Of course, being a confirmed 1911 toter, this is hanging on the wall of my cubicle at work, you corrupt, Glock-loving dog, you.
Of course, being a confirmed 1911 toter, this is hanging on the wall of my cubicle at work, you corrupt, Glock-loving dog, you.
excellent!
ReplyDeleteA shameless rip on an old Penny Arcade classic.
ReplyDeletePretty funny, though.
-Paul Simer
Opwjkx!
Even though I am a 1911 owner... I am hoping to obtain a Glock soon... but really, there is an easy way to settle the dispute:
ReplyDeleteEach sets a target at their end of the apartment and whoever gets the most shots on paper from 1 magazine wins. When Gabe is off by 5 shots then a winner is declared... [snicker]
Sorry, had to... couldn't help it... but man that is why I want one. Just can't beat 13 shots.
"There are so many 45s that are better"
ReplyDeleteNo, really there aren't.
Here's what I based my opinion on:
I've been doing this for a living for over a decade. I've owned a lot more guns than there are days in the year. I've handled and shot pretty much everything on the market.
Early last year I just up and sold every semiauto pistol I had that wasn't a single-stack, single-action 1911 derivative.
Anybody with ten minutes to use the search function on TFL can see me make statements just like yours as recently as 2001, but I seem to have been assimilated. How could that be? ;-)
All I'll say is this: There's a reason that top shooters almost uniformly prefer the platform, and it ain't nostalgia.
...all a roundabout way of saying that it made a believer out of me, and I wasn't an easy convert.
ReplyDelete"And, iirc, doesn't the top shooter (forgot his name) shoot a glock?"
ReplyDeleteNo.
The top shooter in IPSC Production Class or IDPA SSP Class often shoot Glocks, but these are special classes invented to allow Glocks and DA/SA guns to avoid having to compete against 1911 types, which compete in Limited 10, Limited, and CDP.
The top shooter in 99% of matches comes from these higher classes.
Figure the above, then figure MEUSOC Recon platoons, DET One, FBI HRT and SWAT, LAPD SWAT (and more & more big-city SWAT teams) making the switch to the gun, and ask yourself if it's really about nostalgia.
As far as weight, magazine capacity, ease of disassembly, or whatever, don't go by spec sheets: The purpose of a pistol is to make fast, accurate, disabling hits at CQB distances. Everything else is secondary. Some pistols do That Thing almost as well, but none do that one function better, that is why it's still popular.
Are there groupies who have one because they're popular?
Sure. There are also yobs that don't know how to perform a heel-and-toe downshift who buy BMW's because they're trendy.
"Figure the above, then figure ... ask yourself if it's really about nostalgia."
ReplyDeleteYes, and ask DHS, the SEALs, 80% of police forces, US special forces, etc. why they carry sigs and glocks. You can find people (even elite groups) who carry those or 1911s. The army carries berettas but that doesn't mean berettas ar great.
"don't go by spec sheets"
Spec sheets are not irrelevant. Those are real advantages.
"The purpose of a pistol is to make fast, accurate, disabling hits at CQB distances. "
That's a function of caliber and operator, mostly. Glocks, Sigs, and 1911s all do it well.
"Some pistols do That Thing almost as well, but none do that one function better, that is why it's still popular."
I disagree. My carry guns are a Glock 30 and a Sig P229. I have had zero malfunctions out of the glock in about 2,000 rounds. In the sig, I've put 10,000 through it easily in the last 9 or so years. One malfunction due to a crappy after market magazine a friend gave me. I've fired many 1911s and a good percentage are problematic. I've owned at least six different sigs and never had a problem. I have yet to see a 1911 'out of the box' that runs well. Everyone has to buy special mags, do adjustments, fiddle with this, adjust that, yada yada yada. You buy a gun and it should work how it comes.
-SayUncle
P.S. I'm not trying to be a jerk just don't understand the 1911 types.
Sorry to tell you, anonymous, but soldiers in Iraq are BEGGING for 1911s. The few still in service (and they are STILL in service, the last new 1911 issued to the military was issued in WW2) are functioning beautifully while everything else over there is choking on sand.
ReplyDeletePolice forces hate 1911s because they don't trust their training to allow them to safely handle a single-action auto.
What's your opinion on the Springfield Armory GI .45? I'd like to add a 1911 to my meager assembly of firearms but I'm not interested in race guns.
ReplyDeleteThanks for any input.
Uncle,
ReplyDeleteMy colt 1991 (pictured on my blog today) functioned flawlessly out of the box and continues to do so. I have "special mags" (Chip McCormick Power Mags, fwiw) but really for no other reason than they were cheaper than buying additional Colt branded mags.
No other modifications have been done (eeer, I put on rosewood grips cause they are pretty) - not even a trigger job. Its a perfect firearm though I do desire to put a different trigger on it eventually.
As far as long term reliance, my father in law still carries his Colt Govt Model that he purchased for $45 back in the early 60s. He's carried it in Korea, Vietnam, German/Soviet border, Iran and Iraq in the late 70 and on his hip since retiring from the military. Still functions flawlessly.
Springfields are excellent guns. My neighbor is a defense consultant and does cultural training for the marines.
ReplyDeleteHe travels to Iraq at least once a month and always has his Springfield sitting on his hip.
Was talking to him the other evening and he said it had functioned flawlessly so far.
What's your opinion on the Springfield Armory GI .45?
ReplyDeleteThe Springer GI45 is a good basic 1911 with all you need, nothing you don't need, at a great price. I highly recommend it as a first 1911.
Some people understand the allure of the 1911 because they own them. Others will eventually understand, and still others will resist until the cows come home. Like Tam, I resisted the 1911 for almost a decade, calling it a dinosaur and an old fart's gun. I finally shot my son's beater Colt 1991. That first shot sold me from then on. The only DA/SA pistols I own now are for nostalgia. I own the 1911s for shooting.
Some people understand the alure of the 1911 because they own them? It is actually owning one that has me leaning to being a Glock/HK convert. Go figure. [shrugs]
ReplyDeleteYou're all barbarians. DA revolvers rule!
ReplyDelete