Lots of hyperbole here.
The new pistols are tremendous, I really enjoy them them, and there is a bunch to choose from.. Presently I have parked my SIG's, HK's, etc... for my Walther PPQ's when I want or feel a need for a 9mm or high capacity. I have given my married daughter and son-in-law a SR9 and a XDm 9a long with a couple of long guns. My single daughter, I gave her a Colt Combat Elite on her 21st birthday 8 years ago, and last year she got a Shield 9mm, and a mossy 20ga too.
My point is that there are many good reasons to pick what you carry for your purposes. My only advise for folks that carry and use 1911 pistols is to understand how they work, ande either have a very close personal relationship with a good 1911 gunsmith, or learn how to take care of them yourself.
7 times I have used my secondary side arm, a 1911A1 in combat. Three times a S&W 38spl was my secondary in combat.
Today when I go out, I will have either a Colt LtWgt Commander in 45acp, or a Walther PPQ in 9mm. + one additional magazine with either weapon.
I do not feel under gunned with either. I learned years ago, starting in the terrain around Khe Sanh that if I put my bullets where they needed to go, either the 38 or the 45 would do it's job. If I did not do my job, caliber wasn't the issue.
Today because of the arthritis in my arms, wrists, and hands, the Colt generally feels better to me, and is thinner to carry. I use either a Milt Sparks VMII horsehide/shark, or a Kramer 1 1/2 horsehide. I have a copy of each for all my carry weapons, past and present. (RE: the PPQ, I may have the first Milt Sparks VM II ever made for that variant, the guy had originally said no to availability. Then he told me to hold on and they checked that days mail and such. Lo and behold the mold had just been received. So I started the 6 month clock on my holster build.)
by the way my BUG is still either a hammerless, or shrouded 'J' frame airweight in 38, now with a Crimson Trace grip.
Buy a good quality RELIABLE weapon (today there are many to choose from unlike in my day), train, train, train, then practice 3 times more than that.
Learn your weapon, at Parris Island we were required to be able to field strip and reassemble our 1911A1's and M14's, blind folded. (Don't want to turn a light on at night when your weapon "Craps the bed" in a firefight. It would give popularity a 'very' SHORT lived but new meaning.)
And learn how to clean your weapon properly, and EVERY time you use it. Maintenance means much more than just cleaning. Inspect, replace parts particularly springs and extractors on schedule. Learn how to take your weapons down to their smallest components. One day you will be glad you did.
Think of a future where only those of you that are grandfathered in to the guns you presently own have guns. How many factory's or gunsmith's going to be around for you then? Buy extra parts now, and at least one duplicate back up. Personally I get three, one to carry, one to shoot/compete with, and a third for home defense back up of the other two.
Some folks think my orthodoxy on these subjects is silly and old fashion. As an oLd Vietnam vet who was later a DI, I know what helped me and some of my troops survive. I don't know how many medals and Purple Hearts I need to qualify as experienced.
Go figure.
Fred
"I no longer fight the NVA, now I must fight the VA." -- Me