1911 - Tired, Old, Unreliable Pistol Past It's Prime?

[Claymore33]

The reason some folks have problem with 1911 in .45 is they do not keep the RAMP clean. You do not need to clean the barrel often but you MUST clean the RAMP. After about 25 rounds take the corner of your handkerchief wrap around your little finger , lock the slide back and clean the ramp. Failure to feed and stovepipes are mostly due to DIRTY RAMPS!

 

[Blinkers]

They are objectively outdated for defensive use due to weight, capacity, and reliability.

If people like them that's fine but it's for emotional and sentimental reasons.

 

[Eagle 477]

I have several 1911 .45 cal and two others that I also have a few thousand of rounds thru that I can comfortably rely on, A Sig P220 and a Kimber Pro Carry II.

Rob

 

[gen3guy]

I keep thinking that I should sell my Colt MK IV Series 80 Government Model. Then I take it to the range.

 

[WCCPHD]

Expert:

An "ex" is a has-been. A "spurt" is a drip under pressure. So an "expert" is a has-been drip under pressure.

A person with more data than judgment.

A person who avoids small error as he sweeps on to the grand fallacy.

A specialist who knows everything about something, and nothing about anything else.

Where facts are few, experts are many.

An expert is a person who has made all the mistakes that can be made in a very narrow field.

Always listen to experts. They'll tell you what can't be done and why. Then do it.

 

[WC145]

They are objectively outdated for defensive use due to weight, capacity, and reliability.

If people like them that's fine but it's for emotional and sentimental reasons.

Hahahaha! But Glock is cutting edge for coming out with a single stack 9mm.

Weight is meaningless, proper equipment negates any weight issues, or you can choose an aluminum framed 1911. Modern 1911s are arguably the best built ever thanks to modern metalurgy and machining, reliability of a properly cleaned and lubricated 1911 with quality magazines is on par with anything else on the market. I spent many years in law enforcement watching Glocks, Berettas, M&Ps, etc fail in training and qualifying. Yet, somehow, my 1911s continued to run just fine, never failing me.

Any reliable, reasonably accurate modern handgun qualifies for self defense use simply by being reliable and reasonably accurate. A 1911 is fine handgun for defensive carry, as is a J-frame S&W snubby, a Glock (insert number here), a Sig whatever, or any one of scores of others on the market today. More important is the user's familiarity and comfort with a particular design and their willingness and ability to deploy it if need be.

 

[Autonomous]

A cheap, easy and guaranteed way to get free publicity in the handgun world is to bash 1911s.
Yes, there are more modern guns, duh. We hadn't been to the moon yet.

Glock leg? Yes.
1911 leg? Never heard of it.

 

[SS336]

Just to lighten the mood. Just for fun, a laugh maybe.
Disclaimer…i don't own a Glock, but I do own a 1911.

 

[bmcgilvray]

They are objectively outdated for defensive use due to weight, capacity, and reliability.

If people like them that's fine but it's for emotional and sentimental reasons.

...and that's your opinion and your stickin' to it.

I particularly like weight, care not one whit for the vaunted high capacity, and it was the 1911 gun, whether in Colt Government Model or US military contract guises, for those were the only 1911 guns one could get back in the 1960s when I was young, the 1911 gun which had the reputation for reliability in our family's members. I've yet to see a reason to question that reputation.

It was THE .45 automatic then and is THE .45 automatic now. I can do emotional attachment and sentimentality with the best of 'em, but will pragmatically add practicality, dependability, ergonomics, and accuracy.

And, that's my opinion and I'm stickin' to it.

 

[6518John]

I have always wondered if a bunch of the posts on the Glock Forum are about Smith and Wessons and Colt's???

 

[Grayfox]

 

[Puller]

I have always wondered if a bunch of the posts on the Glock Forum are about Smith and Wessons and Colt's???

Yeah, pretty much.

 

[wbraswell]

Bah. Humbug.

 

[MG34/bar]

Just realized that Greyfox's description of the 1911 as old, fat, and slow describes me exactly! This year marks sixty (60) years since I was drafted into the U S Army, and also 60 years since I bought my first 1911 from the DCM for $15.00 plus $2.50 shipping. I qualified expert with it (with the issued pistol, of course, not with my own gun) but couldn't begin to do so now. The March of time crushes us all.

 

[Donn]

Last month or so, there were a couple of posts warning "If you carry a revolver, you're a dead man walking. Get a Glock" This month, we see the same dire warnings about the venerable, old 1911 platform. I get the impression some of our members like to drop a you-know-what in the punch bowl just to see who's triggered, (no pun intended).

 

[stansdds]

Last month or so, there were a couple of posts warning "If you carry a revolver, you're a dead man walking. Get a Glock" This month, we see the same dire warnings about the venerable, old 1911 platform. I get the impression some of our members like to drop a you-know-what in the punch bowl just to see who's triggered, (no pun intended).

I'm not in the triggered camp when it comes to selecting what is best for a given person. Although I guess I do get triggered by a post that preaches there is only one caliber or only one firearm that is acceptable for all. I'm not anti-Glock, I'm not anti-Sig, I'm not even anti-Taurus. I might be anti-Davis/Jennings/and similar poorly made and well known for malfunction type firearms.

A firearm, to me, is a tool and it's all about selecting the right tool for the job. If you want to rely upon the 1911 design, go for it! Just select the right one for the job. If the 1911 doesn't do it for you, find something that does.

 

[SS336]

 

[Marshal Tom]

Just purchased another one yesterday. A friend is dying and selling of a bunch of his stuff. I purchased a 4" 19-4 in lovely condition, an FN BHP Austrian Police gun and a 1967 Government model that he has modified with Bomar sights and a fiber optic front sight. It is really nice but I have to put an ambi safety on it and do a couple of other changed to it to fit me.

 

[AlHunt]

Last month or so, there were a couple of posts warning "If you carry a revolver, you're a dead man walking. Get a Glock" This month, we see the same dire warnings about the venerable, old 1911 platform. I get the impression some of our members like to drop a you-know-what in the punch bowl just to see who's triggered, (no pun intended).

It was a pretty obvious troll. The revolver post, too.

 

[ironhead7544]

The 1911 is fine for carry. Get Wilson mags. Shoot 200 rounds of your carry load without a malfunction. Get a belt and holster that will handle the weight. Carry at least one extra magazine. Learn the checks you need to make for maintenance.

Gun Riters have to have something to write about, so they kick up controversy to get attention.