Which had more revolutionary impact: Glock or Colt 1911?

Which had more revolutionary impact on handguns: Glock or Colt 1911?

  • Glock

    Votes: 56 16.3%

  • Colt 1911

    Votes: 244 71.1%

  • They were equally influential.

    Votes: 43 12.5%
  • Total voters
    343
  • Poll closed .
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el Godfather

el Godfather

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Feb 4, 2012
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1,847
Dear THR,
This is going to be an interesting thread for argument sake. Which had more revolutionary impact on the concept of semiauto: Colt 1911 or Glock?

1911 pistols just got better over the time to a point where they saw a lot of action in wars, civilian SD/HD guns, competition, and it especially became the icon platform for the .45 ACP. Most major manufacturers copied the design and still do to this date. A collection is incomplete without a quality 1911.

Whereas, Glock, once considered a plastic gun (although not the first polymer pistol) opened the doors for polymer guns after it got widely accepted by LEAs and civilians. It became the icon of utility gun for many people around the world. Offered in variety of different caliber, cost effective, easy to use and clean, tremendous amount of accessories, and a household name for many LEAs currently around the world. Its always among the front runners of the guns considered for LEAs or civilian SD/HD pistols. Durability is amazing and reliability is super.

You decide and share with us your opinions.

Thanks.
 
By the time it was introduced the 1911 wasn't exactly cutting edge and certainly had counterparts from other firms that were its equal in function. Despite our army's clinging to it for so long it had largely been superceded by double stack and double action offerings as a fighting arm within 20yrs.

Glock didn't invent the poly pistol. They merely combined the feature with a then unheard of reliability and a completely new autoloader trigger operation*. 30 years later we still have nothing that fundamentally surpasses that first Gen glock in terms of function reliability or operation.

*I can show you a 120 year old revolver with a metal version of the glock trigger safety*
 
I suppose if John Browning hadn't invented the tilting barrel design used for the 1911 then Gaston Glock would have come up with it on his own 70 years later. Or maybe he wouldn't have. But he didn't need to, did he?
 
I love my Glocks and consider my 1911's antiquated relics. That said, there is no comparison in "revolutionary impact". The 1911 is the base of most of the current pistol market worldwide 101 years later. Glock introduced plastic as a viable frame material. 1911 is, and likely will be for a very long time to come, the most revolutionary pistol design. It may be the second most revolutionary handgun design after the cartridge revolver.
 
Between the two I would say the 1911 is. Glock did nothing but popularize polymer as a handgun frame material.
 
Glock is evolutionary. Gaston's contribution was to combine many ideas into one of the most simplistic designs in history.

A minimal amount of machining is necessary. Every part simply drops into place. There is no filing or fitting parts. The design is simple with very few parts.

Compare that to the 1911. A lot of machining is necessary. While MIM helps some, parts need to be fitted or else reliability suffers. The design is complex with many parts.

A Glock is mass production nirvana.

Parish the thought, but John Moses Browning was very much interested in designing mass produced firearms. If he were alive today, he would likely design something that looks and is made a lot like a Glock! :eek:
 
the 1911 without question. all other semi auto's are based off the 1911. nothing has come out that is that revolutionary different. well unless you want to consider attempts at caseless ammo.
 
Browning's design has influenced the majority of centerfire auto pistols made to date.

Arguably, a lot more Glocks ended up in civilian hands than 1911s in both models early years. Glock was well marketed, well engineered and has proved itself to be a great pistol. The 1911 has 100 years of service to back it up.

Think about it. Colt was darn near the SOLE provider of 'serious' US made centerfire semi-automatic handguns for decades. Until Colt's patents expired, if you wanted a .45 you likely bought a Colt if you wanted a 9mm you bought something else, or maybe a Colt. Glock came to the market with much more competition, and specifically competition in the wondernine era.

Ask me in another 20 years and I MIGHT say Glock has edged the 1911 out.
 
This is hilarious. To seriously compare a 1911 to a Glock is about like comparing a 69 Z-28 to a Yugo.
 
Drail said:
This is hilarious. To seriously compare a 1911 to a Glock is about like comparing a 69 Z-28 to a Yugo.
Click to expand...

Only for complete fanbois incapable of looking beyond personal bias at something objectivity.

Its really easy to tell who is who here. Wich do you think you are?


Its true that the 1911 is the first handgun to feature the short recoil operating system. But its also a bit of a dead end with its pivot link. EVERYTHING else not using the P38 locking block or a rotating bbl traces its roots back to the Browning Hi Power.

Essentially there are three major species of locked breach automatics

1911's and variants
Cam locking BHP derivatives
And
Wlther p38 descendants
 
Last edited:
Glock.

The 1911 was not particularly popular or well thought of until quite recently. While it served for a long time it was not especially popular nor well liked by many, maybe even most.

The 1911's popularity took off in the 1960's when playing pistol shooting games became popular. Long after it had ever served any useful purpose in combat. It has never been anywhere near anyones top choice as a LE handgun. You could make a good argument that the S&W 59 was more revolutionary than the 1911.

I don't think any gun has been as universally accepted and used as Glocks in such a short time frame. They have re-written all the rules about what a combat handgun should be.
 
I voted for the 1911 for all the Historical reasons which I will not elaborate on. The 1911 was a Great Military Gun to say the least and I will leave it at that but the fact remains that if I had to go into Battle in WW Three, a Glock 21 would be on my hip without a doubt in my mind! It would have to meet Military Specs and have a safety lever but this would be my choice.
 
The results speak for themselves. I do enjoy my Glock. Was it more revolutionary than my M&P? Absolutely. The XD? Yep...

The 1911? Not a chance in h***.


.....you certainly like to start some controversial threads don't you, Godfather?
 
Ya know....JMB did design a few guns BEFORE the 1911. Pretending that the 1911 is some sort of innovative or revolutionary design is ignoring JMB's other designs.

To say that the 1911 had more impact in the US might be true. It is certainly not the case worldwide.

JMB cleverly licensed Colt to market his designs in the U.S. and FN owned the rights to much of Europe. These exclusive licenses kept the Hi Power out of the US market until the '50's.


IMHO, neither gun was revolutionary in design. If the JMB design had not been adopted by the US military it likely would not have ever been produced. If Bruce Willis hadn't uttered his famous line about the Glock 7 most of us wouldn't have heard of one.:D
 
I don't know about revolutionary but I've got both and the Glocks are the ones I bet my life on.
 
Glock made a beautiful design. Machine the slide, striker, and extractor. Forge shape the barrel in a hydraulic press. Stamp out and injection mold the rest, and make it easy to slap together. And end up with a safe, reliable, and durable handgun.

I think a lot of people underestimate the amount of thought that went into the first Glock pistol. To say they simply made plastic popular is way off base. Other makers are borrowing a lot else from the design. Even if the Glock had an alloy frame, it still would have made a big impact on the firearms world.
 
It appears to me that very few posters know much of the history or reality of either platform. Just as history repeats itself for those who ignore it so too will the topic at hand. Better to call it what it is: a poll of which people like better.

Celebrate them both for what they heralded, don't tell me about miles per gallon, it's not why I shoot.
 
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