Posted: 10/5/2009 8:08:27 PM EDT
| I've been shopping for a 1911 for some time now and this lightweight operator caught my eye. I've handled it in a gun shop once but never actually shot one. What kind of performance should I expect from this gun? I've heard numerous things about how an aluminum frame is going to produce some ugly recoil, but can anyone here attest to that? Also what kind of effect will normal gun cleaning and lubrication chemicals have on the aluminum frame? |
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Interesting you should ask. I've been doing some recoil comparison calcuations. The LW Op looks like it weighs 3/8 of a pound less than the Loaded steel I used as my 1911 example. The Operator's rail adds some mass, or it would be lighter. The free recoil energy from that gun is 7.21 ft-lbf, and from a steel 1911 it's 6.13. I don't have a good close comparison to that yet. The closest I've figured is a G19 (9mm) at 6.86. This is all using "typical loads"....230/835 and 115/1190. The next highest FRE I have is for a G22 (165/1060) coming in at 9.05. So, it'll punch harder than a steel Operator, but lighter than a Glock 40. The perception relative to the Glock should be even milder given the slower slide speed on a 45.
Hope this helps. |
| In simplest terms, lighter than a G22, yup. There's less energy going into your hand with the heavier gun. What you actually "think/perceive/feel" will depend on how the gun fits your hand, and even how good your stance and weapon height is. The poly frame actually flexes a tiny bit, which makes it "feel" different, but the same amount of energy is delivered to your hand, whether your gun flexes or not. There is a bigger diff in feel between, say a revolver and auto with the same free recoil energy, than there is with a bendy auto and a stiff auto. |