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Someone talk me out of a 1911

3K views 33 replies 26 participants last post by  RogerThat 
#1 ·
I currently carry a Glock 27 and at times an LCP. On neither of them a safety and both of them pull the trigger and go bang. I really enjoyed shooting 1911's and I am contemplating buying one as a carry weapon. Probably not EDC but on special times. I am concerned of how much gross motor confusion this might cause now having to use the external safety of the 1911.

Input appreciated.
 
#2 ·
I don't know brother, but it can be a problem. That's why I don't carry my FN 5.7. My thumb always goes to drop the safety and that's not where it is on that gun.
 
#5 ·
I got this from another forum. It is a couple of years old. I've posted it here before, but thought it here, especially since you are trying to convince yourself you need another gun. Also to give to the spouse in case they want to know why you need another gun.



1) Explain that guns are "man jewelry". You don't "need" guns, but if she really loves you she'll get guns for you.

2) If you can take a "home security" slant on any gun, do so.

3) Get her relatives involved in shooting/hunting. Hunting becomes an opportunity to bond with her family.

4) Get a TC Encore/Contender...no matter how many barrels you get its still technically only one gun.

5) Get her into hunting/shooting. My wife wants to do some skeet/trap shooting...here comes the 20 gauge autoloader. This may be a mistake in the long run, consider this option carefully before proceeding. You loose her ignorance, which is a great ally to your gun collecting.

6) Have multiple cases and keep the combination to your safe to yourself.

7) Have a designated "man" area. Keep it messy, or at least looking messy so that she can't stand being around it. This is your area, the place you need to be messy so that you can keep the rest of your house clean. This is where you keep guns. An unfinished corner of a basement, garage, or a shed is perfect.

8) Have her work evening/weekend shifts if possible. This makes covert gun purchases very easy.

9) Stretch the truth and say that it’s illegal to sell a gun without an expensive license.

10) Buy guns for children/future children.

11) Get a better paying job that does not cut into your hunting/shooting time. Disposable income = more guns.

Any man who thinks that its "sissy" to use your wife's emotions to get guns is a fool. You need to make it clear that the way she can express her love to you is buy "letting" you go on that hunting/fishing trip or buy that gun/scope/fishing rod/fish finder/etc.

I also use the old "I think we're prosperous and every time I think we are prosperous I think back to every time we've been prosperous and at those times I bought a gun.
 
#7 ·
I currently carry a Glock 27 and at times an LCP. On neither of them a safety and both of them pull the trigger and go bang. I really enjoyed shooting 1911's and I am contemplating buying one as a carry weapon. Probably not EDC but on special times. I am concerned of how much gross motor confusion this might cause now having to use the external safety of the 1911.

Input appreciated.
There will not be as much confusion as you might think. It is all a matter of proper training. The Glock does not have a thumb safety and the 1911 does. So, you simply train to use the thumb safety. And train yourself to ignore its absence. A more important difference in the two weapons is the grip size and grip angle. If you train for point and shoot techniques, grip angle can make a difference. But everyone should have a 1911.

I currently own a Colt Commander, a Sig P220, a S&W 6906 and a SA XD-45. I can deploy any of them quickly with no fumbling. It just takes a little practice. And you can practice drawing in your house with no ammo expenditure.:cool:
 
#9 ·
Cannot give you any reason not to own one of the most successful pistol designs in history. It is a workhorse.
 
#21 ·
+1

It's on my list as the next pistol for me.
Jess
 
#12 ·
I have a full size 1911. I wouldn't carry it on me. I tried. Way too heavy & uncomfortable for me. I don't know how some guys are able to do it.
The G27 is a great conceal pistol. I love mine & wouldn't carry anything else for that purpose.

A 1911 is a good gun & yes everyone should have 1 in a collection.
 
#20 ·
QFT

I CC my G27/G29 and use my wifes 1911 for looking at and general pimp duty
 
#13 · (Edited)
Get the 1911....I love 1911's. Getting use to the safety is just a matter of practice. I will tell you what I deal with, I have Springfield XD's and 1911 pistols and I change it up from time to time when carrying and to make matters even worse I am left eye dominate with my strange hand being my right (right handed) however pulling south paw feels more natural to me. So long story short when I carry my XD I carry southpaw and when I carry 1911's I carry strong arm (right). Over the years I have just gotten use to it with a lot of practice drawing around the house and today I know I can draw a shoot either hand and carry either style of handgun.

Get the 1911 they feel better to me than Glocks (which I can not carry) or the XD
 
#15 ·
Go ahead and get the 1911. Tell your Significant Other we all said you had to have it!! :D

I have 3 Government 1911's and I rotate them as EDC. They're great guns and you'll get used to the thumb safety. I'm guessing the grip is different enough from a glock, that when you grab it, you'll remember the TS. (I don't own any glocks, never have. But I did touch one once...) :laughing
 
#17 ·
++11 on what everyone else said, plus a little extra. With adequate practice, and believe me it really doesn't take that much, you can learn to shoot well practically any platform of sidearm. I've put thousands of rounds through Glocks and Sigs, but I have also put about a thousand rounds through a Smith 36, and about 500 through a AMT .380 Backup. Once you get thoroughly familiar with a sidearm, "muscle memory" will kick in. I can guarantee you that in the middle of the night, dead asleep, I can grab my old 36 (if I can find it in a hurry) and drill the h--l out of a BG at 15 yards or less. ONLY because of familiarization and muscle memory. As soon as your hands grip that weapon, the mind goes into that mode.

So if you own a Glock, and practice sufficiently with a 1911 model, regardless of which one you pull, you will go into that mode. That is no different than the single gun owner. If the owner doesn't practice enough with his only weapon, he will fumble with it when he needs it most.

Sorry, I can't talk you out of a 1911. I can't wait until I can afford to own a couple of dozen more.

Beer y'all,
Ken
 
#23 ·
I'm not one to advocate multiple carry platforms. Unless you're willing to train extensively with each platform equally to the others you need to pick one and stick with it. Practicing extensively with your glock and occasionally carrying a 1911 could get you killed.

Now this doesn't preclude the adoption of other platforms for range use and general enjoyment.:D
 
#24 · (Edited)
Real world experiences incoming:

Manual safeties can be missed, or not snicked off under duress/stress

In the last 4 years, I've had three hardcore 1911 shooters [ all three carried only 1911's of different flavors and none had less than 5 years with two over 15 years training and using them to the exclusion of any other handgun ] who were stressed on my course to the point they didn't take the safety off when they drew the guns to fire.

Standing there yanking on the triggers, they'd have likely died on the street for it. Two have since changed their weapons platforms to firearms with no manual safeties.

In two other instances with a 1911 design, the plunger tube which is staked to the frame allowed the safety to be locked up when the plunger tube spring jammed the manual thumb safety and the gun could not be taken off safe to fire it, rendering it inoperable.

Have that happen on the street when you need it---- you guessed it, bad ju ju and also a hazard to your staying above ground. Neither had problems firing hundreds of rds in the class prior to the plunger tube loosening enough to cause the malf.

If I can stress students to the point they forget to snick the manual safety off that 1911, imagine what the stress on the street could do for you.

When I carry one of my 1911's, I don't use the thumb safety, I rely on the grip safety only, and I've carried 1911's for almost 3 decades before moving on to firearms that don't require manual safeties be snicked off before you can fire the weapon.

In two other cases on the range in training, I've seen the guns not held well enough on a stressed "draw to fire" under time constraints that the grip safety was not deactivated and the gun would not fire as well.

The above is not meant to discourage manual safety firearms at all. I've carried and own different firearms with manual safeties over several decades without any hesitation about the above happening, but if it can happen and has happened under extreme duress/stress and time constraints [ the Oh S**t factor behind the reactionary curve when the chips are down and your life hangs in the balance type of training ] it can happen on the streets, and doesn't matter how much time you've got on the weapon platform.

Murphy follows everyone and waits!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Brownie
 
#27 ·
I failed to see your point, here. After all, .40 cal GLOCKs have suffered a number of Kabooms. Several Beretta 92's have experienced cracked frames. I have lost count of how many GLOCKs, Berettas, Sigs and S&Ws have discharged when being holstered because a safety strap or finger had found its way onto the trigger. And, my personal favorite, I have seen at least four people actually throw their pistol away during a speed draw drill [2 were GLOCKs], because they failed to achieve a firm enough grip. Then there are all of the times that firing pins have broken on virtually every firearm manufactured, the times that a magazine spring has failed, the times that a squib load has plugged a barrel, or any of the myriad times some type of ftf or fte has disabled a handgun.

Failure to properly deactivate a safety device is a product of a lack of sufficient training. The same goes for certain types of fte malfunctions that are the result of limp-wristing. Training is paramount. Acquiring a quality firearm and loading it with quality ammunition is also important, but it still requires training, practice and luck to survive. No matter what you carry.:cool:
 
#25 ·
I carry a Glock 23, and love it. 13 rounds of .40 in a durable, comfortable frame, can't go wrong.

I REALLY want a 1911, but not for concealed carry or defensive purposes. I have several issues with using a 1911 as a concealed carry weapon.

1. Limited capacity may require a reload in extremely high stress environment.
2. Most 1911's are simply too bulky (aka uncomfortable) - extra mag makes this worse.
3. It has two safety's. Just two more things to go wrong when your life hangs in the balance.
4. It has a hammer for shirts to snag on, clothing or other objects can block the firing pin, etc.

Again, this is a fantastic weapon. It's a piece of history. It's prestigious to have a 1911. I can't wait for the day I own one. I won't even consider trading my Glock 23 with one though.
 
#26 ·
I'm a 'high speed, low drag' kinda guy. I like high capacity, lasers, night sights on mine. My EDC (when I'm home) is a Glock 19. That being said I wanted to upgrade to have some heavier duty rounds, 45's. I kept considering the Kimber 1911's but was discouraged by the price and low capacity so I ended up buying the XD's. 3 of them to be precise. 1 was an accident. After all and all at one gun shop they had a Kimber in stock so I decided to 'look' at it. It felt so perfect in my hand I walked out with it. That being said it is probably my favorite handgun. This from someone who wasn't wanting a low capacity 1911. My advise would be to buy it now cause you'll end up with one later, it's just a matter of how many others you get before then. :pistols
 
#29 ·
Mac45, Can you please post those reports & have the circumstances surrounding them detailed?

Cause everytime I hear that... it's I "read" this or "seen" this, or I "heard" this.

BTW I own a glock & 92.

Agree it's training. And most people lack it which lead to most reports of kabooms.
 
#33 ·
I purchased a Kimber CDP pro this weekend. Having an XD and a Sig neither of which with an external safety I was a bit curious as to if/how I would acclamate to it. But let me tell ya, it was incredibly easy to manipulate. Working dry fire sessions I was able to manipulate the safety before the weapon was even level. I still alternate between the XD and the kimber but feel very comfortable with both.
 
#34 ·
When I first started getting into guns, I didn't really like the look of a 1911. As I grew more accustom to guns I stopped liking guns for what they looked like in movies, and started liking them for the way they feel, shoot, and how concealable they are. I purchased my first 1911 4 days ago. Kimber Stainless Pro Carry II. Now I want to trade in all my other guns and get some more kimber 1911 model guns. Feel awesome in my hand. Very balanced weight. The safety placement allows for the thumb to flip the safety on and off effortlessly. Not to mention you can just see the detail in the gun but thats getting into kimber in itself. I hear good things about 1911 springfield as far as price/quality goes. I think you should get a 1911, and when you do you'll like it more and more everyday
 
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