1911 - Is This Astonishing ?

I think it would be an astonishing beating if I told my wife she was "way over" a given age if she were 5 years older.

But go 1911.

One things for sure.
They will still be going strong well after I am.

I shot my first one in 1962.

And they had already fought WWI, WWII, and Korea, and were 51 years old then.

rc

its too bad the early era of automatics is over, today everything is either a 1911 or a clone in some part to it. back in the early 1900s we had options, we had varieties of pistols some id consider better than the 1911 in many aspects but today its all just so boring, almost every single handgun is of the same type, same construction, and same configuration

justin22885 said:

today its all just so boring, almost every single handgun is of the same type, same construction, and same configuration

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There are reasons why this is the case.

Perhaps the features that were more reliable, durable, safer, etc. endured through the evolution of firearms over the decades.

It's similar to why all the cars now have fuel injected engines instead of carburetors, shoulder belts, air bags, etc.

1911 platform endured over 100 years for many reasons and I hope it will endure through next 100 years.

back in the early 1900s we had options, we had varieties of pistols some id consider better than the 1911 in many aspects

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And exactly which would those be??

And, are they still making any of them??

rc

Every time I detail strip one of my 1911's for cleaning I'm amazed at how they're designed and built, not to mention the machining involved, and the fact the design is over 100 years old. I also factor in the kind of machinery and tooling they had to work with back then.

Sure they make 'em. Sell them right next to the Studebaker dealership.

Agreed! Not many other designs have survived so long. I like the simplicity and ease of disassembly-- even a fool such as myself can take one all the way down to bare frame and rebuild it. Plus, they're fun to shoot. New shooters always seem to take to them.

It was a 1911 that kicked off my current gun collection. I'd always had a pistol around since about the age of 18, but only one or two at a time. After the Virginia Tech thing in 2007, I decided that I should have a concealed weapon permit and a serious pistol. Bought a Springfield GI, got the permit, and started upgrading the 1911 bit by bit. It exerted some sort of magnetic force that caused other 1911s to start appearing in the house-- a Colt Compact, Ruger full-size, Citadel full-size, and RIA compact. I suffer from lust for a Defender, and that will probably be next. I have other handguns and like revolvers a lot, but the 1911 will always be special.

I thought the 100 years mark was so amazing I went out and bought a Colt Government so I could commemorate the event!

Colt Mk IV Series 80...

I bought this one as a new USAF Lieutenant in 1984.

Edmo

Yep. Just picked up a new Colt Series 80 Government in stainless steel(Model O1091).

20 rounds of ball ammo at 25 feet into a 1.25" circle; 20 rounds at 50 feet into a 1"x2" oval. For $849.99.

I'm not a semi-auto guy but one of the few I have and the first semi-auto I bought was a 1911. Why? Because ever man should have at least one!

What is astonishing to me is all of the firearms that John Browning designed are still around and still being used by so many and the fact that he designed and built them with the technology of that time period. Look at the M2 .50 - still in use by our military. Imagine what his mind could come up with today.

And don't forget leverguns. They are still very popular in heavily wooded areas like NE PA. Not counting the older rifles the 1873 is 142 years old and while used more for cowboy action it's still being shot. The 1886, the 1892 and 1894 are all still being used in the field and taking game. Of course all are older than the 1911 and from the same brilliant mind.

justin22885 said:

its all just so boring, almost every single handgun is of the same type, same construction, and same configuration

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Once a simple method of utilizing a mechanical principle is invented, it's kind of silly to complain about it's effectiveness.

Kind of like complaining that it's boring that wheels are round when they could be square, triangular, or octagonal. It's just that round works SO much better!

The 1911 is one of those love it or hate it guns. I have always liked the 1911 guns especially a fondness for the Series 70 Colt Government models. I believe 5 of the below are Series 70. The only non Colt is a Kimber bottom center. John Browning designed a heck of a gun.



Ron

45_auto said:

Once a simple method of utilizing a mechanical principle is invented, it's kind of silly to complain about it's effectiveness.

Kind of like complaining that it's boring that wheels are round when they could be square, triangular, or octagonal. It's just that round works SO much better!

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He's not complaining about the effectiveness or that they all use round bullets.

He's noting that they're starting to all become honda civics. Effective? Yes. Exciting? Not as much.

Reloadron

Nice Ron, very nice!

I have 1 that is truly a 1911 clone and 3 other .45 autos .. If I had to choose to keep only one .. I would keep the 1911 To be fair If I knew I was going to have a shoot out with a hand full of gang bangers >> FNP .45

bannockburn said:

Reloadron

Nice Ron, very nice!

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Thanks. I have a weakness for the things.

Ron

I have acquired many more 1911s since this pic but I don't have a table big enough to make the circle any larger.







There are more but here are some of the new ones:

.45 ACP SIG TacOps:






10mm LongSlide Para Elite LS Hunter:

Mesinge2, sweet, very sweet.

Ron

And I did the same thing bannockburn:

rcmodel said:

And exactly which would those be??

And, are they still making any of them??

rc

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a lot of them were made in countries completely obliterated by war and treaties after WWI and were not allowed to continue production of many of them, most the innovation was coming from countries like germany and austria

an example is the bergmann bayard action, still available today in a modified form in the arsenal strike one pistol, the C96 mausers action was modified for the P-38 pistol and this action still exists today in the beretta 92 series, both actions have proven themselves viable alternatives and equals to tilting block designs in cost and reliability

if we had even remotely close to the oppressive laws germans and austrians faced post WWI, where domestic production of the 1911 wasnt allowed nor was civilian ownership of them it would have died out then like most the others, it lasting 100 years has more to do with the environment in the united states which has allowed it to thrive