the 1911 first.

It was a good little gun and fun to shoot.

I miss it.

Taurus 1911 For Sale

One thing about 1911's is although you can play lego's with them, there are NOT all built equal. Lower end (as well as higher end) 1911's are known for many issues. Failure's to feed or eject, Jams due to mag issues etc. If I were going to buy a lower end 1911 (all I can afford) I would go with the Remington. There very nice looking and at least you have a quality name like Remington behind it. Taurus has very mixed reviews on everything they make. I've never held a Citadel but they seem to get descent reviews. Where most lower end 1911's cheap out is the finish.

Please check out my new Forum I started for Gun Owners, Hunters and Outdoorsman, Free and no ads. Looking to get quality gun owners there. http://thegunroomforum.com./ Spammers will be deleted instantly, so don't waste your own time.

FYI Citadel and RIA are part of Armscor. I believe the primary difference is the warranty (cits' is 1 year but RIA is life, repair work goes through RIA).

Looking at picking up the officers model in 9mm today (from what i can tell, the gun is not mil-spec and 45 gives the parts a beating at about 5k rounds). Hornady Critical duty will also give you the same kinetic transfer of energy as a 45, less recoil.

Just my honest opinion.