1911's

[Ozone]

Believe it or not..I'm still very new to firearms.(3 guns bought so far this year)
I love to sit back and read and soak in as much information as possible. With that said...

From what I gather here..1911's are the "sacred" most sought after Pistol among handgun enthusiasts. Well I've been looking for a 1911 I like, and I have a question about size.

I'm currently looking at buying the Sig 1911 Platinum Elite. Well Sig offers the Platinum Elite "Carry"..which is a tad smaller in length...should this still be considered a 1911 cause it's a tad smaller? What constitues a gun being called a 1911? I'm torn on this Sig now..because of the over-all size between them both.

[QuakertownRich]

There is the standard 5" barrel 1911 which goes by description of "Government" model. This is what most everyone wishes to have and covets. The model which you speak of is the "Commander" model, some like them, I am more of a purist and only care for government models, like mine.

[Bib]

And the "generic" term for a 4" barreled gun would be: Commander sized. They usually have the same grip size and mag capacity. The "Officer's" size is 3 1/2" (I think) and has a shorter, more concealable grip frame with a shorter magazine.

[Bib]

Rich's Springfield is indeed a 1911 but has many differences from the old G.I 1911 design. My Smith & Wesson uses a different type of extractor, so technically, it isn't a true 1911 (although they call it that and nearly all of it's other parts would fit a 1911 pistol.)

[DCChris]

For a first 1911 style, I'd stay with the full size or "Government" model. Very pleasant, and accurate gun to shoot.

[QuakertownRich]

Originally Posted by Bib

Rich's Springfield is indeed a 1911 but has many differences from the old G.I 1911 design. My Smith & Wesson uses a different type of extractor, so technically, it isn't a true 1911 (although they call it that and nearly all of it's other parts would fit a 1911 pistol.)

My "purist" statement should not of been used. I should have said I prefer to acknowledge the gov't models as 1911's more so than the others.
Also, my "generic" naming of the commander is the designation for smaller sized 1911's.

[synergy]

Originally Posted by Bib

Rich's Springfield is indeed a 1911 but has many differences from the old G.I 1911 design. My Smith & Wesson uses a different type of extractor, so technically, it isn't a true 1911 (although they call it that and nearly all of it's other parts would fit a 1911 pistol.)

Yeah, everyone has a different game.

Mimber has their Series II FP safety BS.
Springfield has their ILS and .38 Super firing pins.
S&W and Sig have external extractors and FP safeties.
Colt has their Series 80 FP safeties.

Are they all 1911's? In a way, yes. They all take the same magazine and same holsters, they all have the same SA trigger (more or less), bushing fit 5" barrels, etc. Some have slightly different parts, but they're more or less the same.

The true purist will tell you NONE of them are 1911's, and only SOME of them are 1911a1's. But who really cares?

IMO, get a SA or a Colt....unless you wanna spend some more $$.

[Taz]

I have not been shooting long either but a 1911 was my first and they are great guns 45 ammo a little costly but worth it

[CoyoteJack]

1911's are for me the easiest to naturally aim. The grip angle is key to this. Pick a target close your eyes and aim and then open them to see how close you are. For me a 1911 is easiest to do this with of several different makes of pistols.

Also I find single action's to be much more accurate in my hands. I've owned several 1911's over the years and none of them were high end yet I shot every one of them better than any DA pistol I've owned or tried.

[Brown-Bear]

What is a 1911, Answer, any gun that is by its mere nature the baddest mofo on the block, has the slickest action, looks sleaker than all the others, conceals suprisingly well for a large framed piece, shoots the manly .45 ACP, has a stoeic and storied past of service to this nation, and basically is just pretty fucking cool.

Hope that helps.

Davey likey the 1911's.