Re: 1911 Reliability?
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Blackops_2</div><div class="ubbcode-body">This is not meant to start a Glock vs 1911. Or anything there of. But I see many post on different forums about how so and so would much rather carry handgun a, b, or c over a 1911 for reliability. I can understand it's lacking in the capacity department. But my question is if the design has stuck around this long, been through various wars, why is it considered unreliable or a high maintenance system? For the 1911 owners do you find you have to keep the gun thoroughly cleaned to run?
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This is going to piss some people off but this is my experience.
If you go to pistol comps long enough there are 2 things that become apparent. 1. 1911's are the most commonly used pistol and 2. They seem to break or malfunction more than other pistols. I'm sure in each case there was a reason. I'll leave it at that.
I have owned 3-4 different 1911's including a $2300 38S limited custom by a top smith at the time. They would all malfunction more than I consider acceptable. Caveat/ I do realize there are 1911's that run perfectly fine.
There are advantages to 1911's. They have some heft to them which tames recoil. Excellent triggers can be smithed into a 1911. They have a great feel in the hand and have the proper grip angle.
I don't own a 1911 anymore and haven't for many years but I have owned 3 STI 2011's since. Through the years I'd sell them and try out other semi auto pistols. I kept coming back to the 2011 and kept the custom 40S&W. It's the 2cnd most reliable pistol I've owned besides a Glock 33 which never malfunctioned even once.
Some of the other Glocks(various sizes and cartridges) I've owned weren't perfectly reliable either but in general more reliable than the 1911's.
If I were to buy a 1911 again I'd spend the extra money and buy a full size Wilson. Proper maintenance, cleaning and lube can only help reliability with any firearm.
