It's 2025 and the patent date issued to the original 1911 was 14 FEB 1911 so we're now officially 114 years 'into the future' yet there's those of us that still love the 1911 and also carry it and figured it's worth asking the question as to why ya do & what type of 1911 you settled on.
Generally speaking, the options available in the past century settle into either full-size (5"/Government), 'Commander' sized (traditionally 4.25" barrel, a few 4" barrels, but retaining the same frame size), 'Officer' sized which has... what 3.5-3" barrel & a smaller frame, and Conceal Carry Officer (CCO) which mates the Commander (aka 'longer) slide with the Officer (aka 'small') frame.
Calibers have been various- 45 ACP of course, 38 Super, 10mm, and also 9mm. Over the years there's also been some variance with the frames in a standard/'combat' frame (aka 'steel') and "lightweight" (aka aluminum/alloy). There's also long/medium/short triggers and flat/wedge/arched mainsprings. Don't forget the flat butt, round butt, or bobtail options. It's the 'lego' of pistols before a name ever was given to it.
So 114 years and that's just scratching the surface- the question though is, for those that still carry a 1911, what configuration and why?
To start it off-
I've never been able to make the standard/government size work (regardless of caliber) for carry. It's just either too big (size wise) and/or too heavy (speaking to both standard & lightweight frames). Commander sized- I'm staring to have good luck with (even though it's only .75" shorter barrel) but the standard frame is still a factor to work around and adding a magwell further complicates concealment purposes. The officer size is actually rather sweet and addresses the previous problems, an even shorter barrel & frame BUT it's been my experience that one needs to be a bit more discerning on what particular model they select to balance out the reliability aspect.
I think that's why I started playing in the "intermediate" world of carry 1911's- Commanders (with bobtails)/ Officers (with bull barrels & flat recoil springs)/ CCO's, etc-. As a quick summary- after lots of 'back & forth' with EDC options I still go back to bobtail commanders & reliable officer sized 1911's (although I'm trying to formulate an option of the CCO configuration and so far I'm really liking it but haven't decided on the "balance" aspect just yet).
Everything else- well I still haven't figured it out. Arched/flat mainspring- I seem to shoot 'em both equally. Short/Med/Long trigger- I tend to lean towards long triggers but I'm just now playing with the shorter options.
Calibers... I tend to stick to the classics and gravitate to 45's in my 1911's. I like 10mm plenty in that style and have been warming up to 38 Super but... the most popular caliber these days seems to be 9mm and I'm frankly just not there yet. I've got nothing against 9mm but just not in my 1911's just yet (reckon I'm still biased over the decades of challenges to get 9mm to feed properly as a shorter cartridge in 1911's as compared to 45/10mm/38super)
-LD
