1911 Obsolete

[MostlyLeverGuns]

Does obsolete mean it won't kill you if you get shot with one ? All these years I have been carrying a pistol that won't save me from bad things?? They do seem to work well.

[Battis]

I smell a conspiracy. If you subtract the time on the broken clock on his wall (10:16) from 1911, you get 895, which is approx the velocity of a .45 ACP.
Plus, his work area is way too organized.
What's going on here?

ah, you know I'm kidding, right?
Good video.

[Rodfac]

Great post HR...I NEVER fail to watch your videos...thanks again for the good work. Rod

[Newboy]

It's ironic.

Most of the time I see a malfunction at an IDPA match, it is a 1911.

Even more ironic, their first words are, "it's never done that before!"


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[knifemaker]

The photo below is my IDPA match gun. With over 2,000 rounds fired it has never had a failure. The target is 8 rounds of Federal Gold Match 185 gr. ammo fired from a Ransom rest at 25 yards. You can cover the single hole with a 5 cent nickel. With that reliability and accuracy, i do not think a John Browning designed 1911 is obsolete even after 100 years.

The Colt 1911 National Match was my duty gun for 15 years on patrol and detective work. That group was 8 rounds of my duty load consisting of 185 gr. HP +P ammo. Fired over sandbags at 25 yards. I can only recall one failure to feed in the years I carried it and that was due to a poor reloaded round that had shaved lead at the case mouth and prevented it from fully going into the tight match chamber.

[bimus]

There are company's and even small shops that is all they make or work on and even the big company's that jumped on the 1911 wagon to get in on the market .

[M-Tecs]

Per a couple of Dictionaries obsolete is not a term that is remotely close to being appropriate for the 1911.

no longer produced or used; out of date

no longer in use or no longer useful

https://www.1911forum.com/threads/li...former.280059/

I'm attempting to list all current and former 1911 manufacturers. It may not even be possible to create a complete and accurate list, given all the variations and cross-branding. However if anyone can think of one that I missed, please add it to this thread and I'll update the main list when possible. I'm confining this to volume manufacturers and leaving out the small "one-man" shops, not because they're not legitimate 1911 makers but because if they were included we'd probably have at least a couple thousand different manufacturers!

The biggest problem with compiling a list like this is determining how to even precisely define a 1911 pistol, given the sheer number of variations produced over the years with numerous design changes. In the end I had to choose to apply my own definition, which hopefully the majority of you will agree with. It must be based off the original John Browning/Colt design and share a substantial number of interchangeable parts (primarily the slide, frame and barrel), with "interchangeable" allowing for the obvious fact that many new pistols will include modern upgrades (such as beavertail grip safeties and improved sights) that would not fit on an original US military 1911. But I left a manufacturer off the list if their guns strayed too far from the original design. For example, to me the Colt Series 80 would still be considered a 1911 despite incorporating a firing pin safety system, but the Mexican Obregon would not as the slide, barrel, and many other parts are completely different, even though the lower half is similar and may even share magazines or other small parts with a standard 1911. Of course the same logic could be applied to a double-stack pistol like some Para Ordnance models or any of the new breed of .22 caliber 1911 look-alikes. In the end I had to make decisions on where to draw the line.

A&R Sales
Accuracy X
A.J. Savage (US gov't contract 1919, made slides only)
Alchemy Custom Weaponry
American Classic
American Tactical
AMT
Armi Dallera Custom (ADC)
Armscor
Arsenal Firearms (maker of a unique double-barreled 1911)
Astra
ATI
Australian Precision Arms
Auto Ordnance
Briley
Brixia
Brolin Arms
Brownells
Browning (reduced-size .22 and .380 copies)
Bunker Arms
Cabot
Carolina Arms
Caspian (slides and frames only)
Charles Daly
Christensen Arms
Cimarron
Citadel
CO Arms
Colt (commercial and US/foreign gov't contract from 1911 to present day)
Coonan (loose copy of the 1911 mostly chambered in .357 Magnum)
Cosaint Arms
Chiappa (.22LR 1911 copy)
Crown City
Cylinder & Slide
CZ USA
Dan Wesson
Detonics
Devel
Devil Dog Arms
Dlask Arms
D&L Sports
Double Star
Ed Brown
EMF
Essex (slides and frames only)
Federal Ordnance
Falcon
Firestorm
Freedom Arms
Fusion Firearms
Gemini Custom
Girsan
Griffon Combat
GSG (.22LR 1911 copy)
Guncrafter Industries
Gunsite
Hero Guns
High Standard
Imbel
Imperial Defense
Infinity
Inland Manufacturing
Interstate Arms (Regent)
Interarms
Irwindale Arms Industries (IAI)
Israeli Arms Industries (also called IAI)
Ithaca (new business located in Sandusky, OH)
Ithaca (old NY-based company, made pistols under US gov't contract 1943-1945)
Iver Johnson
Karl Lippard
Kimber
Kongsberg (M/1914 pistol manufactured in Norway under Colt license)
Korth Arms
LAR
Les Baer
Llama (Spanish manufacturer making loose copies of the 1911)
Lone Star
Magnum Research (Bul)
Maximus Custom
Metro Arms
Michigan Armament
Mitchell
MP Express
National Ordnance
Nighthawk
Norinco
North American Arms Co. Ltd. (US gov't contract in 1918, ~100 pistols assembled but not delivered)
Nowlin
Palmetto State Armory
Para Ordnance/Para USA
Pistol Dynamics
Olympic Arms
Omega Defense
Oriskany Arms
Peter Stahl
Randall
Ranger
Reeder Custom
Regent
Remington Arms (current business)
Remington Rand (made pistols under US gov't contract 1942-1945, not affiliated with Remington Arms or Remington-UMC)
Remington-UMC (US gov't contract 1918-1919) NOTE: ~1000 replicas were made by Remington Arms and Turnbull in 2014)
Republic Forge
Roberts Defense
Rock Island Armory
Rock River Arms
Ruger
Safari Arms
S.A.M
Salient Arms
Sarco
Schroeder Bauman
Shooters Arms (Philippines)
Sig Sauer
Singer (US gov't contract, 500 pistols produced in 1941)
Sistema (aka D.G.F.M.-F.M.A.P.) (M1927 pistol manufactured in Argentina under Colt license)
Smith & Wesson
South Fork Arms/Perkins Custom
Springfield Armory (former military arsenal in MA, made M1911s from 1914-1917 under US gov't contract)
Springfield Armory (commercial business established in 1974, not associated with above)
Standard Manufacturing
Star (Spanish manufacturer making loose copies of the 1911)
STI/Staccato
SVI/Strayer Voigt
Tanfoglio
Taurus
Taylor & Co.
TİSAŞ
TRIARC Systems
Turnbull Mfg.
Ultimate Arms
Unertl
Union Switch & Signal (US gov't contract, 1943)
Uselton/Ultimate Arms
USFA
Walther/Umarex (.22LR 1911 copy)
Wilson Combat
Vega (frames only)
Valtro
Victory Arms
Volkman

[Walks]

Didn't Jeff Cooper say "the double-action auto is an engenious solution to a non existent problem"
Colt SAA above all, then;
1911.
Glock 2nd,
I like High Powers too.

[Uncle Grinch]

Like Trump said….. “Fake News”

[Cosmic_Charlie]

Great range guns, like a 686. But too heavy for me to carry comfortably. I would choose a Glock 19 every time.

[fivegunner]

I think you guys who argue "Glock vs 1911" until you're blue in the face, or don't want to allow one or the other in the same room the one you prefer are kinda cute.

I break centerfire handguns down into four groups:

1. 1911's
2. Glocks
3. Revolvers
4. Those that are not worth my time

The 1911 and Glock are the most easily armorer/end-user serviced pistols on earth. Anything else is usually a train wreck of complex double action clockworks or one-time-use roll pins. A GI-spec 1911 is it's own disassembly tool kit, to the point where you only need a screwdriver for the grips. A Glock needs a punch, and a flat-bladed screwdrivery thing plus a pair of needle nosed pliers IF you need to take the mag catch out. About the only specialty tool one might regularly need on either is the gizmo to restake a 1911's plunger tube - and only if it wasn't done right the first time.

The "modern" DA/SA handguns of the 1980's were a mechanical answer to what was really a (lack of) training problem, and they brought plenty of other training-related and mechanical problems to the party. . .which is why the 1911 and Glock have outlasted them, and the 1911 mechanism (in various forms) has had a resurgence.

The 1911 (with its grip safety) and Glock (with its trigger safety) both turn off when you let go of them. A great many autoloaders do not.

The 1911 is pretty much unique in that it has about the only trigger mechanism that is ergonomically correct to the human hand. It slides straight to the rear with your finger where EVERYTHING else pivots up and back.

The ammo capacity issue does come up a lot, but the counter-argument (regardless of caliber) is the flatness and ease of carry of a single-stack gun. While the "stack-and-a-half" guns like the Sig P365 and Glock 43X/48 (especially with Shield Arm's 15 round mags) are a bit of a game changer, they don't eliminate the fact that 7-10 rounds can solve a lot of problems. Another unpleasant bit of reality for those that would call the 1911 obsolete is that double stack guns are too big for many (perhaps even a majority of) shooter's hands. The Luger, 1911, and K-fame S&W were all designed for one-handed use and they all fit even a large human hand much better than just about anything that staggers it's ammo in two columns. Six you can deliver accurately while one hand is otherwise occupied versus 20 you need both hands in order to control the delivery of???? Also worth discussing is the degree to which ammo capacity is a REAL advantage over a PSYCHOLOGICAL one - again let's talk about systems you can HIT with.

The biggest strike against the 1911 then is probably cost of manufacture, but I would argue that it persists because it still manages to be a better overall system than anything else out there besides possibly Glock. If arguing between the two, the 1911 is probably more fixable in the boonies if you had to make your own parts - - but you have to understand how it works. With the Glock, you need spare parts, but you can just swap them out until your problem goes away. Flip a coin.

What I REALLY wish the 1911 manufacturers would do is start applying the modern bombproof finishes like tenifer, melonite, and DLC to the platform. We're still getting them blued, painted, and Parkerized - we can do better.

Yes Sir, Great post !

[Shepherd2]

A great video. I enjoyed it and agree with it. I've been a 1911 fan since my pre teen years. I shot a Kimber in IDPA for years back when they were really common in that game.

I bought my first 1911 50+ years ago and right now I hoping my LGS will call soon and tell me my Dan Wesson is in.

[Burnt Fingers]

Great range guns, like a 686. But too heavy for me to carry comfortably. I would choose a Glock 19 every time.

Gee...eat some meat.

I've got chronic severe back problems and I manage to carry a LW Commander 1911.

[FLINTNFIRE]

Didn't Jeff Cooper say "the double-action auto is an engenious solution to a non existent problem"
Colt SAA above all, then;
1911.
Glock 2nd,
I like High Powers too.

I like the above , but would also add in the Sringfield xdm , anyway 1911 is not obsolete , do not drink kool aid but do like Dillon and have quite a few Lee reloading and casting stuff , Fanaticism No but appreciate a good design and functioning weapon .

[Tazman1602]

BAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAA! That’s laughable…..45 ACP, because shooting twice is silly…

[17nut]

My Kongsberg M1912 had a little tiff the other year
I think it was due to bullet setback, but well newer know for sure.








A new barrel and a hammer to stragihten the slide and it has done more than 2000+ rounds since then

[jonp]

1) Obsolete? Your on the wrong forum for that type of talk

2) Your clock is broken

3) How is your new job going Mr. Funk?

4) great video as always

[Char-Gar]

It was a very good, truthful and balanced look at the subject. I got started with the 1911 (Rem-Ran 1911A1) in 1961, therefore I was dedicated to it before anything "more modern" came along. I have owned other autopistols, but they are just fun guns. It would take me decades to have the same experience and comfort level with any other design, so why do it? When a pistol has worked it's way into your brain, muscles and bones, then stick with it.

The only things about the video I would differ with, is for me, the P.08 Luger is the best pointing pistol around.

[jonp]

Gee...eat some meat.

I've got chronic severe back problems and I manage to carry a LW Commander 1911.

Guess I need some meat, too. Love my 1911's but we carry SW Shields

[echo154]

The debate over which gun is the best will last until the last two gunfighters........Don' live by the gun....Live With the gun.