Glock,springfield XD, 1911, whatever. discuss your preferences pros/cons ext here. Lets have some legitimate discussions. This is not a ****ing match, id just like to hear other peoples opinions on various .45 caliber handguns. what model do you prefer, what company, ext. Ill start off with my experience between 2 different models.
Way back in when id worked a summer job in middle school and decided it was time for me to make my first handgun purchase ever. Me and my dad drove up to Buckeye Outdoors, and they pretty much have everything. So im looking over all the various guns, and i narrow it down to 2 guns. I knew i wanted a .45 Semi Auto and i narrowed it down to the Glock21 and a Smith&Wesson Stainless Steel 1911. Now back then at the time, both guns were pretty damn close in price, this was back before prices got ridiculous. The smith was about 100 Dollars more than the glock, but it didnt matter cuz i had 800$ spending money.
My dad swore by the 1911, and Smith And Wesson, but that Glock...it just looked SO COOL. and it held 14 rounds as opposed to 9. Dad tryed to discourage me from buying the Glock, calling it a Foreign Piece of ****. But at the end of the day i walked out with the G21.
We took it out to the range and i couldnt even print a single shot on a 3 foot by 3 foot piece of cardboard with a bullseye in the middle at 25 yards, and i was generally very accurate with all the other guns ive ever shot. So needless to say i was pretty ****ed. We couldnt even tell where the hell the rounds were going because it wouldnt print on paper, so i ended up standing at like 10 feet and fireing 13 shots, none of which hit paper. SO i went o the local gun store and purchased a 200 dollar lazer sight, one of the ones that clips onto the accessory rail. After sighting it in i was able to score hits but the problem was...the laser wouldnt hold zero. he first shot would hit dead center, the second shot would shoot 10 inches high and right, followed by the next shot going way off somewhere else, and upon visual inspection of the position of the dot in relation to the sights it was obvious that with every shot, the dot was knocked way off from where it was the previous shot.
The next step was to buy a fully adjustable target sight and just try different settings until i could print paper at close range and go from there.
Now i cant remember exactly what the result was, but i know how we fixed the issue
the gun was shooting WAY off. I ended up having to move the sight all the way to the right as far as it would go, and crank it up as high as it would go as well. the end result, at 15-25 yards i could score perfect head shots 100% of the time, every time, sadly though, by the time i got it sighted in properly id fired over 1,000 rounds!
Anyways, after that the gun served me well for 7 years, its never jammed or malfunctioned, and my dad has sense purchased one as well as my grandfather, their guns shot exactly to the point of aim out of box. no idea what was wrong with mine. But now im having the same problems, one time ill shoot and be dead on, next time i cant even hit a steel plate at 15 yards, the sight isnt holding zero anymore.
GLOCK 21
PROS-
Best Safety system ever. Theres absolutly nothing to mess with. Pull the gun out aim and pull the trigger. No Decocker, No Safety switch to screw with. Just point and shoot! Looks Awesome
Extremely reliable, no jams/malfunctions in 7 years. High ammo capacity, extremely simple to take apart and clean/maintenance. Requires little cleaning to function, Went 2K rounds thru it without cleaning and it still never missed a lick. Thats with lead reloads not FMJ's.
CONS- Accuracy Issues, I dislike the sights, Trigger takes some getting used to
Now moving on to my experience with the 1911 Platform.
I have fired the 1911 many times from the following companies. Colt, Smith and Wesson, Charles Daly, Taurus, and Springfield armory.
The Colt tended to have alot of stovepipes, and accuracy was pretty poor, i believe it shot 6 inches high and 3 inches to the left, stock militay sights so you couldnt adjust it.
The Smith and Springfield were very good guns, no jams, accurate, and had really nice triggers, Better than the glock imo
The Taurus had some problems with jams,fails to feed ext, accuracy was very good, but i didnt care particularly for the finish...had a pakerized typelook/feel to it more than gun blueing
Now for my favorite. The Charles Daly. It has standard military sights, but it has all the fancy bells and whistles. Beavertail grip, amibi safety, extended slide release switch, hollowed out trigger/hammer ext. The factory mags that came with it were total garbage. jammed the gun up every time. threw them away and replaced them with McCormick mags and have never had a jam since. Very reliable, although around the 1.5-2K mark it did start to fail to go into full battery until i cleaned it. Extremely accurate, i can consistently shoot empty shotshells off a wooden table with it at 15 yards. Extremely nice trigger, i shoot this gun faster and more accurate than any gun ive ever shot, i can empty the 9 round mag in no time at all with 90-100% accuracy every time on 8X8 steel plates at up to 20 yards, farther away i have to slow down and use my sights, and im accurate at up to 50 yards with it slow aimed fire. Ive had alot of practice though.
PROS-A nice classic gun, extreme accuracy for a semi auto, Very fast to shoot,very reliable but does need cleaned after about 1K rounds, Supperrior Sights
Cons-They tend to be quite overpriced IMO as compared to other models like the glocks,springfield XDs, and smith M&Ps
Your limited to 9 rounds. Its possible that extended mags exist but i havent looked into it. Not necessarily a con...i can score just as many kills with 9 shots in a 1911 as i could with 13 in my glock due to the better accuracy
No accessory rail, might be a con to some people, i personally dislike Rails allover my guns, and i dont need all that Tacticool **** anyway.
Conclusion, its my opinion that the 1911 is the best, though its just my personal favorite, just because it works for me doesnt mean it will for you. Some people don like the low ammo capacity. But i really like the ergonomics of it and how it feels in the hand. For a Civilian Concealed carry gun id prefer the Glock, but for a SHTF/TEOTWA id want the 1911 all the way. I just cant stand not being able to tag a target at 50 yards consistently with a sidearm and the Glock doesnt do it for me.
As they say in Deadliest Warrior....EDGE, 1911! lol.
Lets hear from you guys now. remember this is not a My PP is bigger than Your PP Match, Serious educated discussion backed by facts and personal experience only. Opinions welcome but please do so in a respectful manner.
