1911 VS Glock

[375supermag]

Hi...

I am a dyed-in-wool 1911 type of guy.
Own a couple,a full-sized blued Springfield and a nickle Colt Combat Commander both in .45ACP. They just feel right in my hand and I have been shooting them for so long that the bullets just seem to automatically go into the 10-ring.

I have some experience shooting rental Glocks and one's owned by others. Ergonomics just aren't there for me. Accurate enough and reliable, just don't feel any thing for them.

When I went shopping for my first polymer handgun a couple of weeks ago, I tried several different polymer guns and the Glock didn't win the competition, even though I could have had a police trade-in at considerably less cost. I purchased a new M&P40, because it was the most ergonomic and the sights aligned better than the Glock.

If I feel the need to replace one of my 1911 carry guns in the future, I will replace it with another 1911 in .45ACP. When I pick up a 1911, my mind brings forth images of a WWI marine clearing a trench in France or a 1930s era private detective dealing with a gangster outside of a speakeasy. A 1911 just touches my soul...as someone said "A more elegant weapon for a more civilized time".

When I pick up a Glock, I think plastic...cheap and expendable. No soul...nothing to stir the imagination or memories.

[Animal]

Where I live, I get the impression that most folks prefer 1911. I do as well. I think the carry laws dictate which gun might be more efficient in certain cases. I've never tried to conceal a Glock, but I have a feeling it would be easier than a 1911. Georgia doesn't mind open carry, so citizens are a bit more flexible in what they choose to carry. Sometimes I think I'd like to have a Glock for my occasional trips to Texas. I just have a hunch that it would be easier to conceal.
Regarding round capacity... I'd feel comfortable with a 5 round 44spl. If 5 rounds cant keep me alive, I'm not sure what 2 more is going to do in most cases. Depending on where I'm going, I might carry extra magazines. But during my normal routine, I'm totally happy with a fullsize M1911 on my hip in condition 1 without extra mags.
BTW, does anyone know what Texas decided to do with their open/conceal carry laws? Seems they wanted to consider going to open carry.

[tigweldit]

I have two 1911's. One Comander and one Gold cup. Both shoot 2" groups at 50 yards from a rest with my handloaded cast bullets with Bulseye powder. I had a Glock 21 for several years and was never able to get to get my groups under 6",no matter what the load,factory or reloads. I did like the feel of the Glock and the larger capacity mags. But I'll stick with the 1911. They fit my hand better. A little easier to conceal. More accurate. And more class!

[bouncer50]

Picking a gun is like a women. Some guys like slim women other with a little meat or plain fat. Tall or short big breast or small breast. Big butt small butt. Pick what you want, if your happy with it that fine with me. My choice of girls are lean and mean. I thought to write this to be funny. Their all will be pros and cons with is better or the best.

[white eagle]

1911 nuff said

[bigarm]

I believe that Glocks are great guns, very reliable, built at a good price point, etc. However, I started with 1911's and still love them. Tried to like Glocks, but just didn't. I think for me the 1911 just fits the hand well, is easy to shoot well and just looks beautiful. I appreciate Glocks, just don't have any or any other "modern" semi-autos, unless you consider the Hi Power modern!

[Petrol & Powder]

Well this will be fun to watch. Carry on.

[DougGuy]

1911. WITH A FLAT MAINSPRING HOUSING! This is critical.

When I throw a Glock out to the side at arm's length, shoulder height, then turn my head and see where the sights are, the front sight is up in the treeline! A defensive carry gun should be sights near dead on when you try the aforementioned test. If it ain't, how you gonna hit where your arm points in the dark? You should be able to grip your gun and it's point of impact be an extension of where your forearm is pointed. The Glock, although it is a FINE piece of kit, has the wrong grip angle made into it.

[Char-Gar]

The original "Army 45" 1911 pistol had a flat mainspring housing. In a few years, the Army found out soldiers tended to shoot low when they pointed the pistol. This fact caused the Colt to develop the arched mainspring housing which was incorporated into the 1911A1 in 1924.

Like the early solders, I have found the flat mainspring housing to cause me to shoot low. The arched housing tilts the muzzle up just enough to get me on target. This is the reason I have arched mainspring housing on all of my 1911 pistols. This must not be true of many people, because the flat housing seems to have legions of fans and the arched housing but a few.

I also find the Glock pistol points well for me. Go figure.....

[BrianL]

1911. WITH A FLAT MAINSPRING HOUSING! This is critical.

When I throw a Glock out to the side at arm's length, shoulder height, then turn my head and see where the sights are.............

Proper technique is important.............are you rotating the gun to the horizontal position? This is critical.........................

[Petrol & Powder]

The grip angle comparison always seems to come up. I do not find the grip angle on a 1911 to be ideal. I've always found guns with more rakish grip angles to point naturally for me. I'm not sure what causes one to prefer the 1911 grip over others. I have large hands and I can shoot a 1911 just fine but I find a Glock to point naturally for me.
I will not say that one is better than the other but I will say that people are different and there is probably not a "universal" grip angle.
One of the many guns I've owned over the years was a Remington model 51 (the original version from the 1920's) and that gun was one of the best pointing guns I've ever had. Surprisingly for a gun that was introduced in 1918 just a few years after the 1911 was adopted, it has grip angle much different than the 1911. That gun was a shining example of ergonomic engineering long before anyone knew what that term was!

Despite the 1911's prevalence & prominence, there have been many widely accepted gun designs that do not emulate the grip angle of the 1911. The Luger P-08, Ruger standard, MKII & MKIII pistols, H&K P7 and of course the Glocks; utilize grip angles that are markedly different from the 1911. I don't think those designs were mistakes; the designer simply chose a different path.

[Petrol & Powder]

In recognition of Love Life creating this thread (and moving the argument away from the Glock v. M&P thread) allow me to stir things up.

John M. Browning was unquestionably one of the greatest firearms designers of all time. His innovations and engineering brilliance continues to influence the world of firearms to this day. Even the Glock pistol that is one half of the subject matter of this thread was influenced by John Browning. The tilting barrel design invented by Browning is used in countless handguns, including the GLOCK!

However, as great as John Browning was, innovation and change continues in the field of firearms. The 1911 is often held up as the pinnacle of combat handguns and I do not agree with that assessment. It may have been the pinnacle at one time.

The 1911 was a great gun when it was introduced and it continues to be a viable tool to this day but it is no longer the best available tool. I'll stop short of saying the Glock is the best tool but its introduction certainly was a watershed moment in gun history. I had a very difficult time warming up to the Glock, in fact it took years before I would even consider one. I didn't drink the Kool-Aid but I did evaluate the Glock. Eventually the simplicity, durability and incredible reliability of the Glock won me over.

I've heard all of the arguments and criticisms concerning the Glock:
It doesn't have a manual safety (nor do my DA revolvers),
The trigger sucks (it's good enough and in fact the guns are quite accurate),
You have to pull the trigger to field strip it (one might consider unloading it first).
The plastic frame is weak (it has proven to be plenty strong and I've yet to see plastic rust!),
The grip angle is wrong (see post #51),
The factory sights are weak (OK, plastic sights were a bad idea),
it's ugly, (you got me there!).


The 1911 is thinner than a Glock (Got me there as well).
The 1911 may be tuned to achieve better accuracy (sometimes and the Glock is accurate enough).
The 1911 is prettier (STOP - I've already conceded that point !).
The 1911 makes a better club when it's empty, which generally occurs sooner with its single stack magazine.
The 1911 has more parts to wear out and break therefore it keeps more gunsmiths off the streets and out of the bars.
The 1911 utilizes a swinging link, not one but two separate lugs on the barrel and a separate fitted barrel bushing to comply with the "Machinist Full Employment Act of 1910".
The amount of time needed to make a 1911 even remotely as reliable as a stock Glock provides hours of "family fun time".
The 1911's manual safety and crisp single action trigger gives the shooter the opportunity to test his or her fine motor skills under moments of extreme stress; a Glock operator is deprived of that wonderful experience.


So outside of aesthetics, the Glock seems to be a great tool. (maybe they could put some pin stripes on it?) They go bang when you want them to and the bullet goes generally where you point it. Now someone will jump in and say their 1911 is more accurate; it probably is - I so don't care.

Then we get to caliber. Whenever people talk about 45ACP the conversation tends to center on the 1911. Fair enough, the "CP" of ACP does stand for Colt Pistol ! However there are other guns that are chambered in 45 ACP (I hear even Glock makes a few!!) and by the way....there are other cartridges! We've beaten that horse to death in countless other threads.

So, 1911 vs. Glock........I have to go with Glock.

[theperfessor]

Not putting down Glocks, they just never felt right to me. But neither do single action revolvers with traditional plow handle grip frames. Just my hand size and shape. The 1911 and the .45 ACP cartridge were literally designed for each other, and if I wanted to shoot a sub caliber high capacity gun I've got a HiPower. Shoot what you like, I doubt that one is much better or worse than the other at this point in their development.

[Char-Gar]

The grip angle comparison always seems to come up. I do not find the grip angle on a 1911 to be ideal. I've always found guns with more rakish grip angles to point naturally for me. I'm not sure what causes one to prefer the 1911 grip over others. I have large hands and I can shoot a 1911 just fine but I find a Glock to point naturally for me.
I will not say that one is better than the other but I will say that people are different and there is probably not a "universal" grip angle.
One of the many guns I've owned over the years was a Remington model 51 (the original version from the 1920's) and that gun was one of the best pointing guns I've ever had. Surprisingly for a gun that was introduced in 1918 just a few years after the 1911 was adopted, it has grip angle much different than the 1911. That gun was a shining example of ergonomic engineering long before anyone knew what that term was!

Despite the 1911's prevalence & prominence, there have been many widely accepted gun designs that do not emulate the grip angle of the 1911. The Luger P-08, Ruger standard, MKII & MKIII pistols, H&K P7 and of course the Glocks; utilize grip angles that are markedly different from the 1911. I don't think those designs were mistakes; the designer simply chose a different path.

You had to go and mention the Luger didn't you! IMHO the most easy to point pistol in the world is the Luger. The only draw back is the light weight barrel. With a full bull barrel it would be a daisy in a close fight.l Here is my Luger, a 1913 DWM with all numbers matching and German Imperial Army markings. This was a WWII bring back, that saw service in two World Wars. It was a gift to me by the solider that brought it back.

[Petrol & Powder]

That's a nice Lugar and a great piece of history.

[garym1a2]

I had a good 1911, I got rid of it in a trade for a decked out G35, now I have the g21sf, g22 and g30s also. The G22 is the most flexable, the G35 is my USPSA gun. My fav is the g21sf
.

[ole 5 hole group]

You are either a 1911 type guy or you're not - no maybe or wantabees - either you are or you're not. I am a 1911 guy.

[Love Life]

Both are better than a sharp stick.

[Finster101]

I was issued a 1911 in 1979 and not been without at least one since then. I have never said that Glock's are bad pistols but they are not the right fit for me.

[Moonie]

I was in the market for a model 30SF when I came across a sweet deal on a compact 1911, couldn't pass it up, thinner than the 30SF as well. Love 1911's, it was my fourth.