The 1911 Is DEAD?? HUH????

[DougGuy]

Who was it recently quoted an authority on gun trends and they said the 1911 is dead and done and overdone, yada yada..

I was at the store today killing a few minutes while GF shopped, and I browsed by the magazine racks. They had all the gun rags, and would you believe that no fewer than 6 of them featured 1911s or variants thereof on their cover! 3 or 4 of those featured a GI 1911A1 with no bells and whistles, no extended this or serrated that. One had a very nice chronology of the 1911, complete with a 1913 photo of U.S. Marines training with M1912 holsters and 1911 pistols. I thought it was pretty neat.

The reality of the current state of affairs sunk in when I thumbed through the yellow/orangeish magazine that is ONLY 1911s, and did not see hardly ANY that I liked. Yes they were nice, extremely cool machining and extremely cool refinements of custom parts and grips, mostly made for customers with extremely deep pockets. They were works of art in metal, and whoever thought for a nanosecond that the 1911 was dead obviously hasn't kept up with the format as it to this day is still at the forefront of defensive combat sidearms and it gave me a little smile to know that for my own choosing, a bone stock GI .45 is what walks the beat in this household.

John Moses Browning got it right the first time. You just gotta love a GI .45!

[dougader]

He got it right the 2nd time, too. Browning Hi-Power and a 1911 and I'm good to go!

[kens]

What kills me is that the 1911 patent ran out decades ago, and, it has been cloned, copied, and remade so many millions of times that it SHOULD be a cheap gun.
But, it aint cheap, it is still holding a higher price than the Glory guns like the Glock.
Just look at SigSaur, they are a world renowned gun maker in their own right, and even THEY are cloning the 1911.
Why does Sig have to clone a 1911 when they got their own good stuff??????

Is the 1911 just so good that it still justifies the price?
Is it flattery that it is still cloned so much?

[376Steyr]

I didn't see the statement in question, but I bet it went on to sing the praises of a Turkish copy of an Italian pistol based on a Czech design, printed directly across from a full page ad for said pistol.

[white eagle]

"They were works of art in metal, and whoever thought for a nanosecond that the 1911 was dead obviously hasn't kept up with the format as it to this day is still at the forefront of defensive combat sidearms and it gave me a little smile to know that for my own choosing, a bone stock GI .45 is what walks the beat in this household."

Whomever uttered that statement probably is of the same thought process as the guy who said that black rifles are for terrorists and have no business in the game fields

[Char-Gar]

What kills me is that the 1911 patent ran out decades ago, and, it has been cloned, copied, and remade so many millions of times that it SHOULD be a cheap gun.
But, it aint cheap, it is still holding a higher price than the Glory guns like the Glock.
Just look at SigSaur, they are a world renowned gun maker in their own right, and even THEY are cloning the 1911.
Why does Sig have to clone a 1911 when they got their own good stuff??????

Is the 1911 just so good that it still justifies the price?
Is it flattery that it is still cloned so much?

Oh, I dunno. Here is my Norinco 1911A1. I changed out the sights, barrel and trigger and still have less than $350 in all total. Darn good pistol to boot.

[HiVelocity]

DougGuy-

I don't think 1911's are a dead issue; in fact, over the past 6 months I've acquired 3. I love them all. And, NO, they're not all tricked out customs. In fact they're all steel plain Jane's that had "enhancements" added by both the previous owners, and me (on one). If anything, I think 1911's are making a come back over polymer handguns. I have a great time shooting 2 in particular with the after-market .22LR conversion I picked up along the way.

For me; its the best of both worlds. I cast for, and handload, for the 45 ACP and several other calibers. My thoughts are, if the 1911 survived, successfully, over 100+ years, then its good for me too. I can't think of a better weapon in a desert, or jungle, shoot-out.

HV

[kens]

DougGuy- If anything, I think 1911's are making a come back over polymer handguns. My thoughts are, if the 1911 survived, successfully, over 100+ years, then its good for me too. I can't think of a better weapon in a desert, or jungle, shoot-out.

HV

How can it be then, if the 1911 is so darned good, then how did the polymer wonder nines get such a firm grip on sales in the last 20 years?
Remember when the Glock was introduced,? it was superior to anything else, right?? (anything includes 1911)
Well, now some 40 years later, the largest display in a glass case at gunstore is all the flavors of 1911's.
How can this be????
How can the 1911's be so good when the plastic 9's are superior?

[waksupi]

How can it be then, if the 1911 is so darned good, then how did the polymer wonder nines get such a firm grip on sales in the last 20 years?
Remember when the Glock was introduced,? it was superior to anything else, right?? (anything includes 1911)
Well, now some 40 years later, the largest display in a glass case at gunstore is all the flavors of 1911's.
How can this be????
How can the 1911's be so good when the plastic 9's are superior?

They are not superior. They were marketed to people unfamiliar with firearms, with little or no shooting skills, ie; urban police and military.

[wonderwolf]

Plastic 40's seem more prevelant than the 9's at least in my neck of the woods. Whoever "authority" said the 1911 is dead is not an authority then, Sounds like they are actually setting themselves up about like that one guy who was a writer for a gun magazine about 10 years ago that said something like "Americans do not need high capacity magazines" and he pretty much toasted his career in that one sentence.

1911's are a staple in American handgun culture, its the workhorse of the realm. It appeals to everybody like a 1947 Ford club coupe, to the old crowd...its what they drove, to baby boomers its what they drove in high school (and were probably concieved in) to the new kids its just a cool old world car with character. The 1911 is classic, its simple, its cartridge is well known and its everywhere in pop culture from the day it was conceived to today. But like a classic car if you want one in all its show glory you're going to pay Barrett-Jackson auction type prices, but if you're gonna shoot the dang thing go norinco or my personal favorite Rock Island and shoot the snot out of it, I've sure put mine through its paces enough I've warn the finish off around the grip and thats just from PPC matches. Mine was the 2nd handgun I ever bought when I was only 18 (10 years ago)....my best friend (same age) also purchased a Desert Eagle .44 mag at that same show.....great times

[kens]

quote:
It appeals to everybody like a 1947 Ford club coupe, to the old crowd...its what they drove, to baby boomers its what they drove in high school (and were probably concieved in) to the new kids its just a cool old world car with character."

OK, I resemble that remark. So how exactly are the new kids viewing the 1911. Are the new kids buying that old school thing, or buying the new plastic frame stuff.??
My basic question is, what will be in the gun safes of the new kids growing up right now, will they have the 1911, or the plastics?

In a similar way look at all the guns exchanged at gun shows lately. Seems everything exchanged at gun shows now, is a black plastic stocked AR platform of some sort.
Where has all the exotic Walnut stocked guns gone? This is something you don't see anymore, do you?
Just like all the walnut stocked rifles are seemingly gone, where will the 1911 be in 15 years from now?

[Southron]

I have said for a long time now: "If the Good Lord had intended for man to shoot plastic pistols, John M. Browning would have designed one!"

Amen.

[Jupiter7]

Ummm.... The military model m1911 was not JMB's first vision of the gun. It was a revision after input from the military. No thumb safety and in 38ACP was how it started. But the man was a genius and got the "improvements" made and implemented well. I like lots of different 1911's. Got a poly 40 STI and it's a laser beam.

[kens]

Why has the Browning Hi-Power not survived such as the 1911 has???

[wonderwolf]

quote:
It appeals to everybody like a 1947 Ford club coupe, to the old crowd...its what they drove, to baby boomers its what they drove in high school (and were probably concieved in) to the new kids its just a cool old world car with character."

OK, I resemble that remark. So how exactly are the new kids viewing the 1911. Are the new kids buying that old school thing, or buying the new plastic frame stuff.??
My basic question is, what will be in the gun safes of the new kids growing up right now, will they have the 1911, or the plastics?

In a similar way look at all the guns exchanged at gun shows lately. Seems everything exchanged at gun shows now, is a black plastic stocked AR platform of some sort.
Where has all the exotic Walnut stocked guns gone? This is something you don't see anymore, do you?
Just like all the walnut stocked rifles are seemingly gone, where will the 1911 be in 15 years from now?

AR's sell..you can swap parts out all day long on them and make the same rifle fit many uses. That appeals to the new kids who get bored with long range matches and want to try 3 gun matches. Walnut stocked rifles are still at shows and trust me when I say they still sell and are bought pretty regularly by both young and old a lot of African class chambered rifles especially in the last 2 years at least at the shows I've set up at. 1911's will still have a following in 15 years, though I see 9mm 1911's and maybe .38 super being far more popular then as .45ACP factory ammo prices are scary to say the least. I know I would like a .22TCM Rock island single stack with a 9mm conversion (and a .38 super if they offered all 3 in one?) someday.

The other issue with the 1911 is that most guys don't carry a full frame 1911 as their CCW peice. I simply CAN'T at least in the summer, I'm 155lbs of muscle and bone and its hard enough to conceal my LCR or Bulldog, so most 1 gun guys don't go with a 1911 because of that...even if they wanted to. Also you carry a gun for X number of hours in a day and you feel its weight pretty quick. Polymer is lighter...no its not steel and walnut but to each his own, When I open carry its either my 1911 full frame in a shark skin (no joke) holster custom made by a LEO friend of mine, or a wheel gun in something with far more umph. Don't worry the 1911 wont go anywhere......and if it does that Match master will be offered to be traded for a kel-tec .380 acp to some old guy with a gleam in their eye....seems fair

[wonderwolf]

Why has the Browning Hi-Power not survived such as the 1911 has???

Not as much to tinker with on them and 9mm hasn't always been as popular/available as it is now if the stories I hear from retired LEO's and older class 3 guys are true.

I know my dad had a heck of a time finding 9mm brass when he loaded practice ammo for our local police department WAAAAAAY back when.

[Bigslug]

John Moses Browning got it right the first time.

Actually, as far as the locked breeches go, there was the Colt 1900, 1902, 1905, 1907, 1909, and 1910, so John actually got it right the SEVENTH time.

That pretty much no one else has gotten it right SINCE is the real puzzlement.

[Mtnfolk75]

I looked at a Rock Island 1911 in .38 Super yesterday. Whats not to like for CCW, 9+1 in a flat & thin pistol. Now I just need to convince SWMBO ......

[GoodOlBoy]

The same guy that will tell you 1911s are dead will tell you a 30-30 won't kill deer anymore. At that point your best bet is to just smile, and move on before whatever brain cell killing malfunction he has spreads...

GoodOlBoy

[Lonegun1894]

Anyone that tells me that my 1911 is dead better have paperwork that proves they passed a drug test within the last 5 minutes, otherwise I will just assume that they're either high on something or just plain old stupid. Now there's a lot of other designs out there that work great, but the 1911 got passed down from God to the Prophet JMB as the 11th Commandment. The first Ten Commandments work and all, but the list the first Moses brought down from the mountain just wasn't complete til JMB completed it.