Why are people so passionate about 1911's?

[MTMilitiaman]

I don't get it either. All my guns are clean so I just decided to start re-cleaning my brother's. He's in Iraq right now so he can't do it himself. I decided to clean his .45 since I shot it last and it's his baby. Putting that thing back together, I was reminded how much I enjoy the simplicity of the Glock. Anyone who puts up with what it takes to get the 1911 back together has no room to complain about something as simple as pulling the trigger to field strip a pistol.
I've detailed my Glock. It is simple, just like the rest of the pistol. If I did it a couple more times, I could probably detail my Glock about as fast as my brother could field strip his 1911.
Comparing 1911Tuner's 1911s or his prowess with his choosen platform is not really fair. Anyone given a couple decades of practice can reach nirvana with a platform of their choice. Give someone ten years playing with Glocks as part of their profession and I guarantee they will cuss themselves out if it takes them a full 40 seconds to field strip a Glock. His pistols are prefessionally tuned so they can run so-and-so many thousands of rounds without a malfunction. Big deal. Chuck Taylor did it with an out of the box Gen I Glock 17. Spend the attention to tweak and tune any modern pistol and it can run flawless. But how many of them can you take out of the box and get reliability you can trust your life to? My Glock. My dad's Ruger. Not my brother's 1911. It had to be sent back to Springfield.
People say "shoot one and you'll know." I've shot several of them and I am still clueless. They aren't as comfortable or as controllable for me as my Glock even though my Glock is more powerful by almost any measure. My Glock has twice the capacity but weighs less. My Glock costs considerably less than most 1911s. I bought the Glock and put a KKM barrel in it for less than what most Kimbers or Springfields are going for.
I don't mean to turn this into a 1911 v Glock debate. By all means if 1911s do something for you, go for it. But I don't get it and probably never will. Maybe it is because it is shiney...

 

[Cocked & Locked]

lookin' good

Don't forget, they have a "cool factor" about them that most other bottom feeders can't touch.

It's kinda like the Harley-Davidson saying, "If I have to explain, you wouldn't understand."

Besides, its hard to put Stag Grips on Glocks, XD's and such







You can fix them up for attending BBQ's, Pimp Parties, Southern Border Recon Missions, and other such important social events...




One can also get "LightWeight" for high-horsepower daily carry...




Plus, different brands compliment each other well...

 

[StrikeFire83]

My experience with a "modern" polymer framed .45 in the form of a Ruger P345 was not particularly good. It was very reliable, but I couldn't hit the broad side of a barn with it.

Enter my Kimber 1911 which has been VERY reliable. Here, check out my thread:

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=194887

The 1911 has been a much better gun for me. That's all I can say.

 

[gc70]

I feel sad for folks who are so fixated on one type of gun that they reject all others. EVERY gun has strong points and not-so-strong points, so get several different guns and enjoy the variety!

 

[MadMercS55]

1911's have never been my thing. Never saw the attraction to them personally. And I do have alot of trigger time on different makes. But just because I don't like'em doesn't mean they all suck, are all bad, etc, etc. I generally prefer HK's, SIG's, and Beretta's. Some people don't like them either. In the end, if the 1911 works for you, is reliable, etc. Then hey, go with it!

 

[johnnytang24]

How come every time there is a thread about 1911's, someone has to bring up the "But Glock ..."?

Me? I like 1911's. I like revolvers. I can respect all the plastic guns for their superior technology. But I think they are all ugly.

Thanks.

 

[BamBam-31]

For me, it's the trigger, grip, and grip angle. My 1911's are so easy to shoot accurately, they really do seem to shoot themselves. I'm sold on the platform. Plus, they're just so darn purdy!

But beware the slippery slope: First, it starts with a Loaded, then you eye a TRP, then you add Pro to that TRP, then you look at Valtros and Nighthawks and Yosts and figure, "If I sell that plus that, and add a little, maybe...."

 

[GunLocators]

1911 pistols are great. Very versitile from defense to competition.

 

[Old Dog]

Anyone who puts up with what it takes to get the 1911 back together has no room to complain about something as simple as pulling the trigger to field strip a pistol.

Ah, well ... some of us still change the oil on our vehicles ourselves, too ... Some of us don't own only things that "make us appreciate simplicity." And if my wife makes her pie crusts from scratch, and yours uses ready-made crusts from the freezer section at Kroger's, who's to say which pie is better?

But I don't get it and probably never will.

And that's okay, too ... There's lots of things about life today that I don't get, such as hip-hop "music," baggy pants worn halfway down one's butt, reality television shows, the popularity of American Idol or Brad and Angelina, the whole body piercing fad and light beer ...

 

[1911Tuner]

re:

(chuckling)

Quotes:

>Anyone who puts up with what it takes to get the 1911 back together has no room to complain about something as simple as pulling the trigger to field strip a pistol.<

>>Give someone ten years playing with Glocks as part of their profession and I guarantee they will cuss themselves out if it takes them a full 40 seconds to field strip a Glock.<<
***********************

What it takes to get one back together? You must be referring to the fancy ones with the FLGRs and other unnecessary doo-dads. If it takes more than 10-12 seconds to field-strip and another 12-15 to reassemble
one, it's either got too many Gamer Gadgets on it, or the stripper/assembler
has fat thumbs instead of fingers. The standard 1911 can be detail-stripped in about 45 seconds...slide and frame.

"Professionally Tuned" Well, okay. I guess if you consider tensioning an extractor and installing good springs in the magazines as profefessional tuning...Wait! I do radius the bottom corners on the extractors that don't already have it done. That's mainly just added insurance, though...and helps to let the case twist off the hook at a little different angle...but I suppose that qualifies as "professional tuning." Up until the time that I rebuilt my brace of beaters...at about 75,000 rounds...they were bone-stock Series 80 Colts. (Except for that super-trick radius on the extractor hook) Two of the newer ones have been pretty much the same.

Also can demonstrate on demand the ability of my untouched USGI pistols on their ability to gobble hollowpoints and even semi-wadcutters like a starvin' hound dog. Open invitation to anyone who can make the drive to come see/come say.

I don't "tune" pistols that don't need it. I don't alter anything unless it needs to be altered in order to get the gun to run. If the guns are within spec, most functional problems are easily resolved by setting the extractor tension and using good magazines. The main problem is that...many of today's manufacturers don't build the guns to spec. Outsourced parts are the biggest issues in non-reliability...and even most of those respond to simple things.

 

[PX15]

Because if you are suddenly attacked by crazed natives while visiting the Philllipines legally armed you can knock them on their butts with one magical 45cal. round from your trusty 1911....

Because they have a "history" and we Americans are suckers for such sentimental things..

That's why I drive an El Camino.. There are 10 zillion newer,faster,prettier,better gas mileage getting, etc. vehicles but I don't want one... I want my El Camino because years ago I wanted one, and now I got's mine.

And, if I find myself suddenly attacked by crazed natives while visiting the Phillipines in my El Camino I will indeed run over the suckers and knock them on their butts with my "real chromed" front bumper.

Or maybe 1911's are popular for some other reason.. What do I know. I'm a semi-senile retired old fart living in an aluminum hacienda in the deep woodland of SE Ga.



Urban "blight" hasn't found us yet.. We have to still rely on "rural blight"



Best Wishes,
JP

 

[PJR]

I am a JMB heretic. I don't go all misty eyed just because it's a Browning design. A lot of those designs are overly complicated and particularly his shotguns have been superceeded by more modern guns.

I admire the simplicity of the SIG Sauer design. Easy to take apart and put back together. Outstandingly reliable, durable pistols.

And yet you may well ask why my SIG 226 had to find a new home after I acquired my S&W1911. It is because I have found no other pistol that suits me better than the 1911 pattern. I shoot them better than any pistol I've tried and for that I am willing to make the extra effort to clean it and adapt to its eccentricities. Nothing works better for me. YMMV.

 

[Josh Aston]

I don't really care for the 1911 either. In my hands it has the worst ergonomics possible, yes even worse than a glock. The front strap is too thin and too rounded, needs a set of hogue or pearce finger grooves to make it feel decent. The only beavertail grip safety I like is the Ed Brown, all the rest feel horrid. The standard grip safety, even worse. With the flat MSH it points way too low. Even with the arched MSH it points too low if it doesn't have the ED Brown grips safety. And no I didn't grow up shooting Glocks, those point too high for me. I'll take my HiPower over any 1911 any day.

 

[AndyC]

My pistol of preference is the 1911, but I've spent a lot of my shooting career with HP's, CZ75/85, Beretta92, Star BM, etc - all fine weapons in their own right. I'd like to get a Glock one day, too - no problem with polymer here if it works, which in the Glock's case I'm happy that it does.

Thing is, although the technology in a 1911 dates back 95 years or so, I think it's incredible that a design that old has so many fans and is the premier choice of some of the best shooters, both civilian and military, that we have today.

 

[the pistolero]

What do I like about the 1911?
The way it feels in my hand. I've been shooting Ruger P-Series semi-autos for the last year and will surely testify to that fat-arse grip. I do love my Ruger P90 -- it's the one that stays loaded for bear, or rather bad-guy, beside the bed -- but the thinner 1911 fits like it was made for my hand. I remember the first time I held one, to rip off a quote from another forum, it just snuggled up in my hand and whispered, "Where ya been?"
Weight distribution. I've said it before and I'll say it again, it's probably the best weight-balanced gun I own, and that adds to the way it feels as you hold it.
The history. When I hold that 1911 in my hands, I can't help but think of what all that gun has seen through the years...Verdun, Iwo Jima, Khe Sanh. Even if my particular gun isn't from that era, it's still amazing to me that the same design I hold in my hands is the same one that was carried onto the shores of those faraway lands.
And that's the best this writer can do right now...

 

[LeonCarr]

PX15,

That is a nice El Camino. I am guessing 1978? 1979 maybe?

My first truck was a '76 El. I hit a deer at 70 mph and the deer bounced off of it like an aluminum can . No damage whatsoever. I miss that truck.

To stay on thread, people are passionate about 1911s because they like to do malfunction drills .

Just my .02,
LeonCarr

 

[dsk]

I find it interesting how the 1911 is so much more popular today than it was 50-90 years ago. Back then it was an expensive, newfangled gimmick that couldn't hold a candle to a good Colt or S&W revolver. Everybody mentioned how the good old .45 Colt had more stopping power than the .45ACP, and that the 1911 was pathetically inaccurate. Nobody needed eight shots anyway, as a good pistolero could handle any problem with the six rounds available in their pet wheelgun.

Times have changed. Now the 1911 is the one with more stopping power, more accurate, and holding more than enough rounds to do the job.

 

[Lebben-B]

I'm not going to get into the whole mystical aspect of 1911 ownership. My 1911 is a simple pistol with few bells and whistles (I agonized for months on whether or not to change the sights.) It runs fine, the same as it did right out of the box with whatever I choose to put through it. With nothing more than basic maintenance and cleaning afterward. I would stake my life on a basic 1911. Let me amend that: I HAVE staked my life on a plain-jane 1911.(Grenada, 1983)

***WARNING*** Inflamatory comment follows:

If Glocks/XDs are so good, why are Afghani cops being given Sigmas? Why do XD40s have the terrible tendancy to snap the spring guide?

Mike

 

[Gewehr98]

That's not entirely true.

I feel sad for folks who are so fixated on one type of gun that they reject all others.

This particular 1911 owner had a Glock 17 in his collection for a while. No rejection based on fixation, I really wanted the Glock to work for me, but I just couldn't warm up to it. It felt cheap, the trigger was odd, it didn't point well for me, etc. It was a good investment during the hi-cap ban, though, the gun and 4 hi-cap magazines turned me a tidy profit.

All these folks who post about 1911 owners liking malfunction drills, all I can say is that I must be terribly blessed. None of my 5 1911 variants I've owned over the years has given me a lick of trouble, including the Norinco below. Am I doing something wrong?

 

[dsk]

None of my 1911's jam either, so I guess they must be "defective" too. Then again, none of them are modified in any way, except for a couple with bigger sights and a beavertail.

Count me as another ex-Glock owner. I've owned a grand total of three G19's. The first one I sold because I couldn't get used to it (old frame style), the second one gave feeding and ejection problems (what? Glocks jam?!?), and the third worked fine but I still couldn't get used to even the new frame style. I have a slightly crooked index finger, and it rubbed the bottom of the triggerguard and would get sore after 100 rounds. Oh well. I guess that's why there's so many choices in firearms out there. City administrators seem to think there's one perfect gun for everybody, but gun owners tend to be a bit brighter than that.

 

[DunedinDragon]

I can't say I'm passionate about it, but I don't think any serious handgun collection is complete without a 1911 in it. But then again, I think everyone needs at least one polymer framed auto, one DA/SA type, one DAO type, one revolver, one 9mm, one .40 cal, possibly one long colt .45, and don't forget about the .50 s&w, and.....and so on...and so on......

 

[10-Ring]

It seems like most shooters will gravitate to the 1911 at some point during their shooting "careers." IMHO, they are just so versatile and they just work so well
Now don't get me wrong, I love the other 45 acp pistols in my safe but my 1911 is just special

 

[Baba Louie]

Why?
Seems that most American shooters either love it or are apathetic about it... but it certainly does inspire passion amongst those who embrace it... myself included.
Testing? I believe the US Army did that back in the day when they accepted it. Ran field tests here and there. Central America, Caribbean, Europe once or twice, Pacific Islands, etc.
It seemed to work when it had to.
It was the first one (semi-auto) accepted by Uncle Sam oh so many years back.
Many of our fathers trained with it and carried it.
It is a warrior, BTDT.
It scares some people.
It's heavy.
Some are loose.
Some are tight.
Some are old.
A lot are new.
Used by Good guys and Bad guys.
Copied by other mfgs in the past few decades.
Cause it shoots a .45.
Can add a .22 conversion kit.
There are other handguns that do better at specific other tasks.
There are other handguns with more power or with less moving parts.
There are other handguns that cost more and cost less.
There are other handguns that weigh less.
There are other handguns that are more modern.

And I only own 9 of JMB's model of 1911A1, aka 45 auto.

It's not the end all be all. Just a good enough handgun.

But if I could really and truly only own just one handgun, I know exactly what that one would be. (hard part would be decidin' which one of nine to keep)
And if I had to 'splain it to ya, I figure it'd probably be a waste of my time.

But that's just me.

YMMV

 

[XavierBreath]

I like any gun that allows me to pick it up and place a big bullet right where I want to.

Years ago, I was a diehard wondernine guy, fond of repating that the number of hits is what mattered, not the size of the bullet. I wanted capacity and I needed capacity, because my accuracy with those DA triggers was awful. I tried Berettas, Glocks, HKs and others, with the same accuracy.

Then one day, on a lark, I shot my son's Colt 1991. With it, I was putting holes right where I wanted to. I bought myself a Springfield Mil-Spec the same day. I am passionate about the 1911, in particular Colt 1911s, because they work for me. One can say they are quick into action, have multiple safeties, are accurate, carry well, whatever. For me, they put a big bullet right where I want them to. That's enough.

 

[cz75]

1911 is chevy 350 of gunworld

not to mention that the 1911 is the chevy 350 of the handgun world. parts are massively available, range from cheap to too expensive, and there are "shade tree" mechanics all over who can work on them... and some who shouldn't but do anyway.

jw