I favor a 1911A1 over a Glock. Since I appear to be the only one standing on the side of the 1911A1, I will do my best to make it's case.
1st Let me start by agreeing with what some one here has already said and add to it a bit. Colt has had some trouble in the past few years. All firearms manufacturers have had trouble in the nineties and have been holding on by the seat of their pants except companies who had large orders from police Departments (Glock/H&K/Sig) and the military (Berreta). A situation that all changed this past monday morning.
Therefore avoid Colts manufactured in the early to mid nineties and be cautious when buying Colts manufactured in the late nineties. Colt went (what all of us non-financial gurus would call) "broke" in the 1990s (more than once). This means that the merchandise that they were shipping was not exactly.....Uh....well 100%. If you buy a 1991A1 (or other 1911A1 variant) manufactured during this period, take it to someone knowledgable and let them check it out during the period when you can return it. Maybe it will be OK out of the box. If not, maybe it can be fixed at low cost to you. If not then return it. Colts manufactured in the last year and now are manufactured on new machines that are the state of the art CNC machines and are the equal of Kimber and Springfield (Which are both good).
2nd You can purchase a 1911A1 manufactured in the 1970s or 1980s for a reasonable price that will be as reliable as any 1911A1 would be and as accurate as you need, right out of the box. As to whether it is accurate enough and/or reliable enough you have only to look around the world at the countries who adopted it into their military.
In terms of accuracy, a 1911A1 is not and never was intended to be a bullseye pistol. It is a combat weapon. I will not defend the 1911A1 against bullseye pistols in accuracy......But then neither is a Glock their equal! A 1911A1 will *consistently* hit 8" steel plates at 25 yards. Actually, it will do much better than that but I do not want to be accused of overstating my case.
Now 25yds is farther than you will ever be shooting your pistol in a combat situation and it will consistently place the .45 ACP bullet in the head (an 8" circle) of the opponent! What more do you want from a combat pistol in terms of accuracy? To consistently hit the opponent in the left eye? At 100 yards? I am not throwing the argument of accuracy to the Glock I am simply making the point that, which one is more accurate is irrelevant. They are both more than accurate enough for combat weapons and hitting 8" plates at the range; Neither of them are the equal of .22 cal target pistols. They trade the last bit of accuracy that they would be capable of attaining for reliability under the less than ideal circumstances of combat. Yet, you can take them to the range and they are accurate enough to have a great day shooting steel plate, running barracades or shooting moving targets but the single action 1911A! takes the edge here. So lets move on past the debate of which is MORE accurate...the Glock or the 1911A1.
Reliability? If 1911A1s were unreliable then how come IPSA shooters fire tens of thousands of "REloads" through their 1911A1s without a misfeed or mishap? 1911A1s are extremely reliable. Thousands of people get up everyday all over the world and go out and bet their life that the 1911A1 will be reliable....again today. What about Glocks? Well if they weren't reliable do you think so many police department would have them as issue firearms? Of course Glocks are reliable. So once again when we consider reliability we find they both exceed our need.
Cartridge capacity: A 1911A1 with 8 rounds in the magazine and a nineth in the chamber is all I want to carry around in one holster. The majority of the weight is in the devastating .45 cartridge. If my pistol would carry 50 cartridges, I still would carry only 8. A smaller cartridge is not the answer. I do not want a smaller cartridge and at the same time, I do not want more of them in one holster. A lighter pistol (Like a Polymer frame) helps very little because the ammunition is the bulk of the weight. If the reduction in weight of the pistol is offset by the increase in ammunition, what have you gained? The majority of civilian gun fights last a very short time and a very few rounds are fired. Some one here will tell us an exact time and number of rounds but my memory says less than five minutes and less than three or four rounds. If you can't end the fight before exhausting 9 rounds of .45 ACP of being incapacitated your self you need some more range time not more cartridges. I am not an advocate of personally trying to overcome my lack of training with more rounds hoping I hit a hostile target. Practice, read and learn to use your weapon.....If you do that, 9 will be all you want to carry as well. And if the time ever comes for you (IT never does for me I just add more) that you want to sell your pistol, Colts hold their value well.
Pay attention now, I'm coming to the good part. Either pistol will do what you want and will do it well. If Glocks are reliable enough and accurate enough and 1911A1 are too and greater than nine cartridges in a pistol at a time are enough then how do you decide what to own and shoot? Well emotion has something to do with it actually. I do not believe that a pistol is "just" a tool; Sometimes, as in the case of the 1911A1 it is a work of art. Sometimes I place one of my 1911A1 where I can see it while I am working at the computer just so I can look at it and enjoy it. I do not do the same with a Cresent wrench or pliers. Maybe you do and if you do then my hat is off to you. The Black matte Polymer and clunky boxy ergonomics of a Glock do not turn me on. Maybe they do you. I love the balance of the heavy slide on the government model which returns my front sight to the target quickly after a shot and makes my aim more steady. I love the high polish dark blueing on the slide as the light reflects off it. I like the way it feels in my hands. I trust it! In a crunch when TSHTF, I feel comfortable with it...sort of my Blankey. Iguess it comes down to what is important to you and for that you have to decide.
Sorry to use so much band width but it was discussed for years in the gun rags so I guess actually I was pretty brief by comparison.
PigPen
IMHO, A pistol is more than a tool. It is a work of art.
