Want a 1911, Have Q's

Almost as addictive as your avatar? hahahaha

I went to Kimber's website... and .... drooool.

Maybe it's best if I stay away for now

 

I think that the better deals are with previously enjoyed 1911s. But yeah, Kimbers are sweet. I picked up a Tactical Pro and a SIS Pro last month and it was hard to decide which one I was going to keep! (I kept the SIS) I wish I could afford one of each model...

 

Somehow 1911s have remained popular for 100 years... I can't think of any other firearm design that's remained a modern weapon of choice so long. Boggles the mind.
And Packer, just out of curiosity, why did you decide to keep the SIS over the Tactical? Personally, I would have gone the other way. Something about "SIS" vs the straight ribs on the slide just... bugs me.

 

I felt that the steel frame would hold up better over time and I'm one of the few that like the SIS serrations. I also had a gunsmith and a member of MCSO SWAT look at both at they both picked the SIS. It also doesn't have a firing pin safety. I just don't like the slippery finish and I'll have it redone at some point.

 

You mean like the revolver?

 

It's arguably the best handgun ever designed. The platform is very well suited to competitive shooting, defensive shooting, and is slimmer than the more modern designs (easier to conceal). Statistically, the .45ACP cartridge is second only to .357MAG for defensive use, and it's ballistics speak for themselves. Recoil is low pressure and easily managed, aided by the stability of the pistol's weight. Toss in the facts that it is readily customized/personalized, and has served the American armed forces for 70+ years (and has continued to serve for over 100 years in elite circles). It is iconic of American arms culture.

I see no reason to be boggled.

Tradition, reliability, ease of use, ease of maintenance, and style. The '68 Mustang GT Convertible I'll someday inherit is not a better vehicle than my Tacoma; but it does the job with a whole different feel. Who wants to drive the same car every day?

 

Ya, well, okay. I'm old, and the mind doesn't work like it used to. (A mixed blessing, trust me on this one).

 

I wasn't trying to argue/attack, just giving you my opinion, sorry if it came across as harsh.

A lot of new designs/changes have come along in the past hundred years. A lot of them good. But nothing has come along to replace or shut down the 1911 market. The Glocks, Sigs, HKs, XDs, etc. all have some nice features and advantages, but they all have disadvantages as well (as does the 1911). In my opinion the man is already immortalized. The *many* things he designed secured that for him (the Ma-Deuce is still king of the crew served weaponry, it's going on 100 years as well).

Lots of new cartridges have come along, and will continue to. Maybe someday something better than .45 will come along. A number of cartridges are comparable, or ballistically superior, but they have disadvantages as well. .40SW and 10MM have significantly higher recoil and less ideal ballistics (though velocity has its uses).

.45GAP was a gimmick to allow Glock to make a smaller framed .45, they later did that with the 21SF. The cartridge was obsolete shortly after it hit the shelves (same ballistics, more expensive, harder to get... who wants that?).

The 1911 isn't perfect, nor is .45ACP, but they are great, and a great combination. Anyway, I didn't mean to "preach" so much in this thread, I just like talking about guns and don't get to do so as much @ my new job as I did when I was working in the firearms industry.

 

i love the 1911. consider the 1991 though, i shoot my roomates a lot and have grown fond of it. specs from colts site. . .

http://www.coltsmfg.com/Catalog/tabid/61/CatID/20/Default.aspx

 

No offense taken, the comment was more self-deprecating.
There's a few of us on this board who probably spend more typing time on guns than on Tacomas. I have plenty to learn on both.

 

Just ordered another 1911...Like a kid waiting for Christmas
STI Spartan 9mm.
Will post pics when I get it.

 

if you don't want to pay out the ass for an original colt or browing. Springfields the way to go.

 

I don't usually harp on punctuation and spelling. But I don't think this is exactly what you meant to say

 

If you find a 1911 that says Browning on the side I'll trade you my truck for it, I'd like to have that in my collection.

 

While everyone sings the praises of the 1911 cops, security forces and armed professionals carry more Glocks than all the rest of the manufacturers combined. Very few carry a 1911 any more unless they are involved in tactical entry. That would seem to suggest the Glock has, in fact, totally replaced the 1911 in the working world.

Compared to the .45 ACP, the .45 GAP has superior ballistics, significantly more muzzle energy, and, based on the standard deviation of the velocity numbers, tends to have a higher level of quality control in its manufacture. It is so obsolete that the Florida Highway Patrol just replaced all of its issue guns with the Glock 37. Guess obsloete is different things to those on the sidelines and those that depend on the .45 GAP for their lives.

The 1911 has also been a continual loser to the Beretta 92 in military competition since the 92 was introduced. Almost nobody is using a 1911 anymore for bullseye competition. The only place the 1911 is competitive is is a class solely dedicated to 1911s.


YMMV

 

^^ the OP wants a 1911... whats your point??

 

When discussing the Beretta 92 in regards to its military service, there are a few things to consider that the military had in mind when choosing it. 1) 9mm is a NATO compliant cartridge, .45 ACP is not. 2) 9mm recoils less, so female troops and recoil-sensitive folks can more easily master it. 3) 9mm is smaller and lighter, so you can carry more ammo. If you look at the 5.56x45 vs 7.62x51 debates out there, the theories pretty much run parallel.

Keep in mind that today's cops, security forces, and armed professionals aren't generally "gun people" (some are, most aren't). A lot of 'em just carry because they have to, and they shoot the bare minimum, qualifying (in the case of cops & security) maybe quarterly, but more likely once or twice a year.

Now about the Glock - it has indeed damnear replaced the 1911 (and S&W Models 10, 66, and 686) in the working world. Nothing wrong with that - the Glock's a good gun. With that said, there's a reason you tend to see 1911s more in the tactical and special ops environments - These folks tend to know a little more about guns than just "point there, pull here". They recognize that the 1911 is an excellent platform for what they want in a working gun. If it's built right, it's a very formidable, hard-hitting, accurate, and reliable weapon. They also train more with guns, and they don't let things like recoil, weight, and capacity get in their way.

Now you could certainly get a .45ACP Glock 21 - but no one in their right mind will say that its brick-like ergonomics comes anywhere close to the 1911. That's one of the areas where the 1911 really shines. It's nice and slim, and it was customizable for ergonomics long before the advent of interchangable backstraps and the like. You can do a lot with the ergonomics of the 1911 by trying out various combinations of triggers, mainspring housings, grip safeties, thumb safeties, and grips.

Now one huge negative about 1911s is that there's a lot of machining and hand-fitting required in the assembly process - even for the old ricketty WWII guns. With the number of cops, military, security, contractors, etc, etc, etc that are out there, and with the legal mindset of various agencies, it's not really practical to invest the time and money needed in manufacturing the guns, training the end users, and permitting various modifications.

Glocks and the like cost next to nothing to make, and a well-trained monkey could put one together. Additionally, the head monkey armorer can keep a stock of connectors, recoil spring assemblies, triggers, trigger springs, strikers, pins, and other various and sundry Glock parts, and the only thing he'll have to do at most is punch out a few pins and change out the parts. Can't really do that with a 1911.

It's also a hell of a lot easier for a new shooter to master a Glock 19 (one of my favorite guns, by the way) than a 1911. It's a simple, reliable gun with a simple manual of arms - keep your booger hook off the bangy-bangy switch until you want it to go boom. No need to worry about that non-gun-nut new shooter officer sticking a cocked & unlocked gun in their holster or forgetting to flip off the safety when the gun is most needed...

BTW - I love 1911s - have had several and built up a couple myself. I carry a Glock 19 probably 98% of the time, though, simply because I've got more trigger time behind it than the 1911 through work & play.

 

glocks have replaced 1911's in the working force because they're cheap and double action. Plain and simple.

 

My comments were not meant to disparage the 1911. It is an icon.

The post re: Glocks was to address two previous comments:

1) "nothing has come along to replace or shut down the 1911 market"

and

2) "the .45 GAP was a gimmick"

My 1st point was that Glocks have, in fact, replaced the 1911 in general law enforcement usage (which is the largest market for guns in America) and that the Beretta has replaced the 1911 in military competition. While this is a true statement I did acknowledge that tactical entry personnel like the .45 ACP for its knowckdown capability.

The 2nd point is that the .45 GAP is a viable cartridge that is becoming more and more popular. It seems to me that it is, in fact, superior to the .45 ACP cartridge and I noted that cops (again, America's largest market for guns) are acknowledging its superiority by buying weapons that use this cartridge.

YMMV