jason10mm
Member
What is a 1911? To me, the 1911 is, in essence, a single action trigger design married to a thumb safety on top of a grip set a specific angle. Mag capacity, sight design, barrel length, caliber, extraction location, guide rod length, and sighting system are all secondary. The trigger is the heart of the pistol. It is a straight pull, no swinging, with a clean break involving little to no creep. It is the perfect way to translate your desire to shoot into action. The thumb safety makes the system fool-proof (but alas, not idiot proof 
, and the grip angle makes the weapon become a natural extension of your arm, requiring no effort to bring the sights into perfect alignment with your eye.
The 45acp is the best round as it allows for the maximum diameter bullet to be fired while retaining a slim grip. Other 45 pistols try to top the 1911s capacity (perhaps to justify their existence?), but in doing so they bloat the grip and ruin the ergonomics. Even "wide-body" 1911s are guilty of this. JMB knew that a single column of 45s would do the job and time has proven him correct.
The way the pistol dissassembles into a multitude of individual parts has allowed gunsmiths to perfect or ruin the overall pistol, each to their level (or lack) of skill. The same basic design can become a highly accurate bullseye pistol, or an extrememely rugged combat piece. It can become a small pocket pistol or a large hunting weapon. I know of almost no other pistol that can be so highly modified, yet almost every variation retains the trigger, thumb safety, and the grip angle. Those are the key to the 1911 system.
, and the grip angle makes the weapon become a natural extension of your arm, requiring no effort to bring the sights into perfect alignment with your eye. The 45acp is the best round as it allows for the maximum diameter bullet to be fired while retaining a slim grip. Other 45 pistols try to top the 1911s capacity (perhaps to justify their existence?), but in doing so they bloat the grip and ruin the ergonomics. Even "wide-body" 1911s are guilty of this. JMB knew that a single column of 45s would do the job and time has proven him correct.
The way the pistol dissassembles into a multitude of individual parts has allowed gunsmiths to perfect or ruin the overall pistol, each to their level (or lack) of skill. The same basic design can become a highly accurate bullseye pistol, or an extrememely rugged combat piece. It can become a small pocket pistol or a large hunting weapon. I know of almost no other pistol that can be so highly modified, yet almost every variation retains the trigger, thumb safety, and the grip angle. Those are the key to the 1911 system.