Re: Help me enter the 1911 world

26
Before you buy this, decide what you might to with this.

I have 1911-type pistols for several purposes. One is just to look at. The pistol my father brought back from WWII is one made by Colt in 1918, and I have serious doubts about its metallurgy, so it is just for looking at. Just before his transition to the Eternal Rifle Association, he told me he wanted me to shoot it, so I do, but with a Marvel .22 conversion on top of it.

If you read what the gunsmiths say about the design, it was drawn up around the .45 acp cartridge, and you will probably have more difficulty with it if you shorten the barrel & slide, or if you go to a smaller caliber. The gunsmiths also usually say there are too many problems with holes and surfaces mislocated on the low-cost foreign guns for them to work on them. There are lots of shortened 1911 pistols, such as my Dad's old .45 Star PD: it is more sensitive to jams caused by limp wristing the pistol.

There are some gunsmithing jobs anyone can do, if you have a decent set of screwdrivers, a Vernier caliper, and few other items. A lot of commercially sold 1911 pistols have some issues with their extractor, causing significant feeing issues, which can be diagnosed and might be dealt with, with no tools. There are "drop-in" trigger jobs which can dramatically improve shootability, but will require some tweaking which can be learned from YouTube videos, but may require fitting a new safety, and a lot of safety checks, but again the references can walk you through them.

I like to do a significant amount of accuracy shooting with pistols, some of it formal Bullseye pistol matches. For the traditional Bullseye match, you need adjustable sights. For the traditional Bullseye match, at least one of the pistols you shoot has to be a .45, another has to be a .22 rimfire, and the third can be any centerfire from .32 to .45. Sometimes I shoot a .45 1911 as my .45 and again as my centerfire, and shoot a .22 1911 conversion as my rimfire.

Practical Pistol and other high volume shooters dislike adjustable sights because they can break, and they frequently like a smaller caliber with less recoil and cheaper ammo. For these types of matches, and for tin cans, fixed sights may be preferable.

Give some thought to the finish and materials you want. Bluing is the original finish, and can be very pretty, but it is not as durable as many others, especially if you are going to be holstering a lot, or you are going to be sweating as you shoot. Stainless rusts less, but can not be said not to rust, and there is an ugly form of adhesive wear phenomena that it is subject to called "galling" which is particularly ugly. Galling can be dealt with by special lubricants, or just having half your pistol be Stainless. Stainless also has problems with cracking, because of lowered impact toughness. I am experimenting recently with Nitrided parts, and am generally pleased at wear and corrosion resistance. Aluminum frames are lighter, but there is a cost in durability, one that you might be willing to pay if you were carrying it around all day.

Re: Help me enter the 1911 world

30
DougB1946 wrote: Tue Apr 13, 2021 7:15 pm Ruger SR1911 commander in 9mm. Aftermarket mag for 10 rounds. Carry it IWB. After a while, you don't notice it. Always goes bang. Feels good in the hand.
You say you carry it IWB? Which side do you carry on? I tried carrying my Taurus 1911 full size on my left side cross draw style. The grip printed under my t-shirt really bad. I carry cross draw since my arthritis makes it hard to lift my right arm high enough to draw from my right side. Eventually I gave up trying to make it work and now carry a much smaller gun - Ruger EC9s which works very well.

Re: Help me enter the 1911 world

31
Mostly I pocket carry my little LCP Max .380. But there are times I put on an IWB with a S&W LW Commander in .45 ACP. I actually gave away my CZ P07 which for most people would be considered a "better" gun. But for me it just comes down to this... I like 1911's, and for my level of threat, I think my LW Commander is more than adequate.

As ya'll know, I'm a Colt man, but I have been carrying this S&W for over 15 years and the two of us just get along well.
Image
“I think there’s a right-wing conspiracy to promote the idea of a left-wing conspiracy”

Re: Help me enter the 1911 world

33
FrontSight wrote: Thu Nov 18, 2021 4:39 pm Mostly I pocket carry my little LCP Max .380. But there are times I put on an IWB with a S&W LW Commander in .45 ACP. I actually gave away my CZ P07 which for most people would be considered a "better" gun. But for me it just comes down to this... I like 1911's, and for my level of threat, I think my LW Commander is more than adequate.

As ya'll know, I'm a Colt man, but I have been carrying this S&W for over 15 years and the two of us just get along well.
Image
Nice grips on that 1911! I've come to the position that I don't carry a gun I can't afford to lose. The USCCA puts out a document on the six things you can expect to happen if you are ever involved in a defensive shooting. Even if you are not charged with anything you can expect the police to confiscate you gun and hang on to it as long as they can. It takes a lawyer and up to two years to get your gun back. That's not right and it seems to me to be a violation of the 14th Amend. which states that no state can deny a citizen of life, liberty, or property with due process of law. Taking you gun and holding on to it without due process of law seems to me to be a clear violation of that amend. It sucks!

Re: Help me enter the 1911 world

34
I have a Colt XSE Government, blued, in .45 ACP which I like a lot. Also a SA Loaded stainless in 9mm.

Personally, I strongly prefer the newer features that have become commonplace, but which are not found on the mil spec pistols: beavertail grip safety, loop hammer, etc. If you shoot the pistol the way most do now, both hands on the gun as high as possible, thumbs forward, you really need those features.
"To initiate a war of aggression...is the supreme international crime" - Nuremberg prosecutor Robert Jackson, 1946

Re: Help me enter the 1911 world

35
Skeptilius wrote: Thu Nov 18, 2021 6:19 pm
FrontSight wrote: Thu Nov 18, 2021 4:39 pm Mostly I pocket carry my little LCP Max .380. But there are times I put on an IWB with a S&W LW Commander in .45 ACP. I actually gave away my CZ P07 which for most people would be considered a "better" gun. But for me it just comes down to this... I like 1911's, and for my level of threat, I think my LW Commander is more than adequate.

As ya'll know, I'm a Colt man, but I have been carrying this S&W for over 15 years and the two of us just get along well.
Image
Nice grips on that 1911! I've come to the position that I don't carry a gun I can't afford to lose. The USCCA puts out a document on the six things you can expect to happen if you are ever involved in a defensive shooting. Even if you are not charged with anything you can expect the police to confiscate you gun and hang on to it as long as they can. It takes a lawyer and up to two years to get your gun back. That's not right and it seems to me to be a violation of the 14th Amend. which states that no state can deny a citizen of life, liberty, or property with due process of law. Taking you gun and holding on to it without due process of law seems to me to be a clear violation of that amend. It sucks!
There are many places where you don't have to go through that, but it would be prudent to assume that's the way its going to be. And yeah, those two are considered expendable, and I have several backups. I'm not much worried about it. Those are "things" and I won't shoot unless someone's life is on the line. In such a situation, I'll trade ANY of my things to save a life.

But your best weapon is between your ears, and as long as mine is still working; chances are, I'll never shoot a shot in anger for the rest of my life.
“I think there’s a right-wing conspiracy to promote the idea of a left-wing conspiracy”

Re: Help me enter the 1911 world

36
FrontSight wrote: Mon Nov 22, 2021 1:16 pm
Skeptilius wrote: Thu Nov 18, 2021 6:19 pm
FrontSight wrote: Thu Nov 18, 2021 4:39 pm Mostly I pocket carry my little LCP Max .380. But there are times I put on an IWB with a S&W LW Commander in .45 ACP. I actually gave away my CZ P07 which for most people would be considered a "better" gun. But for me it just comes down to this... I like 1911's, and for my level of threat, I think my LW Commander is more than adequate.

As ya'll know, I'm a Colt man, but I have been carrying this S&W for over 15 years and the two of us just get along well.
Image
Nice grips on that 1911! I've come to the position that I don't carry a gun I can't afford to lose. The USCCA puts out a document on the six things you can expect to happen if you are ever involved in a defensive shooting. Even if you are not charged with anything you can expect the police to confiscate you gun and hang on to it as long as they can. It takes a lawyer and up to two years to get your gun back. That's not right and it seems to me to be a violation of the 14th Amend. which states that no state can deny a citizen of life, liberty, or property with due process of law. Taking you gun and holding on to it without due process of law seems to me to be a clear violation of that amend. It sucks!
There are many places where you don't have to go through that, but it would be prudent to assume that's the way its going to be. And yeah, those two are considered expendable, and I have several backups. I'm not much worried about it. Those are "things" and I won't shoot unless someone's life is on the line. In such a situation, I'll trade ANY of my things to save a life.

But your best weapon is between your ears, and as long as mine is still working; chances are, I'll never shoot a shot in anger for the rest of my life.
I'm pretty much in the same situation. Considering the way I live and the places I go it's not likely I'll ever need to draw my gun or actually shoot. The one exception is if you get involved in a road rage incident. People here in Houston are nuts in the way they drive. I drive the speed limit and that makes some people mad. It's pretty common people do 50mph in a 35mph zone all the time. We just don't have enough cops to control that.

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