1911 vs. Glock? Again?

You know, I’m not really what you would call a “Glock guy”. I own one, which I shoot on a regular basis for Pins and Steel and such. If anything, I’m more of a Beretta guy. But I digress, the point is that I just waded through Xavier’s “guide to buying your first 1911” and at the end of it all I could think was “sweet jesus, all that to buy a handgun, why not just get a Glock or a Beretta.”

I mean honestly, here’s how hard it is to buy a Glock/Beretta/M&P/XD whatever:

  1. Go to gun store
  2. Try all the guns listed above to see which fits your hand
  3. Pick whatever caliber you want, 9mm, .40, .45, .357 Sig, 10mm
  4. Go to a range that rents guns and rent a version of the gun you picked
  5. If you like it, go back to your local merchant of death and hand him/her anywhere from $400-$600 smackers.

Really not that challenging.

Now, I kid 1911 guys, because they are really hard for the guard when it comes to their defensive platform of choice, but at the same time, if you want a 1911 I’m not going to stop you. Because that’s where my firearms preferences end – with me. I choose the guns I like because I like them, or the fit my hand, or I’ve got a lot of experience with the platform, whatever, but my choices are mine and really shouldn’t have any bearing on your choices. I’m not going to say “don’t buy a 1911 because what you really need is more training” just like I’m not going to say “don’t buy a Glock because what you really need is a better trigger”. What I will say is “buy whichever gun fits you that you’ll carry and shoot on a regular basis”.

Because all this silly bullshit over Glocks and 1911s or HKs or whatever is just that – silly bullshit. If I come back from Blackwater and think that the Para LTC (the gun I’ll be shooting) is the coolest thing since sliced bread, it will be because the gun fits me and I was able to run it well, not because 1911s are the sexiest platform ever. Similarly, just because I love my Glock 24 doesn’t mean that you should go dump your STI for a Glock.

But don’t worry, I’m sure that intertrons fanboys will continue to argue over which is the superior pistol platform for centuries to come. If I live to be 352 years old, I’ll probably log into the brain-nets or whatever and see some joker arguing with some tool over which is better, the HK Pulsetron X-12 or the Springfield Space-Armory N-332 Heatbeam.

9 Comments

  1. Aesthetics play a part for most of us. I wouldn’t buy a Glock for the same reason I wouldn’t buy a Honda Element, some machinery is just too butt ugly to look at on a regular basis.

  2. And then us old fogeys fire up the coal-powered PCs and remind you whippersnappers that long before the 1911 was a gleam in John Moses Browning (PBUH)’s eye, the Smith & Wesson .38 Special was dispatching goblins with regularity…

  3. Great post, and my thoughts exactly. I like 1911s… a lot! But I’m in no way a fanboy. If somebody offers to let me run a mag through their glock, I’ll say “no thanks”, that doesn’t make me a hater. I just have never enjoyed shooting a Glock for various ergonomic reasons, and the uglyness is just iceing on the cake. 1911s shoot good for me, and feel right in my hand, and the ones I have run like champs (Though I’ve shot several that jam like crazy).

    That’s it! I’m not against plastic (I want a Kahr DESPERATLY, and when the trigger has been shined up, and the mag disconnect is chopped off I really dig the S&W M&P) and I LOVE my Colt Trooper Revolver. But if I want a shooting Iron in my hand, I want a 1911, for no other reason than they fit me well, and because of that I enjoy shooting them, and because of THAT I’ve ran more rounds through 1911 pattern guns than any two other gun types around.

    That means when the shit hits the fan, the 1911 is the best choice.

    Of course when talking to a new shooter I NEVER omit “Make sure you try out a Glock” always comes from me, because so many do LOVE theirs, it would be foolish to call it a “Dumb Fad”

  4. Weer’d Beard, I got a Kahr PM9 in the spring and love it. Great pocket gun, and a lot more punch than a .380 or .38 Special. Tight, great finish, and light. Of course, it’s a lively gun to shoot due to its size, but manageable.

    My bedside gun (and winter/car trip carry gun) is a Glock 30 (.45 ACP). It may be ugly, but when the fit hits the shan, a big, ugly gun with a gaping hole in the front isn’t a bad thing to have. I’ll take every advantage I can in a gun fight, even if it’s the fleeting “Oh crap” thought running through the BG’s head. No safety to forget and leave on, no hammer to cock, just a trigger squeeze and a loud bang.

    The Kahr also scored points in the pocket gun search because it’s action is similar to my Glock. Striker fired, no external safety to worry about. Draw, aim, squeeze, bang.

    But I must confess I’ve ogled a few shiny bright 1911’s with their wood grip panels.

  5. personally, I do not like the grip or the grip angle on a Glock. That said, when someone asks me about picking our their first handgun, I always recommend that they shoot a Glock first.

    One simple reason behind that, they work. You can abuse them, you can beat the hell out of them, you can never clean them, they will still work.

  6. I’ve got nothing against Glocks, except the ugly issue. Lets be honest here… I can’t afford to bash ‘ugly, because I are one

    I like my 1911 type pistol, and I shoot it fairly well.

    I would probably like a Glock, should someone give me one.

    There are very few firearms I can’t find some redeeming value for…. even a .38 Davis derringer I own is very nice for shooting blanks out of (g).

  7. I carry a Kahr PM9 regularly because I can forget it’s there. Been carrying in a proper outside-the-waistband holster though. does anyone have a particularly good IWB and/or pocket holster recommendation?

  8. …1911 was a gleam in John Moses Browning (PBUH)’s eye, the Smith & Wesson .38 Special was dispatching goblins with regularity…

    The .38 Spc is from ~1899… The .45 ACP was developed in 1904. 5 years is not that big of a difference…

    Shoot what you can afford to feed and what makes you happy… but most importantly, go shooting!

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