I took a ration of sh*t for my post Three Reasons Not to Carry a .45 Caliber 1911. And deservedly so. A .45 caliber 1911 is a wonderful gun for concealed carry. WTF you say? Take it from a guy who married a drop-dead gorgeous babe who turned out to be an alcoholic (now in recovery), everything has a price. So if you’re willing to put up with the 1911’s . . .
weight, capacity and “danger” (e.g., a negligent discharge via that feather-light single-action trigger), you should be carrying a .45 1911 because . . .
1. 1911’s are comfortable
A GLOCK 19 is 1.18″ wide. A Wilson Combat X-TAC is 1.3″ wide. So how can I laud John Moses Browning’s meisterstuck as a more comfortable carry gun than, say, the venerable GLOCK 19?
When it comes to concealed carry comfort, it matters how you carry and where you measure the gun. The GLOCK’s slide is wider than the grip; the 1911’s grip is wider than the slide.
For folks who carry inside-the-waistband, slide width is the critical factor. That’s the portion of the weapon shoved between your belt and pants and your body. For those who carry outside the waistband, there’s little to no appreciable difference between a G17-sized handgun and a full-sized ,45 caliber 1911, except . . .
2. 1911’s are accurate
Make that quality .45-caliber 1911’s are accurate. Phenomenally so. And why wouldn’t they be? They’re heavy, which helps tame recoil. They use a single-action trigger, offering shooters a short, light, crisp break. And for many shooters, 1911’s have a natural point-of-aim.
If shot placement is your highest priority — and why wouldn’t it be? — the .45 caliber 1911 is your best friend.
3. 1911’s shoot an extremely capable and proven caliber (vs. 9mm)
A 115 gr. 9mm round zips along at about 1250 feet per second. A 230 gr. .45 hustles to the target at a relatively sluggish 845 feet per second. Add it all up and, in terms of foot pounds of energy delivered at the muzzle, it’s .45 for the win! Only . . .
Who cares? Comparing standard military rounds, the .45’s ballistic advantages over 9mm are too small to make a big difference. Unless you take other things into account, like deflection and barrier penetration. In that case, the .45 is a better bullet (depending on the load).
When it comes to self-defense generally, you need to focus on the size difference between the rounds. A 9mm bullet is roughly .35 in diameter. A .45 bullet has a diameter of .451. That’s a scant .10 difference.
Ah but you have to figure that difference across the entire length of a wound channel. In a 12″ wound, a .45 caliber bullet is cutting an inch more tissue from the bad guy’s body than a 9mm across the same distance. The .45 significantly increases your chances of making the perp bleed voluminously and the chances of hitting something vital.
As long as you know the drawbacks, the 1911 is a terrific gun for concealed carry. And remember: you heard it here first. Not.
Still amazes me when I can go into a gun store and look for something and can not find any staff! Or they sit in the corner talking to their friends until I leave.
That aside if I’m not taking someone to the range myself with a selection of my firearms I point them at one of the shops with a range and hire guns.
So then Whoopi would not be opposed to background checks to get IDs before voting, right? After all, if people have nothing to hide…
Who gives a rat’s ass what Whoopi Goldberg thinks, she’s 60 years old and never made a good movie in her life. If she really gave a goddamn, she would have never agreed to be in movies with gun violence, but she has because at the end of the day she wants money and attention.
I prefer a 1911 in .9mm. Much more concealable than a fullsize in 45.
Actually I’d be all about a 45 caliber handgun. But 45 inch wide slugs of lead tend to be heavy.
Interesting article considering I never see anyone buying guns at the Range.
The Range is targeted towards inexperienced shooters, not serious shooters. For example, no shooting reloads, which only serious shooters do.
I’m a member and I’m seriously worried that the Range will be going out of business. Many other members have the same fear, despite reassurances from management. It’s usually pretty dead when Reds is busy.
“You take other things into account, such as deflection and barrier penetration. In that case, the .45 is significantly better (depending on the load).”
What are you smoking? The deflection part is more or less true. But regarding barrier penetration?
*Buzzer*
Abjectly 100% Wrong
I like this format of doing an all pros and an all cons article. Not sure how many items you can really cover this way but I like the format.
Why do I oppose background checks?
1. You have to pay for them. Every. Single. One.
2. There are tens of thousands of mistakes in the system.
3. A false positive has already cost me lots of time and money. My criminal record consists of a speeding ticket in 1997 and another in 1999.
4. The list of prohibited persons expands without reason- like the “No Fly” list.
5. It’s another thing that makes it harder to get a gun, without offering anything easier to get a gun.
6. Should I be denied, I can’t directly face my accuser, nor will I be compensated for my time doing so.
7. They are ineffective. A gangbanger’s girlfriend can legally buy a gun and give it to her gangbanger boyfriend and report it “stolen.” (Something that’s also done a lot with rental cars)
8. Does the government do background checks on the massive shipments of guns and ammo we send to other countries? Did Obama do background checks when he shipped guns to Mexico?
9. Should the system go down, I am considered guilty until proven innocent.
“A gangbanger’s girlfriend can legally buy a gun and give it to her gangbanger boyfriend and report it ‘stolen.’”
Well what you described is a straw purchase which is illegal but unenforceable. Unless you have a mind-reading device, which doesn’t exist, you can’t really tell that it is one or not.
You should fight it out with that other guy that gave three reasons it sucks. I’d be careful though, I think he has more cartridges in his gun.
You wanna sell more guns? Ok simple. Sell em like cars, computers, or other high end luxury goods. Ask the customer a few simple questions and make a few small suggestions. Always be courteous and remember this customer doesn’t NEED a gun he can just as easily walk out the door and buy an ADT system for his house, a bow to hunt with, or order an air rifle online to compete and plink with so always be kind and courteous.
1. What kind of gun are you looking for? Rifle, pistol, shotgun?
2. What is going to be this weapons main job?
Home Defense, Competition, Hunting, or just plinking? This will help you get the customer in the right area of your store if your store is separated into zones for different types of shooting. for instance, a customer wanting a home defense gun will want either a full sized pistol, AR / AK, or shotgun there’s no reason to show him a dang bolt action.
3. What kind of action would you like? Semi auto, bolt, pump, revolver, etc. etc.
4. What kind of features would you like this gun to have?
Night sights, back straps, beveled mag well, and so on. We’re just trying to narrow down where we want to park our customer and figure out which guns to put in their hot little hands when it comes time to start fondling hardware before we close the sale.
5. What else are you looking to do with your new gun? We all know nobody ever uses their guns exclusively for the task we purchased them for. We tell the wife “Oh honey this is for zombie clown season!” but really we use it for everything else too.
6. Do you want “X” feature? Not everyone wants the same features. I may like having external safeties but Ralph may think they should be purged from every gun ever made with all the burning fire and brimstone the Old Testament God could muster after a night of heavy drinking and be awakened by a roving band of ill tempered screaming toddlers with incontinent Chihuahuas chasing them through an air horn garden.
7. Does a little extra weight bother you? Again this is one of those questions to narrow things down. it can make all the difference between a happy customer and one that will eventually want you drawn and quartered. This helps you narrow down those full size guns you can get a customer to agree to take home be it a polymer wonder gun or an all steel 1911.
8. What brands have you considered? We know everyone has heard of certain brands *cough* Glock *cough cough* but what a lot of newbs may not know is that there are other brands of polymer framed handguns and Glock doesn’t make a pump action shotgun.
Ok so we’ve gotten them to tell us what area of the store we need to be in and if we’ve done our job right we’ve narrowed it down to anywhere from 5-15 guns that will suit their purpose from various manufacturers. Now we start having them handle the UNLOADED gun. Here’s what we start asking next.
9. How does that feel? Yep feelings are subjective and I know Glock may be the end all be all of pistols but here’s the thing, sometimes they just ain’t comfortable in the hand! Make sure your customer dry fires (live fires if possible) and actually uses the controls on the gun. A little extra time here can earn you a life time customer later. Here is where the customer figures out if they can hold the gun comfortably, they can reach the controls, and whether or not the trigger will rub a raw spot or pinch their trigger finger. Also have them break the gun down and put it back together.
10. Would you like to try shooting it? OK by now we know they can operate it and we know it fits but will it be a match made in ballistic heaven or a sentence to recoil hell when they fire the gun?
11. Is there anything else I can help you find for this? By now they’ve followed you around tried out every gun you put in their hands and shot at least a few of those. Now we get to help set them up for whatever it is they are actually doing with the gun. Holsters, spare mags, optics, optic mounts, ammo, and all that other fun stuff to make sure they are as prepared as possible when they get their new gun home.
Hopefully this will help you get a few sales out the door and a few new gun owners out in the world.
“Ralph may think they should be purged from every gun ever made with all the burning fire and brimstone the Old Testament God could muster after a night of heavy drinking and be awakened by a roving band of ill tempered screaming toddlers with incontinent Chihuahuas chasing them through an air horn garden.”
When it comes to striker-fired pistols, you have understated my antipathy.
The major difference between the Glock 19 and a Commander size 1911 is the weight. The G19 weighs a couple of ounces less fully loaded than even an aluminum framed 1911 does empty. Weight is the most important specification for a carry gun!
“The G19 weighs a couple of ounces less fully loaded than even an aluminum framed 1911 does empty”
Nope…the G19 fully loaded weighs 30.18oz, while my Sig Sauer 1911 RCS Sport comes in at 29.5oz…
Additionally, my Sig has both fronstrap(25lpi) and backstrap(20lpi) checkering, Hogue G10 grips with a beveled mag well and Novak night sights, straight from Sig’s custom shop, while the glock, well, it’s just like every other glock…
Last but not least, there’s that pesky caliber thing again, and while you’re whizzin’ rounds through your target, I’m knockin’ em down with one…
Been working as an armorer and fill-in gun counter guy at a LGS for 9 years. I’ve distilled the process down into three questions I ask any potential gun-buyer:
1.) What primary role will the firearm fill?
2.) How will you be carrying/concealing/employing said firearm?
3.) What is your budget?
If the customer can answer those three questions, I can narrow down the options and go over the features of each of the guns that fits that criteria. It’s then up to the customer to figure out which fits their hand the best, their pocketbook and their intended function.
Now, I do get quite a few customers asking the nebulous, “What’s the best ______?”
To which I distance myself from the question and respond with one of my three questions like “Well for which function?”
I hate absolutes in everything except liberty and math/physics.
Change 2 and 3 and you’ve got the process down. Most often price comes before carry considerations. If a certain gun can’t be carried a certain way, the customer will adapt to the way it can be best carried.
“The gun’s down there!”
About that part you promised me in that movie, Mr. Weinstein!
“I wouldn’t advise groping me again Harvey!”
Reason #4 for carrying a M1911 in .45 cal.: You can handle a man’s caliber because you’re a man.
Reason #5 for carrying a M1911 in .38 Super: You can handle anything because you’re cool.
Reason #6 for carrying a M1911 in 9mm: You can’t handle a man’s caliber because you are a girl.
Reason #7 for carrying a M1911 in .380: You’re an expert on home decor and window treatments.
Okay, I’m kidding. There is no good reason for a .380 M1911.
Calm down, you’re getting upset over nothing! Is it that time of the month? Is it our anniversary? Your birthday?! Have you been talking to your mom again?
“As the Brits would say,…”
Brits don’t get a vote. They tore up their freedom card generations ago.
Tonight we’re going to watch that rom-com I’ve been wanting to see, and you better not stick me with the check at dinner again!
Oh umm, Yes Dear!
Baker is a RINO squish. He’ll sign in.
The “87” under your bolt handle is probably also the last 2 digits of the serial number. Done to match bolt to firearm. Check that for me, will you?
In a Southern California Walmart the person behind the counter stated that he’s only allowed to sell 3 boxes of ammo and it has been like that for a long time. He has no 22LR only 22 shorts. And he has not seen any 22LR or for that matter of much ammo coming at all for shipments. So whoever wrote this article I have no idea where he’s getting his information.
I’m sure the state of taxechusetts will ban a harmless piece of plastic. Because feelz.
I mean.. No! That dress doesn’t make your ass look big… honest!
If I liked full-size 9 pistols, I would surely buy an RP9. I DO like most of “Big Green’s” products. However, for a full-size pistol, I humbly prefer a full-size cartridge (read 45ACP). Love Rugers also!
My tits are up here.
Generally my experiences with LGS’s have been pretty darn good. IME, it’s the larger retailers that tend to put morons behind the counter.
That said I do understand why some people at an LGS have limited patience. Some of them deal with annoying non-buyers all day. I actually watched a guy at an LGS make a huge scene about a PS90 being made of plastic, being full auto and “only good for attacking an aircraft or something”. Then he tried to drag me into the conversation/rant. I knew the guy behind the counter, waited until the obnoxious guy left and then asked about him. I was told he usually came once or twice a times a week, pulled the same sort of thing about some item in the store, generally hung out for about two hours just jamming things up and being a moron and that he had been doing this for on the order of two years without ever buying a single thing.
That’s gotta be really damn annoying.
The best concealment for a firearm: Hold the gun in your hand while wearing a very sexy dress. Unfortunately, this concealment method only works on men.
The SBE is truly a fine firearm. Mine however had many over looked quality issues.
The loading port had some razor sharp edges that I discovered on the initial cleaning.
Looking closely there after I found many parts in need of stoning and polishing. Corrosion on the bolt, on a gun right out of the box, left me wondering if this gun was truly worth the money. I spent half the day correcting what their QC missed. I was so upset at this point that I put the gun away for a week. When I come back to it and finished deburring the last part I found I had one great shotgun. My finger healed from the cut I received on the loading gate . I took it out shooting. Fantastic gun. If your looking at one in a gun shop, press in the loading gate but watch for extremely sharp edges. If you never worked on precision mechanical instruments you may want to consider another gun. If you do buy one you may have to take it to a gunsmith
or return it to Benelli to have them finish it properly. Such a beautiful gun but poor QC.
It is now one of my prized possessions.
I really want to buy a Dan Wesson 1911, but I accidentally purchased a Henry pump .22, Ruger Mark IV Competition, hard body armor, and ammo. Guns shows are dangerous. A quality 1911 is a wonderful gun that is accurate and relatively easy to carry. Hot .45 has more power than 9mm, but will never beat the 9mm in terms of power to weight. It’s a lot easier to buy, carry, and store quantities of ammo. If you’ve ever broken a storage shelf with ammo, you know what I’m talking about. I’ve got less that 1,000 rounds of .45. I have substantially more 9mm.
I always liked the 1911 since it was the first pistol I ever shot. I was issued a 1943 Remington Rand 1969 – 70 in the army.
Due to a bulging disk I’m forced to carry a Glock 30S loaded with Underwood 45 120 gr +P Xtreme Defender. Sometimes a Glock 26 with Underwood 115 +P because my belt is pressing against the disc.
I will be retiring soon and will be getting that repaired. If all works out I will get a another 1911 to carry.
Where were you concealing, “that,”!
“you know that I am not interested in women”
So I browsed the comments on the Times article.
Sigh. No armed citizen did anything wrong; nobody acted irresponsibly or shot randomly. And still the tired old memes and slanders. I never understand how a good guy can’t possibly “hit an elephant in a hallway” to quote one comment, while the same gun automagically transforms a bad guy into the Terminator. (The one from the first movie, not the second who was told not to kill.)
And again .. no blood on good guys’ hands, but they’re still getting flak. They caused the police zero issues at the scene, far as I can tell . But still they must be vilified and blamed for … something ..
because guns. I just don’t get the mindset that comes up with that.
So we get a 9mm carry piece but no .357 carry piece?
Make that 686 in a 3″ or even a 2-1/2″ and we can talk.
Are they more annoyed that fewer people died, or that the proles didn’t shoot each other? I can’t tell.
Of course they spent five hours to identify the guy: they get points for arresting people, so they had to follow every person in every video to see if there was anything they might be able to charge them with.
And don’t try to tell me they don’t get points, it’s how the whole promotion system works. They may have changed the names to protect the guilty, but the system remains the same.
The Gucci bag is most definitely fake. Thats a real working holster though.
Also, BPD isn’t quizzing. They’re …uh….trying to settle a bet. Yeah that’s it.
Here’s a clue BHO, Providence has already given us the wisdom to defend ourselves and sent numerous inspired persons like Sam Colt, Benjamin Henry, John Browning and Eugene Stoner (to name a very few), to help us better defend ourselves wherever we might be. But, God-hating Marxists like you adamantly deny the wisdom we have already been given and think your ideas are greater than Providence. I pray you learn the error of your egoistic thinking. Texas neither needs, nor likely wants, your sympathy. It is false and self-serving, as is everything else you do and say.
It’s not real. It’s advertising.