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pardog
Posts: 424 Member
What makes a 1911 a 1911?
pardog
Posts: 424 Member
I was reading some critics of Kimber 1911s and one point that was brought up was that with the exception of the "Warrior" most Kimbers are not true 1911s, as in true to JMB's original design. That got me to thinking. What makes a 1911 a 1911?
Replies
If I can take all of the mechanical internals out of said pistol and switch them with a Colt that was made in 1912, it qualifies. Models sporting external extractors and firing pin blocking devices do not.
"Nothing is safe from stupid." - Zee
Kool-Aid!!!!!!
:jester:
A gun manufacturer a gun manufacturer.
Those were 1911A1s
1911s were made before the 1927 time frame I believe, but the date may be wrong.
The true 1911 will have a flat mainspring housing. There will be no scallops behind the trigger and the sights will be too small for the post five-year-old human eye to focus on. The hammer will have a wide tail nicely checkered.
In all, the 1911 is by far the classier piece.
Dan
No, because its firing pin will fit in the old gun and it will work just fine, and vice versa. Springfield did the titanium firing pin and heavy rebound spring to get around California's drop test. The Colt Series 80 parts and the Kimber Series II guns with their copy of the late '30's Colt Swartz safety will accomplish the same thing, but you've lost GI compatibility with them.
Edit: See my post below. It seems I was actually wrong about something. I'll try not to let it happen again. :tooth:
"Nothing is safe from stupid." - Zee
1924 was the start date for 1911-A1's, although hardly any were made with military markings until the late 1930's. All the commercial market guns from that period, however, were made to the 1911-A1 pattern.
As far as "classiness" of A1 pattern guns versus the WWI-era stuff, exact vintage counts for a lot. ALL of the pre WWII commercial Colt stuff is drop-dead sexy. The two-piece stamped trigger we know today didn't appear until WWII - the old ones were milled out of a block of steel. :drool2: The WWII guns didn't start getting cheap until sometime in '44. While their sandblast and Parkerizing will never compare to the pre-war bluing, Colt still used checkered mainspring housings, safeties, slide stops, and beavertail hammers up to that point. Probably, it was the pre-D-Day urgency that forced the change, much like the change from Thompsons to Grease Guns, milled to stamped trigger guards on Garands, etc. . .
"Nothing is safe from stupid." - Zee
Well, it would seem that the war monkey is correct. I just tried a steel firing pin from one of my GI Colts in the slide of my recent production Springfield GI, and it won't poke through the breechface - too big. Damn good thing to know. :beer:
"Nothing is safe from stupid." - Zee
Some of the most highly-skilled guys I know not only play with flintlocks, they build 'em from scratch!
Jerry
Maybe. But have you really LOOKED at a Brown Bess bayonet? Sub-optimal can still leave a nasty mark.
"Nothing is safe from stupid." - Zee
What makes a 1911 a 1911? Cause it costs $19.11 to make back in the day:silly::tooth::p:guns::jester::jester::jester:
Words of wisdom from Big Chief: Flush twice, it's a long way to the Mess Hall
I'd rather have my sister work in a whorehouse than own another Taurus!
+100
This is a proud moment for me... I knew something about the 1911 platform BigSlug didn't know...
This I did not know.
But to the purists out there, I say more power to you, and thanks for keepin' em honest. Just don't get too wrapped around the axle about it.
I'm demoralized.
Wambli, every time this question comes up, please re-post your response just as you wrote it. You said all that needs to be said. Let's go shooting and leave the obsessing to collectors.
Yep, especially those who know there really was a .45 LONG COLT and a "Clip" and Magazine are interchangeable:jester:
Well excuse me, I need to go do some reloading..............or is that "Hand Load/Craft" some ammo:buff2::buff2::buff2::buff2::buff2::buff2::buff2:
Words of wisdom from Big Chief: Flush twice, it's a long way to the Mess Hall
I'd rather have my sister work in a whorehouse than own another Taurus!
:group::group::group::group::group::group::group::group:
Words of wisdom from Big Chief: Flush twice, it's a long way to the Mess Hall
I'd rather have my sister work in a whorehouse than own another Taurus!
Yeah, there is no sense in beating yourself up about that defective firearm, just send it to me and I will take care of it in a manner befitting its lesser status.:roll2:
Luis
"Slow is smooth, smooth is fast, and speed is the economy of motion" - Scott Jedlinski