Why is a $3K 1911 better than a $389 Glock 19?

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  • thatguy

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    The most humorous answer I have seen to the Glock vs. 1911 debate to date......because pistol whipping someone with a plastic gun just doesn't get your point across.
     

    Vermiform

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    I guess pistol whipping is a legitimate concern when you only have 8 rounds. ;)

    gqubqwv4e3fnepzb224w.jpg
     

    clem131

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    both of them are tried and true. both are reliable more accurate than we will ever be. i picture it as a custom made 1911/2011 as a bmw and a glock as a Camry. both will get you to work just fine everyday and never let you down you just need to decided if the heated seats and coffee warmer/ match trigger and hand fitted parts are needed in your lifestyle enough to justify (to your wife) the price. you cannot go wrong with both.

    bottom line is buy what ever one fits you better and shoots the best in your hands
     

    gandog56

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    Aug 20, 2013
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    I own 2 1911s as well as a Glock 19


    I prefer the Glock

    Not me. Glock just doesn't make a single model gun that seems to fit in my short, small fingered hand. Also the grip angle just bothers the heck out of me. I naturally point them very high. Now a 1911 fits my hand perfect. And when I naturally point it without aiming, lock my arm and look through the sights, I'm pretty much right on.
     

    madwabbit

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    I personally prefer the fact that the glock is a light carry, especially this time of year. add in that we could trade 8 rounds with each other and I'd still have 8 more coming at ya. Oh, and Glock is one of two brands of gun that I've never had a failure with. I can't say that for Colt or Kimber- just personal experience.

    I genuinely don't know why Glockv1911 such a hostile debate, I guess because of the price difference? The guys I know with high dollar sports cars don't get pissed when I tell them my 15,000.00 mustang is faster than their 85,000.00 porsche? They say "its a lifestyle thing", and I think that absolutely applies here as well. If you're the kind of guy that likes to show off your gun, the 1911 is probably for you. As stated above "i like to OC and get compliments." They are all gorgeous guns imo, but I don't carry to attract attention. I hit the gym for that.

    I'd personally rather have a collectible revolver in the safe for the money, but I'll admit that I like the way the 1911 feels. I'd just have to be out of options before I'd ever carry it.

    - - - Updated - - -

    Not me. Glock just doesn't make a single model gun that seems to fit in my short, small fingered hand. Also the grip angle just bothers the heck out of me. I naturally point them very high. Now a 1911 fits my hand perfect. And when I naturally point it without aiming, lock my arm and look through the sights, I'm pretty much right on.

    perfectly reasonable, and no hostile sway on the debate. why aren't all 1911 guys like you?
     
    Last edited:

    dsonyay

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    I carry a Colt Commader. Ive owned it since the early 90s and have fire just over 13,000 rounds through it. It has not broken yet. I have had about 10 failures to feed (all were on the final round. This turned out to be weak mag springs and since replacement I've had no issues over the past 2000 rounds. On not counting a few reloads that were purposely loaded too light to function the slide while testing with light loads.

    I take it apart and clean it every 500 rounds or so, sometimes I don't and wait another 500. When I do skip, I usually wipe it down with a rag and dab a couple drops of oil where I can reach. Properly made , the design doesnt need to be babied. Like Glocks, they can run very dirty. And they can be completely disassembled with no tools. (The mil spec types.)

    I carry it almost every day.

    In 2002 I had about 500 dollars of custom work done to it to enhance a few things. My Commander is not a 3000 dollar 1911.. But rather a 450.00 Colt with 500.00 of custom work. I treat it like a 3000.00 Colt.. it will be handed down to my son or daughter one day. :). And this is the only handgun I've owned that I've never desired to trade or sell. It's become very personal to me and has a lot of stories to go with it over the years. Heck, maybe they can bury me with it. I'd love to show it to Saint Browning. ;)

    Hey I also own a new Glock 19 (my first Glock and first 9mm) and carry it when I don't carry the Colt. The Glock has been 100% reliable but I've not shot 1000 rounds through it yet. It's a Gen4, I've heard all sorts of stories about the problems with this gen as well, but mine is OK after 500 rounds of various ammo up to some +p+. So yes, it seems Glocks aren't perfect either as the decades roll by. Go on YouTube... There's plenty of problematic 500 dollar Glocks to go along with problematic 1911s nowadays.

    What I do love about the Colt over the Glock is the handling and ease of pointing, whether it be a 400 dollar RIA or 3000 dollar custom piece. It is not a heavy firearm to carry in a proper holster and gun belt. The cycling of 45acp on a 5" 1911 is really sweet. Also, they are plenty accurate for self defense and can made into tack drivers for target competition.

    What draws people to the hand built "blue printed" 3000 dollar and up hand crafted 1911 is the attention to detail and finish. When you're at this level you will encounter a properly fit 1911 that functions as it should.. And usually on a finish that blows away a polymer shooter.

    I have no experience with any of the custom guns except for one:

    http://www.volkmannprecision.com/main/process.html

    I got to shoot about 100 roumds through one of his $3500 hand made models and was blown away by the smoothness , accuracy, fit and finish, reliability , and overall looks.

    Look through the web site and especially the gallery.. This is why many people will pay 3 grand on up. Not only are these one person hand crafted firearms beautiful, but they are made to shoot 100s of 1000s of rounds, get dirty, and keep going. Zero cast parts. Zero MIM parts.

    To me, every Glock looks the same because only Glock makes Glocks.

    With all the ways 1911s have been modified from the original design, it's no wonder so many have issues. There are very few that are sold in the original configuation AND with the properly designed magazine (another very long story)

    The OP wants to know about the 3000.00 1911 and why it's better. Most replies have had nothing to do with the question and refer to the mass market varieties.. Like my Commander.

    So to bring it back on topic... Refer to the link I referenced. can't put into words the way his website does
    .. And his explanation as to what you get for 3 grand.


    My Colt:




     

    scooterj

    Stupid is 'posed to hurt
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    Baer, Wilson, Night Hawk may cost $3000+ but are nothing more than polished up production pistols. I'll carry my XD9 before any of those I mentioned.
    On the other hand, my hand built Freedom Gunworks STI 2011 in 40S&W has well over 20,000 rounds through it in just over 3 years. I've run over 5,000 before cleaning and still no failure. Oh, guess what else, capacity is 21 rounds.
    Glock's grip angle sucks for me. I shoot the XD much better. If you are gonna drop a bunch of cash on a 1911, don't do a "semi-custom", have a tried and true smith build one for you.
     

    dsonyay

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    I agree.. Baer, Wilson etc are mostly made by hand.. But many different people are involved as the handgun goes from stage to stage.

    The ones done by a single set of hands are gonna be made much slower and lots more attention made to getting it perfect.

    Volkman is a perfect example. Plus he makes a nice "milspec" version for a lot less than 3 grand.

    On the complete opposite side of the 3000.00 1911, my uncle was an armoror for the Army in Anniston Al and made my dad a pure milspec parts gun on an Essex frame for about 300 bucks. It runs perfect with 230gr ball ammo and so far every type of premium HP ammo we've fed it. It doesnt even have a throated barrel. It is using 3 very old contract mags with fully tapered feed lips and dimpled followers. I doubt it feeds wadcutters, but we just shoot commercial stuff through it and some of my reloads.

    Even with the tiny sights, it is plenty accurate for self defense.

    It originally had about 5 different shades of parkerizing from all the mixed parts but I had it reblued by a guy in Slidell and now he doesnt want to shoot it.. Too scared to mess it up. Hahaha!

    I'll likely end up with it one day and wouldnt think twice to carry it 24/7.

    Baer, Wilson, Night Hawk may cost $3000+ but are nothing more than polished up production pistols. I'll carry my XD9 before any of those I mentioned.
    On the other hand, my hand built Freedom Gunworks STI 2011 in 40S&W has well over 20,000 rounds through it in just over 3 years. I've run over 5,000 before cleaning and still no failure. Oh, guess what else, capacity is 21 rounds.
    Glock's grip angle sucks for me. I shoot the XD much better. If you are gonna drop a bunch of cash on a 1911, don't do a "semi-custom", have a tried and true smith build one for you.
     

    dixiejarhead

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    I prefer Glocks due to several reasons: Out of the box reliability with a multitude of ammo. It is more corrosion resistant. Less moving parts and parts in general. It is field friendly for take down, no tools needed.

    I have built custom 1911s and worked on as an armorer MEUSOC 1911s in the Marine Corps and even owned a few dozen of them over the years. They are great fun guns and a decent design. Two things I don't like about them are carrying locked and cocked and the magazine capacity.

    In short a $3000 1911 will not do anything any better than a $389 glock will in a real world combat situation. Only accurate hits count, and give me the most shot capacity to achieve that result with the most reliable platform I can find. Glock.
     

    joshuades

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    Sep 25, 2009
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    Baer, Wilson, Night Hawk may cost $3000+ but are nothing more than polished up production pistols. I'll carry my XD9 before any of those I mentioned.
    On the other hand, my hand built Freedom Gunworks STI 2011 in 40S&W has well over 20,000 rounds through it in just over 3 years. I've run over 5,000 before cleaning and still no failure. Oh, guess what else, capacity is 21 rounds.
    Glock's grip angle sucks for me. I shoot the XD much better. If you are gonna drop a bunch of cash on a 1911, don't do a "semi-custom", have a tried and true smith build one for you.

    I disagree. Those companies you mentioned make fitted pistols. That's something you can't do with a production gun. The 1911 is more or less a craftsman's pistol and it's hard to get a consistent operation out of them with mass produced, slapped together parts.
    That said, I still couldn't bring myself to drop several thou on a pistol when there are other, not 1911, options that are reliable out of the box for less money (especially a Baer, I want the pistol to at least pretend to function out of the box).
    There are many entry 1911 companies like citadel/RIA whose customer service make up for any lack in product quality (have seen more than one need to go back and get worked on, but they've come back proper). Then there are more middle range companies (Springfield, Sig, S&W, Remington, Colt, etc) that offer decent production or semi-custom pistols that work well.
    My opinion is also from the stance of a tinkerer, so I'm inclined to do my own customizations and fitting on parts I want to change out.


    Sent from iPhone. Inconsequential word may have been left to die on editing floor.
     

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