Large caliber Bullseye pistol ?

What brand and model and I guess caliber ( from what I understand the professional Bullseye sanction shoots one of the 2 pistols need to be a 45 cal pistol ? )  would be the best for Bullseye tournament. 
I know it’s all about how much money you want to spend.  Let’s say under 1500.00 out the door price and then maybe if it does not perform as I hope start the modification trip with trigger , etc. Looking for the top 3 pistols , brands , caliber. Thanks Marty

Personally I think it would be better to start from scratch, i.e. buy a frame, slide and all the parts and have a good Bullseye gunsmith build the gun. This is, of course, just my opinion, nothing else. The problem with upgrading an existing store bought pistol is that for the most part the quality is not very consistent. Some Springfield ROs I handled (including my own) had very decent barrel fit, others were very loose. Same is with Colt, RIA, etc. It's a hit or miss. SO the chances are you will end up replacing all but a few non-essential parts.
Springfield RO is generally regarded as a good starting point for a Bullseye gun but unfortunately they are not made anymore. Perhaps if you don't eat to start from scratch, your best option would be to look on this forum in the Classifieds section for a used pistol, they come up fairly often.

UPD: Having said all that, I think if you just start shooting Bullseye, it may be a good idea to stick to .22 only for a while. Ruger Mark I/II/III/IV, S&W 41, just to name a few.

If you are going to buy ammo I agree that 22 might be the best place to start.
Get One of the good books recommended on this site, or even the older Army
manuals.
The big thing on BE is mental.  You can buy a good $1500 pistol from any  of the good 1911 makers  and it will shoot better than you can to begin with.  Hand loading is VERY helpful for 45 due to cost and recoil management.  you can buy reloaded 45 from Fenix or others that are not full hardball loads, and they are usually cheaper than Brand ammo.
Get a pistol with a good trigger, and dry fire until you know how to find your natural point of aim, and read up on the methods the Masters give, many on this site.
The gear is not that important in the beginning.

Yes I agree. I have 2 Mark IV pistols with Volquartsen competition kits in them. I was lucky this year and got a profit sharing check and wanted to by myself a gift for all the hard work I did In 2022. Marty

Most of the old used BE pistols I come across as well as work on are 99.9% of the time in need of a rebarrel. They’re also high mileage and heavily worn. I’d start with a RO. Barrel fit is better than many of the older pistols. Add a 0.200” slide stop pin, proper EGW bushing and a trigger job and it’ll be good enough for a little while. If you start shooting low expert scores, have a KKM barrel (non MIM fire control as well) installed by BE gunsmith. Then you’ll have a pistol capable of X ring at 50 yds. Look for a RO with good frame to slide fit.
Jon

The Springfield Range officer or Garrisison with adjustable sights was the most popular 45 suggestion until it was discontinued.


1st choice Springfield 1911 Loaded Target .45 ACP stainless $1097.00 MSRP P19132LCA
1911 Loaded Target .45 ACP Handgun - Stainless, CA Compliant - Springfield Armory (springfield-armory.com)



2nd choice Colt Gold Cup series 70 45 available in stainless or blue

Stainless $1199.99  MSRP
Colt's Manufacturing LLC

Blue $1299.99 MSRP
Colt's Manufacturing LLC

Colt Gold Cup Trophy Stainless $1699.00 MSRP
Colt's Manufacturing LLC

3rd choice- Ruger 1911 Target 45 in stainless $1299.00 MSRP
Ruger SR1911 Target Centerfire Pistol Model 6736

The Springfield and Ruger may be found new at less than retail.
The Colts seem to still be a little over retail price.

"( from what I understand the professional Bullseye sanction shoots one of the 2 pistols need to be a 45 cal pistol ? )"

To answer this part of your question - If your goal is to shoot a complete 2700 (that is a tournament where you shoot all three guns) then yes, the last gun you shoot will need to be in .45 caliber.  Many if not most shooters will use that same gun for both the Center Fire portion as well as the .45 portion so you can shoot the tournament with just two guns (Your Ruger for the 22 portion and the .45 for the other two)

You budget is a bit tight to get a brand new true Bullseye gun but here are the two options that will be closest in cost.
A) As others have mentioned, you could use a Springfield Armory Range Officer if you can find one.  Start by shooting it as is and lightly modify it if it needs a little tightening.  Ultimately this gun could be used as a base for a custom build if you want to take it that far.  The basic gun and maybe a little work should be doable with that budget.
B) Keep an eye out for a used Rock River Wadcutter.  A new one nowadays is more than you want to spend but used guns sometimes come up for a better price.  The classified ads here are good place but you can look at Gunbroker as well.  FYI I shoot RRA guns and have been happy with mine.

Good luck in your search.
John

This one is in a Cabelas in Nebraska.  They will transfer to a Cabelas near you for a small fee.  They are also open to offers on used guns.  

https://www.cabelas.com/shop/en/101048065

This one is definitely old school, likely late 60s build.  But it’s very near your budget now and will likely give you years of service.  IMO, this will be better to learn on than anything else out there.  If you do get it, I’d replace the rib with a optic ready rib from Rock River Arms.  But that can wait.

If you’re still searching for a decent 22 pistol, there’s this one at a different Cabelas

https://www.cabelas.com/shop/en/101089404

The dot probably will need an upgrade but it is a workable sight now.

Start shooting matches 22 only and talk to the guys shooting the matches. Chance are they may have a lead on someone who may have a wadgun (or ballgun) that they would be willing to let go.
Yes a used bullseye gun likely will not be perfect and may have some wear, but if you are starting out it very well could be better than other options at a low price point.

Wobbley wrote:This one is in a Cabelas in Nebraska.  They will transfer to a Cabelas near you for a small fee.  They are also open to offers on used guns.  

https://www.cabelas.com/shop/en/101048065

This one is definitely old school, likely late 60s build.  But it’s very near your budget now and will likely give you years of service.  IMO, this will be better to learn on than anything else out there.  If you do get it, I’d replace the rib with a optic ready rib from Rock River Arms.  But that can wait.

I like that " pig sticker " open sight rib on this pistol. I don't know what is the correct name for that sight, only that Bomar used to make them. It would be nice to find one to put on my old Richard Shockey 45.

There are new Ruger 22/45 mark IV with 5.5" bull barrel on GB for about $350. A Ruger screw on scope rail is about $15. Get a drop in trigger kit from Volquartsen or others (not sure of current price). Add a tube type red dot, UD 1" is ideal, used ones come up here quite often. Same grip angle as a 1911 is good choice.

These guns are rock solid reliable, shoot any ammo and certainly good enough to get you to Master if you do your job!

Likely to retain most of value if you decide to sell in future.

There are new Ruger 22/45 mark IV with 5.5" bull barrel on GB for about $350. A Ruger screw on scope rail is about $15. Get a drop in trigger kit from Volquartsen or others (not sure of current price). Add a tube type red dot, UD 1" is ideal, used ones come up here quite often. Same grip angle as a 1911 is good choice.

These guns are rock solid reliable, shoot any ammo and certainly good enough to get you to Master if you do your job!

Likely to retain most of value if you decide to sell in future.

Identical "uppers" on GB are going for about $150. One of those would make it very easy to switch between red dot and irons when you want to shoot an EIC match.

Folks….  Once again thanks for the great info this forum provides us NEW shooters info to the sport of bullseye shooting sports. this forum is the best of the best. Wish I could buy all you a cup of coffee.
 You guys have have been nice enough to answer the same question many many times over and over the last years without complaints from of us. Us newbies 
 that have more money than common since …. Ha ha.   
 My hat is off to you and maybe we will run into each other at a bullseye match in the future.
Look for a a card with NDAR15MAN on top of my shooting lane at a future shooting bullseye matches.  There is fewer and fewer of us every year. 
Thanks again. Marty

NRA sanctioned shoots in the Precision (Bullseye) match can be shot with 3 calibers if shooting a 2700 or 2 of the 3 for an 1800. 2 calibers are specific, .22 is required in the .22 portion and .45 in the .45 portion. The middle match is not specific as to caliber but must be center-fire .32 or larger. The 1800 is the .22 and any caliber .32 or greater. Most top shooter use only the .22 and .45.
 NRA rule book is available online at  https://competitions.nra.org/media/8365/nra-precision-pistol-rules.pdf

Jon Eulette wrote:Barrel fit is better than many of the older pistols.

Jon-

Was barrel fitting done differently long ago, or is this a materials problem, or ?

I've often wondered about the golden age of BE smiths and the work that they did. Are we still doing what they did, and if not- what's different?

Thanks,
Chase

I think a couple of things changed from the “Golden years” and now.  People are always learning and there was a LOT of custom 1911s built for the run and gun games.  Many of these builders used the same principles as the classic bullseye smiths but improved the tooling and methodologies.  The AMU was paying attention and these new techniques were incorporated.  So the principles are the same but the tooling and techniques are much improved.

S&W 1950 and 1955 45 acp

Most gunsmiths have guns and parts they like to work on, and guns and parts they refuse to work on.  Ask them what they like to work on, and you'll avoid having a parts drawer that looks like mine