Actually, when the Glock first started to take over the LE market the guys who adopted it most readily were guys who shot 1911's on their own time. I could never figure out why - they handle, point and shoot completely differently, maybe the reset is why. NAA would be in a better position to comment. As far as comparing plastic against plastic goes, forget it - the Glock is head and shoulders above 99% of the plastic guns out there, if they introduce the adjustable grip models at SHOT, it'll be 100%
Why Glocks and 1911's are the best
- Thread starter Broker
- Start date
Actually, when the Glock first started to take over the LE market the guys who adopted it most readily were guys who shot 1911's on their own time. I could never figure out why - they handle, point and shoot completely differently, maybe the reset is why. NAA would be in a better position to comment. As far as comparing plastic against plastic goes, forget it - the Glock is head and shoulders above 99% of the plastic guns out there, if they introduce the adjustable grip models at SHOT, it'll be 100%
The Glock is extremely over hyped. Its a good solid design but its just middle of the road. Other platforms such as the USP with extremely short trigger reset, DA/SA, external safety is often overlooked. Also the Sig226 I believe is superior in quality and durability compared to the Glock. This is not to say that Glock is #### it is not, but its far from the best.
The 1911 is unique in alot of ways but alot people run into problems when they try and get it to deviate from its original design. The gun was made to shoot ball ammo well, often times people who have issues or need them tuned have or do so due to feed issues with HPs.
I have Glocks, USPs, Sigs and 1911s. They all have thier place but this never ending circle jerk that the Glock is perfection is stupidity. Its a solid average gun that doenst really excel nor does it dissapoint, in my opinion its the pinnacle of mediocrity....
The 1911 is unique in alot of ways but alot people run into problems when they try and get it to deviate from its original design. The gun was made to shoot ball ammo well, often times people who have issues or need them tuned have or do so due to feed issues with HPs.
I have Glocks, USPs, Sigs and 1911s. They all have thier place but this never ending circle jerk that the Glock is perfection is stupidity. Its a solid average gun that doenst really excel nor does it dissapoint, in my opinion its the pinnacle of mediocrity....
The article says nothing about Glock being the best.
Striker fired Pistols with a short reset are...which includes all of them. I guess Glock is the 'Identifier' for a style of pistol. Just like saying 'Kleenex'
I like (agree) the paragraph towards the end
............Law enforcement agencies often still purchase TDAs because they issue pistols to people who are not gun-oriented and once they graduate from the academy you will never see some of them shoot accept when they are forced to requalify. Sadly those few will never be shooters and a TDA is the safety that should exist between their ears. The same holds true for many many private citizens who are not really interested in guns when it comes right down to it and just want one around the house. But if you are a shooter and want to someday advance to the next level of your own abilities, I really believe triggers are something you need to pay attention to. ..........
Striker fired Pistols with a short reset are...which includes all of them. I guess Glock is the 'Identifier' for a style of pistol. Just like saying 'Kleenex'
I like (agree) the paragraph towards the end
............Law enforcement agencies often still purchase TDAs because they issue pistols to people who are not gun-oriented and once they graduate from the academy you will never see some of them shoot accept when they are forced to requalify. Sadly those few will never be shooters and a TDA is the safety that should exist between their ears. The same holds true for many many private citizens who are not really interested in guns when it comes right down to it and just want one around the house. But if you are a shooter and want to someday advance to the next level of your own abilities, I really believe triggers are something you need to pay attention to. ..........
While I love my 1911's I think TDC and I are right on the same page as far as Glocks go. I also have read enough posts to believe that TDC definately knows his stuff about pistol shooting.
NAA.
I started out shooting handguns on the S&W Model 10 .38 Special wheelgun. When I got into 'autos' is was with an early Beretta 92 9mm with the Euro style heel mag release. And the S&W 59/459 series 9mm semi autos. Later, the early CZ 75's and eventually a BHP MkIII.
My first 1911 was a WWII vintage Ithaca mfg 1911A1 .45ACP.... and in ~ 30 years of owning/collecting 1911 interest I've easily had > 100 different 1911's..... But that's another story.
I picked up my first Glock around late 1994. I've shot all versions of the 9mm Glocks and most of the 40's. Ultra compacts right up to full size. The Glock 22 .40 cal I've been shooting since 1995 has over 30,000 rounds through it without one fail to feed, fire, extract or eject. The first week I had it I was on a pistol course and put a couple thousand rounds through it. I admit, having been a 1911 .45 ACP/Beretta 9mm guy before that I hated the Glock at first. But after that first week there was a definite respect that developed. Once you master the trigger reset it is awesome. Simply put the Glock is a work horse.
NAA.
Well, the last Glockenspiel I groped, admittedly, was several years ago - a G19 - BUT... What truly horrified me was the lateral play in the trigger; it felt like a squirt gun.
I will happily concede that besides great marketing, Glock MUST be doing something right to be selling so many pistols. I'll have to try another one, some day.
Please don't sell me on the Glock, though. If I buy another firearm, my wife is likely to shoot me with one of her guns...
Well, the last Glockenspiel I groped, admittedly, was several years ago - a G19 - BUT... What truly horrified me was the lateral play in the trigger; it felt like a squirt gun.
I will happily concede that besides great marketing, Glock MUST be doing something right to be selling so many pistols. I'll have to try another one, some day.
Please don't sell me on the Glock, though. If I buy another firearm, my wife is likely to shoot me with one of her guns...
Glock DIDN"T do any good thing to sell that much, it was people like TDC did a good job on the net to promote them
Anyway I believe the cost factor of maintainence and low percent of breakage that sell. And that is why it become the number one newbie gun. Who don't want to buy a gun that is inexpensive, good reliablity, low breakage percentage and police use the same gun? I bought one base on all those reason and I like it (even I hated it at the very beginning of my shooting hobby). For a gun less than $600 with all these factors it is hard to beat.Trigun
Over hyped? DA/SA is over hyped, the need to learn two separate trigger pulls only complicates the learning process. External safeties are not required. The fundamental four rules for firearms handling covers all that is needed. Manual safeties are disengaged upon drawing which means you are now holding a pistol with no external safety engaged. So where's the advantage? I have yet to see a pistol properly secured in a holster that has shot someone without human input.
The SIG series of pistols are great, very durable and reliable. Their down sides, the DA/SA system, their overall size and weight. If I couldn't have a Glock I'd run a SIG.
The "Glock perfection" is a company SLOGAN nothing more. To lump all Glock owners/fans into the same category as those who believe the slogan only validates the belief that those who dislike Glocks base their opinion on limited or inaccurate information.
As for its performance, the Glock series was designed as a duty gun, not a competition gun. That being said, Mr. Sevigny does quite well with his PRODUCTION Glocks as does the rest of the Glock shooting team.
I agree that many of the issues with 1911's is due to ammo selection. Ball ammo being the standard at the time, there was no need for the 1911 to feed anything else. Fast forward 100 years and that requirement is clearly stale dated. The fact the 1911 has issues feeding current production ammo such as HP means the 1911 platform has failed to advance or evolve. Every SIG, Glock, HK, even Beretta I've ever shot fed HP ammo without issue. Add to that the manual safety, the excessive weight, the pathetic magazine capacity, the overly complex design and increased price. I have yet to see where a 1911 has any significant advantage over a Glock.
TDC
Well, the last Glockenspiel I groped, admittedly, was several years ago - a G19 - BUT... What truly horrified me was the lateral play in the trigger; it felt like a squirt gun.
I will happily concede that besides great marketing, Glock MUST be doing something right to be selling so many pistols. I'll have to try another one, some day.
Please don't sell me on the Glock, though. If I buy another firearm, my wife is likely to shoot me with one of her guns...
Lateral play?? That sounds like problems. My triggers wiggle a little but nothing excessive or noticeable during operation.
TDC
The takedown is not quite as simple as the Sig, it's sort on par with the CZ.
The trigger gets uncomfortable after shooting a large number of rounds, I have noticed this and have heard it from many Glock owners, I find the SW M&P trigger safety more comfortable, although I would say the trigger safety on the Glock is marginally safer than the M&P. Personally I don't think either is all that good.
First off, I'm not bashing 1911's - this is just my personal experience.
Every 1911 I have owned, which has only been 3 (2 Para's and 1 DW), I have had to #### with and mod to get it to feed properly. I have even tried 3 separate brands of ammo and various reloads with minimal success. My experience is that they have all been finicky eaters. Shoot great, Look great, Reliable?
Bought a Glock, shoots absolutely everything I feed it. I can duct tape a carrot to a pencil and it will shoot it. At least 2,000 rounds through it, various reloads and factory with no issues. Lightweight and I have found no issues with the trigger pull.
Every 1911 I have owned, which has only been 3 (2 Para's and 1 DW), I have had to #### with and mod to get it to feed properly. I have even tried 3 separate brands of ammo and various reloads with minimal success. My experience is that they have all been finicky eaters. Shoot great, Look great, Reliable?
Bought a Glock, shoots absolutely everything I feed it. I can duct tape a carrot to a pencil and it will shoot it. At least 2,000 rounds through it, various reloads and factory with no issues. Lightweight and I have found no issues with the trigger pull.
Glock builds a good gun.
Some 1911 companies build garbage, some build good guns. The 1911 is a pretty good design, but you definitely have to be prepared to put up with a different set of "issues" with 1911s.
They are not for people looking for "plug and play" with aftermarket anything, for one. I like them but I do not trust myself to work on them...you really need to trust somebody with 1911s to let them work on one for you IMO. That is the single biggest problem with the 1911 - it requires a specialist to work on it, and in general the rounds-between-maintenance is lower than a lot of modern pistol designs.
However, the ergos are great, the trigger is awesome, and it's a terrific, slim profile. Very nice to shoot.
I think that part of the reason the internet has moved away from 1911s is that we are in a shooting war and people are thinking in terms of duty guns (including those of us who don't need duty guns). The 1911 is not a good gun for general issue because of its maintenance requirements and of course .45acp is more expensive to produce and supply, and when 9x19 is the NATO standard...there are a lot of reasons to not go that way.
But for an individual enthusiast the 1911 is POTENTIALLY a very good handgun choice.
My go-to handgun is a Glock 20. But my second-best is a 1911...it has been very reliable (until somebody squibbed it and then fired it again immediately, wrecking the barrel and causing a wicked jam) in large part because it is NOT a match 1911.
GI rattlebox-type 1911s with minor tweaking have always fed HPs very reliably for me. I use SWCs in one of my 1911s almost exclusively and it has no trouble with them. Well, if it will feed SWCs it will feed anything! Except plain wadcutters I guess...but nothing feeds those so they don't count.
Some 1911 companies build garbage, some build good guns. The 1911 is a pretty good design, but you definitely have to be prepared to put up with a different set of "issues" with 1911s.
They are not for people looking for "plug and play" with aftermarket anything, for one. I like them but I do not trust myself to work on them...you really need to trust somebody with 1911s to let them work on one for you IMO. That is the single biggest problem with the 1911 - it requires a specialist to work on it, and in general the rounds-between-maintenance is lower than a lot of modern pistol designs.
However, the ergos are great, the trigger is awesome, and it's a terrific, slim profile. Very nice to shoot.
I think that part of the reason the internet has moved away from 1911s is that we are in a shooting war and people are thinking in terms of duty guns (including those of us who don't need duty guns). The 1911 is not a good gun for general issue because of its maintenance requirements and of course .45acp is more expensive to produce and supply, and when 9x19 is the NATO standard...there are a lot of reasons to not go that way.
But for an individual enthusiast the 1911 is POTENTIALLY a very good handgun choice.
My go-to handgun is a Glock 20. But my second-best is a 1911...it has been very reliable (until somebody squibbed it and then fired it again immediately, wrecking the barrel and causing a wicked jam) in large part because it is NOT a match 1911.
GI rattlebox-type 1911s with minor tweaking have always fed HPs very reliably for me. I use SWCs in one of my 1911s almost exclusively and it has no trouble with them. Well, if it will feed SWCs it will feed anything! Except plain wadcutters I guess...but nothing feeds those so they don't count.
The trigger issue is the first I've heard. Having fired many rounds in a single session(500-700 on several occasions) I have never experienced any sort of pain, discomfort or annoying feels.
Again, the take down is not difficult to manipulate and is not something that needs to be done with any level of finesse or speed. I don't see it as an issue nor is it a valuable criteria in pistol selection.
The Trigger safety on the Glock is no different than the grip safety on a 1911. It works when it needs to provided the operator isn't a dumba$$ with a strong grasp of the fundamental four rules of firearms handling.
Excellent post. I will admit, I have a small(very small) soft spot for 1911's myself. The history behind them and their unique profile peak my interest. That being said, I don't have the time nor the funds to dedicate to one and have no real reason to own one. My firearms are tools not toys. If I had more money than I knew what to do with, I'd surely have one, or two, or ten.
TDC
If you carried a 1911 all day for years, the Glock is a revelation in weight savings. Add higher ammunition capacity, ease of servicing with just 35 parts, ease of end user maintenance/takedown, higher reliability (IMO), a unique trigger/safety that allowed a "no brain" response to an immediate threat (truly point and shoot) lower immediate cost and lower total cost of ownership for the life of the firearm and it isn't very hard to see why. The Glock also came at a time when 9mm was being adopted more and more with a move away from the traditional .45 so with all of these pressures on the 1911, you can see why the Glock faired so well.
In a critical incident, I would rather not have a safety. Not having a safety is an advantage. You can train all you want, but if you don't have to add the safety as part of your training, you don't need it. You can tune your Glock trigger all day. The Glock has a plastic receiver and typically a 30,000 round life rating. Why is the USP rated to 15,000? The USP is also 6 ounces! heavier than a Glock in the same calibre, and bulkier, why? I think I need to get you a glass of kool-aid.
