I feel that I have to comment on this. It seems the original point was that the 1911 series in 45 is hard to train a novice to use well. I disagree. Give someone that has never shot before a loaded Glock, a cocked and locked 1911, a beretta 92 on safe, and a smith and wesson 5906 again on safe. I bet the time required to fire the glock would be the least, followed by the other three. As to getting them to shoot well, I think the 1911 would start to shine before any of the others. For most people it points well, has a good, repeatable trigger, and is plenty accurate. Now, the glock would be close behind, but I think its longer trigger pull will slow down some people's progress. The DA/SA pulls of the smith and Beretta would cause a dramatic slow down in progress. The recoil of the 1911 in 45 is extremly over rated. I often shoot at an indoor range, and have let people shoot my 1911. THose that have never shot a 45 are often amazed that it doesn't kick all that much. If you think the safety system of the 1911 is a problem, clear a gun, get it cocked and locked, and just pick it up with your thumb on the thumb satety. Grip it, and it is now ready to go. Simple, and almost automatic right from the start. There is a reason that the 1911 is still around, it works.