So what's all the fuss about 1911s? Why are they supposedly gods gift to the world.


Have never fired one, what makes them so awesome over a more modern .45?


 

Been in every action since they were issued.

Shoot one and find out.

JMB got it right well over 100 years ago. Pure sex.

1911 and .45ACP killed many enemies of the United States

This.  You might like them.

They're awesome because they offer a level of exclusivity to shooters. Look at your thread... you don't know why they are so talked about but you've never shot one...
What makes you think words on a screen can clue you in? They're fucking awesome and you'll never know until you shoot one.



Doesn't have to be .45 either, they still shoot great in 9mm and .38 super. I like .38 super personally because it's what the 19xx pistols started as and it's sex on wheels.

A 1911 with a good trigger is a joy to shoot.

I carry mine all the time.  It's heavy, but its slim and it conceals well.  Yes it's 8+1, so I carry a couple of spare mags. Yes the sights are tiny (GI model Springfield), but I still shoot it better than my duty Glock.  

In before Cawktheslayer and that PT229guy or what ever the fuck that pimple popper's name is...

I want to try one of those STI double-stack 9mm raceguns just to see what they're like.  

 

 
1) Feels good, isn't bulky.

2) Shoots good round.

3) Can be very accurate.

4) Can have a very nice trigger pull.



Its low capacity, but just another option out there of very good guns.

It can be contrasted to cars, kind of.

They are like the more modern manual transmission of handguns, next to old single action revolvers. They are simply that much more enjoyable to shoot. Any post-90s striker fire - such as any Glock ever - is boring. Just like a Toyota Camry with electric steering and an auto trans is boring. It will surely get the job done, it will get you from point A to B, but goddamn its so non-fulfilling. For some, there is much more to driving a car than getting form point A to B or hauling your ugly children and fat wife to walmart in the right lane. In other words, this is a subjective debate. To the naysayers who are too autistic to enjoy the grey sides of life, i guess stick to something else.

Arguably the most ergonomic pistols on the planet.
 

You don't need a sports car. But it's way more fun.

SVI Infinity >> STI anything

It will make you spend a lot of money.

I will say that for me personally, the grip angle and width is perfect for me. Plus their triggers are inherently nice compared to most modern combat pistols. It just adds up to a really nice platform that I shoot really well with.

Accuracy and .45 ACP are one hell of a combination.

God invented women - man has tried to improve on it but never has.





Oh - there are those out there that think that bolt on tits are an improvement - they are wrong.

Oh - there are those out there that think plastic guns are an improvement - they are also wrong.

 

Best trigger hands down.

Really simple gun, great trigger, durable, powerful.  No tools required.

Caveat:  Be selective/picky and tune it.  Because a modern gun may have the classic lines and external profile doesn't mean it was made to the plans and drawings.  Just like ARs.

Extra 'Murica.  With the horsey.

I was gonna get all jingoistic and shill for the Texas company.  Then I looked at SVI's website.  

 



God I love this state.

This.

The 1911 is still the standard by which others are judged.

I don't need to drive an F1 car (1911) to know that my civic (plastic gun) cannot compete in performance.

With that said, plastic guns are light and easy to carry, just like civicis fuel efficient.

The only "Modern" pistol designed, with the human interface as an element of effectiveness, as a primary focus.

Everything since the 1911/M1911A1 and BHP, is a mechanical exercise, with the shooter interface as an afterthought.

JMB got it right. The things are intuitive to start with, and they run 100% if they aren't dicked with.
The various Kimbers, Wilsons, and others are NOT 1911's though, as they are departures and interpretations, with modified dimensions, and tolerances.

Feed a true 1911 Hardball, and they are as reliable as any modern Vunderpistol.
Fashion, Vanity, and the focus on Games rather than fighting, has led to 1911 based pistols, being called "1911's" when in fact, they are far from one.

The variants all yield something to gain accuracy that is not practical, or comfort that is detrimental somewhere, and could just be trained around if someone was serious.
Slap high Vis sights on a true 1911 and that is all that is needed. It wont win a steel challenge or a bullseye match though.

I've got an honest ta goodness MEU-SOC 1911A1 built by Gunny Ontroveros of 1st FSSG, that I will be buried with.
Only my Glocks have come close to being as reliable, but none of them have the round counts of the first barrel I wore out in the 1911.
If I look at something, I can hit it with that 1911. H&K and Glocks are abortions that should have never entered this realm in comparison.

I can wear a Glock in the mud, sand, chemicals, grit, and grime, and the thing will run however.
It's the only weakness of the 1911, that time has corrected with the modern designs.


On the back page of the "Book of the 1911" 100th Anniversary edition, there is a Pic of me on a combat course, with an issued 1911, shooting for time, and that time was chopped every rotation, to keep us Jarheads under pressure. I remember that day well. Coral sand would lock the things up, after belly crawling 30-40 yds, and a Karate chop to the back of the slide was needed between each shot, and it was something that was learned, but not taught at Mare Island, Gunsite, or anywhere else.
After 3-4 shots, they would clear out, and run like a top...a really noisy, rattling top that will hold the 2" circle on the old Gunsite target.

Our counterparts of the Royal Marine persuasion, could not get thier High powers to function at all, on the same course.
Later, the Barfetta M9 would also fail completely.

I have never choked a Glock with the same or worse abuse, but at the same time, no Glock is anywhere as intuitive.

It's perfection, even if it is limited.
Run an honest to goodness 1911A1 sometime, and run it hard.
Other than capacity, nothing has bettered it yet overall.

Only if I absolutely needed all 7 (or 8) shots to hit their mark would I consider carrying a 1911.

 
And fundamentally no one has made a action superior to the 1911. All modern day pistols use the 1911's action.

Had several and own none.

The Good:
70 series had the sweetest trigger I've ever diddled with my finger. Smooth and broke like glass. Really showed me what, "let it surprise you," meant. It's a no brainer for bulls eye shooting.
Feels nice in your hand. Metal and balance. The low capacity single stack means that you can really wrap your hand around it for the proverbial "fist full of steel." The safety is in EXACTLY the right spot. Everything about it feels natural.
There's something about the proportions of the muzzle. The thin barrel wall makes the bore look huge or something. When you point a modern gun at someone they focus on your hands or eyes. When you point a 1911 at someone their eyes get big and focus on the muzzle. Things come to a screeching halt. There's a certain gravity to looking down the business end of a 1911 that commands attention and respect.

The reality:
They need to be tuned. And re-tuned if the temperature or humidity changes. Tuned like a car with breaker points. When's the last time you set dwell or adjusted carburetor screws with a tach and vacuum gauge?
They need to be polished, stroked, fluffed, and prayed over to feed properly, and when they don't feed it's always the magazine's fault. You have to shoot the crap out of it, all the time, with expensive ammo, in order to have faith that it's going to work when you need it. Meaning, if it isn't constantly tested, then you have no idea whether it's in-tune enough to work.

No matter which pricey, high maintenance, big named 1911, ammo, and mags you buy ... they can't run reliably at a class. Even with spot maintenance cleanings during the breaks. All of them, and I mean ALL OF THEM go down. Meanwhile every out-of-the-box Glock or XD that hasn't been cleaned in 5 years feeds and fires every time and never goes down at a class.

For all their charm and magnificence, they have simply been eclipsed in both design and material science. They excel in some corner cases, but when you need a no-nonsense, reliable, commuter pistol that you can beat the crap out of, neglect, and still depend on .... 1911 doesn't inhabit the solution space.

good gun, ther are better

They were cool before houses had electricity. Obsolete POS, now.

Good and fair post.

Their single action trigger gives then laser beam accuracy

I am going to take a slightly different tangent in terms of 1911 nut hugging.

In a way, the 1911 gunsmithing industry has taken on a self-licking ice cream cone sort of culture.

Look at how many different outfits are making 1911's now...all to varying degrees of tolerances.  Call it ego...or maybe a sign of quality, MAYBE??? but making a super tight 1911 is probably not the ideal.  It probably makes the machinists feel good, but still probably not ideal in terms of reliability.  Consequently there is this huge market for after factory parts and gunsmithing.

Anywhooo...back to the 1911 nut hugging.

The trigger...when it breaks...as in when the gun goes BANG!, there is nothing like it in a handgun.  My STI Trojan might be in the 2 to 3 pound range as far as trigger pulls go....but it was meant to be a competition gun, not a carry gun.

And then there is the trigger reset, again, there is nothing like it in the world.

That is why you see USPSA  becoming dominated a lot by 1911's and 2011's in their divisions.  The next possible runner up now is a CZ75 or clone which includes the EAA Witness line, I would speculate.  And now, I would say some flavor of Glock has been knocked down to the #3 slot.

Here is some 1911 porn, kinda:

If a 1911 is built properly, it will function reliably for a very long time. Not all makers go through the trouble of properly fitting and tensioning the extractor, properly shaping the ejector, proper breechface angle (which is NOT 90 degrees), or even completing a seemingly trivial step like the bowtie cut on the vertical impact surface, among many other details either omitted or botched by many makers. 1911s are for dedicated pistoleros, which 87% of you all are not. Believe the hype.

LOL sounds more like you had experience with poorly made guns, or over specialized guns that were way out of traditional M1911A1 spec.

 

There's a reason cheap 1911's run circles around expensive ones.

10% grip, 20% trigger, 70% nostalgia.

this. for that majority of people they fit the hand and point fantastic.
fantastic trigger, very accurate.
I don't even have to try to shoot it well.
they are very thin for a full size gun and carry very well

Truth....

You speak it.

There's hype from both sides. One tends to be more vocal about it and adds way more dishonest noise than any signal while the other can be harsh but truthfully fair.

I like the 1911. I also like plastic strikers, well some of them anyways that truly perform. But some people have to have lines in the sand while the most honest and knowledgeable gun guys I know like both and don't push neither onto others or make lines in the sand and generally stay quiet.

ETA, and in before hawkthetroll goes full retard again.

This clone reviews really well and is a lot cheaper than an STI or a custom build

 

Stock Combat Elite, only change is a new set of grips. Over 3000 rounds and not single hiccup. Including several weekends with no classes.  I just dont understand who these people are who end up with such shitty 1911's.

A 1911 is a beautiful, iconic pistol with a rich American history.

Over the years I have fired a few Springfield Armory 1911s and a very nice Wilson Combat.

Given that, they've never impressed me all that much. I'll never own one.

IMO there are better modern pistols available today.

massive pile of bullshit

A combination of ergonomics, (Most people find 1911s to be extremely comfortable to hold and shoot, single action triggers tend to be good), reputation (We won WW2 with a 1911 in our hands!), exclusivity (What other pistol are you going to spend $3000 on?), visual appeal (They're generally nice looking pistols with a generally better fit and finish than most 'modern' pistols) and the American obsession with caliber.

I carry my 1911 occasionally, but I think a double stack 9mm is better as a "fighting tool," whatever that may mean to you. Regardless of that, they're worth having at least one or two.

 

This for sure.  I tried one for the first time last year and I loved it instantly.  Was also my first .45ACP, I had been wondering if the recoil would be heavy, but didn't seem like any more than 9mm.  I guess bigger projectile at slower speed kind of evens out.  Want one bad now, but too po' lately.

 
Your "reality" is unadulterated bullshit.

Some people simply do not know how to shoot a gun properly, so they blame the weapon,



 

Hey, look everyone.  We have a 16'er who is a "gun expert."

The grip angle is all wrong on 1911's and they simply don't carry enough ammo.  Add to that spotty magazines that fail and hit-and-miss reliability and you have serious problems.

I mean, its better that being completely unarmed but there are VASTLY better solutions out there.

I've carried  pistols from the jungles of the Bolivian Chapare to the hot Haitian summer tropical rains and I wouldn't trust anything other than P226's and Glock 17's. But hey, what do I know.  I'm sure some dude in his cozy basement polishing his 1911 knows better.

to each his own I guess.