Practical firearms discussion: what to avoid

For much of it’s existence the 1911 was used with few modifications or with other than the original ammo it was designed to operate reliably with. Loose tolerances also help reliability and the .45acp was deadly and reliable at normal pistol combat ranges. It’s mythical effectiveness when combined to keep it selling. Then, somewhere in the later seventies with the increase in competitive sports requiring greater accuracy, improvements in ammo design, introduction of light weight polymer guns, increasing mag capacities, more people owning guns with lower tolerances for recoil, and women with smaller hands along with a few other changes in the market, manufacturers started trying to turn the platform into a ‘be all’ gun, trying to fit a square peg into a round hole and not doing a great job of it as other guns came on the market designed from the ground up to better fill the roles demanded by both the public, police and the military.
In the modern CCW world, given demand for better concealment (particularly for those of small stature), demand for higher capacity mags, demand for lighter weight guns, and improvements in cartridge/bullet design, and improvements in gun design and ergonomics other option have come along. However, I think there is still a myth about the .45 acp and, despite, the effectiveness of the FMJ round that have people acquiring a myth that know little about firearms, don’t train, don’t perform maintenance, and fall prey to wanting to carry the latest and greatest magic bullets for SD that the platform wasn’t designed to shoot.
Aside from aftermarket adjustments, I often suggest, simply carrying the round the gun was designed to shoot and reliability will significant improved without compromising SD effectiveness.
Two of my favorite guns to shoot are the 1851 Navy and the ‘73 in .44-40 or .45 LC. , but, they wouldn’t be my first choice for CC. I would carry a 1911 before either, and, despite my long history and fondness for the 1911, have other choices I prefer for CC. For me, guns are like tools... I own many screwdrivers hammers and knives, each better suited for some roles than others... I own several guns, each better suited for some roles than others. I like my AR with my .458 SOCOM for rabbit hunting...saves time when I am intending to make rabbit stew...LOL.

 

I have one of those...fires triple plus P nuclear tipped,radar guided,heat seeking, biodegradable, lawsuit proof rounds

 

The 1911 was introduced at a time when there were no competing designs, the next handgun milestone was the Browning Highpower.

The Internal extractor was not repeated in any other handgun design, to the best of my knowledge.

It worked well, and once wearing out, needed a bit of fitting, to work properly.

I can say this, I have never crossed paths with a Mil Spec 1911 that could not be repaired, this does not include Llamas and other poorly designed non standard non Mil Spec non compatible copies.