Ya I would rather someone carry a Jimenez than nothing at all. Don't think I've ever seen someone carry one of those legally though lol
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1911 for self defense?
- Thread starter cwb52987
- Start date
Well, I KNOW Rob, the Agency he works for, AND how good a Shot he is--Very, VERY Good--So, do I get one of those ",Free Spots"???...
...LOL! mikey357
Cant we just all get along and agree that revolvers are crap?
Oh, you did it now, "Sparky"--Them-there is FIGHTIN' WORDS!...LOL!
Most who advise against the 1911 as a duty/defense have no issue with the external thumb safety or carrying in condition one. It comes down to one thing...........the grip safety.
A high thumb grip, a necessity for the 1911, has the unfortunate effect of lessening the amount of pressure the firing hand grip puts on the grip safety. The result is in some unconventional or quickly acquired grips, the grip safety does not fully engage and the weapon fails to fire until re-gripped. An obliviously potential life threating event, and I believe the very reason John Moses Browning did not originally design what came to be know as the 1911 with a grip safety. This fact is evident in the pistol that John Moses Browning designed in 1935 without the U.S. Army looking over his shoulder, the Browning High Power, functions almost exactly like the 1911 with one noticeable exception.......no grip safety.
If you search the web you will find examples/photos where individuals from Recon Marines to Texas Rangers to competitive shooters have disabled their grip safeties on their 1911s. Why? That answer is one we should all explore. Many would say "Choose what YOU like, after all it is YOUR life on the line." It just is not that simple. We are usually responsible for more than our own lives, much more.
Now before all the outhouse attornies chime in, let me say this, I am not recommending that anyone disable their grip safety. I am recommending that for offense/defense one choose a pistol that does not have a grip safety. As always, YMMV.
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I agree frequent training is key, but the training has to be geared to prepare us for a real world gunfight. Sadly, most of the one day courses with "gunfight" in the title do not. One more thing I would say, and this is in no way directed at you bearpugh just something that has been mentioned in the thread, regardless of your chosen caliber magazine capacity does count for something. The fastest, most efficient magazine change is the one you did not have to make. Most modern handguns accomplish in one magazine what the 1911 can only equal with at least one magazine change. And although many point to the fact that most close quarter pistol fights are finished with only a few rounds being fired, a fact more attributed to the inefficient wounding mechanism of pistol rounds that allow combatants to run away from the fight and die some distance away, many are not. Few who are serious about duty/defensive pistol carry would ever be found without at least one spare magazine on their belt.
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^truth
Gunfighter Moment from Ken Hackathorn. I couldn't say it better myself.
The 1911 pistol, good choice for carry or a piece of history? The answer is a bit of both, but a 1911 pistol is not the ideal gun for everyone. Certainly one of the best if not the top selling handguns in America, the great 1911 does have issues. It is a pistol made by a variety of manufacturers and in various levels of quality. I grew up with the 1911, I carry one most of the time, and I have never felt under-armed with one. My 1911 pistols work and I know how to maintain them and keep them in top form. For the ‘non-gun guy’, it is a bad choice; they’re much better off with a Glock or S&W M&P.
I’m often asked, “is a high capacity pistol better?” YES. Are high cap pistol necessary? If you miss a lot, they are great. If you can shoot, the 1911 will solve most problems. Consider why you want or need a pistol, then pick a gun that fills that need. The 1911 pistol has always ‘spoke’ to me. The modern polymer pistols make great tools, but they have no soul. In my classes I always ask who does not own a 1911 pistol. Sadly, these days more and more students raise their hands than those who don’t. I always bow my head in shame. Every true American Patriot should own a 1911 pistol. That is a fact. You don’t have to carry one, but, you should have one.
As of late it has become popular to damn the 1911 pistol. For over a decade I have referred to the 1911 as “The Worlds Finest Close Quarters Sidearm”… and, “King of feedway stoppages.” I have seen 1911 shooters that are so good at clearing malfunctions that they can do them subconsciously. When asked what happened to their pistol, they will reply, “What stoppage?”. They have to do IADs so often, that they don’t even realize that they did one. LAV refers to this as ‘Malfunction Amnesia’. Make no mistake, 1911 shooters are the best Immediate action drill shooters in the world. If you want a really reliable 45acp pistol, check out the H&K 45, FNX45, Smith & Wesson M&P 45, or the new Sig Sauer P227.
In many ways the 1911 is like the Harley Davidson motorcycle: it is uniquely American, but requires extra effort to keep it on the road. Like the Japanese Samurai sword, it represents much of the spirit of the warrior class: honored, collected, past from father to son, and likened to with a near spiritual following. I love the 1911, carry one almost daily, but usually train and teach with the gun that most of my students use: one of those polymer pistols without a ‘soul’.
-Ken Hackathorn
The 1911 pistol, good choice for carry or a piece of history? The answer is a bit of both, but a 1911 pistol is not the ideal gun for everyone. Certainly one of the best if not the top selling handguns in America, the great 1911 does have issues. It is a pistol made by a variety of manufacturers and in various levels of quality. I grew up with the 1911, I carry one most of the time, and I have never felt under-armed with one. My 1911 pistols work and I know how to maintain them and keep them in top form. For the ‘non-gun guy’, it is a bad choice; they’re much better off with a Glock or S&W M&P.
I’m often asked, “is a high capacity pistol better?” YES. Are high cap pistol necessary? If you miss a lot, they are great. If you can shoot, the 1911 will solve most problems. Consider why you want or need a pistol, then pick a gun that fills that need. The 1911 pistol has always ‘spoke’ to me. The modern polymer pistols make great tools, but they have no soul. In my classes I always ask who does not own a 1911 pistol. Sadly, these days more and more students raise their hands than those who don’t. I always bow my head in shame. Every true American Patriot should own a 1911 pistol. That is a fact. You don’t have to carry one, but, you should have one.
As of late it has become popular to damn the 1911 pistol. For over a decade I have referred to the 1911 as “The Worlds Finest Close Quarters Sidearm”… and, “King of feedway stoppages.” I have seen 1911 shooters that are so good at clearing malfunctions that they can do them subconsciously. When asked what happened to their pistol, they will reply, “What stoppage?”. They have to do IADs so often, that they don’t even realize that they did one. LAV refers to this as ‘Malfunction Amnesia’. Make no mistake, 1911 shooters are the best Immediate action drill shooters in the world. If you want a really reliable 45acp pistol, check out the H&K 45, FNX45, Smith & Wesson M&P 45, or the new Sig Sauer P227.
In many ways the 1911 is like the Harley Davidson motorcycle: it is uniquely American, but requires extra effort to keep it on the road. Like the Japanese Samurai sword, it represents much of the spirit of the warrior class: honored, collected, past from father to son, and likened to with a near spiritual following. I love the 1911, carry one almost daily, but usually train and teach with the gun that most of my students use: one of those polymer pistols without a ‘soul’.
-Ken Hackathorn
