1911- The Harley-Davidson of handguns

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I'm new to firearms having just started collecting milsurp rifles last year. My wife bought my Kimber for me for my birthday, so I started with a 1911. I can appreciate the classic design, modern materials, and consistent performance mine has.

While I appreciate the 1911's design, I also like the newer designs, not just by Glock, but by Springfield, Walther, Beretta, S&W and others. Not a 1911 snob here, just what I got first. :)

While the Glock may carry more, for some people, that wider grip design may cause problems. The single stack of the 1911 actually makes CCW a bit easier. The 4" barrel on my Kimber and the single stack grip conceals nicely - even my wife and son couldn't see if I was wearing or not.

The higher cap mags/pistols can be an issue for some to carry, so to each their own. The key is to get what works reliably and accurately for YOU. The smaller grips of the 1911's work well for me, but that doesn't stop me from wanting other makes and models! :)
 
huh? What 1911 is in .380? The Colt's Government .380 is far from being a 1911, the closest .380 to a 1911 is the Llama, the earlier ones with the locked breech.
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This is the very reason the 1911 gets bashed for reliability problems. Everything that remotely resembles a 1911 is catagorized as a 1911. That puts a lot of look-a-likes and off spec. handguns in the same league as the 1911.
 
Has anyone EVER taken 1911Tuner up on his "follow me to your gun's destruction" challenge?

Lexington isn't that far from me. I want to come out and watch.

I'm sitting on the fence as far as the 1911. I've seen numerous 1911's ftf/fte/stovepipe, etc at IDPA shoots. In fact, it got so bad that when someone jammed up, I looked over to see what brand of 1911 they were using.
And, when me and my long hair showed up with a borrowed glock, I heard lots of complaining from the ccy (crew cut yuppie) and FOR (Fat old Republican) types about how they spent 1400 bucks on a 1911 and some "kid" can go out and buy a glock and not have a hiccup.

However, a more broad experience has shown me that the guys who buy them and treat them like Harleys (open the brownell's catalog and find a new farkle to add since they can't leave nothing alone) are the ones who have problems.

So, in that respect, I suppose Harleys can be like the 1911. If you must install loud pipes, large cams, do idiotic things to the geometry, and bolt on tacky and non-functional items (maltese cross mirrors?), then expect it to be less than what came out of the box. But, a stock harley is a nice machine built for a specific purpose. Seems like the 1911 is too.

Maybe I'll get one... after a couple more CZ products, of course.
 
It is interesting, because as for as the vendor support, they are like Harleys. Go to GlockTalk, and you will begin to see the vendor support for Glocks also, especially sights. The cheap sights are one of my biggest complaints of Glocks. There are even vendors that will reshape the grips.
 
Got a couple 1911s, for ugly plastiguns I own XDs . ....and a 32 year old shovelhead has been my bike of choice for 15 years.

man, I even offend myself

:rolleyes:
 
kinda like comparing a '70 440 Charger with an '07 Hemi Charger. Both have around 340 HP...'07 is fast and more refined but the '70 is a more visceral driving experience.
 
The 1911 is NOT like the Harley Davidson. The Harley is old, outdated, unreliable, overpriced, rattles, eventually falls apart and are bought by a bunch of rabid supporters some who refuse to even acknowledge modern version of others.

Wait a minute...there's something to this...
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This coming from a guy shooting a Glock with a 1911 grip safety...

The 1911.
Old. Over one hundred years actually. Funny that it is still more accurate than any other sidearm produced today.

Outdated. Every firearms manufacturer took ideas and designs from the work of John Moses Browning. Good thing it is outdated or your Glock would be a plastic Luger.

Unreliable. Ask the men that served in the trenches in WWI, WWII, The Korean War, Vietnam, The Bay of Pigs, Greneda and the US Invasion of Panama if it is unreliable. Then ask them what their preferred carry piece is.

Overpriced. I guess we could ask to get some lego's melted down and formed into a 1911 blank lower... I am almost sure that would drop the cost. Too bad it would make it a piece of junk.

Rattles. You are seriously going to sit there and state that the 1911 rattles when you shoot a Glock ripoff? Have you ever touched a glock? You can see straight through the action!

Eventually falls apart. Show me a 90 year old Glock that still runs and we can talk. Until then you can keep your comments between you and the rest of the tupperware party.

I am done with this sillyness.
 
Some people can't seem to enjoy a hobby without trumping their choice of equipment and/or running down what others use.

I'm not really sure what some people are trying to prove to themselves... or others.


I don't actually own a 1911 anymore. The box stock Springfield that I had was very reliable and accurate. I think the notion of 'unreliable' 1911s arises largely from the tight match guns that seem to be more finicky. Especially when you get people monkeying around with lots of aftermarket parts.

I have seen glocks, XDs, 1911s and my CZ fail at one point or another at USPSA matches. Never managed to get my Sig to FTF or FTE. Does that mean anything? Not really. Anecdotal. And I'm not a fan of running down another person's choice of handgun. My girlfriend shoots a G17 at USPSA and carries a G19. They are good weapons.

There isn't anything much sexier than a Dan Wesson Bobtail Commander 10mm.

Yet I shoot my CZ more than any other centerfire handgun. It works.


Bottom line of my rambling post.... the original poster needs to gain some security in what he wants to own/shoot without needing to run other people down to make himself feel better. That's not what the shooting community is all about bud....
 
Bottom line of my rambling post.... the original poster needs to gain some security in what he wants to own/shoot without needing to run other people down to make himself feel better. That's not what the shooting community is all about bud....
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Well put, but give it a minute. You'll see yet another "what's wrong with the (fill in the blank) handgun". I don't follow golf, but I guess there are those who are serious golfers, who justify their ownership of Ping clubs by berating Ping's competition.
 
Nearly 100 years old and it is still the standard by which all others are judged.

If someone thinks they have better light bulb, fine. I don't see the light.

I have three criteria, it has to work, it has to be accurate and it has to have a light trigger. It also help that the 1911 look good.
I am happy with the 1911 it works best for me and don't need or intend to change platforms.
 
Live to shoot, Shoot to live !

Why is it more race guns derive from 1911's
and
You see Honda and Kawasaki on the race track?
 
Favorite gun? Now my 1911 in 45 acp by believe it or not, Taurus! Most accurate, easiest to use, carry and shoot and I've got a Glock 21, SA XD45, CZ clones in .40 and 10mm but my absolute favorite most satisfying pistol is now the 1911 by a wide margin. It is a work of art, crafted in quality steel and fitted together with what appears to be loving care and attention to detail (just back from the custom shop in Brazil).

Favorite bike? My BMW R1150RT. I like to ride it like I stole it and the faster I go the better I like it. Tripple digits? Anytime! Dangerous? So What? I'm gonna be seventy years old next January and have had one hell of a ride and don't intend to stop until I have to. Don't like how I ride? Get the hell out of my way I think harleys are rolling junkyards that are way too noisy not nearly enough speed or power and designed to shake themselves apart with their stupid firing order.
 
I will continue to use a 1911 to defend my life until something better comes along. It fills my needs of being accurate, dependable, and simple to work on.

The bonus is that it's good looking. :)
 
'Tuner tossed down the gauntlet:

Bring your Glock and lots of ammo and magazines. Lots and lots. Play follow the leader with me in a torture/endurance test with any one of a dozen or so pistols that I use as range beaters...some a lot and some occasionally.
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Not having a dog in this fight... ( because my only 1911 has no front sight 'cause it fell off and I don't own Gl*cks )

We should clarify the rules first. Are we to presume the challenge is extended to Gl*cks of all calibers, or only .45ACP iterations? It seems to me we would not be comparing apples to apples were we not using ammo from the same batch.

Do what I do and make me proud. Do it not, and you buy the ammo. If your Glock is still functional at the end of the day, I'll buy it.
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I counter propose this: declare your firearm and caliber so that a challenger may step forward. The challengers should field a weapon of the same caliber.

3rd party THR will procure 2 thousand rounds of ammunition in said caliber, all of the same type, not disclosing the ammunition procured to the contestants until the day of the contest.

The challenge shall consist of a purely endurance related "fire as many rounds in as little time as possible without malfunction" ( while maintaining adherence to the 3 rules of gun safety ).

I suggest the challenge loser pays for the ammo. If both manage the day w/o malfunction, there will just need to be a rematch! :neener: and the cost would be evenly split.


So anyway, why is being compared to a harley a bad thing necessarily? Full disclosure - 2 motos, 1 ZX11, 1 ZX14. Sure the HD is an very old design, so is the 1911. The HD is a very simple and robust design, so is the 1911. The HD can be bored & stroked to over 2k cc's / the 1911 can handle all the way up to .50 AE / .45 Win. mag. Both HD and the 1911 have loyal followings. Both HD and 1911 are consumer driven markets and thus reflecting only what supply and demand is. Both the HD & 1911 provide the customer what they want. 1911's are excellent competition platforms, HD's are not, but they're not marketed to be. They are decent road going travel platforms though.
 
i hope you keep your 1911's very clean they need it to function properly
 
That's a funny comparison. I've never seen a fat, two-toothed bleach-blond wearing a black leather halter top showing too much skin (waaaaaaaaay too much skin) shooting a 1911.:D

Steve
 
I counter propose this: declare your firearm and caliber so that a challenger may step forward. The challengers should field a weapon of the same caliber.
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I'll go with that. The rest of it stands...and I want however many rounds it takes to bring that Glock to a dead stop. ;)

i hope you keep your 1911's very clean they need it to function properly
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More sheepdip. :rolleyes:
 
John Browning himself knew the 1911 was a flawed design. Thats why he was working on the high power (which he didnt get to finish before he died). John Browning understood what it takes to make a pistol great. Thats why im confident were John Browning alive today he would carry a glock.
 
John Browning himself knew the 1911 was a flawed design. Thats why he was working on the high power
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More myth and misconception. Browning didn't invent the Hi-Power because he was correcting the "flaws" in the 1911.

John Browning had very little input on the Hi-Power, aside from the initial stages. He died while involved with the project about 8 years before it was introduced. It didn't have a grip safety because it wasn't requested. It was a double-stack with single feed position because it WAS requested. In short, he wrote down the requirements and worked with it.

Browning also didn't just sit down at the drawing board and whip out a design, and he didn't have a free hand in too much of it. He was doing a job that he was hired to do...just like with the 1911. In that light...he gave the man who was signing his check what he asked for...not necessarily what he himself would have wanted to do.

I imagine that if Browning had had complete autonomy, the 1911 would likely be a 9mm/.38Auto or Super in Commander length and without a manual safety.
 
"Thats why im confident were John Browning alive today he would carry a glock."

From what I've seen in the 1911 I can't imagine John Browning carrying a gun made of plastic, he loved firearms too much for that. So do I.
 
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