When I want to shoot a target that’s 25 yards out, the maximum range at the American Firearms School, I get out my 60’s era Jim Clark Customs Bowling Pin 1911. Or my FFL guy’s Kimber. Or any other 1911 that’s hanging around. While I’d never carry a 1911 (was that safety first, last or somewhere in between?), I can’t think of a better handgun for putting seven or eight bullets through the same hole. OK, maybe a .22 Volquartsen Scorpion. Or a Smith & Wesson 686 in single action. Or . . . never mind. If you don’t get the 1911 you should. Get one, I mean. At least.

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104 COMMENTS

  1. I have only one – a Springfield Armory Loaded Champion. I don’t carry it, because I have not yet committed myself to developing the muscle memory required to disengage the external safety on the draw in a real SD situation.

    I prefer a “point and shoot” weapon for carry.

    I’m not a fan of 3″ 1911’s. They have been proven to be not as reliable as the 4″ and 5″ models and the short sight radius makes accuracy more difficult.

    • Your intuition about the shorter 1911’s is correct. When you get much under 4″ of barrel, the gun’s physics simply don’t give it enough time to cycle properly. I’m not a fan of 3″ 1911’s. I don’t care how pretty they might be, how neat the idea might be. They just don’t pan out.

      • That is a generalization that is becoming less true as time passes. Smith and Wesson makes an outstanding 3″ 1911 that is reliable. More people are figuring out how to do it right.

      • I have given up hope that Detonics will ever pull it’s stuff together.

        The Combatmaster really was an amazing design, and many of its technologies have been adopted by current 1911 manufacturers.

        But very few have managed to make a 3 1/2″ 1911 as reliable as those original Detonics and the slightly superior (if only for want of trained assemblers) Detonics USA.

    • Respectfully, that whole safety thing is absurd. If you think you have to remember anything about drawing a gun, you’re not training as much as someone who has made that decision should be. I carry a 1911 daily (S&W 1911PD) and my safety is off within a half second of getting my hand on the grip every time, involuntarily. It’s about training a series of actions into automation, and you’d better be doing that no matter what you’re carrying. This is serious stuff- there’s no room for treating it like you don’t have to become proficient!

  4. Yes- I bought a Colt 1911 over 20 years ago. The serial numbers put it being born in 1913 and I shoot it whenever I feel like it. Recently I bought a new firing pin, firing pin spring and 16 lb recoil spring. The only “problem” is that it has Wilson combat sights on it and that makes it a “shooter” and not “collectors” piece for some people.

    • I have a Colt .45 ACP model 1911 that was manufactured in 1918.
      I shoot it all the time, at least every few weeks.
      I always carry it, with my CCW.
      The only thing that stops it from being all original is the barrel, it is a match barrel.

  5. Yup. Two of ’em. Love ’em both. One AutoOrdnance full-size, one S&W with shorter barrel. Both are accurate, easy to fire one-handed, easy to maintain, very reliable, and pack a wallop. Certified bowling-pin killers, both of them. Not so comfortable carrying either, but I’m working on it. Takes lots of familiarization to be comfortable carrying with the hammer back on a loaded chamber with the thumb safety on.

  6. A few years back I bought a Charles Daly 1911 mostly because I felt it was “un-american” to not have one in the lineup . It’s a good gun and I understand why folks like them so much, but it’s not even close to being my favorite gun.

    • A Charles Daly 1911 was my first semiautomatic handgun. I’ve shot thousands of rounds through it, enough to break the parts that were going to break, I hope. It’s one of my primary carry guns, and the 1911 pattern is the standard that I hold every other self-loader to.

    • Yes! The HP is (IMO) the pinnacle of Browning’s genius. But I wouldn’t carry one. The safety on the HP is harder to sweep off than the 1911’s.

      (Not hatin’ on 1911s. It’s a quintessentially American handgun, and there ain’t nothin’ wrong with that.)

      • I have a HP. I love shooting it. But for EDC, I couldn’t agree more. I much prefer the point and shoot of a striker-fired polymer wonder.

        I don’t own a 1911, but do have plans to acquire one at some point in the future.

      • FWIW the final version of the Hi-Power we all know and love (I have a late 90’s Practical version) had much less to do with Browning that it did with Dieudonne Saive who worked for FN along with Browning. I believe Browning passed away before the design was finalized. His original was striker fired no less.

        As for 1911’s? I own two. A Colt Combat Elite and a beater Taurus PT-1911. My EDC is a 1911 because it is the pistol that I shoot best and have years of muscle memory attached to it.

  8. I have a Springfield Armory V-10 “supertuned” (Whatever that means). It was given to me by a friend who didn’t want it anymore. It has the ported barrel, which is kinda kool.

    One day i’d like to get a top-shelf 1911 by Les Baer, Ed Brown, Wilson, etc. Need the economy to turn, however.

  9. No, no proper 1911. Although I do have a Llama IX-D. Which is similar to a double stack commander length 1911. Sadly it’s pretty much impossible to find magazines for it. However you can widen the mag catch on a Paraordance P14 and make it work.

    But as for the handgun itself…. ehh. It’s a Llama. What do you want out of a $275 pawnshop find?

  10. No 1911 yet, but plenty of love for my S&W 457. Most accurate first shot I’ve ever made, then the rounds kept making the same whole bigger! I’m thinking about a simple GI style to honor the classics, but I like the looks of Ruger’s 1911. It’s on the list.

      • Uhh, funny name for a 1911 especially as all the Angel’s used either a Smith & Wesson Bodyguard or a Colt Detective’s Special (all revolvers). Meh, to each their own. You probably could have called it Diana Prince and been closer to the time period of when the 1911 got the most use (and still had an attractive brunette).

  15. Nope, and never will (unless someone gave me one). Shot 1911’s in the Army 40 years ago (and yes I know they were crap) and have fired some of my friend’s Kimbers, but just don’t see what all the hype is about them. Overpriced, costly ammo, less capacity, heavy recoil, safeties! Sorry I’ll stick with striker fired, half plastic, high capacity, modern pistols. Let the hatred start in 3..2..1

    • Shot 1911′s in the Army 40 years ago (and yes I know they were crap)

      Me too. More recently when participating in bullseye matches I notice that the good shooters use 1911s for the “45” leg. The rules don’t specify that the “45” has to be a 1911 but I don’t recall ever seeing anything else. My conclusion is that the 1911 is (can be tuned-up to be) the most accurate 45 ACP pistol at 50 yards.

    • I don’t know what kind of armorer you had, but all the rack .45s I came across were damn fine, serviceable weapons.
      I recall one Captain trying to qualify and blaming his misses on the pistol, with the usual comment that it was too loosely fitted to have any accuracy. A CSM instructor heard him, borrowed the “crap” pistol, then put 5 rounds rapid fire in the head of the silhouette target. He returned the pistol with the statement “Sir, it’s not the gun, it’s the shooter”.

      • BTW I have 2 — a Gold Cup, and a war horse out of the trenches of WWI. Someday I’ll get a 1911 in between those two extremes.

      • Since I had experience shooting 38’s and 1911’s before going in, I’ll stick with my first statement about pieces of crap. And forty years ago, they, the NCO’s could care less if you shot well with your sidearm, it was all about the rifle! Like I said, you folks that just go gaga over the 1911, that’s your thing, I particularly don’t see the hype!

        • I’ll stick with the good Sergeant Major’s evaluation of the 1911 vrs. the shooter. I’m inclined to give a lot of weight to what I see proved right before my eyes.
          That old war horse of a Colt was what I fired when I won my bronze EIC pistol badge. I have no reason to cuss that gun, but I do wish the sights were bigger.
          There was the same emphasis on rifle marksmanship, and “de-emphasis” of the pistol 50 years ago, when I was first “in” as well. The rifle was, and is, THE Infantry weapon. Sidearms were for officers and troops not directly involved in combat. It gave them something to shoot while they were trying to get to a rifle. That’s still reason enough IMO, to justify training to shoot well with the pistol.
          I don’t think respecting the combination of durability, reliability, accuracy, and power in the rack version of the 1911 is being “gaga” at all. It’s simply the recognition of a classic design that has proven itself quite effective. One hit with that .45 will knock the “crap” out of whoever gets in the way.
          Are there better designs? Perhaps. I consider it a matter of personal choice. Before I retired, the M9 had replaced the 1911. I qualified expert with it, and I liked the idea of a double action sidearm, but if I was deployed into a combat zone, that 1911 would be on my hip, not the M9.

        • LP, it’s just that you folks (1911 owners/lovers) are just like Glock owners/lovers. If anyone else remarks that they don’t like ’em, all hell breaks loose. I could give a rat’s a$$ if all you own is a Zip Gun, I’m glad you at least own a firearm! But don’t diminish my shooting ability or knowledge of firearms because I don’t bow to the almighty 1911. I shoot the 1911 just fine, just don’t like them, nothing more!

        • I don’t see any reason why you should think I was casting aspersions on either your shooting ability or your knowledge of firearms. For all I know, you could be a national champion and/or firearms expert.
          You recounted your experience and judgment concerning the 1911, and I did the same. That we had different experiences and arrived at different conclusions just goes to show what a big world it is.
          I don’t expect you to bow before the altar of the 1911. I don’t myself, and would not ask it of anyone.
          As I said, ”Are there better designs? Perhaps. I consider it a matter of personal choice.”

  16. I’ve got two at the moment, but one of them is waiting to be shipped back to Kimber. I’ve had the other one for almost 15 years, and I used to carry it regularly before I acquired something smaller and lighter. My 1911 manual of arms and muscle memory were a little rusty when the Kimber Super Carry Pro arrived, but they came right back after a few hundred rounds.

  17. Only one so far, so many guns to buy so little time and money, but the one I have is a keeper and I do carry her as much as possible. Wilson CQB, finest weapon I have so far.

  18. While I will always respect and appreciate the 1911 for its historical significance, personally I think there’s just way too many folks on the 1911 bandwagon. Would I consider at least owning just one? Sure, never say never. But definitely not going to collect a dozen 1911’s, or spend $5k+ for a customized name brand piece, or worship the 1911 platform like some fanboy.

    At the end of the day, I can shoot the same 45acp bullet out of my boring ubiquitous Glock on target. Can I put 7-8 rounds thru the same hole? Probly not. But then again i’m not going after the bandwagon, ego, or bragging rights.

  19. Have owned several, carry one on duty now, personally owned.

    Have also learned that they, are not for everyone, any more than a Ferrari is the car for everyone. Depending on what you’re looking for in a gun or car, you may be better served and even far more comfortable with something far more utilitarian.

    Like a Glock. Or a minivan.

    But, if you understand, deep down in your heart, what it’s all about?

    Magnifico.

    • A 1911 is not a Ferrari, a Ferrari is a top of the line hand built car incorporating bleeding edge technologies to maximize its mechanical performance…

      A 1911 is more like a lovingly restored Willys Jeep.

  21. I love my Kimber… did really well with it in my first Bull’s Eye match.
    The presence of a safety shouldn’t be too much of an issue, if you incorporate a “safety off” movement into your draw stroke.
    If you switch from a 1911 to a Glock, what’s the big deal if you’re trying to thumb down a safety that isn’t there?

    My most accurate shooting is with my Mark II with the Volquartsen package – a honey of a gun that I bought pre-owned for a pretty reasonable amount of money…

  23. As I haven’t any practical purpose for one, It’ll probably always get pushed down the list in favor of firearms for which I do.
    Would I enjoy one as a range toy? Sure. Would the money likely be better spent elsewhere? yeah.

  24. I have a Springfield Lightweight Ultra Compact, and it’s my carry gun. and for those that are wondering 1.8oz with 6+1 of 185 grain Hornady FTX Critical Defense. I like it much, MUCH better than the Springfield XDS I had for a couple months.

  26. I can shoot ragged holes with any decent 1911… but I can do the same with all of the SIG P220 models I’ve tried. I’ll be adding a P220 to the stable before I acquire a 1911, in part because I’m going to hold off until I can afford a Really Nice 1911.

    • About 20 years ago I had a chance to buy one the old 220’s with the European style mag release. I passed on it and still kick myself for doing that to this day.

  28. I have one, a full size Auto Ordnance in .45 that I had tricked up a little about 20 plus years ago (before I got married and had extra money). Auto Ordenance didn’t at that time make a real pretty 1911, but it’s reliable, and the extended beavertail, enlarged ejection port and better sights I had installed plus the accuracy job I had done, made it a pretty good bullseye gun, and a really good bowling pin gun. (Anyone remember bowling pin matches?) My total investment was about 2/3rds of what a Colt would have cost me with adjustable sights, and it was back in the day before everybody and their sister was making 1911s.

  29. Had A Springfield EMP. Loved it. Beautiful pistol. Very accurate. Great trigger. Ridiculously easy to conceal.

    Then it turned into a jam-o-matic. Trip to the factory didn’t fix it.

    Traded it for a Colt Commander. Beautiful pistol. Very accurate. Great trigger. Except it didn’t fit my hand very well. People started telling me about how I needed to change parts, and oh get a trigger job, too. And how I wouldn’t have a reliable 1911 until I put at least $1500 into it. Then it jammed once or twice for….well, not sure why. Didn’t stick around to find out.

    I traded it for two Glocks. Not as beautiful. Accurate. Triggers are…decent. They fit my hand well. They just work. And I have two of them.

    I will buy a 1911 again at some point. But it’ll be a safe queen.

  30. Yes. Kimber Pro Carry II, 4″ barrel. No, I can’t shoot ragged holes, but then again, I don’t think I culd do that with any handgun at 25 yards. Hell, i can’t even see the bullseye all that well at 25 yards. Would I buy another? Heck yeah. First one I ever shot was a 5″ kimber range rental that was smooth as silk. Loved them ever since. I don’t own any Glocks–the ergos don’t work for me at all. Would love to have a High Power, but you can’t find one under $700 used. Someday I’d like a WWII Colt, just because it is iconic.

  31. Nope. !911 is just one package I never developed a love for. Been around them all my life, just never saw the upside to them. Now, I’d love a Smith and Wesson 1917.

  32. “… It came from an era where it was the norm to learn how your weapon operated and to practice that operation until it became second nature, not to design the piece to the lowest common denominator…”
    How whacked out of it are you people planning on being (if a DGU situation should arise) that you can’t figure out the most intuitive safety ever? I have 3 1911s because they are the coolest pistols ever and I carry one every day.

    • Some people simply cannot handle even small amounts of complexity. That’s just the way it is. In WWII, the P-38 was considered a plane for only the best pilots – because it had two engines. There were more than a couple of crashes of P-38’s because the pilot feathered the wrong engine, or shut down both engines when only one had been hit. Seems like a pretty easy thing to figure out when you can just look left, then look right and see which engine is on fire, right? Apparently not.

      For the people who think the 1911 has “too many safeties,” I’d hasten to remind them that the pistol was designed in an era when “Calvary” in the US Army meant that you had a horse under your buttocks, not a tank or armored vehicle. For that reason, more than one safety was designed into the pistol. Even then, when lawyers started eating our our substance in the late 60’s and through the 70’s, Colt decided that the 1911 needed one more safety in the Series 80 version, a firing pin block. This made the trigger on the 1911 not at all like the Series 70 and GI triggers could be made.

    • I have an H&K Variant-1 USP40 with the safe/fire/decock lever and DA/SA action. I’m habituated to thumbing off the safety as the draw clears low ready, and frankly I’d feel I’d forgotten something by not thumbing off a safety at this point. I’m right there with you on the “You can’t consistently actuate a thumb safety and squeeze the grip properly? WTF?” question.

  33. Spence: What do you use… weapons-wise?
    Sam: Hm?
    Spence: Weapons. I’m a weapons man.
    Sam: Weapons man.
    Spence: Yeah (chuckles).
    Sam: OK.
    Spence: They tend to settle the argument. So what you favor?
    Sam: Oh, you know, it’s a tool box. I don’t care. You put the tools in for the job. That’s all.
    Spence: What?
    Sam: You know, actually I favor the old 1911.
    Spence: Forty-five. Old gun.
    Sam: It’s served my country well… a long time.
    Spence: (chuckles) Your country. Not done too well though, have ya? Last two wars?
    Sam: Perhaps not, but at least we don’t go around whining about it.

    • Thank you! Ronin is one of the those movies that I can’t stop watching if I stumble upon it, even though I have seen it 40 times. It could have been so much better though…

    • The part there that I’ve never understood is the remark about the 1911 being an old gun. Yeah, so? When you’re Bach or Shakespeare or John Moses Browning, you get it right and let it be.

  34. I do not own a 1911. I used to have a Springfield Armory Stainless Steel Loaded Model. I traded it away for two reasons: 1. I took it to the range one time and it never went back even after 6 months; 2. Within 30 minutes of owning it, I put a big idiot scratch on the beautiful stainless steel finish (from the top of the slide all the way down to the bottom of the trigger guard). Could never live with the gun after I had done that to her. I never fell in love with the 1911, and I do not believe I ever will. I think you are paying too much for what you are getting; a break in period, there are plenty of other guns out there that will shoot .45 ACP, it is a relic of a design. I don’t care how much of a genius John Moses Browning was. Everybody and his brother makes one of these now, and the gun media time paid to the 1911 borders on insanity. I guess I just don’t understand.

    I am a Glock Man or a Revolver Man through and through. I could never see the point the 1911. Mine was an impulse buy. I would add another Glock or a Revolver to my collection before I would buy another 1911.

    On You Tube, search for 1911’s Suck and then Glocks Suck, there is some comedian guy on there doing funny spoof videos bashing both – fricken hysterical.

  36. No. Sadly I’ve never even fired one, although I have fired .45s through a Sig 220 and an S&W revolver.

  37. I had one, then sold it because it was my only handgun at the time, and i was going to need it for concealed carry and wanted something that i felt was a little more reliable feeding hollow point ammunition. I do hope to get another one some day but for now i am without

  39. The first handgun/pistol I ever bought (this being back in March) was a Ruger SR1911. It was my second overall purchase, the first firearm being a home defense model Remington 870. I love history and was drawn to the idea of a hundred year old design which was carried by our armed forces for roughly 75 years (and some still to this day). I also was influenced by the review of that gun from this web site. I admit that I expected the 1911 to be anything and everything one could ever want from a sidearm; .45 power, the durability of a full metal proven design made in the USA , classic style, ergonomics and controls that worked for me, and legendary accuracy. It could happily see duty for carry, home defense, competition, or just a range day. Did the 1911 live up to those (perhaps unrealistic) expectations? No; I’ve since made other purchases that better fill some or all of those roles. Can I bring myself to sell the 1911? No.

  40. Wow, two more Ruger SR1911 owners posted in the time it took me to read the article and type my comment. Pretty cool

  41. Yes.

    *Warning:long a$$ post ahead.Exit Browser Now to Avoid Delay*

    Both 1911s make me look like a champ at the range.Ill even carry the less expensive one occasionally.Those praises heaped,my social occasion gun is a 9mm SIG.

    In live fire holster drills with the German pistol and my .45s,both types are equally deadly under a clock for me.Except my Sig carries 8 more bullets in the mag,and bad guys don’t rob people from 25 yards away.I completely understand why units in the public establishment carry 1911s.Criminals and terrorists alike tend to be hard to kill,and the good guys need every advantage they can get.For me,I don’t work in the public establishment.I know from ugly personal experience if a bad guy picks you out as a target its going to be inside 10 feet -if you’re lucky.From that range a snub nose wheel gun will do the job of stopping the assault-which ultimately is the goal of CCW,not necessarily putting the attacker in the cemetary like it is for military operations.Considering no pistol round is a manstopper and the perp may not feel the first hits on his person at 8 feet or less,I believe capacity outweighs long distance accuracy for a personal defense gun.By no means is the above a universal criterion for everyone,but its why I don’t strap on a 1911 despite its accuracy advantages.

    • Capacity is not such an issue for us citizens of California. Max capacity for any civilian pistola is 10+1.

  42. I have a Para Ordance P14.45, a P12.45 (that I carry concealed on ocassion), and a WWII issue Remington/Rand.

  43. Yes, I do, but it sits unused in the safe. I much prefer shooting my 1903 for the hand fitted beauty, shooting pleasure, and ease to carry though. I’d trade my 1911 for another 1903 in a heartbeat. If I need a full sized gun, I’ll grab my CZ 75 over the 1911 any day.

  44. Hmmm. I own two 1911’s.

    Scratch that. I own three. One is a guinea pig. When there’s some experiment I need to run, I pull out the third one. No point in messing up a perfectly usable gun until some technique or doo-dad is actually proven. Needless to say, the guinea pig 1911 isn’t used for social engagements or matches.

  46. I have a Colt US Army issue from ’43 (Parkerization is long gone to bare steel) that had a lot of match work done on it: hard slide, custom bushing, polished ramp, target sights (which snag everything), that ugly old-school punch-stipling on the front strap, everything hand-fit–there’s no wiggle anywhere. Drives tacks. Downside is it needs cleaning every 50 rounds since there’s no tolerance for any dirt, so I can’t rely on it for EDC (that, and the trigger and safety both break if you breathe on ’em, so it’s an ND waiting to happen, especially before I removed the super-wide trigger shoe that extended the trigger way past the guard on both sides).

    Sweet sweet gun–just very tempermental and high maintenance.

  49. So… I’ve owned several 1911’s- rock islands, springfields, para’s. Loved all of them. Right now my EDC is a para 1911 GI. What can I say, I am a sucker for them. Next gun is likely to be a Kimber, also 1911. I’ve bought more pistols then I really *need* but hey- its been fun.

  50. I ran across Jeff Cooper’s writing when I was first learning about guns, and his style appealed to me. Along with that came the 1911. It fits my hand, and it’s solid and heavy enough to feel like a gun rather than a salad fork. I have other types of guns now, and some of those get carried too, but the 1911 will always be the definitive handgun for me.

  51. I have two. A Springfield MILSPEC and a SIG/GSG in 22. The Springfield is my EDC. I am more accurate with my 1911 then i am with my XDm compact 9. Today at the range I out shot the 9 one handed. That’s what 40 years of practice will do for you.

  52. Yup. It’s just a Taurus PT1911 but it does what it’s supposed to do. getting my CCW soon and i’m willing to drop the coin on a decent holster for it, at least until i can afford something smaller/lighter/higher capacity. even being a cheaper gun, it’s accurate enough for me. I don’t think i’ll ever eb able to bring myself to sell it though. it was my first pistol(bought in jan. 2011) and it’s sexy!

  53. I have a pretty bad 1911 problem. I have an Ed Brown special forces, a Remington-UMC from 1918, a Colt 1991, Desert Eagle 1911G, and one I built on an Essex frame. I love shooting all of them, but for EDC its a Glock for me.

    Love shooting the 11’s, working on them, collecting them, etc. Just prefer not having a saftey to deal with under stress should the need arise. Training is not an issue, I train constantly and am an instructor I just like the simplicity of the Glock. One less thing (flipping off a saftey) to deal with.

  54. I don’t have a 1911.

    I have a Sig P220…

    It is very similar to the 1911.

    It fires the .45 aACP and it carries the same number of rounds.

    It doesn’t have the nice single action trigger but it does have one feature that you don’t see on many 1911’s.

    It can repeatedly shoot hundreds, or even thousands, of rounds without the need to be completely disassembled, fiddled with, cursed at, shaken, put back together, taken apart, sent to a gunsmith, and put back together correctly.

    It also doesn’t have a ‘favorite load’, or a ‘favorite magazine’.

    I think the 1911 is a nice gun,and if you buy a good one and don’t mess with it they can be very reliable probably…

    Or you could buy a P220 and not have to worry about.

    I’m just teasing so don’t be too grumpy.

  56. Eight, including a Commander. I have enough spare parts to build another one. Over the past twenty years, I’ve sold or traded another half-dozen 1911 clones. I think they are great pistols, and they are my favorite for shooting.

  57. As my wife sometimes reads this blog, I will admit that my last 1911 was bought a year ago. The first over 23 years ago. I just love em.

  58. I have a Ed Brown Kobra, Ed Brown Kobra Carry and a Colt Gunsite 1911. I carry the Ed Brown Kobra daily (CCW).

    I was introduced to the 1911 more than forty years ago in the Army. I was issued a 1911 which I carried in a M7 holster.

  60. Yes. Colt 1911 Government I bought new 12 years ago. Worked over by an excellent gunsmith back then. There is a stack of Wilson combat magazines to go along with it. Best gun I own or have ever owned.

  62. I have a Sig Nightmare Carry, and it has sadly replaced my 229 as my favorite 🙁 I also just got a 238 for concealed carry, which is a mini 1911, and I love it.

  63. I bought a S&W 1911 first year issue, 2003. It has the “S” stamped inside, noting it has been retrofitted (why?). I read that it was because if the pistol is dropped (don’t do that, I NEVER have) it could fire! Say what? Sounds like Bloomberg or Kalifornia BS. Anyway The pistol was filthy and during cleaning 3 days later I broke (it was probably cracked) the sear-leaf spring. Being this was my first privately owned 1911, I sent it to S&W. For $80 they replaced everything:all 3 springs, pins, and refinished the rosewood handles! Never had a problem since!

  64. Started with 1911s ranging from rock islands to kimbers to colts. My favorite now is a 75th anniversary hi power and m&p45. Just got tired of sending 1911s in for warranty.

  65. I was taught to shoot a pistol with the 1911 my Dad carried ashore on Omaha beach. I own several pistols, including a couple of Rock Island Arsneal .45’s, one of which is the above trashed 3.5″ officers model. I have never had a problem with the shorter barrel that would not duplicate in the full size models, including a Sig GSR. The issues were always traceable to ammo. 1911’s simply fit my hand, as do most Sig models. I can’t hit accurately with Glocks and SPD style pistols, they don’t fit. I hope to never be in a SD situation at 25 yards, although I can punch holes in paper accurately at that range with every pistol I own, including .380’s. Grip and trigger control!

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