Read this before you buy your first 1911

[joeydiver]

Found this article while tooling around militarytimes.com. Pretty cool, but Im not giving up my SS Kimber Custom II TLE/RL

http://www.militarytimes.com/story/military/gearscout/2011/06/08/read-this-before-you-buy-your-first-1911/32158025/

[bcwood64]

I enjoy this articles, LAV has a point Glocks, CZs and Sigs are way easier and user friendly. But every single 1911 I've owned ran straight out of the box. Believe me my Wilson you really do feel the difference but my Colt and Springfields ran ragged out of the box.

[Hannco]

Found this article while tooling around militarytimes.com. Pretty cool, but Im not giving up my SS Kimber Custom II TLE/RL

http://www.militarytimes.com/story/m...1911/32158025/

Further proof "McGlockFanboy" had it right and challenged logic. Surprised, not me.

[class3]

“Now, I shoot a Glock,” Larry Vickers tells me. “Make sure you tell guys that the 1911 is a pain in the ass. If they don’t like messing around with the pistol and spending a grand to really get it tuned, then they should forget it.”

[SlowTime]

I don't agree that you need to spend a grand to get it tuned right, at least if you buy a better 1911. Even a cheap RIA will run fine for a few thousand rounds.

The differences start to show themselves at increased round counts and under heavy use. LAV like most instructors sees a lot more guns shit the bed. They see the trends for gun failure when run hard over a large sample of guns and conditions. He knows of what he speaks.

But if your range sessions consist of 50-100 rounds at the indoor range a few times a year and a cleaning after each use. You may not see an issue for several years.

[ChiefSailer]

There are several different hammers that are used for several different jobs.

[Malaka]

[joeydiver]

Don't you have a match to not show up for?

[ChiefSailer]

He's too busy cutting the sleeve off all his shirts to show up at a match.

[Finicky Fat Guy]

Speaking of 1911s and Glocks, I've been thinking about giving up my dignity, self respect, and all sense of competence in the pistol handling arena, and buying a G19. I saw a couple on Gunbroker that are not black; Desert Tan/Sand, OD, and the like. Are those aftermarket cerakote finishes or did Glock start making them in colors?

[67Builder]

Glock has made the fun color frames for years. More recently there are the guns that are full FDE or OD, even the new grey. But I think those are all aftermarket. AFAIK Glock doesn't produce slides in colors.
Lipsey's usually has a bunch of different colored Glocks.
So it depends on what you're asking. Yes Glock does make colored frames. No the frames are not cerakoted, they are dyed polymer at the factory. Any slide you see that is not black, was made so externally to glock (as far as i've ever seen).

[cityrepo61]

Speaking of 1911s and Glocks, I've been thinking about giving up my dignity, self respect, and all sense of competence in the pistol handling arena, and buying a G19. I saw a couple on Gunbroker that are not black; Desert Tan/Sand, OD, and the like. Are those aftermarket cerakote finishes or did Glock start making them in colors?

I have a factory OD model 17.

[Finicky Fat Guy]

So they did make them in colors from the factory? Thanks. It takes a little of the ugly off, at least the Desert Tan did. A little.

[Grifhunter]

Perfect trigger, accuracy potential far superior: 1911 will compete for another 100 years.

[Finicky Fat Guy]

True, and I love my 1911s, but they are finicky and I have had jams that would have gotten me killed in a gunfight, that couldn't be cleared with a regular clearance drill. The base of the spent casing got jammed back into the mag then the slide jammed it forward pinching it on the edge of the chamber opening. Very hard to get out. I changed the extractor to a Wilson Bullet Proof and that seems to have stopped it but it still happens on rare occasion. I wouldn't want to carry such a gun into a fight.

On the other hand, I've put almost 1300 rounds (as a stress test) through my PPQ 9mm without cleaning before a malfunction, can drive tacks with it, can conceal it pretty well, so if I lived in a place where I could carry, that would be my first choice.

[Barnslayer]

The author admits to shooting a Glock. Taking his advise on the 1911 makes as much sense as asking a vegan about steak.

[Barnslayer]

The world is full of experts. I went to an orthopedist who always makes the top 100 doctors in NYC list. He misdiagnosed my wrist tendinitis. Said I needed a bone removed and would lose at least 20% of my grip strength. The next guy I went to had me do wrist curls and the pain was gone within two weeks without meds.

[Finicky Fat Guy]

There are experts, then there are experts. "As the 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta’s primary firearms instructor, Larry Vickers worked in a place that put more than a million rounds a year through 1911s."

If he changed from a 1911 to a Glock there's damn good reason.

[Barnslayer]

1911 has about a century of American military service. One guy's opinion is pretty small in the face of that.

[Grifhunter]

"True, and I love my 1911s, but they are finicky and I have had jams that would have gotten me killed" (FinickyFatGuy)

Any given individual semi auto can be "finicky", depending on how it is set up, magazines quality and individual round configuration. Your jams could be related to any individual condition NOT unique to the 1911 framework. 1911's generally are made factory reliable and then can be cobbled to be whatever you want. For about 6 years I was shooting three 1911's about 20,000 rounds per year in Bullseye competitions with no failures apart from one or two bad primers and one Eliason rear sight roll pin breaking. Other people can and do have malfunctions, but it isn't something inherent to the 1911. Quite the opposite, the 1911's historically have been amazingly reliable unless stupidly tinkered with.

And if eliminating mishaps were the governing criteria, then a revolver beats plastic semi autos.

[Finicky Fat Guy]

It's happened with three guns across three manufacturers and a variety of magazines and was reduced by changing the extractor in two of them, so there is definitely a problem with the design. If you combined all of the malfunctions I've had with all of my other semis (from Walther, Sig, HK, and CZ) it wouldn't add up to the malfunctions I've had with each of my 1911s. I love the 1911. It's accurate, has an awesome trigger, has a great history, etc. I just wouldn't want it as a carry gun. And like I said, if a combat experienced Delta operator who is an expert armorer on the platform dropped it, there is good reason.

[Killian]

I own 1911s and Glocks and my EDC is a 1911.