Re: Best carry .45
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: ToddM</div><div class="ubbcode-body">1911's are finicky, to carry one is to accept this. Take 10 new glocks and put them next to 10 new 1911s from anyone, through a 1500 round no cleaning HP test and on average the glocks will win every time. That's not to say a 1911 can't be 100% for CCW, it just takes more work in many cases. The advantage is they conceal great because they are thin, they shoot very well, and you can't argue with a 230gr slug. I'll take weight over speed any day for stopping power.</div></div>
I don't know why this has been repeated so many times on the internet that it's just assumed. Yes, Glocks have big, sloppy chambers, and thus are usually pretty reliable. But the modern day 1911 with a decent recoil spring, a properly cut feed ramp, a decent magazine, a lowered and flared ejection port, and a properly tensioned extractor is no less reliable than anything else on the market. You may say that's a long list of features, and sure, it is. But they are basically standard on any decent 1911, even the Taurus.
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">A tight slide does little or nothing for accuracy, most guns these days should have looser slide fit, not tighter, but customers are stupid. Slide too tight is the first thing that locks a 1911 up when it gets dirty, accuracy comes from the bushing and barrel fit. </div></div>
I would be willing to bet that it's a tight lockup that'd stop a 1911 before anything else. And a shitty slide to frame fit is the sign of a sloppily manufactured pistol. I totally disagree with you--the modern consumer is not asking too much to have a decent slide to frame fit on his mass-produced 1911. A $1000 1911 CAN have decent fit and finish. There's no reason to accept anything less. I do agree that it has very little to do with accuracy, however.
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A 3-3.5lb single action trigger with no take up and no creep is too light. A crisp no creep ~5 lbs is much more realistic. Again customers are stupid and they are the same guys that want a 8oz trigger on their hunting rifle.</div></div>
Neither of my 1911s has a 5 lb trigger. Although I don't have a scale, I would put them in the 3.5-4 lb range. I would not call 2.5-3 pounds too light, either. As long as your trigger is safe, 3 pounds is perfectly fine.
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Having owned wilson, nighthawk, ed brown, etc. I will say that I think they are all great guns, and each does something better than the others, with different options, and at a different price point. You can easily buy a low end springfield etc. and send it to a good smith and have a reliability package put on it, a trigger job etc. and for probably half the money you will come out with a reliable solid gun for CCW. </div></div>
There's no reason in the year 2009 to be sending a factory new gun for a "reliability package." All of that money will be wasted.
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Take my new nighthawk talon II bobtail, great gun, their permakote finish is about as durable as krylon, but it's a working gun so I don't care. </div></div>
So send it to get hard chromed and be done with it.
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Range results, fired 750 rounds of FMJ and 250 rounds of HP ammo, without cleaning, no failures. I had a couple weak hand shots where brass wizzed by my head...operator error. This is my standard carry gun test, if it won't pass it 100% I won't carry it. </div></div>
I don't really think that's necessary, but I'm not going to fault you for wanting your gun to work. I'd rather see you shoot a match with it on the clock and train YOURSELF to make sure you can shove mags in it at speed and blaze away on the trigger without it stopping, but if popping paper at the range convinces you that you have a reliable gun, so be it.
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">The real question with guns like the NH, wilson, EB etc. is at that price point $3000 or so, should the owner have to polish up parts and do such adjustments. I personally don't think so. Now if you have problems all those companies have great customer service and you can send things back. However, it goes back to price. For $3000 things like the chamber and feed ramps should be mirror polished, trigger pull should be perfect, the mags should run 100% with the gun, coatings should be durable etc. There's no way that for that kind of $ the customer should be able to do a better polish job with a dremel than the factory did and end up with a noticeable smoother gun in 30 minutes. If it's a $600 springfield GI, sure that's expected but at $3000 it shouldn't happen. The more I see of these high end guns the more I'm convinced you are better off buying a cheap "donor" gun, replacing some parts and having a smith work on it.</div></div>
I've never owned a $3000 1911, nor had anyone else work on one of my guns. I have handled all kinds and I just cannot see why it'd be worth the money. I shot a Wilson about 4 years ago and it was no nicer than my Kimbers when it came to shooting.
I agree with you that for 3 grand, a gun better be perfect and exactly the way I ordered it.
I really think all this talk about equipment is unnecessary. Put 10,000+ rounds through your 1911 in a year or two and you can say you're comfortable with it. I've put over 2,000 downrange in various matches with my 1911 just this summer (and I haven't had the time to practice at all).
I think people are stupid and wrong for not trusting their 1911s. I've shot enough matches to know that everything acts up eventually, no matter how reliable it is, and that operator-caused malfunctions are much more common than equipment-caused ones. My suggestion? Get your ass off the internet, get your gear and hit the range. Everything acts up eventually, so you might as well learn how to fix it when all that's on the line is your match score and not your life.