1911: Why all the hype?

Status
Not open for further replies.
A

AR27

Member
Joined
Jul 5, 2010
Messages
305
Location
Unfortunately Illinois
I dont know much about handguns, always been a rifle guy. I am very interested in buying my first handgun. I LOVE the way the 1911 looks and feels and how classic it is, but whats all the hype really for? I also hear some guys bad-mouth thier reliability and say they are out dated. So the question is; are they really that good? Reliability? Accuracy? I would buy a Colt if I get one.
 
I've owned four of them:
1. Colt Government Model 70 Series
2. Springfield Armory - full size 1911 pattern
3. Para Ordnance - forget the model number - full size w/ double-stack mag
4. Ballester Molina - full size police pistol

Each of these guns, as well as numerous other 1911's belonging to friends, all fling the brass back at my face.

Most 1911 shooters will deny that their guns do this.
Watch them at the range.
95% of the deniers are liars.

It is true that you can MODIFY a 1911 so that the brass sort of dribbles out of the ejection port.
OK, if you are good with a gun like that, then good for you.

I still own the Springfield Armory, because even though it beans me with brass, I still like to have it in my collection.
Its a beautiful gun.

My Glock is ugly as hell.
It doesn't bean me with brass.

Pretty guns are the ones you show to your friends.
Ugly guns are the ones you show to your enemies.
 
all fling the brass back at my face.
Click to expand...

I've had this happen on occasion with my Springfield. But I also notcied when it did it.. I was limp wristing it. While I am still perfecting my hold / grip, the only two people that need to worry are.. the bad guy at the other end, and a poor sap who stands to my right and 3-4 ft back
 
Why the hype? Because gun forums seem to thrive on silly opinionated arguments over what's best, what's most reliable, what's the most modern... You name it, and post it, and you'll have completely polar opposite opinions posted within 3 posts.

Personally, I love the 1911 platform. I only own two now since that's all I really can afford - a pair of colts (one current production combat commander and one mid 1990's Mk.IV gov't). They are both very reliable pistols, and both, as expected, always spit their brass well off to my right and back.

Find some way to try one, see if you like it. If you do, then hang the interweb and it's biases and buy and shoot what you like, trust and desire.

And keep in mind that there has not been a single really revolutionary change in autoloading pistol design in near on 100 years. The 1911 and the Hi Power (and their predecessors) have set the path that all current designs have followed, with some (not insignificant, but not revolutionary) good innovations along the way.
 
I've had this happen on occasion with my Springfield. But I also notcied when it did it.. I was limp wristing it.
Click to expand...


That's generally the case, although most will deny limpwristing.
 
Honestly...and this will sound strange coming from me...I don't know. It's not really any one thing that you can put your finger on. It's one of those deals where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

While the 1911/1911A1 is certainly a good pistol, it's not the final word, and it's not perfect. It does a number of things well enough to make it a viable tool for pretty much whatever can be done with a pistol, short of hunting large game...but it's no more so than any other self-loading pistol in the same caliber.

Because of its grip shape...and the ability to tailor it to better suit an individual's hand...and the short, clean trigger/short reset...it provides action shooters with a small advantage over some of the others, but all the others with less user-friendly triggers can be learned and overcome with practice.

Provided the gun is properly built, and of the correct dimensions, it's extremely reliable under some pretty nasty conditions...but the same can be said for other designs.

Another reason is that the design of the gun lends itself to accuracy modifications...and correctly done by a skilled wrench...is capable of incredible accuracy.

It has a rich history, and served the US Armed Forces with distinction for almost 75 years, and is still in service on a more limited basis. So, you can add nostalgia to the equation. Many people buy one because it's just like the one that Dear Old Dad/Grandad/Great Grandad carried in the war...whether or not they actually carried one.

One of its more notable monikers is "The Yankee Fist" and that gives it a good deal of cool factor.

Personally, I like it mainly because my hand is so permanently molded to its grip due to many years of using it, that I can't seem to retrain myself to use anything else as effectively...but had I started with another gun, and used it as much as I have the 1911, I'm sure that the reverse would be true.
If there was a design that I did consistently better with, that would be my choice. I'm loyal to what gives me the best chance of success...not to an ideal or to an image. Most people who try one for the first time find that it tends to fall into their hands naturally, and that in itself gains new fans year in and year out...and that's probably why it's still very much alive and well...and in great favor...after a century.
 
I tried a friend's Colt Government model a few weeks ago. I put up two groups that were way better than anything I could do with my half a dozen 9mms. All of a sudden I was real good. I had to have one.
I've since bought but not yet taken possession of a Springfield Mil-Spec. Can't wait to see if mine is magical also.
 
I was limp wristing it...
Click to expand...

Always the shooter's fault.

Couldn't POSSIBLY be that the MR. BROWNING (God rest his soul) didn't perfect that aspect of the design.

Or that maybe it was conceived that the gun would be fired with just one hand - where the problem still exists but not quite as bad. At least you have one free hand to swat cases when they are strafing you.
 
You know, I own two 1911's and I've shot a bunch more and I've never been hit with brass. I have a scar on my forehead from getting hit with a case from a .45 I was firing, though. It was thrown by a Ruger P90.
IAC, 1911's, provided you get one that is put together right, are very fine pistols. I have Springfield that received a trigger job and some other polishing by a qualified smith. It's a handsome and accurate gun that is a pleasure to shoot.
One of the cool things about 1911's that I don't think anybody mentioned is the plethora of grips that are available. There is no reason not to have grips that are beautiful and practical both. The one-piece molded pistols don't permit that.
 
whats the big deal with the casing's? I have had plenty of hot brass slapping me in the face and arms and just deal with it. that brass was rifle brass that i would imagine to be hotter than a handgun. i could not care less about that aspect of a fault.
 
Not available to me. End of story
Click to expand...
Then what do you care? Seriously.

The 1911 just "does it" for a great many folks. Slim, easy to carry, balanced well, great trigger, easy to shoot well, accurate, proven record in battle, etc, etc...........

Then of course there are the 1911 haters and folks who just like to stir up controversy. :)

A search will bring up more reading than you can shake a stick at.
 
It's not just the grips. There are so many little things you can do, with fairly simple, minor parts changes, that you can make your 1911 YOURS. Every Glock, and almost every other handgun pretty much looks like every other one (of that model). You can end up with a one of a kind 1911 that you have designed and put together. I think having that ability to customize it into our personal pride and joy breeds a loyalty, and even an affection that nothing else comes close to.
 
AR27 said:
I LOVE the way the 1911 looks and feels and how classic it is.
Click to expand...
I think you answered for me in the third sentence of your post. "Looks, feel, classic" Some things just never go out of style. Now if I could just find an old 57 Chevy to go with my 1911's I would be all set.
 
The last time this Colt was fired was July 1967. I was involved in a gunfight with 3 VC and I got 4 hits with 5 rounds expended. For the life of me, I can't remember where the brass went!!!!!!!

I DO REMEMBER WHERE THE BULLETS WENT!!!..

The first three rounds were one shot stops with a 1911A1 Colt that had muddy water in it.....

That is why folks love the 1911!!!!!!!!!!!!!

picture.gif
 
Can't really explain it.

Friend of mine lent me his Gold Cup for a range visit.

It didn't just "work", it was like something I'd known all my pistol-shooting life, but never experienced.

So, I put one together.
DSCN2718-1.gif

And, danged if I didn't go shoot it again today! :)
 
In the last 25 years, I have owned about 20 1911s, with the vast majority of them have been within the last 6-7 years.

I finally figured out that nothing else makes me look so good. I am not a great shooter with a pistol--I am an "okay" shooter. On a good day, I can put five rounds in one ragged hole at 25 feet. (Yeah, I know, some people can do that at 25 yards.)

In all those years I can count on one hand the number of times I've been hit in the head with brass.

Currently, I only own a half dozen. On average, I shoot at least one of them every week.

This morning I took three to the range--an all-steel 5" Kimber, an alloy frame Commander-size Les Baer and a 3" alloy Kimber. I produced groups of approximately that character with all three...and that made me smile.
 
Just a note:

Brass in the face is a malfunction. Something's wrong with the gun. Get it fixed.

Limp-wrist malfunctions. Again...something's wrong with the gun. Probably too much action/recoil spring. Correct it. A properly set-up 1911 pistol will function with the loosest, most non-aggressive grip you can manage and still be able to keep it from flying out of your hand...and it'll probably function even if it does fly. 3-inch "Micro" variants need not apply. Those abominations are subject to do anything. (Fame suit on)
 
In the last 25 years, I have owned about 20 1911s, with the vast majority of them have been within the last 6-7 years.

I finally figured out that nothing else makes me look so good. I am not a great shooter with a pistol--I am an "okay" shooter. On a good day, I can put five rounds in one ragged hole at 25 feet. (Yeah, I know, some people can do that at 25 yards.)

In all those years I can count on one hand the number of times I've been hit in the head with brass.

Currently, I only own a half dozen. On average, I shoot at least one of them every week.

This morning I took three to the range--an all-steel 5" Kimber, an alloy frame Commander-size Les Baer and a 3" alloy Kimber. I produced groups of approximately that character with all three...and that made me smile.

And that is why I continue to own, shoot and lust after 1911s. :)
 
I LOVE the way the 1911 looks and feels and how classic it is, but whats all the hype really for?
Click to expand...

Honestly? I think it's because the "1911" is a pretty big umbrella. You've got government, commander, and officer sized frames for starters. Then there's the micro variants and Kimber's 4" version. I'm sure there are more.

They come in 9mm, .40S&W, .45, .38 Super, and Lord knows what else I might have forgotten.

Flat mainspring or arched mainspring housing? Pick whatever fits best.

Would you like that bobtailed?

What kind of sights do you like? Whatever it is I bet you can get it atop a 1911 pattern pistol.

You can even get them in "high capacity" double stack version if that's your thing. Or with an LDA trigger if SA isn't your thing. Both available from Para.

I'd say there's as much variety, possibly even more, in the 1911 market than there is in the striker fired polymer guns out there from a number of manufacturers.

Asking "Why the 1911?" is, to me, a lot like asking, "Guys, why so much love for Glock, the S&W M&P, HK, the Springfield XD, and all those Kahr and Kel-Tec polymer things?" :)
 
LOVE the way the 1911 looks and feels and how classic it is
Click to expand...

Why all the hype? I think that you answered your own question. I don't think that a sexier, more iconic pistol exists... Never has, never will.

all fling the brass back at my face.
Click to expand...

Usually the hallmark of a "tuned" exractor... Ha ha ha.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

C
  • Locked
what makes an HK P7 so great?
2 3 4 5 6
Replies
126
Views
6K
DougDubya
D
M
  • Locked
1911...are they really THAT much better???
2 3 4
Replies
90
Views
4K
turkeythigh
T
whatnickname
  • Locked
1911 - Are slide spring guide rods really necessary?
Replies
20
Views
2K
ulflyer
ulflyer
Bobson
  • Locked
First 1911 - DW CCO?
2
Replies
28
Views
2K
Climb14er
C
T
  • Locked
Why choose a 9mm in a 1911 platform?
Replies
22
Views
1K
schmeky
S
Back
Top