What do you love about the 1911???

[crankshop1000]

The 1911 was and is still considered to be the premier combat pistol of all time.In the hands of an expert, it is hard to equal with anything made today.They were never designed as a CCW weapon.The 1911 is at it's best when carried on the hip, cocked and locked.It is safe and quicker to fire than most any other pistol.Variations have addressed the capacity issues, mods have allowed the reliable feeding of modern HP and +P ammo. Downsizing has made the basic design easier to conceal. All mods have had a negative initial impact on the basic design reliability of the original. The bugs eventually get worked out and in the end, the basic idea of the 1911 is proven again and again.The 1911 has the best ergonomics of any metal pistol and the 1911 has more positive history associated with it than any other.The modern clones are as good as the originals due to better manufacuring and machining tolerances that the new equipment is capable of.Basically, you can buy a good clone of the original for $500 and get a totally reliable,fun to shoot multi use pistol that still carries the aura of the original. Fire 8 or 14 .45+P 230 grain shots downrange rapid fire and drink in the power. Love at first shot!.

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[kazzaerexys]

I don't own any 1911s, but I have fired several. I don't own one because I have never found one that I thought felt completely comfortable in my hand. And yet...I shoot very well with them. They really are that darned accurate. If I found the right grip, I'd have no problem carrying, because I like .45 ACP, I like the flat profile (just put the slim grips on my P220 and like it because of the flatness), and then there's Condition 1...

One of the things I waffle on for a defense gun is retention issues vs. speed to deployment. The DA/SA gun is grab-and-go, which is good, but if the BG ever gets a hold of the gun, there's nothing to keep him from enjoying the same ease of use. The manual safety is appealing to me for the couple of seconds it might buy in a retention situation. At the same time, I don't want a gun with both a DA first pull and a manual safety. For me, personally, it'd be either/or.

So maybe I need to find out how a Commander-sized SIG 1911 GSR feels in my hand.

[2fast4u2c]

I have a smaller hand at the web and find the Kimber Ultra Carry II to fit very well. I use mags with the plastic foot for an added grip feeling.

[sourmash]

Great gun, own them but dont carry them. The "it feels like a 1911 in my hand" say's it all. But I carry Glock's.

[thug23]

Anyone own a S&W 1911DK (Doug Koenig Model) .45 ??
Can you compare it to the others and how/why you decided to go with it.
Thanks

[Dakotaranger]

I'm a better shot with a 1911 than any other pistol.
I prefer heavier pistols
I agree with Bud, you can't beat a bad guy with combat tupperware.
(although, I'll carry an XD9 or XD45 as a BUG if I go for a walk at night).
If it kept my Grandpa's bacon safe on Okwinowa it will suffice for me.
I'd rather trust a .45

[Nightflurry]

I shoot at 1911 better than any other handgun. To me they combine a perfect size grip, a great SA trigger, and they just plain look good.

I might carry a Glock, but I love shooting the 1911 platform.

[bmcgilvray]

"...When I examine the 1911, I see the following--
A) Carry mode concern--always seems to raise questions.
B) No 2nd strike capability.
C) Low ammo capacity.
D) Heavy gun to CCW..."


Actually Bud pretty well summed it up for me in his first post.

Folks will carry their hunting rifle or shotgun "cocked and locked" and are OK with the use of the safety on the mighty AR15 yet many times the same folks get squirrely over the 1911. Love the carry mode. It's simple and the design yields the most wonderful trigger.

Don't want 2nd strike capability. A DA revolver presents a different cartridge with each trigger pull thus giving an actual "second chance" capability. Revolvers are my very favorite.

The first round is far more important than the 15th round. As was said earlier, if it's not been solved in 8 rounds then the problem was likely too big for a handgun to solve.

I love heavy guns and loathe the shrunken flyweight ones. Large to medium framed steel handguns are easier to shoot well.

The only auto pistols I like to carry are the 1911 and the Hi-Power. Will carry a P3AT when it's absolutely necessary but won't likely ever avail myself of the use of any of the more modern pistols for primary self-defense.

[Air,Land&Sea]

It's not a Glock.

[AzQkr]

What do you love about the 1911???

The memories of carrying one [ or two due to circumstances/environ ] at 39 ounces with 8 rds on board for a few decades and now being able to compare that platform against the higher capacity tupperware I now carry

Brownie

[OD*]

It's not a Glock.

[Tx1911]

The weight of a 1911 takes up recoil and makes it a soft shooting gun. Unlike the flippin' of a plastic gun.

The trigger of a 1911 makes it more accurate that a plastic gun and shot placement is key.

If you need more than one mag to subdue a BG then from either a 1911 or a glock, you can't shoot worth a piss then.

You got to admit a 1911 looks like a hotrod compared to the plastic pistols.

After saying all of this I like all my pistols, my favorite is my 1911 Springfield TRP.

[Rossman]

I love 1911's and I own 2 of them, both Colts.
Having said that lately my everyday carry has been a XD 40. I will go back to the Colt in the Spring and Summer. I carry IWB as it is a breeze cocked and locked.

[JAG45]

Why a 1911, I wish I could give that a simple answer. I shot my first on at ten years old in 1961. It is the one I have craved ever since. Dad sent me off to college with a GI WWII issue one. It would rattle, shoot reasonable well, and feed anything, even the greenest, bent, mangled, cheapest surplus ammo I could fine. Nothing feels as good and comforting on my hip as a 1911. I have seen and shot all kinds of 1911’s. I have worked part time in a custom shop since the early 1980’s. I have seen 1911 come in so butchered that it would be hard to believe that they would ever function again. I have watch the best shooters in the world perform it is amazing what they can do with a 1911.

It is the same basic pistol, but you can tune and tweak it to do so many different things exceedingly well, a bullseye paper puncher, a top open race gun, a ultimate carry piece, or a general all round “get ‘er done” pistol. And you know that “general all round” can perform reasonable well right up to the top 10-15% in any type of use.


But on to real reasons, I can take one almost fully apart in less that 2 minutes without any tool, change out any part and have it running again in less than five. You can take 10 GI spec. guns apart mix up the parts in any order and reassemble them still have 10 functioning pistols. I have an old Springfield Armory from about 1982 that became a shop test bed. It had the first generation of comp’s tested on it, had the frame drilled for several different red dots, converted to 38 super until the double stacks killed a standard in open competition, now back to stock 45 trim. Back then, it was nothing for us to shoot 2-3000 rounds a week. That pistol is closing in on 500,000 rounds and it won the 2007 single stack class at the state championship. Other that changing out springs the only parts that had to be replaced as near as I can remember, were the extractor, firing pen stop, and a couple of broken sights. (Sorry about the sights, they were not stock and I can be a little rough on anything sticking out on my pistol. I recommend a Novak type on any carry pistol.)

So with close to, or a little over 1,000,000 rounds it is hard for me to think of anything other than a 1911. I own several 1911’s, and I do have to carry others from time to time, but given my way with a jacket to cover it a 1911 in an OWB is just hard to beat. Sorry to be so long but there aren’t any simple answers…….