Posted on 02/13/2026 9:24:28 PM PST by T.B. Yoits
It reads like an ordinary patent. A citizen of the United States, living in Weber County, Utah, has invented “certain new and useful improvements in firearms.” No fanfare. No grand claims. Just a statement of fact. Yet those lines would lead to a sidearm that rode in the holsters of American troops from the muddy trenches of World War I to the jungles of Vietnam, and into the hands of special operations units long after it was officially replaced.
On February 14, 1911, U.S. Patent No. 984,519 was issued to a quiet Ogden man: John Moses Browning. The document itself is dry and formal. But the words in its opening lines carry weight. That preamble marks the birth of the pistol that would become the Colt M1911.
The 1911 was carried by Marines on Pacific islands, paratroopers in Normandy, tunnel rats in Southeast Asia, and contractors on dusty roads half a century later. Steel, .45 caliber, and built to work when everything else had gone wrong.
Its entire history can be traced back to that one page, stamped and filed on a cold February day in 1911.
(Excerpt) Read more at sofmag.com ...
Frankly, the 1911 45 ACP isn’t the nicest gun to shoot. To shoot it well, you have to manhandle it. It’s a brute, despite its good looks. It’s not for plinking, it’s all business.
As well my wrist knows. I shot it once, a couple of rounds and that was it. My personal side arm is a S&W .40 MP Shield.
The tub was porcelin.
The incident scared the hell out of everyone in the house.
Bfl
The .45 ACP is a smooth slam, not a sharp crack, and the trigger is phenomenal. The 1911 fits the hand perfectly, although you might want to install thinner grips.
I own a 1911 with combat sights. I can be fired accurately and excels as a weapon that puts heads down. Don’t be timid with it. Don’t let it push you around. It needs a firm base for auto loading to happen without jamming. Don’t use cheap ammo. Enjoy.
Yuppers
Good Call.
Stove Pipes seem to be caused by
A Limp Wrist,so Bulk Up !
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