Right now is a great time to be a 1911 fan, buyer & shooter. With a basic design almost 100 years old and we now have more; well-manufactured selections from a broader range of makers, in a wider range of barrel lengths, frame materials, sight styles, finish types, and more pistol-specific accessories than Batman's Utility Belt. And those choices are being machined on CNC equipment able to hold tighter tolerances than the finest hand-fitted examples of only 25 years ago.
It's remarkable when we stop to remember that the Ford Motor Company, Harley Davidson Motorcycles & the Wright Brothers First Flight were all born at about the same time that J.M. Browning was penning the original 1911 design. Cars, motorcycles & airplanes have all evolved into machines almost unrecognizable from their origins...yet the 1911 is STILL recognised among the finest modern handguns you can shoot. And STILL the choice of a strong percentage of the most elite gunfighters in the world. Amazing...simply amazing.