# General knowledge



## river251 (Jul 13, 2018)

Hello all I’m buying my first 1911 yes I said first I’ve fired many I love the colt and sig just not in my price point so that being said I’ve decided on a Armscor a1fs 45acp I say that to get into this my brother in law is purchasing a Glock 19 in 9 mm I would like y’all to weigh in which is more reliable and why


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## Goldwing (Nov 5, 2014)

I know nothing of the Armscor a1fs 45acp. I do know a bit about the Glock 19. 

The Glock 19 has way less moving parts than any 1911 style pistol. It doesn't have a grip safety. It doesn't have a thumb safety. They are ridiculously reliable. I have long ago lost count on how many rounds that I have run through mine. It has never failed to fire.

Mine is very accurate if I do my part correctly.

The G19 is as of 5/17 the top selling semi auto pistol in America, followed by the Ruger LCP, the Sig P938, the S&W M&P Shield, and the Glock 43.

The G19 weighs in under 24 ounces empty and 30 ounces with 15 rounds loaded.

GW


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## pblanc (Mar 3, 2015)

The Glock 19 is the most popular Glock model. Glocks have a reputation for reliability and can be expected to work properly out of the box. Although Glocks are not my favorite pistols to shoot, mostly because of the ergonomics, I do own a Gen 4 Glock 19.

Model 1911 pistols is general can be finicky. You can spend thousands of dollars on a 1911 and get a pistol with all hand-fitted parts that you can expect to be reliable. Less expensive model 1911s, like those made by Armscor, might be reliable. Or they might require some work.

The original design of the model 1911 was intended to feed round-nose, full metal jacket cartridges. Some will not feed hollow point ammunition reliably, or may require some tweaking to get them to do so. Some have ejection issues or may require tweaking the extractor to get them to extract and eject reliably. Some pistols require shooting a few hundred rounds before they "smooth out". Owning a model 1911 can become something of a learning experience in kitchen table gunsmithing.

In my opinion, no semi-automatic pistol is more fun to shoot than a model 1911 chambered in .45 ACP. I do happen to own a Rock Island Armory (Armscor) model 1911 A1 full-size "Rock" model in .45 ACP. I really like it but I did need to due some polishing of the barrel throat and make a few parts swaps to get it to function the way I wanted. The trigger is surprisingly good and the pistol is pretty accurate.


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## Craigh (Jul 29, 2016)

I own a Glock 19 because I bought it from a guy at the range at a better than normal price. He was frustrated with his accuracy. Not the gun's fault. His. Though my Glock is completely reliable, it's not fun for me. I detest the trigger and the grip. To me, a Glock's trigger feels like a Swingline Staple gun. I also feel they are almost the ugliest handguns made. Just a personal opinion and again not fair. Admittedly, I also don't like owning what is the "most popular." I see too many newbies at the range with their brand new Glocks, not being able to even keep the rounds on the paper at 7 yards then pointing their new gun down the line at everyone else when looking at it or racking the slide. Drives me nuts. I admit I'm not fair about it and know Glocks are fine handguns in the hands of an experienced user. 

Armscor makes a good project 1911 from good steel. I like a project 1911 because I enjoy the ride. I also know 1911 models and have used them close to 50 years of my life for plinking, competition, and defense. I love the trigger and they send bullets where I point them. I find a quality 1911 to be very reliable with any ammunition you feed it. Even my lesser expensive Remington R1 Enhanced model has been flawless and as reliable as my Glock. I also much prefer 45 over 9mm all day long. My 1911 pistols in 45 ACP are more comfortable and softer shooting than my Glock 9mm. Part of the reason is weight, part is velocity, and part is me. 

In your comparison you have to consider, you're looking at an expensive for type in that Glock against an inexpensive for type in that Armscor. In other words, a Glock 19 tends to be slightly more expensive than other similar striker fired pistols, while that Armscor tend to be close to the least expensive 1911 models out there. There's absolutely nothing wrong with this except you might not have quite the fit and finish in one as the other, though Armscor is not bad at all for the money. I'm not you, but for me, I'd rather have a rougher Armscor than a pristine Glock any day of the week. 

If you like a striker fired automatic like the Glock, try a Walther PPQ M2 or a Sig P320 instead. I think both are everything a Glock is and better in most all aspects. They are extremely well respected and a little less than Glock as well. I think the PPQ has the best ergonomics and the sweetest trigger among striker fired pistols. That Sig is close. Either's trigger would make a Glock owner cry with envy if they tried it. FN and HK also make superlative handguns. The FN 509 and HK VP9 come to mind. I just don't know them as well. 

At the range last year, one of the owners approached me with a Glock he'd just taken on trade. The previous owner had spend a lot of money on the trigger. He said, Craig, you're always bragging on that PPQ's trigger. Try this. He and I took that Glock onto the range. I handed him my PPQ and I shot that Glock. It was much better than an out of the box Glock, but nowhere near mine. After he'd shot mine, he didn't say a word, just boxed up the Glock and left the range. He looked sort of miffed.


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## Goldwing (Nov 5, 2014)

Craigh said:


> I own a Glock 19 because I bought it from a guy at the range at a better than normal price. He was frustrated with his accuracy. Not the gun's fault. His. Though my Glock is completely reliable, it's not fun for me. I detest the trigger and the grip. To me, a Glock's trigger feels like a Swingline Staple gun. I also feel they are almost the ugliest handguns made. Just a personal opinion and again not fair. Admittedly, I also don't like owning what is the "most popular." I see too many newbies at the range with their brand new Glocks, not being able to even keep the rounds on the paper at 7 yards then pointing their new gun down the line at everyone else when looking at it or racking the slide. Drives me nuts. I admit I'm not fair about it and know Glocks are fine handguns in the hands of an experienced user.
> 
> Armscor makes a good project 1911 from good steel. I like a project 1911 because I enjoy the ride. I also know 1911 models and have used them close to 50 years of my life for plinking, competition, and defense. I love the trigger and they send bullets where I point them. I find a quality 1911 to be very reliable with any ammunition you feed it. Even my lesser expensive Remington R1 Enhanced model has been flawless and as reliable as my Glock. I also much prefer 45 over 9mm all day long. My 1911 pistols in 45 ACP are more comfortable and softer shooting than my Glock 9mm. Part of the reason is weight, part is velocity, and part is me.
> 
> ...


I appreciate your even handed comparison of the two examples. At one time I was offered a very attractive price on a Springfield Armory 1911. (I think that it was a Croatian product) It was matte finished and Plain Jane in every respect. I left it bone stock other than the Crimson Trace laser grips. That particular gun is memorable because I just could not seem to miss with it.

At the time there was a competition called the Bianchi Cup that was basically a steel plate challenge that we worked hard to copy at my friends private range. That little .45 and I dominated.

The only problem that I remember was that the magazines needed a tweak to improve the reliability in feeding. I am sorry I ever traded it off.

As far as my G19 trigger goes, I installed a Ghost Evo Elite trigger assembly and polished all of the wear surfaces involved. Problem solved. The Evo Elite requires hand fitting to install properly, but if it is done correctly you get a trigger that has very little take-up, and almost no over travel. The reset is positive and tactile, and the trigger breaks at a light but not too light weight.

They both have their merits, but I would give the nod to the Glock for easy maintenance and access to relatively cheap accessories. (My Glock brand night sights were $65)

I suggest to the OP that he try his brother in laws' Glock before he buys.

GW


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## TheReaper (Nov 14, 2008)

https://www.wikiarms.com/guns?q=806015514473


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## tony pasley (May 6, 2006)

I have a Rock Island which is made by the same company it has worked great. I have several friends and even my youngest daughter only 1 had a problem and customer service had it repaired and returned in 2 weeks at 0 cost.


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