Those wiseguys at GarandThumb have a blast with an old 1911, and then compare it to a modern tricked-out 1911.
A brilliant — I mean brilliant — intro, and a conclusion about the old 1911 which made me nod with agreement.
As some other wise-ass once said:
I can’t get over the thumb safety. I hate thumb safeties on handguns.
Other than that. The 1911’s are nice on the range.
The bottom one: I’d take an angle grinder to that “horn” growing out the backside, unless someone here can explain the advantage to having it. I used the top one frequently (payroll guard) in the army way back when.
I got sick of the 1911 “hammer bite” — I still have the scar, in fact — so I had the beavertail installed as well as the skeleton hammer.
My dad was a 1911 fanatic. He would get one change out some parts, polish some items, or change out springs to “get it right” and then he would sell it to fund the next 1911 project. He told me that the Colt Government was the best 1911 for the money. I have a 9mm Colt Government as my range pistol and I have pumped over 120k rounds through it.
I’m with Kim. Got wrinkly enough to get my first hammer bite sometime in mid-40’s. These days my go to is my Springfield, Inc. Range Officer, which also wears a set of Hogue rubber finger groove grips.
I also own a commercial Colt 1911A1 (C prefix S/N) manufactured in late 1930, along with an original two-tone magazine. AFAIK, all the springs are original. I shoot it now and then with ball ammo and runs just fine, shoots where it points. I wear a batting glove snugged up tight to avoid hammer bite. A strip of duct tape will do in a pinch.
Love watching this guy–
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XKoKlkoTq5c
The 1911 as well as its descendants and clones are some of the finest handguns ever created. The only hiccup I have experienced with a 1911 is when I under lubricate it. Keep it oiled well and it runs like a top. The .45ACP cartridge is a fine cartridge for social work and changing minds.
Thanks for posting that video. Garand Thumb makes some wonderful videos.
The original was (and still is) a classic, but it had some shortcomings. I will never argue with the grip angle (perfect) and ergonomics (ditto). The original trigger was no less than atrocious and hammer bite was obviously an issue, although avoidable given proper manual-of-arms training.
The clones that have been developed over the years (more than a hundred at this point) by manufacturers such as Kimber, Springfield, Wilson Combat, Les Baer et. al. are MILES better platforms though of course they owe their basic design details to Saint John Browning. I won’t carry anything else; I have no interest in the latest iterations of any of the crop of the mega-mag Wonder 9s that so many seem to think are the be-all and end-all of personal protection options. None work for me like the admittedly updated 1911. Mine are Kimbers and I offer no apologies.