So, somebody wanna explain the 1911 hype?

mr00jimbo

mr00jimbo

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1911s, IMO, are very beautiful guns. But because I am a student on a budget, beauty is set aside for me, for function. Many European-brand pistols (Glocks, Berettas, Sigs, H&K, CZ) are known for their reliability, simplistic design and are less expensive NIB than some used 1911s.

They also seem to come apart for cleaning easier, and [a little bird told me] apparently are more reliable. :eek:

But the 1911s still exist and are sought after, in high demand and look great to boot. So somebody help a clueless guy out; what's the hype about 1911s that makes them so wanted?
 
mr00jimbo said:
1911s, IMO, are very beautiful guns. But because I am a student on a budget, beauty is set aside for me, for function. Many European-brand pistols (Glocks, Berettas, Sigs, H&K, CZ) are known for their reliability, simplistic design and are less expensive NIB than some used 1911s.

They also seem to come apart for cleaning easier, and [a little bird told me] apparently are more reliable. :eek:

But the 1911s still exist and are sought after, in high demand and look great to boot. So somebody help a clueless guy out; what's the hype about 1911s that makes them so wanted?
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In nearly 30 years of being enamoured with 1911's myself I can't still quite figure it out either... but there must be something to it. Look at how many companys are making 1911's now... Sig, Taurus, S&W... :eek:

Geez, 25 years ago if someone said that one day S&W would be producing a 1911 pistol there would've been a roar of laughter at the gun counter...:D

I think 1911's are just cool & leave it at that... ;)
 
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Maybe its really just about the cartridge. Not that many other guns chambered in that fat little .45, at least not many with any real character. 9mm 1911s, while often very nice guns, just don't cut it. If you want a .45 1911 on a budget, look at the Armco Norincos - there's often some good deals on used Norc 1911s, often with a few nice upgrades.
 
Some say God helped Browning make the 1911 others say it was the Devil .I think they both had a hand in it. 100 years later it is still the best.
 
Model 1911commercial variation mfg. 1912-1925, Military variation over 2,550,000 M1911 ordered for WWI-WW2, they have been around for a long time so they must be good and very desirable.
 
Every now and then we heard about this gun VS that gun; this gun can't get warranty work here in Canada and that gun the manufaturor will not ship parts to Canada. Seems to be people that own 1911 won't have parts and Mag problem becasue after market parts are easy to come by. Would that be one of the reasons that people love 1911? I personal love the way that 1911 handle and the fact that they really look good. If I own a 1911, where to get parts in Canada? Some one can shine us some light?

Trigun
 
The real beauty of the 1911 is that you make it your own. Aftermarket parts abound. You start off changing the grips, then you add a beavertail grip, then you get someone to tweak the trigger group.... Maybe switch out the barrel.

It's a rare 1911 owner that has left his/her gun completely stock.
 
m0nkyman said:
The real beauty of the 1911 is that you make it your own. Aftermarket parts abound. You start off changing the grips, then you add a beavertail grip, then you get someone to tweak the trigger group.... Maybe switch out the barrel.

It's a rare 1911 owner that has left his/her gun completely stock.
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Bingo. Not to mention that the 1911 single action trigger can be tuned to be absolutely fantastic; much better than the mushy trigger action of the Glock or the other tupperware guns.

Ergonomically, the 1911 has excellent controls. Note how most firearms have copied the position and style of the magazine release? Much better than the way that the magazine is released on (for example) the Ruger Mk II, eh? The safety is also positioned in such a way that acquiring the grip allows quick deactivation of the safety, and then sits underneath the thumb when you're shooting, preventing accidental engagement of the thumb safety.
 
been in use nealry one hundred years and copied by almost every country one both sides of conflicts cant say that for many, and as far as the HP goes I;d take it over the glock any day and I will take the 1911 over the HP for combat
 
Aside from the length of time the 1911/A1 was the U.S. military's pistol, few other pistols are as ergonomically perfect. They fit most hand sizes, are reliable (if some bozo hasn't mucked with it too much) and they can be made into very good pure target pistols with moderate felt recoil. Plus, where legal, even a full sized pistol can be concealed easily.
It's only downside is the mag capacity. Mind you, pistols, of any kind, are not issued to any field troopie as his main weapon. If a troopie gets into a situation where his only means of getting out of said situation is a pistol, he has done something terribly wrong.
 
mr00jimbo said:
So somebody help a clueless guy out; what's the hype about 1911s that makes them so wanted?
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The patents have all expired (on Mil-Spec guns) so anyone can build them, and experiment, you cannot do that with Glocks etc. it's as simple as that.
 
I think that the beauty of the 1911 is that it does so many things so well. If you're looking for a defensive weapon (theoretically of course) it's a good mix of size and power. If you're looking for a bullseye gun, no problem. You want a good IPSC gun - same thing. It fits more people better than any dual stack, most of the recent production ones have good sights, and the trigger pull won't turn your 10's into 8's. The cherry on top is that you can pick one up and turn it from a mass produced pistol into a personal item. I think that they're the closest thing we can still get to a Samurai Sword, for the ability to make it a very personal posession.
 
I have to agree with the opinions that the huge aftermarket availability of everything for the gun has a lot to do with it’s popularity as well as it has been around so long that the knowledge base on how to modify them for YOUR purpose is already there. Case in point they have been National Matching 1911’s for years; when the US Army adopted Berettas they had to develop methods to tighten it up (arguably not as easily done as a 1911).

Having owned two 1911’s, one that worked and one that had issues, I can tell you they are a pain if they are not working properly. I equate a 1911 to a Harley Davidson as I would a Glock or Sig to a Honda. For someone who enjoys fiddling and tweaking (and you have to like fiddling if a problem crops up), a 1911 is a dream; for someone who just wants to get behind the trigger, not modify, and it go bang unimpressively vanilla-like every time, there are other choices.

Perfect? John Browning even looked at the 1911 as a work in progress, hence the locking system he was playing with on its cousin, the High Power versus the swinging link he designed in the 1911.

I agree the Norincos are good deals. I also recommend, if you get a 1911, buy good mags. That tempting pile of scratched and bent cheap mags at your next gunshow you may eye up and consider buying will be the first, easiest step in making your 1911 unreliable.
 
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