Why are people so passionate about 1911's?

[Texshooter]

WHY SO PASSIONATE ABOUT THE 1911?

Because if not for the 1911 (yes and a few other JMB beauties and the Men to use them), we would not be free to sit here and type about them.

 

[dmallind]

Y'know I am really a fan of the 1911. I haven't bought a gun that wasn't one for a year or so and they comprise about 80% of my handgun use.

That said I have never bought this misty eyed nostalgia and windy reverence. If we worried about made us "free" we'd all be shooting muskets because no war that even vaguely protected our actual freedom used anything more modern in the firearms arena (Hitler was nuts but not so notes he was planning on invading the US). Neither is the design of firearms on a steady downhill slope since the rather uncritically sainted JMB gave up the ghost.

The 1911 basis is great for its consistent and clean SA trigger, for its modular and reliable design of elegant simplicity, for its ability to be at least basically repaired by those with little to no mechanical skill (and I know whereof I speak here trust me ) and for its almost limitless customization potential.

Sure if you really dig the vicarious combat stuff the fact the troops carried it on Iwo Jima and Hamburger Hill and all that is interesting and offers some historical character, but it means absolutely nothing to its worth as a weapon any more than the fact that the Romans far more successfully, and for centuries longer than us, dominated the world with use of a shortish stabbing gladius as their main sidearm means for the relative worth of edged weapons.

 

[Mulliga]

I've had lots of experience watching other people's 1911s, shot a bunch of them, and owned one myself. Quite a few of them couldn't reliably get past one magazine or box of ammo without a failure of some kind. My personal 1911 was reliable, shot pretty well, and felt good in the hand, but I eventually sold it and stuck with my CZs for various reasons.

 

[hurrakane212]

It's not empirical for me

As the title says, the reason I love M1911A1's is not empirical or quantifiable. It just "feels" right.
In the pursuit of my 3rd handgun (Having owned a Beretta .22 now in my mothers possesion and a Rossi .357 ) I tried a lot of guns, I shot GLOCK's, XD's, SIG's, Rugers, Smith and Wessons, Paras, Kimbers, Norincos, etc...
My first time at an actual range (where I was trying out my .357) I rented a couple guns, there was a used S&W 1911 fullsize that I decided to rent on a whim to "see what all the fuss was about." I fell in love. even shooting Wolf steel case ammo this thing fired a hundred rounds with no hiccups. I could drill tight groups all in the X ring at the farthest setting the range would allow ( I think 20-25 yards). With my .357 (snub) I was lucky to hit the black!
I loved he way it felt, fired, recoiled. I think that the sum is greater than the parts and no one thing makes it great, it's just everything. It's just the "feel."~Nathan

 

[U.S.SFC_RET]

I've owned a few pistols in my time and without a doubt the only one I trust is the 1911 period. It can be carried in condition #1 meaning that you have a round in the chaber and the thumb safety on. I cannot apply this kind of trust to even a sig P220. A little tweaking and they run like a sewing machine. Parts are like a Chevrolet, they are found everywhere. Nostalgia like a Harley-Davidson, had one of those too. IMO the best gun in the business. I love the round, it's comfortable to shoot and dead on accurate. With a little practice you can take it down past the sear and disconnector for a good cleaning. You can change out a barrel bushing if you want tighter shot groups. I've shot them in the Army and loved them ever since.

 

[XDKingslayer]

XDKingslayer, a few thoughts:
controlling the recoil spring is a simple matter of manual dexterity.
inserting the slide release lever easily is a matter of technique, not tools.
I have watched 1911Tuner detail strip a 1911 in less than a minute and put it back together in about 2 minutes (I wish I had written down the exact times).

Oh, and you probably don't want to take 1911Tuner's challenge unless you want to ruin one of your guns.

In your responce I think is the whole background of the 1911 wrapped up in a nice package.

1911Tuner can detail strip one in two minutes. He's been working on them for years, probably decades. Give someone who's never handled a 1911 and watch them fumble. The first time I took apart a 1911 for the very first time I swore and swore and swore. It increased on reassembly. On the other hand, a monkey can field strip an XD or a Glock in seconds. My wife field stipped my XD in less than a minute after I gave her a 10 second class on how to do it (which proves my monkey theory, don't tell her I said that...).

That's the point I was trying to get across. Today's newer designed guns don't take modifications, tinkering, fumbleing and experience to be used reliably. Buy it and go. I think that is why a lot of you guys say today's guns don't have a "soul". You don't become intimate with it, you don't need to know it's inner workings.

I'm sure 'Tuners tests are great, but do you guys think you can take a 1911, throw it in a mud hole, drive a truck over it, then empty the magazine? The Glock did it and the XD did it. If you guys think a 1911 can do that, then I'll believe you. You guys have light years more experience with them than I do and I would take your judgement over mine.

I'm not intentionally trying to ruffle you 1911 guy's feathers. Please understand that. I'm simply trying to show the "other side".

 

[XDKingslayer]

I've owned a few pistols in my time and without a doubt the only one I trust is the 1911 period. It can be carried in condition #1 meaning that you have a round in the chaber and the thumb safety on. I cannot apply this kind of trust to even a sig P220.

This will be the BIGGEST benefit that I can give the 1911. It took me quite a while to garner the trust in my XD to be safely carried in #1.

Taurus has taken this one step further to the polymer world and has added a thumb safety to their line.

 

[NineseveN]

but do you guys think you can take a 1911, throw it in a mud hole, drive a truck over it, then empty the magazine?

Guess I'm gonna have to go out and buy a 1911 to prove this. Um, any specifics on what kind of truck or do I just ask the first passing motorist in an F250 to drive over my gun?

Come on, think about it, it's an all-steel gun. The truck component of this specific test is more geared towards showing that the polymer-framed pistols can stand up to that abuse, of course an all-steel gun will. The mud should be no problem. So we have sand done (or do I need to do that again for ya?), mud and truck...what else (without damaging the gun -e.g. I am not throwing the gun down a rocky cliff)?

The issues with the 1911 have never been about the environmental conditions it is subjected to, it has been about 4 factors:

1. The gun was designed for FMJ/Ball ammunition, not JHPs, some advancement had to be made in order to reliably feed the newer type of bullets. this has also lead to magazine issues.

2. Folks buying $2000 custom target guns with match chambers and then carrying them around in a leather holster and not properly cleaning or maintaining them and then complaining that their $2k pistol is a piece of crap.

3. Due to some unknown phenomenon, nearly everyone that picks up a 1911 becomes and instant gunsmith and starts taking the file and dremel to a gun they know little to nothing about. This is not conducive to reliability.

4. The 1911 is a design, not a brand. If 25 different companies with varying degrees of quality control made Glocks, we'd see a lot of junk Glocks. It's that way with any design that can be copied and reproduced at will. It is not fair to compare all 1911's against any specific make and model of a gun from a specific manufacturer because with one we have varying degrees of quality control and design characteristics (and company ethics/service) and the other we have a closed system where all of the aspects of the gun and service are controlled by one company (arguably 2 in the case of Springfield's XD). Now, let's go brand specific with 1911's and there are 3-4 model/brands of 1911's that yes, I would put up against any Glock, XD, P99, Sig or whatever any day of the week out of the box.

And no, I don't own a 1911, I am not a fanboy, I just call things as I see them.

 

[ezypikns]

As Tevye in "Fiddler on the Roof" might say........

And WHY do we love the 1911????.......TRADITION!!!!!!!!!!

 

[MCgunner]

That said I have never bought this misty eyed nostalgia and windy reverence. If we worried about made us "free" we'd all be shooting muskets because no war that even vaguely protected our actual freedom used anything more modern in the firearms arena (Hitler was nuts but not so notes he was planning on invading the US). Neither is the design of firearms on a steady downhill slope since the rather uncritically sainted JMB gave up the ghost.

The 1911 basis is great for its consistent and clean SA trigger, for its modular and reliable design of elegant simplicity, for its ability to be at least basically repaired by those with little to no mechanical skill (and I know whereof I speak here trust me ) and for its almost limitless customization potential.

Sure if you really dig the vicarious combat stuff the fact the troops carried it on Iwo Jima and Hamburger Hill and all that is interesting and offers some historical character, but it means absolutely nothing to its worth as a weapon any more than the fact that the Romans far more successfully, and for centuries longer than us, dominated the world with use of a shortish stabbing gladius as their main sidearm means for the relative worth of edged weapons.
__________________

I was going to type this, but you've saved me some time. Only thing I was going to add is the fact that since horse cavalry was dropped from warfare, the rifle has been the primary arm of the foot soldier in the American armed forces. To say that Hitler was defeated by the 1911 is akin to saying the west was won by the 1873. The west was "won" by the Winchester, if you have to name a gun. Or, you could make a case for the trap door Springfield. Good thing we didn't keep THAT one past its usfulness into the 20th century, eh? In actual fact it was "won" by hard men and women driven to succeed. Hitler was defeated by heroic men and their tool of the day, the Garand. Of course, air power REALLY won Europe for the allies, we all know that. We could not have even landed in Normandy without air superiority. And, the panzers wouldn't have run out of gas if our bombers hadn't destroyed their refining capabilities in large part by the battle of the bulge. There were lots of tools, the howitzers, the Sherman tanks, the LSTs, the 2 1/2 ton trucks, the Jeeps, the pontoon bridges, etc. Behind it all, though, was the greatest generation since the revolution in American history. The 1911 was a bit player in the grand scheme of things.

Yes, it's a good gun and it has its place. Go for it if you like the idea of dress ups, add ons, whiz bang bling, and personalizing your weapon for what you see is necessary. That's what the 1911 is about to me. I don't carry condition one and don't want to and I'm pretty danged fast with a DA, thanks. It's all in the practice. If you don't shoot well with other guns, try it. It's the go to gun for those who can't handle DA.

You know, it's funny, I never heard the term "1911" back in the day. In the 60s, it was the ".45 Auto", not the "1911" and it was about the ONLY .45. There weren't many autos except for pocket guns and .22 pistols. Everything in law enforcement was revolver oriented. NOBODY carried an autoloader. The 1911 never really carried the popularity or mistique it has now until the wonder nine boom of the 80s. Then, all of a sudden, the "us against them" caliber wars sprang up. I think it's all a product of the gun press, tell you the truth.

 

[Augustwest]

For whatever reason, I shoot my .45 ACP Colt Gov't Model (circa 1953) more accurately than any other pistol I've owned, borrowed or rented.

 

[gc70]

I'm not intentionally trying to ruffle you 1911 guy's feathers. Please understand that. I'm simply trying to show the "other side".

No feathers ruffled.

Glocks, Sigs, and a lot of other guns are easier for a novice to pick up and readily understand how to field-strip than a 1911 - no argument on that point. But it gets a lot easier and quicker with a little practice.

1911s are actually easier to fully disassemble than most (if not all) other modern semi-automatics. The 1911 was designed to be fully disassembled with only the parts of the gun itself. That is certainly not true of other modern pistols (for example, my Sigs).

Whether it's a Glock or a 1911, each gun has its strengths and weaknesses; the trick is to understand them.

So, why are people so passionate about 1911s? Probably because they understand and appreciate their strengths. Which is the same reason people are so passionate about Glocks.

 

[1911Tuner]

Glocks and Sigs and 'Levens, oh my!

Not bashin' the Glock and Sigs at all. Both are good, solid sidearms that'll serve you well under some pretty adverse conditions. I just get a little riled whenever a statement is made: "1911s are Jammomatics" or "1911s are unreliable unless tuned by a pistolsmith" or some such nonsense. Sadly, there's a lot of truth there concerning pistols produced in recent times...but it hasn't always been the case. Happily...however...most of the decent-quality modern-day pistols CAN be boringly reliable with just a little attention to detail...if you don't count the chopped 3 and 3.5-inch abominations..and it's rreally not beyond the abilities of the average kitchen-table tinkerer. Certainly not to say that some do require more extensive surgery...but those are fairly rare.

Good magazines...A good extractor, made of the right stuff, correctly fitted and tensioned...and decent ammo will generally do the trick in about 98% of the delinquents that I encounter.

And it's been decades...and a slide and frame detail-strip takes me about 40 seconds if I'm on my game. Reassembly takes about 2 minutes if I fumble and drop a pin or the sear. (gc70...Be kind, now... )

 

[Brian Williams]

In it's original and A1 form, It works.

 

[zephyr]

It's a good question, one that sometimes defies logic (at least in my case). So far I have had 5 1911s (a Kimber, a S&W, and three Colts) and four of them had to go back to the factory because of serious functional problems (the fifth, a Colt 80 series is new and I haven't shot yet). So to be frank, they have been kind of a PITA reliability wise, at least out of the box. But, with a little work they all run fine now and are a joy to shoot. Even with all the hassle, I'm still planning to by more. Must be love. . .or insanity. . .

 

[Vic]

Why a 1911?

You guys are just spoiled to a nostolgic work of art like the Mona Lisa. I like it!

 

[dsk]

1911's are simply the nicest-looking handguns out there, along with the Luger and Colt Single Action Army. Unfortunately it's the only one of the three still viable as a combat arm.

 

[Gewehr98]

Ok, that's interesting in and of itself.

Yes, it's a good gun and it has its place. Go for it if you like the idea of dress ups, add ons, whiz bang bling, and personalizing your weapon for what you see is necessary. That's what the 1911 is about to me. I don't carry condition one and don't want to and I'm pretty danged fast with a DA, thanks. It's all in the practice. If you don't shoot well with other guns, try it. It's the go to gun for those who can't handle DA.

That's a different perspective, if ever there was. Myself, I pack a 1911 as my CCW. Truth is, I can't buy into the "It's the go to gun for those who can't handle DA" hogwash. The 1911 predates the DA auto, by a long shot. How many thousands of Americans learned to safely use the 1911 as issued to them before the DA auto made the world a better place? Exactly.

While I'm one of those who was issued a 1911A1 earlier in my military career, I have chosen the same path for my personal defensive sidearm, even though my current issue sidearm is an M9 of late. Frankly, the phrase would best be re-stated, "The 1911 is the go-to gun for those who have mastered the appropriate carry discipline, hence no need for a DA auto, the latter being an interesting solution to a non-existent problem".

 

[beltfed74]

Why?

No ones come up with anything better.

 

[rfurtkamp]

I'm largely ambivalent about them. I own fifty-some handguns. Two are 1911s.

They're range toys for me, like the Webley or Schofield repro, nothing more.

I don't like them enough that I fill a safe with them, and don't dislike them enough to sell them.

 

[Nashmack]

Whenever I handle my battered 1911, the feeling is indescribable. It definitely feels like you've got something powerful in your hand, and when you fire it, you just know that the round will take out anything you aim it at. Well, not really, but it certainly feels that way for me. I never really understood why people liked the 1911 untill I bought one, then it was kinda like it was magical...now that I've bought my first, I have 3 more on layaway

 

[Sistema1927]

The story of Sistema1927 and the three 1911s
(remember Goldilocks and the three bears?)

Sistema1927 began with a Sistema 1927 (duh). Very nice pistol, but a little too large for everyday carry, and it had funny letters on the slide.

Then, he added a Springfield Ultra Compact. Another nice pistol, but not known to be the most reliable, and just a tad too small to be dependable.

Finally, he found a 1979 vintage Colt Combat Commander that someone had done some very nice work on, to include a throating job that allows it to feed anything that you can fit in a Wilson 47D magazine, as well as a set of very nice double diamond thin grips. Not to mention the pretty rollmark with the rampant colt. Now, he can say Just right.

 

[Daniel T]

4. The 1911 is a design, not a brand. If 25 different companies with varying degrees of quality control made Glocks, we'd see a lot of junk Glocks. It's that way with any design that can be copied and reproduced at will. It is not fair to compare all 1911's against any specific make and model of a gun from a specific manufacturer because with one we have varying degrees of quality control and design characteristics (and company ethics/service) and the other we have a closed system where all of the aspects of the gun and service are controlled by one company (arguably 2 in the case of Springfield's XD). Now, let's go brand specific with 1911's and there are 3-4 model/brands of 1911's that yes, I would put up against any Glock, XD, P99, Sig or whatever any day of the week out of the box.

You can't say that enough times. I'll even repeat it:

4. The 1911 is a design, not a brand. If 25 different companies with varying degrees of quality control made Glocks, we'd see a lot of junk Glocks. It's that way with any design that can be copied and reproduced at will. It is not fair to compare all 1911's against any specific make and model of a gun from a specific manufacturer because with one we have varying degrees of quality control and design characteristics (and company ethics/service) and the other we have a closed system where all of the aspects of the gun and service are controlled by one company (arguably 2 in the case of Springfield's XD). Now, let's go brand specific with 1911's and there are 3-4 model/brands of 1911's that yes, I would put up against any Glock, XD, P99, Sig or whatever any day of the week out of the box.

Seriously. If the only person that made 1911s was, say, Valtro, there would absolutely no question as to its superiority to any other pistol ever made. However, as you have countries all over the world producing 1911-style pistols with varying degrees of QA or various time frames, you get questions like "What's up with 1911s anyway?".

 

[Deer Hunter]

Same passion in the next 100 years...

...will be associated with Glocks.

It's been through wars, it's got a .45 in the name (which somehow makes it godly), is easy to maintain, can be optimized for many different roles, and finally, it's American.

In 100 years, when all these new handguns are coming out, some people are going to be hanging onto their glocks, denouncing all other brands. The 1911 has stood the test of time, which is why many people like it.

For me? I enjoy shooting my 625. I don't need a 1911, and I don't plan on buying one anytime soon. I have my .45 ACP piece, and that's good enough for me.

 

[vzwnnj]

1911

I've had an HK USP, and HK P2000, etc. they are good guns...yes, more reliable out of the box then my 1911s...but they do not shoot as well, do not feel as good to me, and after a few hundred rounds, they are no longer any more reliable

its just a personal thing...you like what you like..