Here we go again....
I think that many people have misconceptions when it comes to weapons like these and they don't fully understand the trade off between reliability and accuracy.
Ugly myths are raising their heads again. There doesn't have to be a trade off, nor, IMHO, should there be a trade off. This myth has been so perpetuated that folks actually believe it as gospel, and have begun to expect it. "That 1911 can't be reliable be cause it shoots one hole groups" or "That 1911 can't hit the broad side of a barn because it eats any ammo and is 100% reliable". It is just not true. 1911's can be, and are in some cases, both very accurate and perfectly reliable.
Making a gun more accurate often requires tighter more precise fitting which in turn creates more wear and tear on the these parts.
The first part here is correct, the latter is more myth. The 1911 is actually more complex than a lot of us think. Due to its swinging link, barrel to slide locking lugs, full guide rails, barrel bushing, etc, they require more fitting. If you don't believe me just field strip a 1911 and compare it to a Glock, SIG, HK, etc.
Sure you can slack on tolerances and leave the gun a little loose and it will probably be more reliable but not as accurate. Or You can go to tight and let the parts fit them selves with a "break in" period (wearing each other to a happy medium), sacrificing both reliability and durability. Both of those methods are fairly inexpensive. If you want reliability and accuracy in a pistol that will last a long time... well that takes hand fitting, and hand fitting is expensive. You can't just give CNC"d parts to trained monkeys and have them assemble them. Hand fitting requires skilled labor. Skilled labor is not cheap. If a 1911 is
properly fitted with parts that were high quality to begin with, then it will be reliable, accurate, and last a life time. If you don't believe me just look at Ed Brown, Night Hawk, Wilson Combat, etc. Their guns are capable of superb accuracy but do not sacrifice reliability or durability.
It is also the case that the more precise the fitting, the more affect a tiny deviation or movement of that part will have on over all accuracy. Hence, dropping a 1911 capable of 2" groups at 20ft on the ground will affect that gun's immediate performance much more than dropping a Glock capable of 2" groups at 5ft would affect its performance.
See above. A precise fitted 1911 will be no more or less effected by wear, dirt, damage, et all than a Glock, SIG, HK, etc. A tight 1911 will be. Please do not confuse precise and tight. Precise denotes assembly with a high level of skill. Tight denotes a disregard for tolerances.
Please not that I am not attacking or being defensive. I am just trying to clear things up.
-Fred