Posted on 08/23/2006 12:46:44 PM PDT by kiriath_jearim
Action Profile: Inside The 1911
There are two basic types of autoloading handguns available today: the Government Model and everything else.
By Dan Johnson
The 1911 has an enviable reputation as America's premier fighting handgun. Is it the perfect action design, or is there room for improvement?
Those who rely on autos for self-defense often divide into two passionate and often opposing factions. Either they carry a 1911, or they carry something else. This is in no way intended to slight the many excellent handgun designs out there, but the 1911 is the gun all others are compared to and must compete with in the marketplace.
No question, John Browning's masterpiece is more popular than ever in its 93-year reign and has such a large chunk of the market that companies that have long competed with the design are now producing 1911s of their own.
Much of the allure of the 1911 is due to its war record. No other handgun in American history has such a distinguished record. But nostalgia will only take a firearm so far in the marketplace. The main reason for the 1911's success is the gun itself. So let's take a hard look at the heart of the gun--the action--and see how it stacks up against the competition.
It is the ergonomics of the 1911 that distinguish it from most autoloaders available today. Nothing else feels the same in the hand, and few other handguns still utilize the single-action-only mode of fire coupled with cocked-and-locked carry. Perhaps this is the true reason there is such a clear line drawn between those who carry 1911s and those who carry something else. Operation of a self-defense handgun should be natural and instinctive, and switching between the cocked-and-locked single action and any of the various double-action- or safe-action-type handguns is not practical. So most shooters make a choice of which to carry and stick to it. Once sides are chosen, debate often begins.
While 1911 proponents proudly point to the handgun's 90-plus-year history, detracters say the design is outdated. There is some truth to both viewpoints. The 1911 does have an unmatched reign as the premiere fighting handgun, but it also has its weaknesses. There have definitely been advances in handgun design since 1911. John Browning was unquestionably a genius, but he was not divine. He developed his designs as all inventors do, through trial and error and an ongoing effort at improving on initial weaknesses. The 1911 went through several design changes before it was initially adopted by the military, and there were subsequent changes thereafter as the weapon was tested in combat.
Compared to most modern autoloaders, the 1911 is a complex design with lots of small parts. It's a rugged design, but it does require occasional maintenance and fine-tuning.
Staunch fans hoist the 1911 onto a pedestal and proclaim it is the perfect handgun, never to be equaled much less improved upon. But consider this: In the early 1920s, just before his death, Browning began work on a handgun that utilized some of the best features of the 1911 yet corrected some of its shortcomings. Most notably, he did away with the needlessly complex linked barrel in favor of a linkless design. This handgun, of course, came to be known as the Browning Hi-Power, and the linkless barrel design is used on most autoloading handguns today. Mechanically, this may be a minor point since the link on the 1911 barrel, if properly fitted, seldom causes any problems, but there's no question Browning felt the 1911 could be improved upon.
At the risk of blasphemy, let's consider another part on the 1911 that may be outdated. The extractor is basically a leaf spring, although a rounded and robust one. Leaf springs may have been cutting-edge technology during the Civil War and remained in use well into the 20th century, but today most other handgun designs have long since switched to the proven reliability of coil springs, at least in regard to critical components. It's hard to argue with results, however, and the simple internal-extractor design of the 1911 has performed admirably for many decades. But the question is not does it work, but could it be made to work better.
Let's use the extractor as a point of discussion to try and sort fact from lore and common sense from nostalgia. As stated, the original internal-extractor design does work well as long as proper tension is maintained. The problem is, tension tends to lessen with use and age, requiring that the user have some basic understanding of proper tension and recognize when the extractor needs tuning. More important, it's difficult for manufacturers to ensure proper tension from the factory with this type of extractor. It shouldn't be, I suppose, but improper extractor tension is one of the most frequent problems encountered on new 1911s.
Most custom pistolsmiths have focused on the 1911's external features such as sights and controls.
Some manufacturers have addressed this issue by building 1911s with the more modern external extractor tensioned by means of a coil spring. As is the case with most changes to the basic design of the 1911, reviews have been mixed. Traditionalists want no part of these new hybrids while others who appreciate the 1911's many attributes--yet recognize its faults--are willing to experiment with new ideas.
This battle shaping up between traditionalists and those willing to tinker with Browning's masterpiece is what will shape the 1911 marketplace. At present we are seeing companies going in both directions at once. There are no-frills renditions of original mil-spec models hitting the market as well as high-end models with modern design changes like coil-spring-loaded ejectors and ramped barrels. The more the merrier, I say. One of the most endearing qualities of the 1911 is that it's readily adaptable to the owner's personal needs. Today that has never been more true.
No discussion of the 1911 action would be complete without addressing reliability. It's ironic that the handgun more people bet their lives on also has a long-standing reputation for being unreliable out of the box.
The 1911 is easily adapted to the owner's taste. This King's Custom is decked out with a set of Altamont scrimshaw grips.
As originally conceived, the 1911 was a loose-fitting combat handgun intended to work reliably with full-metal-jacket bullets. It did. Problems first arose when people in both the military and civilian sectors tried to tighten tolerances in order to turn the combat handgun into a target pistol. The 1911 excelled as a bullseye competition gun, but there were some growing pains involved as these tightly fit custom guns were prone to jam. About this same time hollowpoint ammo was coming in vogue for self-defense, and shooters were finding the mil-spec ramp and throating of the factory 1911s were not ideal for feeding these new bullets. To make a long story short, the 1911 has evolved to the point that many of today's models are dual-purpose guns aimed at both the competition and self-defense markets. If Browning's masterpiece has stumbled a few times it's because we demanded more of it than it was ever intended to achieve. But like any good soldier, it has gone above and beyond the call of duty, and today's 1911s are, for the most part, more accurate and reliable than ever.
Of course there is still room for improvement, and I will close with some advice for all 1911 manufacturers. If you're going to build a match gun, build a match gun, and advertise it as such. On the other hand, if you're building a handgun for self-defense that people will bet their lives on, make reliability the first priority. If you have to sacrifice some accuracy in the process, we'll understand.
"There are two basic types of autoloading handguns available today: the Government Model and everything else."
This incredible conceit is why I don't read G&A any more.
Sorry, buddy, but you're wrong. The correct statement is: "There are two basic types of autoloading handguns available today: weapons based on the Browning action, and everything else."
Isn't it kind of nice to have a federal administration that isn't working day and night to take our guns away, so we can just enjoy firearms for their own sake, without the politics?
Not that the politics ever goes away...
Forget the 1911. Go to metalstorm.com for a real weapon.
I had to return my Kimber .45 to the manufacturer after repeated jamming problems. The warranty covered the repair but I had to pay almost $50 for shipping.
He also completely ignores the "bug fix" version of the 1911 - also known as the Browning GP35 or High Power. Which is *still* the best selling autoloader of all time, and has served in more conflicts and with more militaries than any other pistol.
Book 19 chapter 11 verse 45
In the beginning was the 1911, and the 1911 was the pistol, and it was good. And behold the Lord said, thou shalt not muck with my disciple John’s design for it is good and it worketh. For John made the 1911, and lo all of his weapons, from the designs which I, the Lord, gave him upon the mountain.
And shouldst thou muck with it and hang all manner of foul implements upon it, and profane its internal parts, thou shalt surely have malfunctions, and in the midst of battle thou shalt surely come to harm.
And as the ages passed, men in their ignorance and arrogance didst forget the word of the Lord and began to profane the 1911. The tribe of the gamesman did place recoil spring guides and extended slide releases upon the 1911 and their metal smiths didst tighten the tolerances and alter parts to their liking, their clarity of mind being clouded by lust.
The artisans did hang all manner of foul implements upon the 1911 and did so alter it that it became impractical to purchase. For lo the artisans did charge a great tax upon the purchasers of the 1911 so that the lowly field worker could not afford one. And the profaning of the internal parts didst render it unworkable when the dust of the land fell upon it. And lo, they did install adjustable sights, which are an abomination unto the Lord, for they doth break and lose their zero when thou dost need true aim. And those who have done so will be slain in great numbers by their enemies in the great battle.
And it came to pass that the Lord didst see the abomination wrought by man and didst cause, as he had warned, fearful malfunction to come upon the abominations and upon the artisans who thought they could do no wrong.
Seeing the malfunctions and the confusion of men the Lord of the underworld did see an opportunity to further ensnare man and didst bring forth pistols made of plastic, whose form was such that they looked and felt like a brick, yet the eyes of man being clouded, they were consumed by the plastic pistol and did buy vast quantities of them.
And being a deceitful spirit the Devil did make these plastic pistols unamenable to the artisans of earth and they were unable to muck much with the design, and lo these pistols did function.
And the evil one also brought forth pistols in which the trigger didst both cock and fire them and which require a “Dingus” to make them appear safe.
But man being stupid did not understand these new pistols and did proceed to shoot themselves with the plastic pistol, and with the trigger cocking pistols for lo their manual of arms required great intelligence which man had long since forsaken.
Yet man did not repent of his evil ways, but continued to gloat over these new pistols blaming Satan for the negligent discharges which they themselves had committed.
And when man had been totally ensnared with the plastic pistol the Devil didst cause a plague of the terrible Ka-BOOM to descend upon man and the plastic pistols delivered their retribution upon men. And there was a great wailing and gnashing of teeth in the land.
Then seeing that the eyes of man were slowly being opened and that man was truly sorrowful for his sinful misdeeds, the Lord did send his messengers in the form of artisans who did hear and obey the teachings of the prophet and who didst restore the profaned 1911’s to their proper configuration, and lo, to the amazement of men they didst begin to work as the prophet had intended.
For a while the mags supplied with Kimbers stunk. I had a similar problem and fixed it with Chip McCormick Shooting star mags.
LOL!
LMAO!
Got that one in an email. Just couldn't resist.
Thanks for the tip. I will check it out should the fix fail.
Wilson mags are also highly dependable.
hmmmn...I had one (a Springfield Std 90) back when they were allowed here in the UK. I liked it but I don't rate articles such as this one, or anything else in G&A (which I used to read regularly) come to think of it, which I think are just there for a certain audience to agree with rather than inform. Strange how the 1911 is hands down the best there is but almost everybody who needs a duty handgun (yes I know about LAPD & USMC) including the world's most elite forces deliberately use something inferior.
Papa was in The Great War.
Not in his opening statement: "There are two basic types of autoloading handguns available today: the Government Model and everything else."
"Papa was in The Great War."
err...can you clarify
The 1911, fighting muzlims since 1918.
Better?
"Either they carry a 1911, or they carry something else."
Duh.
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