Anyone fall "out of love" with 1911's?

I am intrinsically taken by all things designed by John M Browning. I still have a "thing" for 1911 style pistols and doubt I will ever fall out of love with that type.

VooDoo

This doesn't need to be closed really, but it also doesn't seem like this should be a four page thread. Can we just let this one die without anyone else just repeating one of two basic opinions, IE "No" and "Yes"?

Sorry Ghitch75. I was quoting you quoting him.. to try and cover both bases. It's NOT complicated at the range.. safety generally not used.. AND your point, if you do use the safety it's still NOT complicated.

Sounds like most who say they have fallen out of love, never really were, but just are posting to post their dislike of the 1911 platform.

I was just shooting my 9mm STI, at the range today. could have done it all day.

Whether one likes the M1911 or not, that is personnel opinion I can respect.

But, the M1911 is the B-52 of the gun world. There are higher tech, higher capacity, and sexier handguns out there these days, but when these are all in the scrap heap, the M1911 will still be around.

Thirty five years ago I bought a 70's Series 1911. Twenty five years ago, I bought a Commander 1911. I shot them a good bit, but never got good with them, and they were our home defense guns.
Five years ago, I bought a Glock 9mm, and then a Glock 45. I shot them a lot and thought they were 'cool'. I also got pretty good with the Glocks, at least by local standards. Then two years ago, I bought a Springfield XDs.

Last year I dusted off both of the Colts, and discovered they both shot a hell of a lot better than the Glocks or the XDs. And the guys at the range ooh & aah when they see these olde 45's cloverleafing at 10 yards.

I never realized how good they were until a few months ago, but it is never to late to appreciate a timeless classic.

^ There's certainly not.
And there's also nothing wrong with liking both 1911s and new plastic guns. Diversity is the spice of life my friends.

It's funny; I've owned several 1911's from Colt and Kimber. Right now I don't have any 1911s. Mostly I run HK now and I'm happy with them. In every practical way the HK guns are better for me. They're bombproof, ergonomics are great and they're pretty light. Two of them have very good match triggers. There's really no reason for me to ever get a 1911 again...

...At least until I go shooting with my buddy! He has two 1911s, both Sigs. One is .45 ACP and one is a .22 (I think GSG makes 'em for Sig). Despite being bone stock the trigger of his Sig .45 smokes the match triggers in both my HKs!:banghead: The 1911 just feels great in the hand, too. Now, that trigger feel doesn't translate to it shooting any better- my HK USP45 Tactical pretty soundly smoke him and the Sig. And I can shoot my HK better than I shoot his Sig (his is compact, though).

But shooting his 1911s every couple months does remind me that I'll probably own another 1911 someday. I'd love to have the Colt in .38 Super I foolishly traded about 15 years ago...Probably what I will get is an STI, either in .45 or .38 Super, maybe 9x23.

I will probably never CCW a 1911 again but I'd be surprised if I never get another one for range use. They're just so nice to shoot!

No. I have not. I've been a dedicated firearms nut/owner for a very long time, more than 40 years. (I'm 60 now)
I fell in love with 1911's when my dad let me hold and look at the Remington Rand version of 1911 he carried in WWII. I have never not loved the design, and have owned more than a couple dozen over the last four decades.

I have, at times, carried other pistols, Glocks being the predominant one. Love the efficient, no nonsense design. Had lots of others too.

But, I always come back to the 1911. In fact, I picked up one today. I've built a couple here and there, modified most of mine to make them work best for me, use better/different parts, etc. I haven't ever been able to afford top end versions of the gun, such as a Baer, or Les Brown, Wilson, whatever, but have owned Colts, a Detonics, an early Kimber, that sort of thing, but my favorites on my budget are Springfield Armory guns. Today's is a GI MilSpec.

When I read comments like: "1911's are good beginner guns. Slender grip, soft shooting. Eventually you realize they're archaic garbage, with a bunch of unnecessary safeties, and limited capacity. Accuracy sucks on the best 1911's compared with Glocks, M&P's, Sigs, etc.", I get a good laugh! Yeah, and another John Browning model is "archaic garbage" too, most refer to it as the Ma Deuce... shoots some old outdated round called .50 BMG, if I recall correctly.

I think it isn't so much about which design, brand, platform is "best", it's really what's best, for you. What you shoot best, are most comfortable with, and can carry and trust your life with, that's the gun you need.

I found mine a long time ago. What was true then, remains true today.

no reason to be sorry Greg528iT....it's hard sometimes on here to get everyone's quote's right....at the same time on or off the range i don't have any trouble with the safety.....it's just automatic......

osteodoc08 said:

Well I mulled things over and sold the Kimber. I have 2 other 1911's I enjoy shooting much more.

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That says it all - you did what works for you, and you still have 1911s to boot.

1911 has never been a gun for that I wanted to carry. I just could not bring myself to get used the locked and cocked mode. In fact, I hate lowering hammers as it involves too much human factor than mechanical.

So after pondering and going to through MANY guns I ended up with H&K. The decocker and the safety setup on it is the best for me.

All that said, I always remained intrigued with 1911 and even shoot it much better than most pistols. I believe anyone putting together a collection without a fine 1911 is just kidding himself.

Kimber's aren't hard to fall out of love with. In fact, they are hard to love in the first place.

OP: buy a Wilson Combat. You will be a 1911 fan again.


-Freq

Nah, but...

It's only been 50 years or so.
Maybe next century....or millennium.

el Godfather said:

1911 has never been a gun for that I wanted to carry. I just could not bring myself to get used the locked and cocked mode. In fact, I hate lowering hammers as it involves too much human factor than mechanical.

Click to expand...

Funny, I kinda went the other way. Turned out I was far more comfortable with carrying cocked and locked then I was using the decocker anywhere but the range.

I know intellectually it pretty much can't fail and discharge the round (and tested hundreds of times when working on my double action trigger skills), but I can never get over that worry. :banghead:

To each their own, as they say.

I fell out of love with the 1911 early on. Then I reconsidered issues in the conversation:

1911's rust. Well, buy one with a stainless slide and alloy frame. It's the internal parts that could cause a malfunction anyway, maintain them and don't worry about cosmetics.

1911's have a safety. Yes, but both it and the Glock are carried cocked and locked. An LCP with no safety at all seems less controlled to me.

1911's have a better trigger. In many cases, yes, SA triggers are lighter and consistent. DA/SA aren't, and guns with no safety at all approach horrible, again, like the LCP. Plenty of Ruger revolvers have better triggers. Yes, you can win a match with a NY trigger weight Glock, but it doesn't have the length of pull issues the LCP does. We can tolerate the poundage a lot more than the length.

1911's are hard to lower the hammer. Not really, pull the trigger. As for lowering the hammer on a loaded chamber, why? Why would you drop the striker on a Glock and carry with a chambered round? The reason the dropped hammer exists is largely politics, not sound tactical reasoning. Both guns are carried cocked and locked when loaded. You just get an incremental easing of the safety operation with the Glock, which was designed to emulate the revolver which it was designed to replace. Less retraining was needed, a major selling point. Not necessarily "better," certainly ingenious.

1911's don't carry enough ammo. True, the double stack guns have pretty much run it out of military inventory. The doctrine is to have a lot of ammo and shoot it. That's not the better doctrine when most known civil confrontations involve the threes - three seconds, three feet, three shots. The 1911 has enough. Carry a back up mag if there is concern, the major cause of a malfunction is ammo and mags in that order.

The 1911 safety will slow you down. Not really, lack of practice does that first of all. I've caught myself swiping the non existing safety on my Glock too many times because I've practiced the 1911 and M9 more. And there is that three seconds element, too. How it's measured could stand more explanation, but the real issue is why so little notice? We apparently aren't paying attention to our surroundings and situation very well. It's really a result of not having to confront much violence, so we haven't taken pains to alter our everyday thinking. And there is also a certain amount of disbelief it's actually happening. We are making decisions that slow down our response. That we catch up most of the time shows where practice is important.

The 1911 is slimmer. In a lot of cases, yes, but the full size guns and .45 do work against it. Move to a 9mm with effective ammo, and it's still good, as the three foot ballistics will be adequate. This isn't a turn of the century island insurrection, there's been another 100 years of ammunition development.

Choose the type action you prefer because you are secure with it's safety and confident with it's use. What you like doesn't mean it's "better" than another, the reasons are your priorities, and may not work for someone else. I'm selling the Glock because the grip is now too big to comfortably shoot with some carpal tunnel, and I'm selling the LCP because it's .380 and the trigger is too long to pull. A P938 won't be "unsafe" to me cocked and locked, I won't be any slower with it, it won't rust into uselessness as long as I clean it inside.

How many fall out of "love" just to find what they needed to do was appreciate it in the right perspective?

Was first introduced to the 1911 in 1967 in RVN, carried it 2 years there, came home bought one and have been carrying one since. Saw what they are capable of and what they can do, now i have about 9 of them, my duty weapon is a Kimber STS 2, my wife carries an Ultra and she loves it. I also have Glocks, SA, H&Ks but the 1911 is my go to gun.

Nope.
The first handgun I was proficient with was a Colt Government Model. I was a USAF TAC pilot on my way to Vietnam and even though I "earned" the USAF Marksmanship Medal with a S&W .38, I knew I had no idea how to fight with anything less than a MER or TER on the pylons. A US Marine who had already had a ground tour in Vietnam before going through USAF pilot training, taught me the manual of arms with the GM. (Nobody said "1911" that I ever heard.) I had the misfortune to put it to use one dreadful night inside the wire. Upon return to the US I bought a Colt GM, Series 70.
I carried it until my first civilian job that issued guns. I was given a Sig 228 and found it was a natural for me. But, I always kept a Colt GM. Even when we changed to the Sig 229/357-Sig, another gun that seemed made for my hand, I kept that Colt. Long since, and subsequently retired, I've come to love a couple Commander-size 1911s, and a Springfield Operator. Which goes to the range most often with me, a Sig or 1911? A 1911 in one configuration or another. I've owned about a dozen, some of my favorites being stolen by my Charming Children, to whom I NEVER should have given the combination to the safe.
I've managed to hang onto a S&W 1911Sc that is compact, accurate, and light weight. It's frequently a carry choice, clothing permitting.
I still shoot 1911's with the accuracy that Marine finally acknowledged with an approving grunt.

I loved the 1911 until I discovered the Sig P210

I fell out of love with the 1911 for about 35 years.

Shot it in the service in early 1970's. Loved it despite being old, worn, GI stock. First real handgun I ever shot.

Bought two after I got out in the mid-70s thinking this is what a pistol is.

Found out they were mediochre in performance and there were many other pistols that cost less, and performed better.

Sold 1911s, no regrets.

Over a hundred other handguns bought, sold, traded, etc. Whenever the subject of the 1911 came up in my presence, I always proclaimed them to be yesterday's technology, old and dated.

Forward to around 2010.

Fell victim to Kimber's slick advertising. Bought a base Classic Custom. It became the most accurate centerfire handgun I had ever owned. Some problems, but solved with Wilson parts.

Followed in 2013 with a Ruger SR1911.

Now I still carry one of my polymer wonders about half the time, but the other half it's one of my 1911s. It's hard for any other semi-auto to match the 1911's crisp trigger pull and feel in the hand.

I've found the ammo each likes, and feel quite comfortable when I'm out and about with a cocked and locked 1911 with 8 230 grain .451 caliber projectiles on board.

I must admit that when carrying a 1911, part of the enjoyment is feeling kinship with the millions of other American service members of the past who carried it in the service of our country over the many years. And nobody can tell me that's wrong.

This week I'm carrying a Beretta 9mm with 16 127 grain JHPs, twice the capacity of my 1911s, and generating more ft/lbs of muzzle energy than the standard pressure loads I carry in the .45s. But I'm already looking forward to carrying one of the old slabsides next week.

Hey, I enjoy nostalgia.

Certainly not yet. Doubtful I ever will now, since I've had them since the early 80s and carried one for over 10 years. Oh, I've got some newfangled pieces, some I even carry, but my primary is a small 1911.

I could no more fall out of love with mine than I could fall out of love with my first two girlfriends (who, for the record, are Raquel Welch and Lynda Carter).



Seriously, though, it seems only natural that as one's gun collection grows, one will have less and less time to spend with any given gun. Guns are like tools...in fact, they ARE tools. As with any collection of tools, there are some that you use more than others because they fit the bill for more common usage. Doesn't mean you have to get rid of the tools you don't use as much.

Certianly, you may keep or get rid of guns as you see fit. Personally, I'm a keeper kinda guy, but if I were to get rid of any of mine I'd take care to find someone who not only likes it, but would give it a happy home. That's just me.

It's a personal choice, in other words.

The esthetics, the point and shoot, the feel, reliability, etc are for gun people. Glocks maybe better for 'police types', but plastic and striker fired, don't ring my bell

Negative. Carry a plain vanilla Colt Series 70 everyday. Its pretty beat, but boringly reliable.