Experience With the Original M1911 but None With the New

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lamarw

New member
I carried the old M1911A1 while serving in the U.S. Army. I have never handled the new versions or shall we say styles similar to the M1911(Zero Experience). I always thought of the old gun, with due respect, as antiquate.

So, here is my question. How close to the original are all the new guns on the market? I realize there maybe some closer than the others to original (shall we say). Are they actually the same or just in the style of the original? All my pesonal guns are either Berettas or Sig. They handle and shoot much better than any of my Army M1911s.

Unless the newer guns called 1911s are much better and different, why do they have such a popularity?

I do enjoy loading and shooting the .45 ACP round. I should try one of the newer ones, but have had an adversion to it. Although, it is hard to overlook the popularity of the new pistols.
 
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BILLDAVE

Moderator
I love the old 1911 and 1911A1 pistols. Recently I purchased a SA TRP and other than the ambi saftey it handels just as well as any colt. It has some new features that enhance the performance. Sights, grips, and the load indicator come to mind. I think there is minimal trasnstion to this pistol. I do not know about Glocks, Berrettas, and Sigs because I choose not own them. I'm a young guy with ol'fashin' taste.
 
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Auto426

New member
I'm not sure I completely understand what you are asking about. Are you asking how close they are to pre-A1 style 1911's, or how close they are to the a military issue M1911A1 in general?

For general reference, I'll just put this up:

1911110.jpg


As far as being close to the pre-A1 style 1911 is concerned, most manufacturers today ship their guns with long triggers and flat mainspring housing like the ones on the pre-A1 guns. They still retain the A1 clearance cuts, and sights/hammer/grip safety are usually aftermarket style.

As far as being true 1911's, the basic design hasn't changed much since the beginning. Modern guns aren't just look-a-likes with different internals, they share the specs of real military contract 1911's and their parts can be interchanged (in most cases at least). Some modern guns have additions like firing pin safeties or built in locks, but they are still 1911's.

As far as popularity, the reason they have been around for so long is that they are such a joy to shoot. The ergonomics are excellent, the crisp and light single action trigger lends itself to fast and accurate shooting well, and the all steal construction helps dampen recoil. They are also pretty flat and conceal well if you plan on carrying one. If you didn't care for it much in the military, then I doubt it would be too much different today. Get to a range that rents pistols and see for yourself.
 
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Nick S.

New member
Range Officer?

My next pistol will be a 1911 of some type. I was thinking about the Range Officer unless someone knows of a better choice. I have a 22 cal, and compact 380. I want a big 45 for home protection and ocassional practice at the range. Now when I go to the range I shoot about 20 rds of the 380 & 90-100 rds of 22.
 
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Series70

New member
Auto46,

Thanks for an excellent and succinct comparison between the 1911 and the 1911A1. Using the real pictures as a graphic example makes it the clearest explanation I've read.

As far as the OP's question, I wonder whether the issue 1911A1 he carried had been maintained and/or refurbed before he got it. My understanding from a lot of Korean-era and later vets is that the pistols they trained with and carried had a lot of miles on them, and accuracy was compromised as a result.

FWIW, none of them ever complained about function issues, presumably because the weapons were loose and smooth.
 
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WC145

New member
So, here is my question. How close to the original are all the new guns on the market? I realize there maybe some closer than the others to original (shall we say). Are they actually the same or just in the style of the original? All my pesonal guns are either Berettas or Sig. They handle and shoot much better than any of my Army M1911s.
Click to expand...

They function the same, feel the same, carry the same, disassemble the same. In general you can expect better metallurgy, better fit and finish, better sights, and, in many cases, extended safeties and silde stops, and beaver tails, also 8rd mags. There are some guns that have drop safeties built into them now but other than that the evolution of the 1911 has mostly been one of refinement, not change.

My Dad is an old school 1911 guy, went into the Army in '57 and was issued guns older than he was. He prefers my basic "GI style" guns to my Springfield Loaded and S&W Pro Series but it's just cosmetics, he likes the look of a parkerized gun, it reminds him of the good ol' days.:)
 
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dsk

New member
"[off the subject]
I think that Colt 1911 (mfg 1917) is beautiful." [ep2621]

Yeah, and the dumb@$$ who used to own it and later sold it is still kicking himself.
 
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Don P

New member
I do not believe anyone is producing a 1911 true to the design before the changes were made to becoming the 1911A1
 
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oldvet53

New member
i have a Rock Island Armory 1911A1 and is about as close as you can get, especially for the price. they are built to much closer tolerances than the old Army issue and inmho can't be beat for the price. if the 1911A1's weren't that good they wouldn't hold so many championships at Camp Perry.
 
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Legumeofterror

New member
Most modern productions 1911 are pretty much the same as the 1911A1 you carried in the military. Most people like them for nostalgic purposes, and there are plenty of more modern .45 ACP handguns that exceed the 1911 in most every aspect as far as a combat handgun goes. They remain popular with competition shooters due ti the widespread availability of parts and well respected gunsmiths who make/work on them.
 
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Rogervzv

New member
I was in the Army from 1975-1980 and the 1911A1 was my issue weapon the last two years. We had an armsroom full of them, mostly Korean War vintage or even older for all I know. These pistols were very old and frankly, beat-up. They still functioned with great reliability, but they were tired and worn, and as a result accuracy was really not there. When I got out of the Army I picked up a Series 7 Colt Gold Cup and I was astonished at how accurate a 1911 can be if it is tightly constructed and not worn out!

The 1911 pistol platform is timeless. I fired mine today and hit bullseye after bullseye. (With the occasional Mulligans due to operator error, of course.) No misfires, just a blast putting rounds downrange accurately.
 
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gyvel

New member
I do not believe anyone is producing a 1911 true to the design before the changes were made to becoming the 1911A1
Click to expand...

Colt is making a recreation of the original 1911 pistol.
 
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Smaug

New member
re. gyvel

I saw one Friday night. Just. Beautiful. Tight, great finish. But the sights are crap; true to the original. They are very spendy (to me) as my local shop was asking $1150 for it.

@ Rogervsv: I'm jealous. I'd have bought a Gold Cup, if I could afford it. We'll see how the Para GI Expert pans out. I can either pick it up tomorrow night, right at closing, then take it home and play with it, or wait until Tuesday and pick it up in time to take it to their range and throw some lead with it. Since the shop is an hour's drive, I'm thinking I'll wait until Tuesday. (gas is $3.60 a gallon near me, and I'm only getting about 26 mpg in my tired old Sentra)
 
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dsk

New member
I still have a Colt M1911A1 that was shipped to Springfield Armory in December, 1943. Before the prices on such things went crazy I used to shoot it on occasion, and it easily outshot my Glocks and many of my more recent 1911 pistols. My old 1918-vintage pistol also shot well, to the point that I won a vintage pistol match with it. Bascially, what I'm saying is that the complaints about the military 1911 pistols being garbage mostly stem from the fact that most here today were issued one that had been pretty well used by the time you got your hands on it.

To answer the other question, the last true military-spec commercial pistols were the Colt Government Models made up until 1970. Colt has recently returned to its roots with the new Series 70 repro and the various incarnations of the WW1 Replica, but those are built tighter than the originals and have some changes in the small parts (like bigger sights on the Series 70 and some cast/MIM internal parts). Nobody makes a pistol exactly like the USGI ones, although several (including Springfield, Auto Ordnance, and RIA) make a few that are externally similar.
 
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