Love and Hate.. With a 1911.. (more love)

To me, the 1911 is the Harley Davidson of the gun world. All these points can, of course, be debated; but this is how I see it.

1. there is really nothing new or technological about the design.
2. Big, heavy, slow, a bit cumbersome.
3. Everyone and their dentist seems to have one.
4. Need aftermarket parts to make them competitive with the more modern designs.
5. Seems to have a bit of a rabid cult following based mostly on emotions, and because it's "true America."

To me these all add up to "meh" about the 1911.

This is not saying they are bad, inferior, or poorly designed. It's just my reasons for preferring other pistols
 
All preferences in guns boil down to subjective tastes.

1. You’re right, the 1911 has not been improved on since 1911. The best bolt rifle ever made is still the Mauser 98, too.

2. Big? It is a full sized pistol. Heavy? Yup. Slow and cumbersome? That’s your prejudice speaking. How many world records in shooting are held by 1911s? In my hand the 1911 feels like an old friend.

3. Maybe there’s a reason everyone and his dentist has one?

4. Many 1911s are customized for the shooter’s needs. Not unusual as one gun will not fit everyone out of the box. But I think many are modified just to be fashionable. Other than adding adjustable sights to my 1973 Government Model nothing has been done to it and it has never let me down (and we have seen the elephant several times together).

5. Yes, there is a 1911 cult and some get a little over the top in their defense of both the 1911 and the 45 ACP cartridge. But all that worship is based on some measure of truth, no?

I said earlier I like the 38 Super a lot. Here’s a favorite. Who said the Super can’t shoot? I load 115 JHPs to 1,500 FPS and they seem plenty accurate and should be enough to settle anyone’s hash.


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1. th
There is really nothing new or technological about the design.
2. Big, heavy, slow, a bit cumbersome.
3. Everyone and their dentist seems to have one.
4. Need aftermarket parts to make them competitive with the more modern designs.
5. Seems to have a bit of a rabid cult following based mostly on emotions, and because it's "true America."
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You poor benighted heathen.
 
Anyone else have an unexplainable love for the 1911?
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Unexplainable? No.

I shoot them better than anything else...... and for a 40 oz. gun, they carry really well IWB: they are flat, so they conceal much better than the double stack wundernines that weigh half as much.
 
SaxonPig said:
All preferences in guns boil down to subjective tastes.

1. You’re right, the 1911 has not been improved on since 1911. The best bolt rifle ever made is still the Mauser 98, too...
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Subjectivity only matters to those who aren't concerned with performance. For those interested in performance, only winning matters, and winning is meted out in very real terms. Capacity, for example, is a defining characteristic for a fighting handgun. Just about anything made currently possesses double the capacity, if not more. Weight is a very real concern for an operator or professional carrier of a weapon. At over 32 oz, the 1911 is a damnedable brick for what it brings to the fight. The list goes on and on, and these are not subjective opinions, they are simple, physical, entirely real, verifiable facts.

The fact of the matter is that the 1911 has exactly two traits going for it: the single action, non-hinged trigger, and the slim-line single stack. A Glock 19 is 1.18 inches wide. How wide is your 1911? So, really, it the only advantage is a non-hinged trigger.

The OP asked why people loved the 1911, and the answer really just boils down to 'because I do [for irrational reasons, which are entirely the reasons which define love].'

There are better tools doing a better job. Period.
 
The OP asked why people loved the 1911, and the answer really just boils down to 'because I do [for irrational reasons, which are entirely the reasons which define love].'
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The U.S. Marine Corps being a warm,fuzzy and irrational outfit placed a multi
million dollar order for Colt M1911's a couple of years ago.
This ought to make you rethink a little bit your nebulous argument.
 
Gotta' put in a couple of cents worth of opinion on the desirability of high capacity for self defense.
It seems that in most instances where gun play is involved, when the first few bullets start to fly, everyone in the vicinity heads for the hills.
Bad guys included.
More rounds in the gun may mean more rounds fired, but without an increase in effective hits.
And lots more misses going who knows where.
The next time there's an incident in the news involving guns, check the particulars.
Bet it's true.
 
My own feelings about 1911s are pretty much the same s my feelings about Jeep CJs.
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You have hit this one right on the head. I know because I have 1911s, and I supported my son's CJ all through high school. They are very similar because yes they are both cool, and you better know a really good mechanic/gun smith to enjoy operating both.;)
 
M1911's

One guy says that they're high maintenance another says you gotta know a really good gunsmith to operate them.Weather permitting I shoot one of mine everyday-religiously,how else?-.I do routine maintenance and don't know no gunsmiths.They shoot pretty good all of them and if I didn't enjoy them sure
wouldn't even own one,I study the pistol and find something new all the time,
in fact the M1911 is so interesting to me that my other guns haven long been relegated to oblivion,I don't even touch them.
 
I just traded in 2 HKs and two other guns for a Colt New Agent and Sig 1911 Scorpion. Add the Sig P238 and P938 and I mostly carry 1911ish guns. I have a HK VP9 on order so that I have an HK in my collection too. My sole Glock is a 30s, very reliable. I had a Ruger 1911 CMD, sold it but want it again.
 
As far as capacity is concerned there are high cap models out there. Para sti rock etc. Jmb was a genius no doubt. But the beavertaol grip is a significant improvement IMO.
 
Love,

Grip fits me and probably most people you ask quite well.

Size, for a fullsize handgun in a large caliber its size and weight are pretty ideal for recoil management.

Nostalgia, (that feeling the Glock only crowd doesn't understand and hates us for.


Hate,

The fact that I want a second.
 
The U.S. Marine Corps being a warm,fuzzy and irrational outfit placed a multi-million dollar order for Colt M1911's a couple of years ago.
This ought to make you rethink a little bit your nebulous argument.
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It isn't a nebulous argument at all. The 1911 is heavier than nearly every modern design. It has half or less the capacity of other designs. It is notoriously unreliable compared to other modern designs. Heck, even the new CQBP that the USMC just ordered a couple thousand of are already showing themselves to be, well, 1911s, and are failing with regularity. Even a cursory bit of research comes up with articles to that effect.

A friend of mine who deployed to Iraq & Afghanistan with MARSOC drools over 1911s, but admits that, when they went out of the wire for more than a couple of days, the handguns strapped to their legs usually said "Germany" or "Austria" on the side.

People love the 1911 for a ton of reasons, the only one which has a strong basis in real world, verifiable fact is the 1911's non-hinged trigger--which triggers are fantastic, by the by, and a strong selling point.

Sorry, hombre, a man can love his wife, even if she has warts.
 
It is notoriously unreliable compared to other modern designs.
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Bull. A gun that passed a 6000rd test without malfunction or parts failure can hardly be "notoriously unreliable", can it? Some "modern designs" have expected service lives of fewer than 6000 rounds.
 
I love mine (a Sig C3) because it fits ME.

I respect the rest of you, but frankly, don't give a rip what YOU think about what will work best for ME.

I hope you carry what's right for YOU.
 
I have a lot of pistols, but I truly feel at home with the 1911, though not necessarily 45 acp. I like the sight profile and the slimness of the frame, and especially the trigger. I could fit other autos with more capacity, but I almost always carry a commander or full size 1911 IWB.
 
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