Jim, you know the answer and your question is probably just rhetorical, but I'll give you my answer anyway!
The 1911 produced for and by the Government or the COLT Commercial Government Model 45 ACP Pistols were and still are the finest combat automatic pistol designs made to date. This is despite 89 years of development time where designers have racked their brains (I suppose) to come up with something
NEW or
BETTER.
Ain't happened yet. I don't say somebody won't come up with something someday, just that
it ain't happened yet.
If we consider the development of the various automatic pistol actions, it becomes rapidly apparent that all types of actions, from tipping barrel, turning barrel, turning bolt, dropping block, prop-up, toggle, etc., etc., were designed prior to the end of the nineteenth century. The only one that survived to any extent was the JMB tipping barrel design.
But of course there were innovations, you say? Yes, I know Walther came out with double action, that's one innovation. I consider it of dubious value but others may like having to change their grip to fire successive shots. Yes, Walther and Beretta use dropping block actions. Check out a C96 Mauser to see the same idea before 1900. But Beretta uses a turning barrel! Check out many Eastern European designs from the first decade of the 20th Century, as well as the American Savage, to see this idea well before Pietro "invented" it. Desert Eagle uses a turning bolt! Hah! ever seen a Mars pistol? Makes a Desert Eagle look like a cap gun, and dates back before the 20th Century, IIRC.
The polymer frame is the one innovation I can think of that really is a milestone, but that's my opinion.
But I digress; the real reason is the combination of the do-it-yourself bent of Americans (an admirable quality in it's place), the champagne taste but beer pocket book of many Americans, the woeful disrespect of the average American for fine craftsmanship and hand work, and, frankly, the credulity of the average American.
The original COLT 45 Automatic Pistols were hand fitted by skilled labor of long employ. Springfield Armory (the
REAL one) could not sucessfully produce the Model 1911 based on the blueprint drawings they worked up until they redrew it based on the actual COLT pistol being produced by COLT. This required the eye of a craftsman, not a computer geek or blueprint engineer. These skilled laborers would be equivalent to a Baer, Wilson, Clark, Bilby, Heinie, etc. You would pay much more for a COLT Gov't Model if it were hand fitted by the likes of them! But that was the average skilled employee of Colt in those days, and Colt still employs some handfitting in their 45s!
Because people always want to make a buck, some entrepreneur copyrights a name, such as
Springfield Armory or
1911A1!! The uninformed masses take it for the REAL Gum't Armory, which closed under LBJ. Instant recognition and credibility! Buy a Springfield M1A or 1911A1! They think they got
the REAL THING. This exploits the credulity which the public so often exhibits.
Some of the other clones I'll give the credit that they do go by their own name, not hide behind a phony historical association. But then, we have the kitchen table -- monkey see, monkey do -- penchant of Americans.
Hey, I can do that! Unfortunately, I believe that is exactly the attitude behind the clone makers, for a large part. Access to CNC machines does not replace a craftsman's eye and understanding. John Moses Browning could make more with a bastard file and a bar of steel than most manufacturing concerns can make with CNC machinery, IMHO, unfortunately. Apparently, so can Norinco, from what I understand, to the CNC users shame!
Finally, the notion that if it looks pretty, it's quality, seems to pervade many people's thinking today. This appeals to the common tendency of us all to want something for nothing. Hence, the shiny, stainless,
Loaded Elite Bazoonga Models we are confronted with these days! The uninformed fail to recognize a gussied up POS is still a POS!
I know, I've been all over the place with this, but think it's important that you know I have a basis for liking COLT 45 Automatic Pistols, not just an unthinking bias!
------------------
Be mentally deliberate but muscularly fast. Aim for just above the belt buckle Wyatt Earp
"It is error alone that needs government support; truth can stand by itself." Tom Jefferson
If you have to shoot a man, shoot him in the guts, it may not kill him... sometimes they die slow, but it'll paralyze his brain and arm and the fight is all but over Wild Bill Hickok
Remember: When you attempt to rationalize two inconsistent positions, you risk drowning as your own sewage backs up.
45 ACP: Give 'em a new navel! BigG
[This message has been edited by BigG (edited January 04, 2000).]
[This message has been edited by BigG (edited January 04, 2000).]
