Thank you, John Browning, for the 1911.

[Coyote3855]

I shot a 1911 or 2011 for years in USPSA competition. Carried one concealed for many more years. Decided at some point to look into lighter handguns, easier to carry and conceal. Transitioned to a Glock 19. Took some time to learn the trigger but became reasonably competent with it.

Looking for an option, I bought a Hellcat Pro. Smaller and thinner than the 19, still 15 plus 1. Trigger was terrible, so started looking into the internals. Good grief. Tiny springs and pins. Plastic parts. Miniscule washers. Decided I didn't want to do any installs on my own.

I can strip a 1911 to the frame in about 5 minutes, replace parts as needed. While the Hellcat is a nice little pistol, I don't have the knowledge or skills to go beyond a field strip.

John Browning got it right - simple, sturdy, no fiddly little parts. Even I can do it.

 

[SSN Vet]

The parts count on a 1911 is amazingly low, as one of JMB's design values was to have individual parts serve multiple functions. I just rewatched a JMB documentary on YouTube the other day and the man was truly a mechanical genius.

 

[.308 Norma]

John Browning got it right

I'm 75, and I remember Dad telling me that exact same thing many years ago.

 

[Riomouse911]

There are some intricacies of the 1911 internals that aren’t always simple drop in fixes, but I agree that the overall design was simple brilliance from an era when computer modeling, parts molding and CNC machining didn’t exist.

Stay safe.

 

[CDW4ME]

So are you carrying the 1911 or Glock 19?

 

[JR24]

They are a wonderful design, easy to shoot, flat and relatively easy to conceal.

But still too heavy for me anymore, and I don’t like how aluminum frames handle .45 ACP.

 

[herrwalther]

I am pretty fond of 1911s as well. But I have a hard time carrying one from a tactical perspective. My lightweight 1911 weighs 40.25oz loaded. 9 rounds of 45ACP. But my double stack 9mm at 15+1 with an optic and a light is almost 5oz lighter. I can make my 9mm lighter by replacing some parts, taking off the gizmos etc. But the 1911 can't be made much lighter while still being true to JMB design.

 

[unclenunzie]

I love my 1911s but at 60 I'm good with plastic

The genius of JMB cannot be denied. A radical new design that made highest use of the existing technologies and skills of the time and produced a fantastic pistol. What would he design today with the tools and superior materials available today. And all the field use feedback from several world wars and long term police and ccw use...

 

[Tallball]

They're my favorite semiautos to shoot.

 

[Armored farmer]

JMBs genius armed this country through two World Wars and beyond. Not just 1911s either!
I only have one currently, a stainless commander that stays bedside(if that tells you anything).
I plan to get a full-sized rail gun before I go to Alaska for a month of fishing.

 

[Reinz]

JMBs genius .,,
I only have one currently, …….

Hush yo mouth!

JMBs genius armed ….

I plan to get a full-sized rail gun before I go to Alaska for a month of fishing.

 

[JR24]

JMBs genius armed this country through two World Wars and beyond. Not just 1911s either!
I only have one currently, a stainless commander that stays bedside(if that tells you anything).
I plan to get a full-sized rail gun before I go to Alaska for a month of fishing.

Still running the M2 even today. Plus many of his design features are just about every modern gun.

 

[Coyote3855]

So are you carrying the 1911 or Glock 19?

Glock 19 with an Apex trigger kit. Am shooting a Glock 48 which I might carry after I'm satisfied with reliability with the Shield 15 round magazines.

There is an out-of-print biography of Browning that I found at a used book sale. As you know, he invented everything from .25 caliber semi-auto to the .50 machine gun.

What I didn't know is that he patented scores of other firearms that never went to production. Winchester bought the rights to many of them just so other companies couldn't.

 

[Armored farmer]

I know along about 1930ish JMB approached the DoD with a new machine gun.
DOD refused the design because the ammo was too expensive and the rate of fire was too high.
About a decade later the DoD said, "hey do you remember that prototype you brought to us? We want a million of them."

 

[tark]

I know along about 1930ish JMB approached the DoD with a new machine gun.

Uhhhh...... John Browning died in 1926,

 

[tarosean]

Still running the M2 even today. Plus many of his design features are just about every modern gun.

that’s really the key.. hard to find something that didn’t start life as one of his ideas and still in use with all our modern technology.

 

[Armored farmer]

Uhhhh...... John Browning died in 1926,

Yeah ok
I must have my dates shifted too far. Was trying to go off my memory of a documentary that I watched.
Anyway the Defense Dept was interested after Pearl Harbor.
The hun was used on planes, tanks,jeeps, boats all throughout WW2

 

[.308 Norma]

If you ever get the chance, stop by the Browning Museum in Ogdon, Utah. It's only about a hundred miles south of here, so we've visited it 3 or 4 times.
The Browning Museum is right beside the Union Pacific Railroad Museum, as well as a really old car museum of some kind. However, as a gun geek, I spend most of my time in the Browning Museum when we're in Ogdon.
At any rate, it's well worth the stop - even though I never can figure out where 3 or 4 hours went every time we stop there.

 

[tark]

I must have my dates shifted too far.

You too? Lol. If I had a dollar for every time I got a date or place or time... wrong...on this forum... I could afford a Ferrari.

 

[Slamfire]

The 1911 is a simple design, rugged, and modern CNC machining makes them affordable.

 

[hutch51]

Injecting a little humor here....

http://www.frfrogspad.com/jmb.htm

Loves me some 1911s.

 

[JTQ]

Injecting a little humor here....

http://www.frfrogspad.com/jmb.htm

Loves me some 1911s.

Note the quote from Rosco Benson in that article. He passed away just last month. https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/dayton-oh/rosco-benson-11297979

 

[WVRJ]

The 1911 is just a thing of beauty.They are the pistols that I can shoot better than any other.My Sig P210 is the only one I have that comes close.The 1911's trigger and the way it feels in my hand are what sets it apart.I have a good number of pistols,but my aluminum frame 5 inch Kimber is the 1911 that I shoot the best out of the other 1911's I have/had.Two Sindays ago my goof friend and shooting buddy Larry went to one of the local ranges to do some pistol shooting and people watching.The range we were at is used a lot,so there's always some fun people watching to do for a good laugh.We were putting up paper targets at 50 yards when one of the local experts told us we were wasting our time trying to hit anything at that distance.We always try to act like we don't have a clue what we're doing just to see what kind of advice we get.When the cases were opened and he saw my P210 and a pair of 1911's in mine he started to let me know that I really didn't know what I was doing because I was shooting those old fashioned guns instead of his Glock 19 and 48.I invited him to try the 50 yard target I had up so maybe I could learn something from him,but he was quick to school me on the fact that 25 yards would be too far for me and Larry.We both shot at our targets and kept all 5 rounds in the 9 ring or better on the qualifying targets that we'd put up.I invited the guy to shoot with us again,but he had to get his sight zeroed,so he was going to shoot off his bag at 25.A middle of the road 1911 in good hands can make a lot of handguns look bad if the shooter is on his game.Yes,thank you,Mr. Browning,for inventing the best pistol ever designed.

 

[P89DCSS]

Here's the story on the M2:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M2_Browning

Kinda like the BHP, Browning did the original design but what went into production was designed after he died. And the designs were significantly different from Browning's original prototypes.

 

[halfmoonclip]

What dazzles with the 1911 are the ergonomics. (We'll put the mechanical bits aside for right now.)
Either Browning really had the human hand figured out, or else we have been shooting the darn things so long that they simply feel great.
Look at some of the other designs of that time; the Broomhandle, or even the Luger. The 1911 is the layout that has endured.
Moon