I've carried 1911s most of my life.
The first one I bought as a full time carry gun was a Colt Officer's Model back in 1986, the second year after they were introduced and before all the bugs were worked out. I basically had to rebuild the gun to get it to run reliably.
The last one I bought was a Colt Defender, another compact, and that gun shot like a dream right out of the box. I've never had any kind of a malfunction with it no matter what ammo I'm shooting and have pretty much retired the Officer's Model since buying the Defender.
I have some plastic guns. I also have a few 1911s of various makes. The steel guns triggers are hard to beat. The modern construction and design are much better than 40 years ago
ReplyDeletePaul J
I love my Remington R1911. Fell in love with the 1911 when I was a young pup in the Corps. Hated it when they went to the 9mm. I carried a plastic pistol for 28 years as an LEO after retirement from the Corps. When permitted, I carried my 1911 off duty. Now, it is my EDC.
ReplyDeleteI have carried the R1 for quite a while and it shoots like dream. I bought a Norinco 1911 many, many years ago put Springfield springs and a colt barrel in it. It is a good one too but quite heavy.
DeleteI was a Fudd until I ended up on the muzzle end of an armed robbery. That experience changed my perspective. Tupperware was a thing when I finally had the funds to go shopping for something, and that's what I cut my teeth on. I very much like the idea of a 1911, but I get hung up on the safety. Lately, though, I've been carrying a .357 revo.
ReplyDeleteThe harshest environment for a pistol is IPSC. They had to create separate categories for plastic. Even inventing a 'production' category for non 1911s so they could compete. Never mind the 1911 has been IN PRODUCTION longer than gaston glock has been alive
ReplyDeleteI target shoot 9mm and typically buy a new gun to shot it for 3 years, sell it, and buy a different model 9mm. Six years ago I purchased a Colt 1911 Government model. After 3 years I changed the springs when it had about 18k rounds through it. It now has about 36k rounds through it and I am having a hard time listing it on the local gun board. I have already picked out a replacement. One of the Turkish High-power clones. I will go back to a Colt 1911 but get a Colt Stainless or Titanium.
ReplyDeleteMainspring 10k, firing pin spring 5k, recoil spring 2-3k
Deletepick up a gold cup in stainless. 45 acp.. shot everything thru it. it got beat up bad in everyday use. so took it in to be refinished. the smith calls me the next day. ask what in the hell am I shooting thru it (?) I told everything, plus p, hollow points, ball ammo.
Deleteeverything. he tells me most of the springs have cracks in them. ask what I want to do with it. so, I tell him to beef it up to handle anything. he does and gives it a black teflon finish. matte. 2 cops where in the store when I picked it up. they came over to see. smith tells me he ran a box thru it. trigger is set a 2.5 pounds and it shoot like a dream. it is the best 1911 I own. on a rest, it will put one ragged hole all day long at 25 yards. he gave me some springs to use if need be. and said Wolf gunsprings are about the best for the money. for what it is worth. dave in pa.
My first 1911 was a Gold Cup- a classy pistol but not ideal for defensive carry. (There were no plastic pistols in those days,)
ReplyDeleteSince then, I've had a dozen or so 1911s. The platform remains my favorite.
Probably should have kept that Gold Cup.
I've got three - only one of them, a Custom Shop 5 inch, has a decent trigger. The other two are nothing special at all.
ReplyDeletePut your own in. There's nothing to it. The platform is really easy to work on.
DeleteMight try that.
DeleteIf you've never torn down your 1911 beyond the basic field stripping, youtube can be your friend. Here's a video on the Series 80 disassembly and reassembly.
Deletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EWjHvh72_uk
While you're at it, cut the finger on the spring to disable that annoying and useless grip safety.
DeleteI have owned a dozen 1911s for over 50 plus years. Now maybe I was unlucky or something. But all of them from the 1911 that I qualified on in the Army to a Goldcup. ALL of them failed in accuracy and dependability for me. So I switched to a Sig P220 and have never looked back. It is extremely accurate for me at least & vastly easier to clean for this old fart. Take this for what its worth. Grumpy Old Fart
ReplyDeletesame here. although I only had a few 1911's picked up a Sig p220 in the late 1980's and loved it. got a Sig p226 in 9mm when I moved back to philly. bad guys tend to travel in packs there. also picked up a LEO trade Sig p220 for 350 and a about a dozen magazines at 12 bucks a pop. reason was, the philly cops NEVER give you back your gun. NEVER. so, got one I could live with if they took it. had 2 hi-powers in my life. one was a ww2 bring back- nice gun. and the other a real Browning- lost that one in the divorce!- bitch. anyway, pick up the new Springfield version. great gun. good shooter, doesn't bite either. a lot better trigger than a Browning has.
Deleteso , for carry, the old Sig p220. house gun is either a 1911 gold cup that was reworked into a real working weapon- way too nice to give to the cops if need be.
or the Springfield sa-35 or another 1911. rock Island makes some good ones.
compared one in the store to a Kimber and the rock was better fit and finish (?)
wife has a compact 1911 officer's model in 45 that she loves as well.
sold more than a few guns in my past, but never sold a 1911. gave one to a friend
once at a gift price. but just don't feel right without one around. dave in pa.
The Sig 220’s really are shooters. Just a little big in my hand. I put the slim grips on my 1911’s. The grips and trigger gain a lot of fans. A lot of the ladies do just fine with them.
DeletePaul J
I have a Star in 9mm (clone of the 1911) and it is superb.
ReplyDeleteI carry a star firestar in .45 on a regular basis. damn good gun.
DeleteOf my 4 1911's I only have issues with a cheap Girsan 1911 that I bought a couple of years ago, it came with a red dot which was a piece of crap so I pulled the dot and went to put on the iron sight insert- the holes are misdrilled. European american Armory, which imports the Girsan insists I have to ship it back at my expense THROUGH a FFL (company policy) will be returned to me at my expense. Additionally its the roughest 1911 trigger I've ever run across. I have another experience with Girsan, i bought a hi-power clone last year, after I had the mag safety removed the trigger turned out to be ok.
ReplyDeletehave an old one and a fairly new one. prefer them, period.
ReplyDeleteI had a Turkish 1911 in .45 acp. I sold it due to not being able to afford to stock more than one caliber of ammo. But I shoot that platform better than any other gun I have fired, including the striker fired ones and the hammer fired one that I carry at this moment, a DA/SA Smith and Wesson.
ReplyDeleteI am considering going back to the 1911 only in 9mm, since they are so reliable now. And even the low end priced ones seem to be getting mostly good reviews. STS is importing a Tisas Stingray, that is very interesting. It comes with just about everything you could want, including a bobtail frame, series 70 trigger, at a price well under 6 hundred dollars.
One thing that I do know is that nearly any modern gun that you can get now days will outperform what I am capable of shooting. But that trigger on a 1911 really is much nicer than any striker fired one that I have tried, which in reality is probably only around a dozen different types.
Mine is a 1944 Remington Rand issued to my father in 1955. After his 10 years of reserve time(1983), they gave it to him as they were '...to be phased out.' I have had it since his death in 2000. Shoots great, never fails.
ReplyDeleteA legacy fire arm for sure. They're ridiculously expensive these days.
DeleteI have owned 1911s for 51 years, my first being a 1917 Colt 1911 that my father gave me at age 14. He had carried it around the world. Over the intervening years, I have owned most every style of pistol, and I have never found one to outperform the 1911. I have used them in competition as a civilian and an Army officer and never had one fail. They are as easy to use as any pistol out there and safer if you train, but that's true with every pistol. I did not watch the video because 1) I don't trust the Honest Outlaw's opinion on much, and 2) even if I did, his short term opinion would not change mine based on over 5 decades of shooting 1911s.
ReplyDeleteBack in the early 80's, I bought the first plastic gun ever made, an H & K VP70Z. That pistol was such a piece of shit, I wouldn't even touch another plastic gun until the mid nineties. I've owned one Glock and three Sig's since that. Glocks just don't feel right in my hand and I will never own another. The Sig's may or may not be safe, but I like them a lot and haven't experienced any type of malfunction with any if them. I don't drop them from the peek of my roof for fun, though. Having said all that, in the summer time, my EDC is a 5 shot 357 revolver and when it gets cool enough, I go to a 1911 or a larger 357. I've conceal carried almost my entire adult life and have aways tried to avoid a " Rorke's Drift" situation, so a lightweight high capacity 9mm has not been something I felt like I needed to be toting around if not in a combat theater of operations. Just my two cents. Eod1sg Ret
ReplyDelete1911 or you can shut your whole mouth.
ReplyDeleteDammit auto correct, ^^^ whore mouth
ReplyDeleteYour comment made zero sense nor did it convey a point even with the correction.
DeleteOne in .45acp. One in .38 Super. Never felt the need for anything else.
DeleteNever shot one, but I gotta say, the couple times I've gotten to handle a 1911...it just felt *right* in my hand. John Moses Browning was a blessed genius. Someday I'll get to own one. Til then...taurus. yep. They're not really pretty, they don't feel like a well made 1911, but they go bang and throw lead in the direction I aim em. Never used a Glock, but pretty sure I won't like em. Glad they're available, because they've helped make guns more ubiquitous and all, but...I guess I've got a steel fetish or something. Plastic, even glass filled plastic, isn't the same. And yes, my Taurus..es have polymer bodies, and steel slides. Waddaya gonna do, right?
ReplyDeleteThere's just something about that grip angle on a 1911 that feels right, huh?
DeleteHello Wirecutter. I believe I last posted a reply on your blog back in 2012..... Anyway.. I still have the 1st gun I ever owned, now a safe queen in beautiful condition. Early 80s Colt Combat Commander. I've always loved the angle of the grip and heft. The big holes are nice too. Currently carry a G26 9mm and sometimes my back up, my 3rd gun I ever owned, an S&W model 38...the humpbacked J-frame .38, usually when hiking. I seem to recall you moved to the free state of TN awhile back. I may be joining the rest, fleeing TPRofC. Looking at Tri-Cities area.. Take care, stay safe....==:} Boarshide...
ReplyDeleteDamn, it has been a while!
DeleteYup, I left California for Tennessee back in April of 2016 and have never looked back.