“A modern 1911 is likely to go 20,000 rounds without a problem. Truly modern designs such as the Glock have been said to go 100,000 rds to 200,000 rounds “
A 1911 can go far beyond 20,000 rounds. Being steel, a 1911 will outshoot a Glock anytime. “Modern” is a stupid word to conclude something is better somehow.
A 1911 can go far beyond 20,000 rounds. Being steel, a 1911 will outshoot a Glock anytime. “Modern” is a stupid word to conclude something is better somehow.
Different designs. The real single action trigger on the 1911 gives it an edge in ease of shooting accurately. A target grade or accurized 1911 will be a little bit more accurate, capable of say a 1 inch group at 25 yards instead of a 2.5 inch group at 25 yards which is common for a stock Glock. But the vast majority of shooters cannot shoot anywhere near that well. 2.5 inch groups at 25 yards is good combat accuracy.
Out of the box 1911A1 pistols tend to shoot about the same groups as a Glock, maybe a little better at 2 inches at 25 yards. It is very little practical difference.
There are several accounts of Glocks continuing to be reliable shooters far past 100,000 rounds. You just do not see anywhere near that service life from 1911A1 pistols.
Here is some discussion from the 1911forum.com:
“As regards barrel life expectancy, according to Bart Bobbitt, the US Navy ran a test the late 1960s, using an accurized softball competition M1911A1 pistol shooting Remington 185-grain .45 ACP jacketed wadcutter match ammo. At the outset the gun printed 20-shot 2.5” groups at 50 yards out of a machine rest. About every 5000 rounds, it was put back into the machine rest and retested. In each of these tests through 25,000 rounds, it still shot the same size groups. At 30,000 rounds, the groups had opened up to about 3.5”; at 35,000 rounds, the groups were about 4.5”.”
But, as mentioned, very few shooters actually shoot thousands of rounds a year.
Some of the advantages of the updated Browning design that is the Glock, is using the ejection port as the locking system, (pioneered with the Hi Power), instead of separate locking lugs , elimination of the locking link system, and the elimination of the grip safety. The grip safety had a reputation for wearing and malfunctioning, causing unintentional discharges. As far as I am concerned, the removal of the magazine disconnect in the Glock design is an improvement over the Hi Power. The ease of maintenance of the Glock is an improvement.