why do so many people love 1911's
- Thread starter vince24L
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SWMAN
Member
Try shooting a 1911, then shoot a double action only and you'll immediately know why people prefer the 1911: lighter trigger pull, slim stocks to grip, and a much faster trigger reset for multiple shoots while staying reasonably on target.
Franco2shoot
Member
fit and function
One of the early tests that I performed was based on a scary experience where 2 B&E bad guys were prying off the back door of our house. Needless to say I was scared sh*&less during the moment. Flicking on the backdoor light and pointing a 12 guage at these nerdowells caused them to flee, but I became resolved to have a handgun should there be a repeat. I did not want to have an encounter in a narrow hallway with a 27inch barrel that could be easily pulled or pushed aside. Knowing how I felt and my own limitations, I wanted a big bad bullet. When I finally got my 1911 and did some training with the local Rangemaster, I found that I could click off shots at a fairly quick rate, and empty the magazine with plenty of holes where I was pointing. The weapon fit comfortably in my hand and gave me the confidence necessary. Now that I am comfortable there's no way I'm gonna change. I go to the range once a month, and the first test I do is to empty a magazine into a target that's about 20 yards down range. The 1911 has done this each and every month for the past decade with no jams. That's why I love it.
KKKKFL
One of the early tests that I performed was based on a scary experience where 2 B&E bad guys were prying off the back door of our house. Needless to say I was scared sh*&less during the moment. Flicking on the backdoor light and pointing a 12 guage at these nerdowells caused them to flee, but I became resolved to have a handgun should there be a repeat. I did not want to have an encounter in a narrow hallway with a 27inch barrel that could be easily pulled or pushed aside. Knowing how I felt and my own limitations, I wanted a big bad bullet. When I finally got my 1911 and did some training with the local Rangemaster, I found that I could click off shots at a fairly quick rate, and empty the magazine with plenty of holes where I was pointing. The weapon fit comfortably in my hand and gave me the confidence necessary. Now that I am comfortable there's no way I'm gonna change. I go to the range once a month, and the first test I do is to empty a magazine into a target that's about 20 yards down range. The 1911 has done this each and every month for the past decade with no jams. That's why I love it.
KKKKFL
Hey, how did I blast you? I am even admitting you are faster with a safety than I am w/o one
. Having no manual safety is just MY preference (somehow the latter means the former on teh internet). 1911's pwn all imnsfho. That's why 1911 is USA number one for long time.
I'd still like to have one just for a range gun. Especially if someone "tennifered" (is this "nitron" the chemical equivalent btw?) one. Fat caliber in a slim package <-- what I love.
mljdeckard
Member
I won't mess with a guy for having a preferrence. He's not saying manual safeties suck, he's just saying he doesn't like them. Don't we always advise the rookies to shoot a lot of guns and pick the one that feels the best to THEM, regardless of what anyone else thinks? Leave him alone.
As far as; "They must like reloading", remember this. You should practice tactical reloads regardless of the make or capicity of your pistol. Reload when you can, not when you have to. The only one who accurately fired 14 rounds straight without a break long enough to reload is Mel Gibson. If you are doing this in real life, you are wasting lead, endangering everyone involved, and possibly getting yourself in trouble. If you are doing a job you can't finish in 8+1, 15 probably isn't going to do you much good either. (That means you are trying to do a submachine gun's job with a pistol, a squad's job with one man, or a little of both. In either case you're oodscray anyway.)
If you MUST have both, get a Kimber BP-ten or a Para-ordnance with the high-capacity.
As far as; "They must like reloading", remember this. You should practice tactical reloads regardless of the make or capicity of your pistol. Reload when you can, not when you have to. The only one who accurately fired 14 rounds straight without a break long enough to reload is Mel Gibson. If you are doing this in real life, you are wasting lead, endangering everyone involved, and possibly getting yourself in trouble. If you are doing a job you can't finish in 8+1, 15 probably isn't going to do you much good either. (That means you are trying to do a submachine gun's job with a pistol, a squad's job with one man, or a little of both. In either case you're oodscray anyway.)
If you MUST have both, get a Kimber BP-ten or a Para-ordnance with the high-capacity.
Iron bottom
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- Mar 27, 2005
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Therapy. It is one of the fastest and longest lasting rehabilitation programs I know of.
Iron bottom
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- Joined
- Mar 27, 2005
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- 32
No offense, Blue Bottle Fly.
wildburp
member
Why?
Classic old stuff, so I bought a 1911 A1 about 10 years ago, just to add to my collection. It seemed rather fat in my hand at first, compared to my BHP, which lays down there like a good old Colt SAA, or my favorite old dog on a rug before the hearth. And yet, the 1911 grows on you, and I have not launched much lead from it. Fit and finish? Hands down, the BHP wins, and feels better in my hand. I guess I have to get out and shoot the .45 more. One thing for sure: The 1911 A1 will tear your hands up practicing disassembly, and vise versa. It has sharp corners, while the BHP is a powdered baby's but, sweet, smooth, and even, with a trigger pull that makes the 1911 Godzilla in a hammock. Gun smiths can trim her toenails for sure. Anyone know where I can send the .45 for a minor petiicure?
Never mind, I think I'll put a custom 1911 on my Christmas list, and let the A1 be what it is - a quick survival tool.
wb
Classic old stuff, so I bought a 1911 A1 about 10 years ago, just to add to my collection. It seemed rather fat in my hand at first, compared to my BHP, which lays down there like a good old Colt SAA, or my favorite old dog on a rug before the hearth. And yet, the 1911 grows on you, and I have not launched much lead from it. Fit and finish? Hands down, the BHP wins, and feels better in my hand. I guess I have to get out and shoot the .45 more. One thing for sure: The 1911 A1 will tear your hands up practicing disassembly, and vise versa. It has sharp corners, while the BHP is a powdered baby's but, sweet, smooth, and even, with a trigger pull that makes the 1911 Godzilla in a hammock. Gun smiths can trim her toenails for sure. Anyone know where I can send the .45 for a minor petiicure?
Never mind, I think I'll put a custom 1911 on my Christmas list, and let the A1 be what it is - a quick survival tool.
wb
treebeard
Member
What he said!
Jerry Morris
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- Joined
- Feb 22, 2003
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- 239
wildburp:
We are two differrent dawgs! I too, own both 1911 and Browning HP. I find the HP an entirely smaller pistol and it sure feels good in the hand. I get quite enamored of it.
Trigger-wise, I find the 1911 much more refined. Much crisper, easy to make even lighter and hands down a much shorter return distance. Whenever I get too prone to the HP, I just go run the 1911 and issues get clearer for me.
As for stripping them down, perhaps my calloused old hands are a might less sensitive than yours (tirebuilder, if it means something to you). The routine for the 1911 is just fine. The HP took a little larnin" time for me. Especially with an 18.5 pound recoil spring.
With decent hollowpoint ammo, both ought to get the job done. But, it for some reason I am stuck in a FMJ situation, the 9 mm leaves me a might under impressed.
Jerry
We are two differrent dawgs! I too, own both 1911 and Browning HP. I find the HP an entirely smaller pistol and it sure feels good in the hand. I get quite enamored of it.
Trigger-wise, I find the 1911 much more refined. Much crisper, easy to make even lighter and hands down a much shorter return distance. Whenever I get too prone to the HP, I just go run the 1911 and issues get clearer for me.
As for stripping them down, perhaps my calloused old hands are a might less sensitive than yours (tirebuilder, if it means something to you). The routine for the 1911 is just fine. The HP took a little larnin" time for me. Especially with an 18.5 pound recoil spring.
With decent hollowpoint ammo, both ought to get the job done. But, it for some reason I am stuck in a FMJ situation, the 9 mm leaves me a might under impressed.
Jerry
It is a timeless design, much like a Colt SAA. It is so perfect that not much can be done to improve it as John Moses Browning created it and the round it chambers both about 100 years ago. It is also a military legend, WW1, WW2, Korea, Vietnam, and even desert Storm, it sees service even today. It has simply proven itself as the "first" and "best" pistol of all time.
gandog56
Member
Here is my reason. I could not afford to come up with a big bucks gun all at once. So I bought a Springfield Armory 1911A1 GI. It was giving me fairly decent 2-3 inch patterns at 15 feet. Then I found a set of Crimson Trace lase grips on ebay for about 200 bucks. This brought my groups down to 1-1 1/2 inches because my tired old eyes were having a slight problem focusing on the front sight and the target at the same time. Then I got a little more money and put in a Wison Combat Match grade barrel. Now at 15 yards I get one ragged hole targets. The thing is so many people make so many 1911 parts, you can pick and choose any modifications and do them when you can. A springer or even a Rock Island Armory makes a great base gun you can do a lot with, and you can pay what you can when you can. Plus there has to be some reason a particular design has been around basically unchanged for almost one hundred years. Plus it is very easy to reload for this caliber and the brass can be gotten for next to nothing. Somehow I always seem to come away from the range with more empty cases than loaded ones I came in with.
1911 guy
Member
Why I like the Gov't Model.
1) It fits my hands.
2) The trigger is good, even when it's bad, it's better than a D.A.
3) The caliber. Nine is fine, .45 makes bigger holes in stuff.
4) It's thin and concealable. There are few "mouseguns" as thin as a GM.
5) Parts availablility. I have no reliability issues, but believe in Murphy's Law. Spares are nice to have and readily available.
6) Reliability. Get a basic gun that works, no hot-rod stuff, and you'll be in the boneyard before the pistol will.
7) Soul. Some machines have it, the 1911 has it in spades. Right along with some of the classic muscle cars and vintage aircraft.
8) Options. There are as many oiptions to a 1911 as there are when buying a car. See point number six. Select options around this.
9) Gunsmiths. There are some who "get it" and can make a good handgun into a great handgun.
10) It's fun to make jokes about europeans and their metric pistols.
1) It fits my hands.
2) The trigger is good, even when it's bad, it's better than a D.A.
3) The caliber. Nine is fine, .45 makes bigger holes in stuff.
4) It's thin and concealable. There are few "mouseguns" as thin as a GM.
5) Parts availablility. I have no reliability issues, but believe in Murphy's Law. Spares are nice to have and readily available.
6) Reliability. Get a basic gun that works, no hot-rod stuff, and you'll be in the boneyard before the pistol will.
7) Soul. Some machines have it, the 1911 has it in spades. Right along with some of the classic muscle cars and vintage aircraft.
8) Options. There are as many oiptions to a 1911 as there are when buying a car. See point number six. Select options around this.
9) Gunsmiths. There are some who "get it" and can make a good handgun into a great handgun.
10) It's fun to make jokes about europeans and their metric pistols.
busdriver72
Member
When I was in LE, I carried a revolver. For years all I ever shot was a revolver. After I got out of LE, a friend invited me over to shoot one day.
He said "You ever shot a 1911?" I hadn't, but had seen many guys on the PD carry them. I recalled the days when their 1911's would jam at the range, but I'd keep on shooting. Upon reflection, we were all young (21-22) and they didn't really understand many things about 1911s and hadn't practiced much with them. They all carried colts and were concerned about how the guns looked rather than functioned. ANYWAY, ahead in time to my friends range, he handed me his Kimber 1911, gave me a few tips on the 1911, and I fired away. I really enjoyed it. Then I research the history of the 1911.
Then I wanted a 1911. All I could afford was a Llama Max-I. Since then I have bought Springfield and now a Smith & Wesson 1911. I like many things about it..the way it looks, shoots, feels, the power, round capacity.
He said "You ever shot a 1911?" I hadn't, but had seen many guys on the PD carry them. I recalled the days when their 1911's would jam at the range, but I'd keep on shooting. Upon reflection, we were all young (21-22) and they didn't really understand many things about 1911s and hadn't practiced much with them. They all carried colts and were concerned about how the guns looked rather than functioned. ANYWAY, ahead in time to my friends range, he handed me his Kimber 1911, gave me a few tips on the 1911, and I fired away. I really enjoyed it. Then I research the history of the 1911.
Then I wanted a 1911. All I could afford was a Llama Max-I. Since then I have bought Springfield and now a Smith & Wesson 1911. I like many things about it..the way it looks, shoots, feels, the power, round capacity.
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