Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns What are the 1911's weakness?

The gun runs reliably or it doesn't, which probably is defined by the user as acknowledging a certain gun "scarcely ever jams and am confident clearing one if it happens again," vs. "it jams sometimes, yes, and that's not a confidence booster." Make/model not withstanding.

I acknowledge that other designs have been found to be more reliable. My own ccw 1911 commander has been remarkable, but that proves nothing in the big picture, other than am keenly confident in that particular gun for myself.

Other than "reliability", I think the 1911's main "weaknesses" boil down to how if differs from modern top sellers on basic merits.

Fact: It's SA only and what that entails.
Fact: It has two safeties, one usually transparent, and one thumb-operated. Either could be the source of failure in deploying a 1911, and the user has to be completely cognizant of this.

Growing up with non-semi-auto long rifles/shotguns (and no revolvers or semi-auto pistols), the logic and muscle memory for operating a SA-anything and disengaging a safety while deploying a firearm are engraved and automatic. But they are extra steps compared to other designs, and while under duress could be points of failure it's true. And for that reason, think a 1911 is a step backwards for say a new CCW person, who otherwise doesn't shoot much of anything; wouldn't recommend a 1911 but rather a glock or m&p or whatever as may well be less copmlex, more intuitive to that individual. Point it, shoot, learn malfunction drills, the end. In contrast, those guns give me the heebie jeebies because I feel a bit out of control compared to the 1911. It's all habit.

Those differences, I think, far outweigh "reliability" or "kabooms" or whatever. And sure, it's going to be heavier, and compared to a similar sized competitors gun, it will almost certainly have a smaller magazine capacity.