I have owned several of them and they were all reliable and well made but they just don't do it for me. It seems like these are the guns that everyone eventually comes back to and all the old timers love but I just don't see what is so special about them.
If you want a .45 caliber target gun, there is not much choice but a 1911. They still make great target guns but for CCW or home defense, there are many better choices out there.
Here are the things I don't like about them.
1. SA only. It means you have to have a manual safety lever which is one more thing to think about under stress. It also gets knocked off when carried concealed. No second strike capabilty like a true DA has. If you get a dud, pulling the trigger a second time does not help. The only problems I have had with high quality factory ammo were hard primers or too soft of hammer strikes. Every time a second pull of the trigger fired the round.
2. Manual safety. Hate them. It is old school and it is bad school. Your safety should be your mind and your trigger. A DA revolver doesn't have a safety and doesn't need a safety. A SIG doesn't have a safety and doesn't need a safety.
3. Weight. In this day and age, why are they still making pistol this stinking heavy? For CCW, it is just to heavy.
4. Capacity. For how big these are, they don't hold much ammo.
5. Cost. To get a good one, you have to pay top dollar. You can buy great production guns like SIGs for far less than a Kimber and they do everything as well or better.
6. Pointabilty. The 1911 points low unless you crank your wrist up. Most people have learned to shoot it but it is not natural.
7. High bore axis. They sit too high in the hand.
8. Reliabilty. While I have not had any problems in this area, it is well known that the 1911 in general is not as reliable as other designs. The military replaced the 1911 in favor of a much more reliable pistol (the Beretta M-9). I forget the exact rounds between jams in the military tests but the Beretta and other modern designs were clearly much more reliable. I think they are more reliable by design. Berettas and SIGs just go more rounds without jamming than 1911s.
Why do people still carry these as self defense guns when there are so many better choices? Why do people trust them when they are not known to be the most reliable design you can get?
I am not bashing the 1911 because it has a place in my collection and in gun games and target work. It just seems like for CCW or HD, you should be picking something better. In fact, when I hear that someone uses a 1911 for CCW, I often wonder why. I don't see the advantage to them so someone please let me know why they still are so popular for CCW.
If you want a .45 caliber target gun, there is not much choice but a 1911. They still make great target guns but for CCW or home defense, there are many better choices out there.
Here are the things I don't like about them.
1. SA only. It means you have to have a manual safety lever which is one more thing to think about under stress. It also gets knocked off when carried concealed. No second strike capabilty like a true DA has. If you get a dud, pulling the trigger a second time does not help. The only problems I have had with high quality factory ammo were hard primers or too soft of hammer strikes. Every time a second pull of the trigger fired the round.
2. Manual safety. Hate them. It is old school and it is bad school. Your safety should be your mind and your trigger. A DA revolver doesn't have a safety and doesn't need a safety. A SIG doesn't have a safety and doesn't need a safety.
3. Weight. In this day and age, why are they still making pistol this stinking heavy? For CCW, it is just to heavy.
4. Capacity. For how big these are, they don't hold much ammo.
5. Cost. To get a good one, you have to pay top dollar. You can buy great production guns like SIGs for far less than a Kimber and they do everything as well or better.
6. Pointabilty. The 1911 points low unless you crank your wrist up. Most people have learned to shoot it but it is not natural.
7. High bore axis. They sit too high in the hand.
8. Reliabilty. While I have not had any problems in this area, it is well known that the 1911 in general is not as reliable as other designs. The military replaced the 1911 in favor of a much more reliable pistol (the Beretta M-9). I forget the exact rounds between jams in the military tests but the Beretta and other modern designs were clearly much more reliable. I think they are more reliable by design. Berettas and SIGs just go more rounds without jamming than 1911s.
Why do people still carry these as self defense guns when there are so many better choices? Why do people trust them when they are not known to be the most reliable design you can get?
I am not bashing the 1911 because it has a place in my collection and in gun games and target work. It just seems like for CCW or HD, you should be picking something better. In fact, when I hear that someone uses a 1911 for CCW, I often wonder why. I don't see the advantage to them so someone please let me know why they still are so popular for CCW.