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How to Choose a 1911 Pistol

ex13F said:
Recently picked up a near mint used HK45C that had been converted to LEM (has the OEM parts also) and every time I shoot it it pinches the he77 outta my middle finger because of the gap between the paddles and grip frame. I have a couple other HKs and they don't bite. 1911 is still #1 for me at least.
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I was only half joking. I count myself as a fan of the old girl. I have a few of them and will likely buy at least one more at some point. The fact is though that I will likely never carry one again since I have so many options that suit me much better than a heavy, low capacity handgun.
 
My son said the other week that he wanted a custom 1911. I told him I'd build him one. Told him to make up a list of exactly what he wanted on it. I'm still waiting for his answer.

I too have been playing 1911 for a half-century now. Wow, have things changed in that time. When I started, a 1911 that would group into 2" @ 25 was pretty darn good; 4"-5" was more like the norm. Now it's remarkable to find one that WON'T group into 2.5" or better, right out of the box. And run with 100% reliability, too.

I spent a few hundred dollars building up my first 1911 into a state-of-the-art 1973 "Custom Combat Conversion." Learned a lot from that gun, mostly about stuff I DIDN'T need. My second 1911 was built up more along the lines of what Jeff Cooper said about all you really NEED in a 1911 is sights you can see, a trigger you can pull, and a grip that fits your hand. (100% reliability is assumed, of course.) Everything else is just candy and bling. Cooper's GSP appeared around that time--I think just after I built up 1911 #2--and I was pleased to discover that it was remarkably similar to my #2 gun, which has been my "house gun" for nearly 40 years now. The Springfield Armory Mil-Spec is also pretty much the same gun.

Along the way I also developed a fondness for the LW Commander. I have two of those--genuine Colt LW Commanders, that is--and a couple of clones I built up on Fed Ord Ranger frames.

An old favorite saying of mine: The Seven Basic Simple Machines Upon Which Western Civilization Has Been Built: The wheel, the lever, the wedge, the screw, the hammer, the Small-Block Chevy, and the Colt Government Model M1911. ;) (y)
 
Grayfox said:
The 1911 is MY pistol. Nothing else feels better in my hand or points more naturally for me. 😁
I don't think I've ever met a 1911 that I didn't like. I guess that explains why I have so many of them. ;)

https://imgur.com/04Udgzd

BTW: This is an old picture. I've gotten more since this was taken. 😁
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i agree, 191s have always felt a part of my hand. i do have xds in 9 and 45 and one service 9mm xd which i really like to carry and do range work with, its an awesome pistol in balance and comfort. but if its a range day, the 1911s are the ones that feel the most loved by way of rounds down range
 

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ex13F said:
Recently picked up a near mint used HK45C that had been converted to LEM (has the OEM parts also) and every time I shoot it it pinches the he77 outta my middle finger because of the gap between the paddles and grip frame. I have a couple other HKs and they don't bite. 1911 is still #1 for me at least.
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I always had to kind of laugh at the old story about how Larry Vickers and Ken Hackathorn designed the 45C to be a "modern update" of the 1911. Both of those guys are obviously extremely familiar with the 1911, and I can't imagine either of them could honestly claim with a straight face that the 45C represents a "modernized improvement" over the 1911 in any way, shape or form.

Was the MK24 Mod 0 tested in harsh conditions and carried at the pointy tip of the spear? Undeniably, and it proved its reliabilty. But I'd love for anyone to tell me how it represents an improved version of the 1911 in any way at all. It's much thicker, it has a god-awful trigger and it offers no additional capacity. It essentially feels like a double stack pistol in the hand, with single stack capacity.
 
I bought my first 1911 in the mid to late 70's, it was a series 70 that had gone through the Colt custom shop so it is a shooter. I bought a Springfield Armory 1911 and literally shot it to pieces, the slide was very loose and couldn't hold a decent group, but in fairness I was shooting pistol competition all through it's life and I tried to keep a round count on it but lost count north of 10,000 rounds and that was 85 or 86 so it was somewhere close to 20,000. Traded it for another Springfield and then switched to handgun silhouette shooting so that 1911 hasn't seen many rounds. Then I bought a couple commander 1911's first a blued 1 than a stainless 1 because I used them for carry. I picked up a new Colt a few years back then everyone was raving about the Tisas so I bought a couple of different models and for the money they are great guns! Group great and no matter what I feed them, just like the Springfields from 185HP's, 200gr hard cast wadcutters to 230 ball.
 
In regard to this article How To Choose a 1911 the article going on to review the different 1911 models now made by Springfield Armory.
There is one configuration not in the list that IMHO should be. A CCO pistol, a 4 or 4 1/4 inch slide/ barrel on an Officers frame. I have two of the RANGE OFFICER COMPACTS that they used to manufacture one in 9 mm and one .45ACP. BEST carry configuration …. longer sighting radius of the Commander size 1911 and the easy to conceal Officer size frame. They should never have stopped making this pistol.
JoeD
 
I totally agree with you there! In '89 or '90 the American Rifleman had an article on the "new Star M45", it was a copy of the gun you just described, anyway I had my local gun dealer order me 1. If I remember it has a 4" barrel and 6 round magazine, I've never had such an accurate 45! Only problem was it was only, I thought, offered in blued finish, I had my CCW and carried it daily. Then in '95 or '96 I was in Bismarck ND at a gun shop and in the used section I spotted a nickel M45! I bought it in about the time it took to get my wallet out of my pocket, it shot just as well as my blued one! I swapped the 2 guns as my daily carry gun as soon as I verified that it also shot and fed the then famous Winchester Black Talons. Carried the M45 until I got caught up in the 40 S&W craze in 2005, have been thinking lately of starting to carry the M45 again and when they, the government, were going to take the Black Talons off the market, I bought 50-60 boxes of them so ammunition for it wouldn't be a huge problem! I'm going to get them both out of the safe and get out to the range and see if I can still shoot them well enough to bet my life on them. Best part is any Colt Commander holster fits them just fine!
 
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