# Should I just buy a 1911?



## Medic (Dec 13, 2007)

I cant carry in my state, its going to be my first handgun. 1911's always felt great in my hand (I have small hands) but I never thought of buying it as my first handgun. I handled 20 or so handguns over the weekend and the H&K P30 felt the best in my hand. I figure if im going to spend that much on a handgun and can't even carry the damn thing I might as well buy myself a pretty 5" 1911. Opinions?


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## dosborn (Apr 17, 2009)

A 1911 may not be the best 1st gun, but everyone (if you are not a crazy or a felon) should own one eventually.


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## VAMarine (Dec 25, 2008)

dosborn said:


> A 1911 may not be the best 1st gun, but everyone (if you are not a crazy or a felon) should own one eventually.


There's differing schools of thought on that. I will say that if one decides to get a 1911 as a first handgun, that they should make every effort to shoot it often and do lots of dry practice to ensure that the safety is removed when needed.

Medic,

While I have a couple of 1911s the P30 is on my list. Mags are restricted to 10 rounds in NJ, correct? If so the added capacity of the 9mm is a non-issue as you're looking at 2 extra rounds, not really a big deal. The 9mm is still the softer shooting cartridge and is cheaper, but as you're looking at HK or a higher end 1911, I don't think you're worried about cost.

The P30 is very ergonomic, probably the most ergonomic of any service pistol out there, but as you've stated, the 1911 has a feel all it's own and while most 1911 options are in .45, you can get one in 9mm and still have the lower cost of ammo.

The 1911 trigger is much better in my opinion, but when the P30*S *model comes out, I'll probably buy one. If you haven't shot either yet, I would suggest doing so. What area of NJ are you from and where in PA have you been shopping? There are several excellent gun ranges near Philly that rent guns pending on where you're at, I can probably recommend one or two places to go and try some models out. Most will have 1911s in the rental case, you should probably call ahead and see if any have a HK P30 for rent as it's not _that common _a gun to stock.

As it stands right now the P30 has no manual safeties, but does have a decocker while the 1911 has a thumb safety and grip safety but has no decocker. How do you feel about these features?

While the P30 is a soft shooter, a full size steel 1911 isn't that bad to shoot, some people make it out to be a cannon, it isn't. That being said a 9mm is generally easier to learn on than a .40 or .45.

If you want the P30, you''re limited to HK (DUH) but there are many, many, makers of 1911s to choose from and many sizes, finishes, frame materials, etc. to choose from.

If you really don't know what you want in a 1911, but want a handgun now, I'd probably suggest getting the HK as there is less research involved and get a 1911 after you figure out what you want. On the opposite side of that coin, if you know what you want in a 1911, sure go get one.


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## VietVet68 (Jan 10, 2010)

Every handgun owner will, eventually, will own a 1911. In my opinion it's much like golf, in that you are always trying to improve your ability to hit the ball futher and straighter so towards that goal you start looking for the "best" driver or the "best" putter. It's the same when it comes to hand guns because you are always working to improve your accuracy and to that end you start to buy more accurate guns, then you might add lasers to them and so on.
The downside of starting with a 1911 is that nothing else , in my opinion,will compare.


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## gmaske (Jan 7, 2008)

VietVet68 said:


> The downside of starting with a 1911 is that nothing else , in my opinion,will compare.


I'll second that! :smt033

Medic,
If you are comfortable on how one works I'd say go for it. I was happy with revolvers and a lesser smiauto until I shot my first 1911. Well I sold that other auto I had and bought me one. It is the best so why mess around with the rest.


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## swmp9jrm (Aug 29, 2009)

I think it depends a lot on what you want to do with the gun. IMHO, a 1911 might not be the BEST first gun, but if you start buying handguns you will eventually get to the point that many of us have - EVERYONE needs at least one 1911!! I actually like my P-220 better for carry, but my 1911 is such a dream to shoot that I would have a tough time picking between the two if I could only have one. If you only plan to ever buy one handgun (yeah, right), something other than a 1911 might be a better choice. There are a LOT of nice .45ACP guns out there.


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## knoxrocks222 (May 1, 2008)

A 1911 it a really tecnical weapon to start off with........have you ever taken one appart? you know when you were little and ur dad bought you a pocket knife he didnt go out and buy you a swiss made out the front switch blade, mine got me a simple single bladed folding knife.......what im tryin to say is start simple but dont cheap out go glock possibly a 19 or a 23. they are very easy to use and simple to take down and clean. get to know the basics of how guns work and how to be safe with them, thenmove on up to somthing like a rock island arms 1911 and so on and so on

just my thoughts 
knox c


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## Q-Tip-81 (Oct 6, 2009)

Well.....a 1911 is the first handgun under my name, but I've handled and been around firearms most my life.

IMO, if you only plan on buying one gun, make it a 1911. Yes, they're a bit more technical and difficult to disassemble/clean and reassemble.....but if you do your homework and practice enough you'll be just fine. Everyone needs to own a 1911. It's quite an experience feeling the history in your hands. And on average, a good 1911 trigger is on an entirely different level.


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## dondavis3 (Aug 2, 2009)

I own and have carried a .45 as a duty gun.

I like them, but do not believe they are my first choice as a 1st gun for a new shooter.

Having to carry them cocked and locked bothers some people.

They are unbelievably accurate.

:smt1099


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## Medic (Dec 13, 2007)

dondavis3 said:


> I own and have carried a .45 as a duty gun.
> 
> I like them, but do not believe they are my first choice as a 1st gun for a new shooter.
> 
> ...


Well since I can't carry in NJ it would only be cocked and locked in my safe. One of the things I liked about them was the accuracy for sure. From quite a distance the very first time I ever shot a handgun I hit a soda can with my friends dads springfield 1911 on the second round. I see that a lot of 1911's are different, and some have more/less parts than others and are harder/easier to fieldstrip and clean. As of now (might as well say it) I would be leaning towards a 5" stainless mil-spec springfield. I watched a few videos on youtube on field stripping and it doesn't seem too difficult to do.


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## Steve M1911A1 (Feb 6, 2008)

A full-size, .45 ACP M1911 (or a clone thereof) is just about the easiest semi-auto to learn to shoot well.
Because it's heavy, and because it fires a slow-moving bullet, its recoil is very easy to control. Recovery from recoil is easy too. All it takes is a very firm grip.
It is my experience that any ordinary child over the age of 10 can be taught to shoot the M1911 well. The same is true of any woman, including my wife, Jean, who weighs 100 pounds fully dressed and soaking wet.
A well-set-up M1911 is about as reliable as a gun can get. Most, however, need at least $100.00-worth of work done to them by a really good gunsmith, consisting solely of a trigger job in most cases.
The M1911 is, I think, the perfect beginner's gun. It's also a very fine, practical carry pistol, if you can stand its weight and if you provide yourself with a holster which immobilizes its safety lever.
I used to carry mine a lot. I never had any problems with it.


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## dondavis3 (Aug 2, 2009)

Steve M1911A1

"fully dressed and soaking wet" - LOL 

Your a great poster on this forum - I'm glad your here.


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## JeffWard (Aug 24, 2007)

Because everyone says I should... some day I'll buy a 1911.

I shoot competitively about 9-10 days per month... (with an M&P Pro Series) and I get to see lots of gun issues. Every gun will eventually fail to fire when you're hosing 100-120 rounds per night/day, 10 days per month, for a year. My M&P has/does/will fail. Glocks fail. XDs fail. $3000 Brazos Custom hand-built and STI/SVI race guns fail. 1911s simply choke the MOST. Of all the guns on the line... 60-80% of the jams, breakages, and malfunctions are in the 1911 platform guns. NO... it's not because they are modified to hell. ALL the guns are tweaked, including the Glocks, M&Ps, XDs... The 1911's just choke 5 to 10 times more than any other platform.

Why? They're pretty, they're romantic, they're timeless... but the design is 100 years old. Revolutionary? Yes. Innovative? Yes... 100 years ago. Bets fighting handgun of all time??? Hell no. If it were, how come NOBODY seriously equips their fighting forces with them. (Yeah I know... SIS... What are there, 30 of them???)

Buy one for nostalgia. Buy one as a collector's piece. Buy one as a cool range toy.

First gun? I wouldn't, but its all about what you want it for.

Jeff


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## Steve M1911A1 (Feb 6, 2008)

JeffWard said:


> ...The 1911's just choke 5 to 10 times more than any other platform...


That will be true of most "competition tweaked," _accurized_ guns, 1911s included.
However, a well-set-up, as-issued-but-polished 1911 is pretty reliable.
I have two, both ex-competition guns, neither of which have been either tightened or accurized. I can honestly say that neither of them has ever "choked," or failed to fire in any way, except that was the fault of an old magazine with weakened or slightly bent feed lips. In each and every case, it was the magazine's fault.
Moral of the story: Use older magazines only for practice. Use already-test-fired, new magazines for self-protection or competition. When a magazine causes failures, throw it away without regret, because it cannot be repaired.


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## hideit (Oct 3, 2007)

yea get one 
if it feels good in the hand and you have fired one
cost: from Para GI Expert to Wilson's Specials - the cost is a very wide spread
Kimber sells more 1911's than anybody else
just don't get a Taurus........


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## Medic (Dec 13, 2007)

AHHH I'm so on the fence on the HK P30 for a 1911 around the same price range. I'll have to sleep on it a little more to finalize my decision. 

People have also mentioned that the P30 doesn't have safety and that should be a concern for a first time gun owner? Even tho it does have 
the DA/SA trigger combo with decocker


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## Steve M1911A1 (Feb 6, 2008)

It's much more difficult to learn to use a DA/SA trigger well than it is to learn to use either a DAO or SA trigger.
You need a consistent trigger to do good work, not one which changes from one pull to another in mid-fight.


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## ZENFLY (Sep 22, 2009)

*Warning!!!* There is no cure for this 1911 disease...Take your money and run,,and don't look back..


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## VAMarine (Dec 25, 2008)

Medic said:


> AHHH I'm so on the fence on the HK P30 for a 1911 around the same price range. I'll have to sleep on it a little more to finalize my decision.
> 
> People have also mentioned that the P30 doesn't have safety and that should be a concern for a first time gun owner? Even tho it does have
> the DA/SA trigger combo with decocker


Horse pucky. There are many, many cases of first time buyers buying guns that don't have an external safety that have not shot themselves, TV's, pets, ceilings, jet liners, tug boats, ironing boards or anything else for that matter.

BUT if YOU are hung up on that issue, the HK P30 is supposed to be available sometime this year with a thumb safety in two versions, the P30S and the P30LS.

If you want to read some good stuff on the P30 check out "P30 Thursday" at PistolTraining.com 75,000 rounds and counting.


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## Medic (Dec 13, 2007)

VAMarine said:


> Horse pucky. There are many, many cases of first time buyers buying guns that don't have an external safety that have not shot themselves, TV's, pets, ceilings, jet liners, tug boats, ironing boards or anything else for that matter.
> 
> BUT if YOU are hung up on that issue, the HK P30 is supposed to be available sometime this year with a thumb safety in two versions, the P30S and the P30LS.
> 
> If you want to read some good stuff on the P30 check out "P30 Thursday" at PistolTraining.com 75,000 rounds and counting.


Yea I heard in OCT 2010 they are coming nout with the P30s. Since this is my first handgun with no other exp I think the no safety wont be an issue for me at all.

Also, after reading through that pistoltraining site I think I am pretty sold on the P30...


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## DevilsJohnson (Oct 21, 2007)

Horse pucky?!?!?!?!? Horse pucky you say?????
.
...Potty mouf :smt083:smt082


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## Six7zero9 (Jan 5, 2010)

I was just like u a few weeks ago. I actually bought a polymer sub compact .45 a couple months ago. After reading alot and shooting a para, springfield, and s&w 1911, I was sold on the 1911. But everyone has their own opinions and things they want from their gun. The thing I loved about the 1911 was how smooth they are. I went out and bought a Springfield .45 5" and have been very impressed with it. That's just my experience.


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## Patient_Zero (Mar 14, 2008)

The original question was "should I just buy a 1911". The truth of the matter is that one doesn't simply "buy" a 1911, anymore than one would "walk" into Mordor. 

When considering whether or not to share your life with the supermodel of the firearms world, ask yourself this... Do you have A. Deep pockets, or B. an inhuman amount of self control?

These are important things to consider. No matter how little or how much money you spend on the pistol its self, you will very rapidly discover an incredibly large array of aftermarket goodies that can induce seizures in the unprepared. 

In addition, ownership of a 1911 is simply the first step. Once you have it, you will in all likelihood feel a natural desire to shoot it. Be warned! This is the path to certain addiction. Once you've started down that road, it's only a matter of time before you begin referring to "the Gospel According to John Moses Browning" and questioning the sanity of anyone who has not yet been indoctrinated into the storied ranks of the 1911 community. 

Hope that helps:smt023


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## Steve M1911A1 (Feb 6, 2008)

:anim_lol: :anim_lol: :anim_lol:

:watching:


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## Bgreg (Jan 29, 2010)

You should take a minute and decide why you are buying a gun. Since you can't carry it, is it for HD? Just to have? If you are looking for a main HD weapon you might be better served buying any one of a number of excellent tactical (18" barrel) shotguns that are available. It would certainly be less expensive than a medium to high-end 1911. If you just NEED to have a 1911 - get one. IMO they are one of the finest pistols you could own.


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## ichiban (Jan 30, 2010)

1911s can definitely be an addiction. Ask me how I know. :- )

I may have missed it but I didn't see anyone mention a 9mm 1911 as a first gun. The recoil is a lot more manageable for a new shooter and the ammo is a lot cheaper so you can train more. Given today's SD ammo the 9mm is a perfectly adequate SD round. If you are restricted to ball ammo in Jersey I would not go with a 9mm for SD - and you would have my most sincere sympathy.


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## Steve M1911A1 (Feb 6, 2008)

ichiban said:


> ...I didn't see anyone mention a 9mm 1911 as a first gun. The recoil is a lot more manageable for a new shooter and the ammo is a lot cheaper so you can train more...


In my own experience, shooting and teaching, I have found that the 1911 in .45 ACP is the better beginner's gun. The .45 (in a full-size 1911) recoils with a slow push, rather than the 9mm's sharp shove. Thus it's more comfortable in a beginner's hands, and its easier to learn to control it.


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## VAMarine (Dec 25, 2008)

Steve M1911A1 said:


> In my own experience, shooting and teaching, I have found that the 1911 in .45 ACP is the better beginner's gun. The .45 (in a full-size 1911) recoils with a slow push, rather than the 9mm's sharp shove. Thus it's more comfortable in a beginner's hands, and its easier to learn to control it.


I don't think I would consider the 9mm to be harder recoiling or harder to control than a .45 in in any platform, but that's just me. Felt recoil and the effects thereof can differ from person to person which is why it's always best to try before you buy when you can.


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## terese70 (Dec 30, 2009)

Steve M1911A1 said:


> In my own experience, shooting and teaching, I have found that the 1911 in .45 ACP is the better beginner's gun. The .45 (in a full-size 1911) recoils with a slow push, rather than the 9mm's sharp shove. Thus it's more comfortable in a beginner's hands, and its easier to learn to control it.


I tend to agree with you here. I am fairly new to the world of handguns and for HD (not to carry) I would prefer a 1911 (.45 not 9mm). I just like shooting it .


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## Highlander1911 (Jan 30, 2010)

I posted a few days ago that I was given a Remington Rand to try out. The owner of this wonderful WWII artifact wants me to run some rounds through it and get a feel for them. It was his father's service piece and he was an arms sgt. This ones been "worked on" according to him and I nor he knows what that means. I know I've only been able to run 2 mags through it and I WANT ONE. PERIOD. I love it. Recoil? Sure, some. From an esthetic standpoit I thought the recoil was kool and easy to manage. I was running 230gr FMJ Federal through it and on my 2nd mag I was grouping tighter than I expected to the point I thought I was just lucky. I got some great advice from VAMarine on how to manage my lust for a gennie wartime piece and also read his review linked at the base of his posts. I'm not a complete newbie to handguns but lately my wife has gotten very interested in them (should I worry?!? lol) and just passed her CPL class. A 1911 is not good for her to carry due to size and other biz/protection issues but it surely is for me. I restore vintage cars for a living and freely admit that the nostalgia is a definate element. I like the feel, the look, the ease of gaining accuracy with it (for me), and the fact that my wife won't mind shooting it on occaision along with whatever we end up getting for her, probably a 9mm compact of some type. So if you're asking me, get one. I don't have the technical expertise that many of you have and I even have a tad of trouble with some of the terminology I see used so easily here but I field stripped and cleaned and oiled this Remington with ease. I simply googled field stripping an M1911 A1 and followed the directions. 

Sorry for being so long winded and less technical. I really like em and I see I'm not alone.


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## shooter54 (Mar 2, 2010)

I like and shoot 45 cal.1911s alot. I also like Kahr pistols alot-especially to carry. Since you are not going to carry, you should ask yourself what you want to do with the firearm. If you have a budget a 9mm is a lot cheaper to shoot. If you do not plan to train extensivily, you may want to get a double action only pistol. Some will argue but I seen seasoned shooters/gamesmen/IDPA shooter do a AD in a stressful situation.(including myself). I wouldn't want that to be the case in a real situation with a BG. If I NEED to shoot I want it to be INTENTIONAL.But if you want a very accurate range/game gun-a 1911 is tops.


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## Freedom1911 (Oct 22, 2009)

OP
1911s are one of the sweetest pistols to shoot. Problem with most of them is the cost of 45ACP ammo.
If you feel the need for a 1911, try finding a 1911 in 9mm. Some will baulk at this idea, but it is still a 1911, just not 45.
I plan on buying a Para 1911 18-9. they are about 800+, Not sure when I will be able to afford it though. I have nice Springfield 1911 in 45ACP and never shoot it because I cant see myself paying 25.00 for a 50 count box of ammo when I can get 2 and a half boxes of 9mm for the same price.
Good luck in finding your pistol.:smt1099


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## BULLMACK45 (Mar 12, 2010)

*1911*



knoxrocks222 said:


> A 1911 it a really tecnical weapon to start off with........have you ever taken one appart? you know when you were little and ur dad bought you a pocket knife he didnt go out and buy you a swiss made out the front switch blade, mine got me a simple single bladed folding knife.......what im tryin to say is start simple but dont cheap out go glock possibly a 19 or a 23. they are very easy to use and simple to take down and clean. get to know the basics of how guns work and how to be safe with them, thenmove on up to somthing like a rock island arms 1911 and so on and so on
> 
> just my thoughts
> knox c


The original 1911 was designed to be a COMBAT weapon. If you go to " the sights 1911 45 acp page" some where in it it tells you how to dissemble a 1911 starting out with a cartridge case . then you use other parts of the 1911 to dissemble the gun Very interesting . JBR


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