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

This thread could win an award.


Did Sesame Street every end?

Blue isn't an idiot by any means.

But because he doesn't like 1911's for his uses & needs, he relates everyone elses needs to his own.

Reports are that Blue is an outstanding & accomplished competitive shooter; EveryDayMan has completely different views of needs & what reliability might consist of than Blue.

EveryDayMan does not shoot 500 rounds every time he goes out to shoot........he likely does not shoot 100.

There are many more EveryDayMan's in the world than there are Blues.............by in incalculable number & his needs are not not Blue's needs, or wants, or expectations.

If a particular gun (or anything else) is reliable to EveryDayMan's expectations, is that so wrong, or does it mean that it is not reliable to him? Probably not.

Blue needs to recognize that & let it go.........seems to be eating him up a bit from the tone of his response.

MM

If he wasn't an idiot, he would recognize that.

I don't think Blue cares about EveryDayMan's point of view...I think he cares about which is more reliable. "Reliable enough" doesn't make one (whatever gun someone wants to argue for/against) as reliable as the other which will go much longer between failures.

That right there says you don't trust the 1911 either. When bullets fly both ways it doesn't matter what continent you are on.

Dink

LOL, compelling.

Just some finer details. If I were overseas at war, I could trust a 1911. The Marines do and it's doing a decent job and has for the past 100 years.

I'd choose something else because in the past 100 years some things have changed, and I'd opt for a high capacity 9mm if I had the choice.

I can only think of one weakness in the design of a 1911 pistol.
If you push the pistol until the end of the barrel contacts something it will unlock the pistol and it will not fire.
This could happen if you were fighting Chuck Norris, or Steven Segal.
Carry on!

As will any semi-auto with a proper disconnector.

I bought a Springfield used for 500 bucks in 2004, I use it daily. It gets dirty and dusty in the truck and around the farm, yet has never failed to feed,fire. A while back I had it face lifted and set up for 45 Super. Still has had a malfunction with either 45 acp or 45 Super loads.

I used to be rather quick. Not world class, but could drop 5 metal plates from the draw in under 3 seconds. One day, in a local steel challenge match in a little west Texas place, I took 2nd place against an old rancher who was shooting a bone stock 1911A1 that was so worn it nearly looked like tarnished silver. He'd shot so many rounds through it, there was a crack developing in the slide stop part of the frame. The sights were WWII GI. The man was greased lightening.

The 1911 doesn't really have any weaknesses except that they don't last forever.

Well, that's probably too generous....but I'll take it.

I really don't have anything against a 1911, and I plan on getting a 2011 sometime in a year or so. I wouldn't drop $2K on a setup that I thought was that bad.

What I like even more than $2K 2011s is watching the 1911 fan boys' heads just explode when you dare mention that 1911s have problems. It's especially entertaining when you consider this is a thread asking about the weaknesses of a 1911 thread....Which the fanboys wanted to turn into a thread on how Glocks kaboom (lololol....kabooms with no damage.....?).

In a thread on the weaknesses of the 1911s you hear nonsense like "they're the best selling pistols in the country (with no documentation of it)", "they're reliable enough for a self defense situation", and that they are "quite well" / "sufficiently reliable for most shooters"......what kind of crazy endorsement is that?

Granted I sprinkle my posts with a heavy doses of sarcasm, but I thought that was pretty well known already. It's not just here or on this thread, it's always and forever.

I bought a used-like-new Springfield 1911 A-1 G.I. (200 rounds fired) many years ago.
The least expensive 1911 Springfield offered - basic G.I. but quality built, dependable, & accurate.

It is the only handgun I own in 45 Caliber and I would choose it first
in the threat of danger over all my other handguns without reservation.

FWIW, this can be overcome by holding your thumb against the back of the slide enough to keep it in battery. It obviously won't cycle for the second shot, but if one shot can help you create distance off a bad guy you can clear the malfunction and keep working.

An exposed hammer would complicate this, so that seems like a pretty objective potential weakness of the 1911s exposed hammer......In a scenario that has 1/1,000,000,000 chances of happening.

1911 fanboys have a different view of reliable, reminds me of the diesel liars club and how they claim fuel mileage... Or comparing a model T to a new Ford, it's design is over 100 years old, time has brought better ideas!

Isn't the most reliable the one that goes the longest without maintenance? 1911's don't stand a chance with Glocks, Sigs, M&P's and numerous other pistols out there. I still have one and am still pouring money into it just to make a range toy out of it.

But every 1911 fan has never had a single malfunction, I wish I could be so lucky.

I kind of like to look at firearms as tools, invented to do a specific job, the specific can vary from job to job.
I have always liked 1911's, and would admit to having more than one. From pretty sophisticated to bare bones.
But there are other inventions out there, that just might do the job better in some situations or as well.
And it is fun watching the defenders of each species knock the competition.
A glock or a polymer gun has no soul, but they tend to work time after time.
I was reading elmer's six guns last night, his comment if he could only have one it would be a 45colt probably still holds true. He had a whole list of negatives in there by the way as to semiautomatics.

You can also jam the web of your hand in between the hammer and the frame to prevent the pistol from firing.
This could work on anything with an exposed hammer.

…..best of the poor practices is to keep the slide safety on….depress and hold the trigger to the rear…….doesn't matter if the muzzle is pushed against something or not…….take off the slide safety and the gun goes off…….poor practice at best however.


…..I don't have a dog in this fight……I've come to like Glocks quite a bit….having said that, I've had as many or more FTF's, double feeds and parts breakage on my Glocks than I have on my 1911's.

Discussions like this one are the intellectual equivalent of "Ginger or MaryAnne" arguments.

MaryAnne.

Next question?

Never understood how when the question comes up if you're on a deserted island with two beautiful women, which one do you choose. The answer is clearly both

Same could be said for the 1911/Glock debate