Is it my duty to buy a 1911?

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I don't think Fishslayer's comment was meant to be all that serious. There are pro's and con's to any design. My opinion is that no American gun collection is complete without a 1911. Unfortunately, there are few of us that are collectors, especially when just getting started.
 
It's no ones responsibility to own any firearm he or she finds objectionable, over-priced, antiquated, heavy or otherwise useless. That is a summary some use in describing the 1911 and I pity them for it, though not as much as the man who lacks a rimfire rifle.

Utility, good looks and reliability need not be mutually exclusive and some 1911s demonstrate that point. Same with revolvers, rifles, polymers, shotguns...
 
Well, my comment wasn't aimed at any one person, but whenever the subject of "do I NEED this" or "what guns should everyone have", I feel like my philosophy of KISS, single platform for pistols, single platform for long guns, becomes the enemy. My purposes are utilitarian in function, not for a collection, but a lot of people come across that "you don't have real collection unless..." or "you're not real shooter if you don't have..."

The most common things that come up, from what I see, are 1911, .357 revolver, and a .22 rifle. None of those fit my needs, so I don't see a reason for me to have them, and I don't like the idea of people thinking I'm less of a shooter because of it.
 
In my opinion, the 1911 is not the pinnacle of pistol design. I have owned several. I even carried a 1911 for more than half a decade. Sold all but two of them off. One is a family piece and the other I have just sunk too much money in to it for me to sell off just yet.

Once the blinders came off, I realised that they are heavy, offer limited ammo capacity and the quality of available brands is all over the map. Finicky when tight, nor very accurate when loose. They are just too expensive and labor intensive to make truly reliable 1911. There are far too many better modern design pistols to justify their cost.

And to answer your silly question; no, it is not your duty to buy a 1911.
 
Skribs my comment about "No gun collection is complete without a 1911." included the humorous smiley face :) and was directed toward the OP with humor because he asked "Is it my duty to buy a 1911". I don't believe anyone was commenting on your status as a shooter or your gun collection. I personally don't own a .40 S&W, Glock or a .223, but who cares. If KISS works for you, great, different levels of KISS work for all of us. Buy what fits your needs or desires.
 
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Labhound, like I said, it was the general attitude of many posters across many threads that has made me start to despise the question "what X guns should every shooter have" or similar derivatives of that.
 
Skribs I understand your feelings. I usually try to avoid the threads on "9mm vs .40 S&W vs .45ACP", "Glock vs anything", "Striker vs Hammer", "Polymer vs Metal", "Iron sights vs Lasers", "Thumb safety vs no thumb safety" and so on, I'm sure you know what I mean. To many people have attitudes set in stone, maybe with good reason, maybe not. I never thought I'd like a 1911 till I rented one which led me to buying one. I've never shot a .40 S&W caliber gun of any brand, never shot a Glock of any caliber, any probably won't own one of these, but you never know. If I try it I may like it. As far as KISS goes, my needs are actually one pistol for SD and HD. My other pistols, shot gun, and .22lr rifle I own are all just "wants" with maybe just a little self proclaimed "need" just to justify to myself buying them. :) My only problem is finding time to shoot everything I own. :eek:
 
Once the blinders came off, I realised that they are heavy, offer limited ammo capacity and the quality of available brands is all over the map. Finicky when tight, nor very accurate when loose. They are just too expensive and labor intensive to make truly reliable 1911. There are far too many better modern design pistols to justify their cost.
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best reply of the thread IMO, I have had quite a few and still have 3 but they are by no means a go to gun except for the Raptor with the 22 conversion for rodents around the place.
 
Do you want one? Need one? If not, spend your money elsewhere. I'm hip-deep in pistols of various types, but only own three 1911-pattern guns. A 1911 for bullseye, a S&W 945, and a Sistema Colt that I may have reworked into a hardball gun.

My real delight are very high end target pistols. Hammerlis in particular, but I'm not prejudiced - I own Morinis, a Walther, and a Toz-35M, too. Not to mention a long laundry list of muzzle-loaders.
 
labhound said:
Skribs my comment about "No gun collection is complete without a 1911." included the humorous smiley face :) and was directed toward the OP with humor because he asked "Is it my duty to buy a 1911".
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He missed the ;) on my post, too. Some people just refuse to chuckle at anything...
 
Why buy a 1911 when you can go with style and class, go for a high power, lol. I know I will get flamed for this but a high power offers better ergonomics, more ammo capacity, and you will have the luxury of owning one of the finest fighting handguns ever made.

For the record I do own both a high power and a 1911, and I have no problem carrying either of them. I find the high power is easier to carry and much more comfortable to carry iwb, but I like the 1911 when I OC. Honestly I would find one or two guns that I can carry and shoot VERY well, then I would buy something that might be a range toy. If you do end up with a 1911 as an everyday carry piece so be it, but make sure you can shoot it well and that you practice with it until you know it cold. They tend to be finicky pieces of machinery from a bygone age of hand-fitting everything so keep that in mind (the high power is not quite as bad on the hand fitting, most all of the parts I have found are drop-in or minor fitting required, almost ALL the 1911 parts require fitting by a gunsmith).

The choice is yours, buy it if and when YOU want, not because you feel obligated to.
 
Yes, yes it is your duty in the vein of assisting in continuing the line and expanding the "gene pool" of 1911 development and modification.
 
HDCamel has described well the aesthetic and engineering attraction of the 1911. I would also add that the 1911 is the All-American pistol (with a nod to the Single Action Army aficionados.) If you think of the arms of the American fighting man of the 20th century, the 1911 immediately comes to mind. It was his constant companion through four major wars and countless skirmishes around the world and is still there on the front lines today.
 
Clint eastwood, the duke, bronson, lee marvin, hell even jim brown( just had to do it )
Says yes you must have a 1911
 
It is not your Duty to purchase a 1911 anything. Many of us own one, or many. But the is no, " I'm a hand gunner there for I must own a 1911 creed " And if anybody tells you, you have a duty to own and shoot a 1911. It's time they were taken to a dark corner of a barn and taught a lesson. :)
 
I'm a big proponent of the KISS principle. I used to want one of everything, then I wanted similar MOA but in several different calibers. Now, I'm down to a plan to only get 3 basic models: Full-size handgun, compact handgun of the otherwise same model (both in 9mm), and .223 carbine. So I don't buy into the whole "it's your duty to own 9, 40, 45, .357 sig, .357 magnum, and at least one each of Glock, 1911, CZ, Sig, and Hi Power."

Get what works for you, get what you like the looks of (and if it turns out not to be fun to shoot, make it a range queen), get what lets you practice, and get what's fun to shoot. Personally, for me, similar MOA is what works for me, is fun, and I'm not too big on aesthetics.
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I'm with you on this. I currently have a XD9 (fullsize 9mm) PM9 (compact 9mm) and VEPR AK (7.62x39 carbine). The rest of my guns are all .22's. It's a good setup that will get near anything done. The only thing I feel i'm missing is a 12g shotgun.

There are hundreds of guns I would love to own but knowing that I already have what I need makes it easy to say no when a good deal comes by.
 
Is it my duty to buy a 1911?
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No. Lots of people just don't get the 1911, and it's possible you are one of them. I don't want to try and convince you to get one, only to have you whine about how heavy it is, or how low the capacity is, or "I'm so afraid of this Condition 1 stuff with the hammer cocked and isn't it safer to carry it in Condition 2", or why do I have to put oil on it, why is this .45ACP ammo so expensive, etc.

Some "get" the 1911 and they want one. They know it has limitations, since no pistol is perfect, but accept those limitations because the things they like about them out weigh the negatives. Some others don't "get" the 1911, such as ...
Creature,
I realised that they are heavy, offer limited ammo capacity and the quality of available brands is all over the map. Finicky when tight, nor very accurate when loose. They are just too expensive and labor intensive to make truly reliable 1911. There are far too many better modern design pistols to justify their cost.
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and that's OK. There are other pistols for him or maybe even you. Get what you like, but I'm not going to try and convince you it's the pistol for you. Either you get it or you don't.
 
I own one 1911. It's a Korean War Colt Pistol born in 1944. Thought two years ago coming up on 2011 I should go buy myself a new 1911 built to the old WWII Specs. With money in pocket I went shopping. I ended up buying a M&P FS .45. Every 1911 other the the Asian produced models were way over priced! And the so called custom or match grade pistols cost way to much. Insane pricing for a tight ass pistol that will fail in a Okie dust storm. And you dam sure couldn't carry them if you were out noodling for catfish in the muck, myer, mess and mud.

But thats just me.... :)
 
JTQ wrote:
Get what you like, but I'm not going to try and convince you it's the pistol for you. Either you get it or you don't
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Did you even read the first half of my post? I was a dyed-in-the-wool aficionado of the 1911. But I took the blinders off...and have never looked back at the 1911. The 1911 is not the only pistol out there...maybe one day you'll come to the same realization I did.
 
I think everyone should own a 1911. I absolutely love them. However, I rarely recommend it as someones first gun or primary self defense weapon.

To me the 1911 is like a tuner car. When it is put together right and dialed in it is just so much more satisfying than a Honda accord or the like. It is also more money and more work than just going to the Honda dealership and driving away in a car. Further, if you don't like being under the hood of the car, keeping it maintained, and being informed about them, tuner cars can just be a pain and much less practical.
 
The notion that every collector or shooter must have any particular gun to be "whole" is fallacious.

Must every collector of baseball cards have a pristine Sandy Koufax rookie card? If no collection is complete without one, then most collections will remain forever incomplete.

Must every collector of automobiles boast an all original, unrestored '57 Bel Air? They had better hope not, since there are not enough to go around.

Part of the reason there are so many 1911-design guns out there is this idea that everyone must have one. It's brilliant marketing. It's also why there is such wide variance in the quality of said 1911-design guns in various calibers and at various price points.

I do not own a 1911, nor have I done very much serious "which-to-buy" research on them. At this moment, I can't see any reason why I need one.

If I were to own one someday, I would first have to decide if it's to fill the role of "collection" piece or a regular shooter. If a collection piece, then it would have to be a "real" 1911 made by one of military contractors during the time when said contracts were in place, and it would have to have some documented provenance. If a regular shooter, then those things wouldn't matter at all, and my selection criteria would focus wholly on how it shoots.

For now, I'm content to not own a 1911-design pistol.
 
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