![]() Some don’t like it but few will argue that a manual safety could be better designed than the 1911’s thumb safety. ![]() That’s the “why the 1911?” piece of the puzzle. That also happens to be the gun that I have the most training on and the one that gives me the greatest potential for the accurate, first-round hit. But in my current capacity I can carry anything I want, so I decided on the gun that gives me the best from-the-holster results with the least conscious effort. I’ve certainly done that I’ve passed some very demanding qualification courses with Glocks, and carried them, Berettas, and 1911s all into harm’s way. In other words, you have to get as good as you can with what you’re issued or authorized to carry. Now, if you’re a military member, cop, etc, you have to “dance with the one that brung ya” (as my dad would say). The G19 is still just a tad large for me. My EDC 1911 (left) and a Glock 19 Gen5 with small backstrap. This impacts kinesthetic accuracy as well as my ability to hold onto the gun during recoil. 45” is often perceived as a hand-cannon, it’s actually quite slender. The single-stack 1911 is a near ideal size for me. It’s not impossible, mind you, but it takes a lot of very focused effort and reduces my ability to focus on other things (this could probably be largely remedied with a grip reduction). I hesitate to call my hands small, but I have a hard time keeping a Glock 19 in the same place during sustained strings of fire. The second reason I chose the 1911 pattern is that I wanted something that accommodated my hands well. Pardon the single-point sling that was back in the mid 2000s before we knew any better. That pressure-cooker atmosphere had a way of ingraining things into me. It was done under excellent instructors, in an extremely competitive environment where everything was graded, and failure might mean you don’t deploy with your platoon. That training was tremendous in volume, and also qualitatively exceptional. I have received an amount of training that would be difficult to duplicate in half a dozen lifetimes if I had to pay for it out of my own pocket. The first and vastly overriding reason is simply that I have a tremendous amount of experience on the 1911 platform – more than all other pistols and action types combined. There were two reasons I wanted to go with a 1911-patterned pistol. That’s OK – that list is not provided in order of precedence, but rather the order in which I’m going to explain things. My criteria were:Īt this point I know someone is standing on their chair because I didn’t list reliability first (or just list it three times). There were several factors that went into the selection of this particular firearm. Additionally, this may lead to follow-up or two. This is the kind of post that I could write about for several thousand words, but I’ll try to keep myself in check. Maybe some of you will still get something out of it. While I try to make most of my articles broadly applicable or demonstrative of a larger theme, this one is just about me and why I chose a particular tool. Why not just carry a Glock 19 instead of a hipster 9mm 1911? I legitimately believe the 1911 is the best option for me. I don’t carry one because it’s cool or I like the way it looks. At the risk of imply that I’m “special” in some way, I do think the 1911 fits me and my blend of training and experience in a way that it probably fits few people. In many ways the 1911 is a problematic platform for self-defense use. Right off the bat: I’m not trying to convince anyone to my way of thinking or sell anyone on the 1911. NOTE: if you have questions, ask me! I am more than happy to attempt to answer most of your questions here. Let’s take a look at them, and the gun itself. ![]() I recently received the following question from a reader: “ How about a blog post on what led you to your current EDC handgun? A 9mm 1911 isn’t the most common choice, and I know you had been working with revolvers for a while there.” He’s absolutely right a 9mm 1911 is a pretty unconventional choice for several reasons.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |