# Whats a 1911??



## hemmigremmie (Jan 23, 2008)

Kinda new to these different types of guns and wasnt sure what a 1911 was??? Tnx, HG


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## hideit (Oct 3, 2007)

excellent diagram and scroll down to see the antimated diagrams of how the 1911 works and what makes it a "1911"
http://www.m1911.org/full_1911desc.htm


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## Baldy (Jun 21, 2006)

Here's a picture of a Stainless Steel 5" 1911 .45ACP.


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## tony pasley (May 6, 2006)

The 1911 is a pistol design by Saint John M. Browning. It was accepted by the U.S. Gov't as the military side are in 1911 also known as the M-1911. It has under went several modification and most are 1911a1 versions. To many the best auto loader ever made then there are those who are wrong and disagree.


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## JeffWard (Aug 24, 2007)

tony pasley said:


> ...then there are those who are wrong and disagree.


Gotta love a true fan...

Like saying the Pittsburg Steelers are the best team in football!!!!!! 'Cuz they had Terry Bradshaw!!!


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## PanaDP (Jul 20, 2007)

JeffWard said:


> Gotta love a true fan...
> 
> Like saying the Pittsburg Steelers are the best team in football!!!!!! 'Cuz they had Terry Bradshaw!!!


Well they are. They just take frequent breaks to give the other teams a chance.


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## Mike Barham (Mar 30, 2006)

PanaDP said:


> They just take frequent breaks to give the other teams a chance.


Much like many 1911s take breaks to give the bad guy a chance. :mrgreen:


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## milquetoast (Nov 25, 2006)

"The 1911 was the design given by God to us through John M. Browning that represents the epitome of what a killing tool needs to be. It was true in 1911 and is true now." —Colonel Robert J. Coates, USMC


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## fivehourfrenzy (Aug 12, 2007)

How many companies make 1911s? I've heard all kinds of stuff about them, but I don't know much about them, other than they were designed in 1911. Are they all .45ACP?


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## PanaDP (Jul 20, 2007)

fivehourfrenzy said:


> How many companies make 1911s? I've heard all kinds of stuff about them, but I don't know much about them, other than they were designed in 1911. Are they all .45ACP?


To purists, yes. There are also 1911s in 9mm and 38 super that I know of.


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## JeffWard (Aug 24, 2007)

...and .50AE, and .40S&W, and .45 Super, and 10mm. 

I've even seen a 1911 variant in .450 Magnum??? Some monster wildcat.

How many makers??? 100's, if you include the custom builders who do a few guns per year.

PS... 
"Much like many 1911s take breaks to give the bad guy a chance."
:smt082


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## 45fan (Mar 5, 2007)

PanaDP said:


> Well they are. They just take frequent breaks to give the other teams a chance.


Yeah Like the Chiefs :smt022 But the 1911 has proven itself for almost 100 years... From chasing Pancho Villa, through two world wars and many conflicts after, to the streets and bedrooms of America, because of the design genius of St. JMB, and the stopping power of the 45 acp. :smt1099


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## gt1911 (Jan 7, 2008)

milquetoast said:


> "The 1911 was the design given by God to us through John M. Browning that represents the epitome of what a killing tool needs to be. It was true in 1911 and is true now." -Colonel Robert J. Coates, USMC


Totally agree with you, by far the best model handgun I've ever owned.


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## tony pasley (May 6, 2006)

PanaDP said:


> To purists, yes. There are also 1911s in 9mm and 38 super that I know of.


A 1911 in 9mm is like dating your sister it just ain't right!!!!!!!!!


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## riot earp (Jun 11, 2006)

A 1911 is the greatest handgun design on the market today. It has been on the Market in basicly in the same configuration for close to 100 yrs. Ther are some companies who make what looks like a real 1911 on the outside, but when you look inside its enough to make JMB spin in his grave.Allow me to elobarate. Smith and Wesson, Kimber, Para Ordnance all make great pistols, but they also use a firing pin block,which the 1911 was never designed for. Smith and wesson even went as far as to use a external extractor. Blasphemy. Kimber tried the external extractor, but had so many problems they went back to the internal. OK,OK, i will get off my soap box.

To answer your question, this is a 1911. Along with its carry partner.


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## Bob Wright (May 10, 2006)

Well, if I may be so bold as to enter into a discussion in which I have so little expertise, the M1911 and M1911A1, are, strictly speaking, the .45 ACP pistols purchased for military use. They are all .45 ACP, military fit and finish, with checkered walnut or brown plastic grip panels. These will bear U.S. Government markings. They were made by Colt, Union Switch and Signal, Remington Rand, maybe others I can't recall at the moment. Note, with the exception of Colt, other manufacturers were not gun makeers, but were involved in steel forging and steel fabrication business.

The commercial model, made by Colt, was the Government Model, and was made in 9mm, .38 Super, and .45 ACP. There was a .22 r.f. Model, the Ace, though not truly a M1911 design, as it used the "floating chamber" design of Carbine Williams. There was a .38 Special Gold Cup, which was of blowback design, not using the Browning locked breech design, or short recoil mechanism.

Current usage is to label all similar designed pistols as 1911s, whether following the original pattern or not. Basically, these are locked breech, short recoil operated pistols, of single action style, in calibers such as 9mm, 10mm .40 S&W, .38 Super, and .45 ACP, plus a few newer cartridges.

The M1911 was designed as a military pistol, hence it lacks some more modern refinements as double action capability, etc. It has been surpassed for personal defese by newer designs. It's not so fast out of the holster as newer guns, but as Col. Charles Askins once observed, "Anyone who goes into a gunfight situation with his gun holstered, is a blithering idiot."

Bob Wright


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## Mike Barham (Mar 30, 2006)

Bob Wright said:


> It's not so fast out of the holster as newer guns...


THAT must be why the basic design dominates sports like IPSC, where competitors draw from the holster before each string of fire. :mrgreen:


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## milquetoast (Nov 25, 2006)

Bob Wright said:


> Well, if I may be so bold as to enter into a discussion in which I have so little expertise, . . . .
> 
> . . . It's not so fast out of the holster as newer guns, . . . .
> Bob Wright


Somebody should tell Rob Leatham, Todd Jarrett, Jerry Barnhart, Doug Koenig, et al. They'll be excited to learn how much faster they can draw when they trade in their 1911's for newer guns! :draw:


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## Bob Wright (May 10, 2006)

O.K., I'll rephrase that:

For the average person, the M1911 is not as fast out of the holster and fired as newer designs.

For those who can draw and disengage the safety and get off a shot up close and in your face, the M1911 is fine. But the average Joe can't do that as well as with a Glock or other DA pistol.

Most who carry the M1911 for social purposes carry cocked-and-locked, with the thumb break holster strap impinging between the hammer and frame. And, more often than not, the gun is semi-concealed by a jacket or vest, seldom, if ever, openly carried. Nor does he have the advantage of knowing that a shooting string is about to start. His fisrst tip-off is when a stranger brandishes a knife or pistol, usually much closer than he would like.

The DA pistol eliminates the need to disengage a safety and unsnap a safety strap.

Having said that, I maintain my original statement to be accurate. Again, I'm speaking in terms of the average Joe.

Bob Wright


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## TOF (Sep 7, 2006)

The IPSC shooters mentioned don't normaly shoot competition rounds using holsters suitable for the average CCW application. Competition holsters allow rapid draw of most handgun types.

:smt1099


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## DevilsJohnson (Oct 21, 2007)

hemmigremmie said:


> Kinda new to these different types of guns and wasnt sure what a 1911 was??? Tnx, HG


Gun Yoda Says "In your hands get one you must young Skywalker..Then know you will":smt023


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## submoa (Dec 16, 2007)

As a military pistol, the 1911 was designed to feed ball ammo. A fairly complex design, the original military issue was not built to tight tolerances and had.. ahem.. a few problems..

With almost a century refining the design, quality 1911s available today are some of the smoothest shooting accurate pistols available... and now feed hollowpoints reliably.

The SAO action provides consistent trigger pull from start to finish but mandates Condition One (cocked and locked) carry. Some detractors say the manual safety is a problem and favor DA/SA guns. Then again the "DA flier" or throwaway shot can be overcome with training... just like a manual safety. If either a manual safety or DA/SA trigger transition is a problem for you in in using your handgun, you have no business carrying a concealed weapon until you train to fix these problems... even if you are average Joe.

Old slabslides can be found on the hip of many competitive shooters and is the starting place for building a highly tuned race gun.

A former heavyset partner of mine loved the 1911 but hated the way the hammer and beavertail poked into his meat while sitting with a strongside hip carry.


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