Tam casts "summon fanboy"

There really isn’t much difference between the big name 1911 makers these days except apparently that Kimber has a really good marketing department. I’ve shot Kimbers, Colts, Paras, STIs, Springfields, etc. Out of that bunch, the only two that have worked 100% were the Para and the Colt. Does that mean I think that Para and Colt are objectively better than Springfield Armory and STI? No, it just means my samples ran a little better.

8 Comments

  1. Out of curiosity, by “worked 100%” do you mean worked with whatever combination of ammo and mags you threw at it? Or whether there existed a combination of mags and ammo that the gun would eat without any problems?

    1. On a tangentially-related note:

      How come a 1911 (of whatever manufacture) has to work with all ammo and mags to be 100%, but everyone knows not to trust, say, crappy USA-brand mags in a 100% reliable Glock?

      1. I don’t get that either, Tam. With 1911s I either use the factory mags, or Chip McCormick/Wilson Combat. I’ve yet to run into a gun that wouldn’t run with those.

        Also, as far as ammo goes I don’t really care too much if my gun won’t feed Hollowpoint X…if all I feed it is Hollowpoint Y.

        1. Oh, yeah, I wasn’t meaning to argue there, i was actually looking for a clarification of what you meant.

          I’m perfectly fine with “My gun works 100% reliably with brands X, Y, and Z, but not U or V”. My question was whether when you said some pistols did not work reliably whether you meant that they fed fewer brands of ammo or that they fed no brands of ammo well.

          1. Hell, I’ve found US factory ammo that’ll choke a 10/22 rifle with Ruger factory mags.

            As well as lot of Israeli 158gr SJHP that only needed three cylinders to shut down a Smith Model 13 that was otherwise as reliable as a rock. (You look at me and say, “Huh? ‘Zat good or bad?” Simple — you ever see a rock jam?) Not knowing squat about casting lead, I never realized that the frosty look of the lead might indicate a metalurgical problem as well as tell me why the ammo was selling so cheap. From the beginning, everything around me was being peppered with tiny lead fragments as the bullets fell apart on firing. Before long, I had a nice gravel pit inhibiting rotation.

  2. I bought a GI 1911A1 from Springfield Armory, added a Les Bauer beavertail safety, bobbed the stock hammer, beveled the mag well, polished the feed ramp, made and installed my own sights, and most importantly adjusted the extractor to the proper tension.

    Feed it from Wilson Combat mags, and so far has not failed to feed, fire and eject anything I’ve feed it. factory ammo or reloads.

    The gun was used to start with, total cost about $350 for gun, parts and 2 mags (one Wilson Combat mag came with it, lucky me!)

    So far I would call it 100% reliable, and I bet my life on this as it’s currently my carry gun.

  3. Oh-no ! Not the Clone wars again…
    1911’s are great guns ,if they weren’t then they would not still be so popular.And just like all guns ever made..
    1911’s are not ‘ Super Gun ‘ either .

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