If 1911's are so unreliable, why are they still the best selling pistol in America? Tradition only gets you so far, at some point someone is going to want their gun to work.
I'm betting that most 1911's work quite well right out of the box and are sufficiently reliable for most shooters.
If you're going to push a 1911 really hard, then you're going to need to do some work on that 1911.
I don't know what my 1911's will do if I were to push 1,000 rounds per day through them, I just don't shoot that much anymore. But I know that I'll never shoot 1,000 rounds in combat, so it's really a moot point, and a training convenience.
If I were going to war, I probably wouldn't take a 1911 with me. But for daily carry, it's more than sufficient.
I also happen to agree with Dan, 1911's are more reliable when the tolerances are looser. But people won't buy a rattling 1911 anymore, so the market has demanded those tolerances be tighter and it has had an effect on reliability.
