M1911 vs Glock: The Gunshop Showdown

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Metal frame, metal mags and metal trigger with a short pull and short reset. How can you go wrong?
 
I own both and have won matches with both.

If I could only have one, it'd be the 1911. My 1911's have been very reliable.

Maintenance hog? I oil it every few hundred rounds and clean it every 1000 or so, whether it needs it or not.

100 years later, more 1911's are being made now than ever. Lets see how many companies are making glock 21's in another 80

Elite SWAT and military units choose a 1911.

Glock phenom Dave Sevigny even shoots a 1911 better, winning the 1911 Nationals this year.

Glocks are good for the masses, 1911's are best for the dedicated handgunner.
 
I am a "dedicated handgunner" who has been shooting for about 50yrs...I love shooting my 1911, and have owned several.
My Glock 30 45acp is what is next to the bed or in my belt.
 
hso said:
Perhaps he considers anything that has been in continuous use for 100 years to be antiquated as opposed to "proven"?
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Yup, just like the internal combustion engine, phase-change refrigeration and air conditioning, and soil conservation (remember the Dust Bowl?).

I mean, the internet was essentially created an eternal 42 years ago (as ARPANET)! ;)
 
David E said:
Glocks are good for the masses, 1911's are best for the dedicated handgunner.
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I agree with this, but not for the snob appeal at some will immediately read into it.

The Glock 17 was designed and built for the mass...otherwise Gaston Glock wouldn't have even entered the competition that birthed it.

No less an authority, of the 1911, than Larry Vickers has been quoted (paraphrase) as saying that choosing to carry a 1911 into harms way, requires that you be your own armorer
 
Do not respond with any words- ignore him completely...

Go about your business. That said, I have both 1911 pistols and a Glock . If I could only have one pistol , it would be my Colt 1911 70 series gun. I can shoot the 1911 guns much better than the Glock.
 
i do own both and shoot both regularly. when it comes down to it, 15 rounds (g22) vs 1911 (7-9) is a matter of security and confidence. the guy was insecure about himself.
 
The Magpul handgun DVD has a gun choice section where Travis says something to the effect that he'd trust HIS 1911's to save his life and, failing that, he'd then opt for any striker-fired polymer gun. Same for me--my 1911s now run great (but they didn't come like that)
 
hso said:
"antiquated"?

How so? Both fire the exact same self contained cartridge. Both use the same basic ergonomics, trigger, grip, barrel/slide over grip. Both use front/rear sight system. One is striker fired with automatic safeties and the other is hammer/firing pin fired with automatic and manual safeties. There's not any fundamental difference between them to make one antiquated or not.

If the safety is on no quality 1911 will fire unless the trigger is pulled. In the case of a 1911 with a grip safety it won't even fire unless the grip safety is depressed and the trigger is pulled at the same time.

Perhaps he considers anything that has been in continuous use for 100 years to be antiquated as opposed to "proven"? In another 80 years will he consider the Glock to be antiquated because of a date on a calendar?

It is easy to point out that the 1911 has been a successful design for 100 years and that it can't fire unless the safety is off and the trigger is pulled while gripping the firearm. Metal vs. poly frame arguments are just silly and not a basis for a discussion beyond personal preference.
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One of the best posts I've read regarding this subject.
 
I'd say the only guy who stands to loose in that arguement is the one standing acorss the counter from you in the gun shop shirt. ;)

Buy elsewhere if at all possible.
 
ExMachina said:
The Magpul handgun DVD has a gun choice section where Travis says something to the effect that he'd trust HIS 1911's to save his life and, failing that, he'd then opt for any striker-fired polymer gun. Same for me--my 1911s now run great (but they didn't come like that)
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Exactly.

If I have a table of guns to pick from, and my Dan Wesson Valor is on that table, that's what I'm picking.

But if I haven't tested any of the 1911's on that table, I'm grabbing a Glock.
 
I do my best to stay out of gunshops as they are all mostly staffed by idiots. I purchase my ammo online,but I can't avoid the shops all the time.
I happen to carry Glock 19's daily but still have a lot of love for good 1911's due to many years on them. Some fool on one side of the counter or the other will always want to argue some ridiculous point and they more often than not have no idea what they're talking about.
 
If you like the gun there's no reason to argue. Just let the guy continue to be a DB.
 
Tell him accuracy is final.
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Actually reliability trumps everything. The most accurate gun in the world is only a paperweight if it don't work every time. Not really an argument in favor of either design. Both have proven to be 2 of the most reliable designs in history.

But as I posted earlier there are LOT'S of BAD 1911's out there. There are lots of folks out there who have only experienced the cheap, unreliable, innaccurate 1911's and I can see how that would leave a bad taste in their mouths for the design.
 
He then began to explain that I was fool to carry such an antiquated firearm, that the M1911 is liable to go off b/c it is single action
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Liable to "go off"? Sounds as if your gun shop guy's day job is as a reporter at a big-city newspaper--they seem to use that phrase a lot.

This fundamental lack of knowledge on display would tell me all I needed to know about this individual. Believe me, he is just one of many.

I would give him a nice smile, tell him, "Thank you for your opinion" and find time to tell the manager/owner that his continued empolyment of opinionated idiots was going to cost him your business, and would probably cost him the business of other patrons in the future.

Nothing wrong with having an opinion, even if it is an ill-formed one. Sharing this unsolicited opinion in the course of your employment is the problem.
 
No, reliability is FIRST. Accuracy is ALWAYS FINAL.

All of what I wrote with the above exception were meant to be tongue in cheek quips. I find little to dislike about Glocks but I'm not an owner. I do have 3 M&Ps that I feel no need to defend but have no problem with carrying a 1911 (I have), assuming the carrier is familiar with the pistol, diligent about safety and demonstrates all other sensibilities in regards to carry. These are universal in my mind, not 1911 specific.

While I hear the moans about "cheap" or "lousy" 1911s that fail too often I've read far too many threads from new owners discussing what doesn't work since their latest "upgrade". If we all carried bombs I wonder how many people would take such a cavalier approach to modding them.

Perhaps competence should be first.
 
If someone tells you your firearm is antiquated, tell them your other pistol is a laser gun, then quickly walk away.
 
If all I could own are plastic guns I'd only own one, and wouldn't be a "Gun nut", in fact, really, I probably wouldn't own a gun at all.

"Plastic guns are just ugly and boring to me." is what I'd say.
 
Maybe he was trying to sale you a gun. If you told him a Glock he might have said them plastic guns are a POS. What you really need is a good steel 1911, it's got 100 years of service to stand on. ;)
 
I have seen it go both ways. Been to a few shops where all the staff is carrying 1911s and your wrong for carrying a Glock.... double wrong for it being a 9mm ! I have heard about all of the mythical powers that the 1911 in 45acp is capable of.

Been on the other side too..........carrying a 1911 and getting to hear all kinds of BS from people who maybe shoot 1,000 rounds a year.
 
If I have a table of guns to pick from, and my Dan Wesson Valor is on that table, that's what I'm picking.

But if I haven't tested any of the 1911's on that table, I'm grabbing a Glock.
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Best advice in the whole thread.
 
The guy proved what he knew when he opened his mouth. It's always better to let people think you are stupid than to actually prove it.

First, my G36 is very picky about hollow point ammo but my 1911's shoot everyone I stick in them. My 1911's won't shoot Blazer aluminum cased ammo but my G36 eats it like candy.

When Glock is 100 years old, if it makes it, the 1911 will still be around and be about 175 years old. I didn't have to expend 600 to 800 rounds learning how to shoot the 1911 either.

I won't even get started on trigger pull and accuracy.
 
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