Well back in the 80's AO 1911's were very popular. I've shot them 0 issues and they functioned fine as any.

Bought my AO 1911 in 1995. Have shot thousands of rounds. Keep it cleaned and greased, never had an issue, never had to replace any parts.

I would agree on the hammer spring, I don't think it would take a lot to bring this pistol to light . It does seem to be accurate. Thanks for your review. Stay Strong 💪.

I won one in a raffle when they first came out. Replaced all the springs, the barrel bushing and added a guide rod. Shoots like a dream.

Even if I don't like the gun you're reviewing I always like your reviews. Thanks again. Have a Happy Thanksgiving. 🦃

Thank you for shooting once in a while one handed. I only have my right arm, I am trying to learn as much as possible watching your videos.

I bought an Auto Ordinance 1911 made in West Hurley, NY way back when. Its milspec, so I changed some parts, springs and pins from Wilson Combat including the mags. Runs like a champ and accurate. Love it and trust it.

Expert marksmanship with off hand pistol demonstrating here. My .45 auto is a Kimber “ Royal “ and is really quite beautiful. Made in Yonkers New York. Love the tele transport intro. Just sorta materializes out of no where. Must be near Area 51 Tonopah Nevada.

If you want a cheap 1911 go for a Rock Island. They’re really solid guns.

This guy's a freaking good shot!!

That pistol shot pretty darn good! Be worth getting the spring replace to cure misfires. The thing that I found funky about this gun is it’s trigger!! Looks short leaving a gap below and above the trigger guard.

My first pistol ever was an Auto Ordnance 1911a1 GI parkerized that I bought in 1995. Paid $350.00 at Sports Authority here in Virginia. It had some feeding problems in the beginning, but I bought Colt and Spring Field armory magazines and then it worked fine. I still have it in my safe. Good video thanks

I have a "MODEL 1911 U.S. ARMY" by auto ordinance. Bought it in Yucca Valley CA when I was stationed at 29 Palms (1995). I went to buy a Norinco .45 and the Auto Ord was right next to it. The Norinco looked terrible so I paid the extra $25 for the Auto Ord ($250). It's parkerized and looks really nice 5 feet away and it looks like an issue .45. All the parts fit correctly and the safeties work perfect. Remember back in the 80s/90s Colts were expensive. Auto Ord was kind of the only other game in town if you wanted a .45. Sure there were Spanish LLama .45s but they weren't parts interchangeable with issue .45s. My Auto Ord runs great. It took about 200 rnds to break in but it's been running great for 26yrs. Luckily there are a lot of affordable .45s available now.

I love your Chanel and most of the time I think you’re spot on. I think you however missed the boat on this review. I bought one of these in 1982 and the only thing I’ve replaced is the grip safety spring. The one I have is very reliable and accurate. I paid $275.00 for it in 1982.

One thing about you mixup98, you always give an honest review. Good shooting, as usual.

I would love to see you revisit this gun after you've done some work to it. As always....Great shooting! 👍😎

I have one of these that I inherited from my dad. I havent done much research on it but from what I did, it seems to be from late 70s/early 80s. It was actually the first handgun I carried because that's what I had. I eventually bought another gun and started carrying that and didnt shoot the Auto Ordnance 1911 as much. When I was carrying it and shooting it regularly I dont remember having any issues (other than the front site coming off, but the gun is 40 years old and I have no idea how many rounds through it). When I do rarely break it out and shoot it (dont really shoot it much anymore because I have other 45s and it has more sentimental value) I have noticed a lot stove pipes and feeding issues, but I kind of just attributed that to the magazine I had for it. I didnt know these guns had these issues, and now Im glad that 1. I didnt have to shoot mine in self defense when carrying it and 2. That mine did seem to work pretty well when I did carry it. Mine is pretty much just a safe gun now and has more sentimental value to me than anything.

I'm glad you recommended the Rock Island Armory 1911. That is the one I'm looking at. Thank you for posting.

I bought an AO 1911 in the early 90’s and it was a POS. A work friend that was familiar with 1911s worked it over for me ( Colt barrel, springs and stone smoothing). One of the best shooting 1911s after that.

Yup, we avoided those back in the 1980s. I got a basic Springfield Armory 1911-A1 that was reliable with decent parts and gradually customized it myself. Didn't really need much, just tuned springs, carefully modified sear engagement, larger thumb safety, match bushing, Pachmyr trigger and flat mainspring housing. Nowadays I'd probably just buy a Ruger or S&W 1911-A1 type. They seem to have done all the usual basic mods at a reasonable price.

Years ago I stopped by my LGS to find the owner at the counter with a box of parts. Yup! A Thompson .45 . No strike, bad safety, horrible trigger, etc. Typical issues. Right there,, I tore down my Colt ser 70 mk IV and swapped out *ALL* internals, springs, safety and trigger. Magic! It functioned just fine. Friends dont let friends buy AO

Really love your channel. Its void of ego, and unnecessary fluff. It feels like the terrain you film in. Clean and simple. I lived in Bakersfield California for 16 years, and the i love the deserts of the American Southwest. I enjoy watching other firearm channels as well, but your the only one I'm subscribed to.

I had an older Auto Ordinance 1911, it would stove pipe on the next to last round almost every time, changed magazines, changed the barrel, changed the barrel bushing and springs. Eventually I got to the extractor and that fixed it. It shot like a champ after replacing the extractor. I wound up letting it go because I bought a Gold Cup Colt, I have regretted letting it get away from me ever since.

I hate to see a bad 1911... Nice shooting, as always Mix.

I have an original 1960's Auto Ordnance 1911A1, in parkerized. When I tried to get an exact date of manufacture, KAHR was unable to go back that far, as records were not available. I have only the best to say about mine. When I look at yours compared to mine, the differences are amazing! I've owned it for 35 or 40 years. I still own it because it doesn't misfire or misfeed, anywhere as yours did. Sad to see for sure.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving, Mixup98 !!!!!!!!!!!!!

Just picked up a auto ordinance 1911a1 don't tread on me put 50 rounds through so far and she's like a dream

You definitely have the most beautiful ranges on the planet

I happen to build 1911s and I first started with the auto ordinance similar to yours. Never had the problems you have, but you have to realize that the military only used “ball” ammo in the 1911. There must be some modifications made to shoot lead and hollow point rounds or flat points. I still own that weapon and it shoots very well.

I used to have one and I never had any issues with it. That's the thing about these low-tier manufacturers: The parts don't hold up over time and the QC is hit or miss.

On a positive note; that was some damn good shooting with a gun you just got. Even if I used your chair; I don't think I could match that. Enjoyed.......F J B

After getting my licence , my first gun was a Kimber Custom Target 2 . Was very pleased with it till I got deathly ill 5 years ago . Now , I can't pull the slides back on any semi-auto handguns . Now I'm a wheel gun type person .

I have one of those I bought in the 1990's it has Model 1911A1 U.S. Army stamped on the left side of the slide. I've fired thousands of rounds thru it and it is going. I did replace a lot of parts and did some upgrades like a full length guide rod. I do get failures to feed sometimes but I think it is more the mags than the gun no misfires. For the money I paid and put into it 20+ years and still going is a bargain.

Because the changes worked, the results weren't as bad as we'd hoped. Thank you for the warning! Greetings from Brazil.

Picked mine up in the eariy 80s Never had a problem. It`s my every day carry.

I guess it was designed to train for not flinching, haha :-)

I think once you replace some parts it will be a decent pistol. Seems accurate when it fires. Best thing is you helped someone out by buying it. Years ago Dad picked up a pre 1950 High Standard 380 from a neighbor whose husband passed away. She wanted only $25. He gave her $40. Then we found out we couldn't hit a barn door with it. 😆 It helped her out though.

I bought a well used AO Competition Model made in Hurley, NY. It’s a little loose, but has been pretty reliable for me.

I praise your noble gesture of helping out your friend's spouse. I live 13000 kilometers away from the mainland so many of our purchases of imported products are not easily attended to by warranty service. We do however, have many parts for the 1911 since this is 1911 country. I have encountered WWII 1911s with many parts that have to be replaced and this is an expensive restoration. job.

Thanks for making the point that these guns were made when Numrich Arms (Gun Parts) owned Auto-Ordnance. That was a long time ago. Auto-Ordnance is now owned by Kahr Firearms group and the quality has significantly improved. I owned a gun shop and would shudder when I saw someone bringing in a West Hurley 1911. I was also a licensed gunsmith and performed service and repairs out of my shop. The West Hurley guns were horrible. The new Auto-Ordnance 1911's are pretty good and also priced very competitively.

I enjoy your channel so much, man. No frills and no BS. Just super good content. Really glad I found you on here. Cheers.

For what Numrich had the nerve to charge for that pistol they should have sunk some money into using properly heat treated firing pins, properly fitted parts and springs with enough strength to consistently function. Using a famous name to make sales, Thompson/Auto Ordinance.

Well, the good news is 1911's are pretty simple, easy to work on, and replacement parts for the most part are pretty inexpensive. I know you will get it functioning better. It is frustrating having a firearm that gets those light primer strikes. The gun looks nice and seems to be pretty accurate. I think it's worth saving.

Jumpin Jack Flash Bought an Auto Ordnance late 1990's; thought it was the same maker as the Thompson Machine Gun. Only fired it one time (.40 S&W) because any of reviews I read were not complimentary. That was the one made in West Hurley, New York; it is my understanding that there is another location where these were made that performed better work on that weapon. If the weak parts can be identified, it might save time and expense for current owners.

I bought one of these a few years ago, just because I wanted a 1911. It has been a great gun, with very few issues. I did have to replace the extractor, but that was a minor job. I also put a heavier recoil spring in, just because it had trouble locking up with steel cased ammo. It runs on all cylinders now. The only major problem that it has, is that, the serial number starts with AOC.

This man is so cool he always know whats hes talkin about every video is entertaining and informative hats off to you sir im a big fan from the phillipine.

I’m so glad you shared this video. I guess a lot of us have at least one gun that seems to bring out the Yosemite Sams’ in all of us. Happy Thanksgiving!

I got mine for $150. I put a new firing pin for $8, new sear spring for $12, and a new barrel bushing for $15. Although who cares if the grip safety doesnt work. For a beater gun it has been running well for me for 20 years. It doesnt like anything lighter than 230 grain ammo.

These are great pistols to learn all about 1911s. I have one of the same era. It wasn't very reliable at first, but over the years I've replaced many parts. I even fitted an aftermarket barrel to it. It is now very reliable and very accurate. There's no gun better to learn all about how a 1911 works and is tuned, cause you'll need to do it. The parts I've replaced on mine and work done include: barrel, barrel bushing, guide rod, slide stop, recoil spring, magazine, extractor (and tuned it), firing pin, polished feed ramp, trigger job & Cerakoted. Along the way I learned lots and had fun. It will now shoot 230 gr. hollow points, 185 gr. SWC, and 230 gr ball accurately and reliably. For me, it was worth the effort as there is lots of me into it. When I'm gone and my wife or son sell it to some shop, I hope the next buyer takes a chance on it cause they will get one nice shooting 1911 - cheap.

Well, I would sure be interested in seeing how it performs after you go through it and replace those parts you mentioned. I always enjoy hearing about a problem firearm that gets transformed after a little work and then becomes a jewel. Please keep us informed. Thanks Mixup....it's always a pleasure.

One of the greatest things I learned about the 1911 platform was it's ability to be tweaked. Just about every part on that firearm can be changed out with relative ease and a little know how. I bought an old RIA 1911, first handgun I ever bought as soon as I was 21, and it ran great. But I knew I could make it run better. 12 years later that sob is rock solid, and has never given me any issues. Change a few parts? Sure. But it wasn't anything major. It didn't take me long to do, and the results were phenomenal. Wilson Combat trigger, tritium night sights, Wolff extra power spring for my hand loads, new grips, pachmayr rubber grip insert, extended slide release and safety, etc. Man you can really have a lot of custom fun on that platform and it's still my hands down, favorite pistol platform. I know, I might be walking a little on the old school side of things, but if carrying firearms created by Saint Browning is Fudd, then so be it. Lol.

I bought an Auto Ordnance receiver in 1983 and built a gun using all USGI parts. 40 years and 20,000 rounds later I still own it. It has been rebuilt three times, reparkarized once and now most of the important bits are Ed Brown.

I remember those in the 80's/90's... a buddy had one and he said it was a POS...he traded it quickly

Another great video. Love the 1911 content On the day my Colt O1911C arrived back from Colt with new three dots sights because the original rear sight slid out of the dovetail on me. They updated me to basic three dot sights at no charge. Very familiar with Kahr arms (Justin Moon) as I,ve owned several and the fact that they bought Thompson and auto ordinance (desert Eagle). I did not know that Numerich owned Thompson. Bought many apart from Numrich and even stopped there a couple times when you could buy parts over the counter. Keep up your informative videos. Totally jealous that I can’t walk out into the desert and shoot like you.

Those old Thompson Auto Ordnance 1911's were made from parts ranging from GI surplus to cast steel parts made by lowest cost suppliers. I think the early ones were made up from mostly surplus parts, but as the surplus parts supplies were exhausted, cheaply made cast steel parts were substituted. Yes, even the slide was cast steel, some barrels also appeared to have a parting line from a casting mold. Pin holes in their receivers were not always exactly where they needed to be. Getting a good one required luck, getting a bad one seemed to be much easier to accomplish. Mine was a bad one, but I turned it into my learning and project 1911.

I had one many yrs. ago. Nothing but trouble. After changing many parts, Colt replacement parts. Also polished many sharp edges! Then it worked good so someone wanted a cheap gun ,so sold it to him. He was ok them for ever. So much work & money. I then got a Colt & made some light changes. And still have it . I built 6 from parts, Yes all worked great but some took longer to get them right! But all were happy & still are!

I had a auto ordinance 1911 minted in the early 2000s. I thought it was really well made and it shot amazing. Sadly it was liberated from my house 2 years ago.

The new ones under Kahr Arms are immensely improved. They resemble a USGI 1911 more closely as well.

I have one made in Worcester Mass. 2011 . Kahr must have fixed issues because mine functions smoothly and flawlessly. I like it as much as my Colts. Great video.

Had one that was made in the early 90s. Rattled, crude finishing, OK accuracy and reliable when 230gr round nose ammo was used. About what one expect at such a low price point. New springs and quality magazines will improve the reliability of your problematic 1911.

I guess I have the only one that is flawless... Very accurate, tight groups, well made, original without any mods, not one misfire, used a variety of cheap mags, had three different shooters and all were delighted with its performance. One had never fired a1911, I did I not like 1911s due to past experience with two expensive ones, and the last shooter was a 1911 fan boy who has at least 4 of them. My son declared it a "magic" gun and claimed it. Made me promise not to "tinker" with it....

I got mine, the military model, parkerized. I got mine in 2004. It's been faithfully serving me and I can only remember one failure, first magazine I put through it. So they have improved

Kahr Industries as you said is a good company that now makes the Auto Ordnance / Thompson brand firearms. I own an Auto ordnance / Thompson 1911 in stainless steel which is the Trump Make America Great Again model. It shoots like a champ, love the quality and smooth recoil.

It's one that makes you appreciate the others that work all the time.

Haja a missfire festival. But also a festival of proper aiming and shooting. Respect to you sir. Saludos from Argentina.

I bought an Auto Ordnance 1911 years ago. Fired some white box Winchester through it. One round blew up and totaled the pistol and injured my hand. No more Winchester or AO !

when i was younger and i was watching police shows, old gangster movies, they all carried the thompson .45acp it carried 8 in the magazine compared to the six round wheel gun...so the thompson .45 looked like a really great gun...it was not until i was an adult that i started watching the different movies and tv police shows and they all carried these hand guns that had 15 rnds magazines then it was wow these guns are better than the single magazine 8 rnd....just wanted to share a young memory...

I carried one of these and loved it. Well that is until I bought a ruger american compact 45.

Wow that's some great shooting! Especially one handed

Totally agree. I have the "General" (Commander) configuration. Bought it in the 80's. But after I replaced the horrible trigger, crappy sights and hammer, it was better. Should have just bought a Colt.

Every Auto Ordinance firearm needed mods after I bought them new. Weird, it was like some of the strangest things you’d never expect. My 1911-A1 had a smooth bore barrel from the factory like a shotgun, and an awful magazine that wouldn’t feed rounds. I fired it, it was semi accurate at about 25 feet. The Tommy gun wouldn’t feed rounds because it had an original 30 round magazine probably W.W2 era in the box.

Always enjoy listening to some history about guns. Good job there Mr. Mix, and Happy Thanksgiving coming up soon. Dan

I have an Auto Ordnance 1911 that is a Kahr built gun. Runs like a champ.

Thanks, I'll avoid the damn thing! 👍🏻

Man that things sounding off .. i love the way your videos sound out there

Feeding the led semi wadcutter is a positive sign

I bought one for $250 nearly new, and it shoots flawlessly, and I've shot thousands of rounds through it. It's also much more accurate than my other cheap 1911s. I own a handful of high end customs as well, and my AO honestly performs as well as they do. It just isn't as comfortable to shoot. It could use some professional dehorning because after a few hundred rounds, it can and does make the webbing on my shooting hand a little raw, and it isn't from the hammer biting but the rough edges on the frame.

At least that barrel is a winner. A new set of springs and a properly fitted safety should have it in good shape.

I bought an auto ordnace in 1982? and carried it for several years.The 1911 I'd carried in the Marines some years prior was made by Remington. I was certain the parts on each were interchangeable. The auto ordnance didn't like semi wadcutters and refused wadcutters; ramp issues. I don't remember a misfire. I was however quite dismayed when the slide stop started walking out of the gun during firing. A new slide stop purchased from the range officer,(who had a bunch of them?), solved the problem. Since those days I've progressed through Colt to Kimber.

Until the end my question was going to be, would you recommed an ria 1911. Answered before I asked. My dad gave me his sears 1943 leather holster he used in vietnam, I still haven't bought a 1911 to put in it, a ria gi model seems period correct.

Mine just needed a couple of magazines instead of a major overhaul. After about 30 years of heavy use I replaced the firing pin

It LOOKS pretty! Thanks Mixup and Son.

My dad had this gun about 25 years ago. Damn thing didn’t work good at all out of the box. He sent it to get all polished up and smoothed out. It was a great gun after that.

Good shooting and happy thanksgiving from NH.

Nice video as always ... yeah doesn't seem like a very good pistol but somewhat fixable so it's ok. 1911 parts aren't expensive so it's worth it since the barrel is good.

I had a similar problem out of one it was the hammer spray an mine had a drag the hammer was Rubbing The side of the frame you might want to check that cause I think actually that was the problem we Smoothed out The hammer and that took care of it Great video

What a beautiful place to shoot an unremarkable gun.

My buddy bought one of these back in the mid 80’s. He got it through the Shotgun News and, IIRC, it was under $200. His really did not have FTF or FTL problems, but pretty much all the other problems yours has, and it was gritty. It was accurate as well. I just ordered a new safety catch and all new springs and it was fine after that, never a burp. Oh, and in those days, we were shooting close to 500 rounds a month. With all said and done, it was still less than half the price of a new Colt.

This gun makes me want to give my revolvers a big hug.

All three of my Ruger 1911's Have been shooters right out of the box

I bought an Auto Ordnance 1911 back in 1988. I live near West Hurley NY, back then they were part of Numrich arms. The pistol gave me nothing but problems, I went back up to West Hurley and they did a few things to the gun so it did work better. They did ask if I was using 230 FMJ ball ammo as recommended, and I replied yes. Even with their tweaks, HP and wad cutters would not cycle all the time. I replaced the barrel with a Les Baer one, the gun functions 100% now with any type of ammo. Although if I'm using a crappy magazine, it reverts back to its old ways sometimes.

I have one had it for 20 years no serious problem still carry it today

I own one, same vintage and I installed a full length guide and Pachmayr grips as well. It may be spotty production because mine runs well. I do run mine a bit on the wet side.

I had one years ago that I bought off a friend for something like $50. He didn't want it because it was junk. I kept it for a few years before selling it for $100. They do make great paper weights.

As somebody that's 1911's for his entire life and has been maintenancing them and doing all kinds of gunsmithing two of them... You know you just have to replace a couple pieces inside of that fire alarm and it will be perfectly fine. But I'm pretty sure you know that already. I have a quote-unquote competition model from the West Hurley plant. It was a turd when I got it. But I ordered everything through Wilson combat... Now... I trust my life to it. One thing I do love about the 1911... Is the ability to customize and custom fine-tune it to your own preferences. In a pretty damn certain it is the absolute safest pistol out there. I mean if I'm mistaken by all means feel free to correct me anybody. But I mean think about all the different safeties that the series 70 has. And then with the series 80.. which I don't like... You get one more safety feature. Bottom line though any 1911 it does not matter whether it's bottom-of-the-barrel or absolute elite top-shelf you will eventually be replacing pieces inside of it because they're going to wear out.

Thanks for the review. I was looking at another 1911 in 45. I already own a perfectly functional and excellent shooting Springfield 1911 and I love it. I also own a Springfield EMP in 40 S&W with a stubby barrel, and I also own Rock Island Arsenal 1911 in 9mm. They all shoot well and are flawless in their functionality. I happen to like 1911's. A real man gun and no plastic or Tupperware like so many folks are shooting today. Hey, we like what we like right? ha.

Well... it is a good looking Pistol, and it seems to be accurate (when it fires) I was going to mention hammer spring, but you beat me to it, nice shooting though, Thank for sharing. Stay Safe My Friend. 👍🇺🇲

I would say that this pistol is worth fixing. It shot very well aside from the misfires.

Ive one now; i went through it twenty years ago; i replaced many parts and did a 4 pd trigger... Never missed a shot...

Thanks a lot for another wonderful video you posted there sir! I really like every shows of yours, especially when you started with "Welcome to Southern of Nevada..." I'd love to swing by to meet with you on my road trips to CA/Nevada with my family, more than once a year! Love to call you "mentor" if you allow me to...thanks!