I used to carry a .45 caliber commander-sized Wilson Combat X-TAC (above). These days, I carry a 9mm commander-sized Wilson Combat EDC X9. Only not everyday. A lot of time I pocket carry a Ruger LCP II instead. Here’s why . . .
1. 1911’s are too heavy
When it comes to shooting, it’s good thing John Moses Browning’s .45 caliber meisterstuck weighs a proverbial ton (roughly 38.5 ounces for a full-size 1911, 36 ounces for Commander-sized 1911). The weight tames recoil. Add a slim-line design and a iceberg-crisp single-action trigger, and you’ve got an easily concealable, incredibly accurate handgun firing a big boy bullet. What’s not to love?
The weight. I’m not saying you can’t schlep JMB’s ballistic boat anchor comfortably. Buy a gun belt capable of hoisting an Airstream motorhome, cinch it tighter than a flea’s anus, stash your 1911 in a secure holster, and off you go. As I said, I’ve done it. I also dated a woman with life-sized angels’ wings tattooed on her back. Just like carrying a 1911 around, that got a bit old.
OK, maybe I did. But don’t forget that The People of the Gun tend to carry a lot of ancillary gear: knife, phone, keys, wallet, sunglasses, spare mag and flashlight. Add a full-sized 1911 to your load out and you’re looking at carrying five pounds of clobber. You’re supposed to let the bodies hit the floor, not your pants. And no matter how comfy you make your EDC 1911 et al., it isn’t going to be that comfortable.
2. 1911’s are low capacity
There’s no need for caliber wars here friends. I understand why someone would want to shoot a bad guy with the ammunition equivalent of a slow-moving telephone pole, rather a fast moving pool cue. But no matter how much “stopping power” you bring to bear on the bad guy, no one ever ended a gunfight wishing they hadn’t carried so many bullets.
Again, I get it! Remember what I said above about incredible accuracy? Shot placement!
Even so, it’s really hard to hit a moving target, especially when you’re moving (never a completely terrible idea in a gunfight). So no matter how good your 1911, no matter how great a marksman you are or how much you resemble Dirty Harry in a life-or-death confrontation, you want to maximize your odds of stopping the threat or — and this is important — threats.
It’s simple math folks. A gun loaded with eight or nine rounds gives you less of a chance of hitting your target than a gun loaded with 15 or 16. And don’t give me that “most gunfights involve three shots at three yards in three seconds.” I’m sure most cars don’t need to overtake a slow moving truck in a matter of a few seconds either, but I prefer having one that can.
3. 1911’s are dangerous!
BACK OFF! I know you’re completely safe with your 1911. You never EVER put your finger on the trigger until your sights are on target. And of course you’ve survived a defensive gun use and/or done force-on-force training with your 1911. So you KNOW your trigger finger will remain off the trigger even the highest of high stress situations.
Which is REALLY important, given that your fingers lose sensation during an adrenalin dump as the blood rushes away from your extremities. Not to mention the prospect of sympathetic squeeze (squeezing one hand automatically when you squeeze the other) or plain old sympathetic fire (shooting at something because someone else is shooting at something).
Besides, your 1911 has a frame-mounted safety! Which you will for sure switch off when your sights are on a person or persons posing an imminent, credible threat of grievous bodily harm or death. Because NOT switching off the safety could be extremely dangerous to your health. And you’re an expert! So don’t pay the slightest bit of attention to this object or, come to think of it, the previous two.
As for the rest of you, a final piece of advice: know that 1911’s are a weighty subject. Become an expert before you carry one. That is all.
There are other hobbies besides guns?? Well what well they think of next. |3
Joking aside… I’m actually kind of a mad scientist sort of nut. Interested in all kinds of weird and wild new technology. Everything from drones, to fusion power, over to industrial automation, and even into advanced horticulture.
4. Because even Ken Hackathorn says they suck.
Say what you wish, double stackers available in many brands as springfields and when hit with 230 grain bullets you don’t walk away.my gun of choice
Agree on my Springfield xdm 45 has capacity, but my Springfield RO 45 does fine also. This is based off a 5″. Tank.
im so sick of crap drama like this in the gun community
No shit. It’s reasons like this I quit reading TFB. Childish drama and bashing everything that you don’t like and everything you like is god mode. This website is starting to resemble a middle school chess club, which was just recently introduced to Chrystal meth and guns on the same day.
Somehow…. I think that the confluence of pubescent nerd-spergs, ballistic masturbation, & human hi-test, would be infinitely more messy & nerve-wracking than any bore size debate here.
That’s not to say that either wouldn’t be entertaining, but the thought makes glad I’m not a moderator or RSO.
Agreed 100%
He’s driving a 70s to 80s era GM car. Hmmmmm, what could it be?
1 Word. Shoulder Holster.
Carry a 1911 every day. But use a Beretta 92FS / 96 as your cc weapon, ’cause, c’mon.
Thanks is an excellent solution to problem #1.
And problem #2 doesn’t apply to us individuals who happen to live in states like Ca. If I switch to a VunderNine I get a whopping whole two rounds of additional capacity per mag.
Your WC 1911 looks like the firing pin is worn down or short ?
In California, you can carry a 1911 with 9 rounds, or anything else with no more than 11. There is no advantage, then, to going down to a 9 mm since the capacity is not significantly larger. Whatever the .45 loses in capacity, it makes up for in sheer intimidation. There is nothing quite like the gaping maw of a .45.
That said, I don’t carry a 1911, although I own a 28 oz. Kimber Pro Carry. I find it much easier to conceal my (16 oz.) Kahr.
“There is nothing quite like the gaping maw of a .45“
Sure there is, .50 caliber!
LOL
The NAA mini is NOT a derringer. It’s a single action revolver.
Traditional archery, wristwatches, mountain biking, and Latin percussion.
I get a kick out of people who tell you you need more bullets but then carry an LCP most of the time.
Lol truth.
Great ammo and I am nearly out of 9mm and 5.56. Need at least 750 rounds of each to rebuild stocks back to a 1000 of each. Great match ammo. Light, fast and clears a plate rack in record time because of the faster recoil recovery.
The Whole Foods in Providence has armed security in the parking lot plaza, not inside the store.
H’mm.
Interesting, I wonder if that ‘buckle’ could be integrated into a watch band…
Prolly makes way more sense to just carry pepper spray. Lot less dangerous than a loaded gun, right? Or, just stay out of bad neighborhoods.
Seriously? Mr. Farago and I are just gonna have to agree to disagree on this one. But- he did get me to click on this story, read it, AND comment on it. Hrmph.
“Load More” is abomination. Makes it tedious to find older posts. Bring back pages.
do you want a light weight gun? how about a gun chambered for .45 auto? and with the highest capacity magazine for a .45 auto? then the FNX is for you! (this ad is not paid nor sponsored by the greatest gun manufacturer in the world, Fabrique Nationale)
I tote my FNX 45 on occasion and a Sig 1911 in either .45 ACP or 10 mm. I also like the lil Springer with the 13 rd mag and 3″ bbl. All good bangers
I want to see him confront Wayne LaPierre Laval on Laval’s expressing support for the NFA.
It wouldn’t even matter if this poll was actually reflective of the views of millennials in America, which thankfully it’s not that, either. It’s unscientific, pseudo-intellectual garbage that we are free to dismiss out-of-hand.
Civil rights are not subject to the democratic process nor to (non)arguments grounded in social utility in the first place. Much to the chagrin of gun-grabbers, for sure.
I suppose it’s better than a sharp stick. Unless it’s a big, sharp stick.
Whatever you guys changed on the site, it now loads much faster on my phone. Keep up the good work.
I own 2 Henry guns; a Big Boy and a Mare’s Leg. Both are 44 Magnum. They’re also my most revered in my collection.
Hang gliding over hazardous waste dumps. At night.
Biathlon. Oh wait….never mind.
God Bless Mr. Pratt. He ripped that shallow sophist a new a**hole. My heretofore low opinion of the GOA has been positively changed by this.
I always thought “air guitar” originated with kids who couldn’t afford both drugs and guitar.
Simply “Gawd’offle”
Writing SF/Fantasy fiction. Table top RPGs. Reading. Beta – reading for an author friend. Miniature Wargames, specifically Flames of War.
Spending time with my wife, who’s also my best friend.
The Niners suck (0-8), and the NFL does too. I don’t bother watching anymore, even though football was and is a “made for TV” sport.
This entire new design is absolutely. F*CKING. Terrible. Bright white backgrounds give me extreme eye and I do NOT need to have ONE SINGLE COMMENT take up the entire god damn page. This is a comment second, not a bod damn e-book.
I’m sorry, but this is just absolutely sh*t webdesign. It looks like it was made by some intern that’s taken one basic class on design and god a C- in it. Not even a joke, I saw sites like this when I took that class. I’m not even joking, this design is so uncomfortable to use that it’s driving me to visit this site less.
This is the perfect Christmas present.
I have been looking at the Savage Arms 10 Stealth Evolution 300 Win Mag. I built a 300 W/M on a Mauser 98 I get a black shoulder after 50 rounds. So how’s the recoil.
Many a gunfight over the past one hundred and six years, has ended with someone on the wrong end of a 1911 barrel. Magazine capacity was not an issue. They are proven. They are not for someone who is not willing to put the time, and effort to master the safe use of the 1911. The weight issue is not a problem, either, with a sturdy gun belt and quality holster. The alloy framed 1911s are ten ounces lighter, even better. The people who put down the 1911, are the polymer framed generation, that grew up with Glock, and the clone type variations. These are great guns too, however, it is time to stop putting down the 1911. It is still in great use, especially on SWAT teams, and special forces. You think THESE people think there the three reasons not to Carry a 1911 are valid? Pardon me, but I will take the experienced professionals, that carry and trust the 1911 everyday, over the obviously misinformation put in this article.
Someone should point out to these elite “Think Tankers” that the gun didn’t walk to the crime scene on its own and remind these brilliant politicians, and their personal agitprop machine “The Trib” about straw purchasers and people stealing things, especially guns
The people that buy these guns for criminals never get prosecuted, well unless the gun was used in a tragedy deemed to big to go to waste, or the arrest of a “Straw jerk” is as rare as a good idea coming from Obamao, and/or his cohorts in crime
Think for a moment of the gun equivalent to air guitar: pointing the hand in the shape of a gun and saying bang. This is what 5 year old kids do. Adults shouldn’t be playing air guitar or “air gun”. Do we really care what some adult man children think about guns?
Coursing my salukis.
He has succeeded in abolishing his mind.
…. Hmmm ….
Paraphrasing- “What do tell the people around the world….?”
First, this is NOT the business of people around the world. The United States is Constitutional Republic, which answers to the People of The United States; not to people who left their home countries to come to our land (to then violate our laws like Richard Quest.) We have laws which prohibit the sale, possession, and use of crystal meth. That did stop people like you Mr. Quest once, but likely missed you on multiple other occasions.
1) The new UI will probably do, however
2) Please, read this: http://idlewords.com/talks/website_obesity.htm
3) Doing something about font is good idea. Grey font on white/beige probably looks cool, but it is uncomfortable.
My Comp-Tac gun belt could hold up a house, me thinks this author needs better swag.
If you are still having problems keeping you pants up try Hickman belt suspenders too.
GOA, THE ONLY NO COMPROMISE GUN LOBBY IN WASHINGTON.
Anybody here remember “Gun Kid,” the troll that infested gun related forums for a while? He carried his stuff in an “assault” wheel barrow… Gun Kid would love this bracelet. 🙂
I thought it was Larry Pratt at GOA. Never heard of Eric.
When is too many, too many? When the desire for each individual is abated. Period. Any attempt at limitation should be considered the most violent suppression of man’s natural rights, and should be answered with in kind violence.
There is no such number as too many. Like most commodities. Most gun owners buy what they feel will satisfy their individual needs.
Why doesn’t everyone carry whatever you want to and go forth and be happy. That way everyone is happy and you can end all of the bullshit.
California is getting exactly what it deserves, but that victim does not, that jury of libtard will blame the system and let this piece of shit go. If we only had open borders this would not have happened is what those clowns think. They are making a nice third world country of California, good luck with that
Illegal alien illegally finds gun and whether deliberately or by idiocy killed Kate. Fry him…
It always seems easy from the audience or living room couch. There are always points missed or not made as forcefully as they could have been. Still, I’d say he did an outstanding job. One must remember, as well, that he’s up there on his own, whereas the host has producers in his earphone feeding him points and counterpoints. So it’s not quite mano-a-mano, in the sense of just two adversaries.
Just assessing the performance as it was, without getting into what the overall strategy could or should have been, I really only have two minor criticisms to make.
First, don’t lean so heavily on the Second Amendment. That’s an appeal to higher authority tactic and it’s vulnerable to tangent arguments about new amendments and court rulings. It makes it easy to dismiss you as an anachronistic absolutist and possible anarchist. Just state the 2A, its purpose in historical context and current affairs, the necessary path for amending the Constitution, and move on. One’s natural, human, and civil right to self-defense trumps the 2A, anyway.
Second, don’t allow assertions that “you won’t agree to any restrictions whatsoever on firearms” to go unchallenged. Letting them pin that label on you, again, marks you as a crazy absolutist and, thus, readily dismissed.
It also ignores the fact that there are already innumerable restrictions, aka infringements, upon the 2A. Come back with examples of infringements, so you don’t succumb to a false dichotomy: it isn’t a matter of zero restrictions vs. sensible restrictions. Numerous restrictions already exist and despite growing gun ownership and falling homicide rates, they still want more.
You’re pathetic if you’re complaining that a 1911 is to heavy. Like you really must be a weak ass bitch if it’s “to heavy.” Pathetic ass bitches
1.The Number Of F.F.L.s Dealers (01)(02) N.F.A Dealers Dropped a lot too To 56,577 of 12/16/2016 A.D too. By 29,167 F.F.L.s Storefronts Gun Dealers Derailleurs to is left today market too
My initial pistol shooting was marked with low strikes. I’d push the gun, drop the barrel, jerk the trigger, flinch, etc. No doubt many beginners, with no training, do the same thing.
It’s entirely possible that Zarate aimed and jerked the trigger. The bullet then hit MS Steilne. Could it have ricocheted? Yes, but it would still be going in her direction.
http://www.bullseyepistol.com/training.htm
Hmmm…I seem to recall carrying toy guns as a lad on Halloween. But THAT was 55 or 60 years ago. Now NO. HELL NO. My sons are grown and grandkids live 800miles away. Between trigger happy po-leece and paronoid idiots I wouldn’t let my rugrat do it. Especially in my southern Cook County hood…
To each their own, I guess…
Some folks look askance at the thick elastic exercise band* in my backpack – not everything folks carry is self explanatory.
*No, it’s not a tourniquet.
Opinions are said to be like a—-les, everyone has one. I have had them all, shot them all, carried them all and at the end of the day, the 1911 is heads above. Only 7 or 8 plus one in the tube a problem,,,, no you and your shot placement is a problem, need to reload more often,,, ten practice practice practice. Weight can be your friend if used to your advantage in shooting. Carried in military, carried in law enforcement, in competition, and the 1911 design reigns, whether 45, 40, 9 mm or 38 super. Yes even in 380. All I can say is if ya can’t handle it, possibly it is you, not the gun..
The NRA is calling for the motor vehicle departments in all states to re-examine the legality of rental trucks.
How about banning Muslims from our country period, Muslims have killed more of our people (Non Muslims) in our own country than mass shooters. You can bet the BLM People support this Terrorism, our sucking politicians brought these Heathens into our country now get rid of them, public execution with pig blood on him, no Muslim funeral and have an autopsy done
Slide fire works exactly as advertised
I can do three round bursts or entire mag dumps
The slide fire company has been going around and suing everyone who has competing products until they’re out of business
Bair Arms and J T both made a trigger slider device
The Bair Arms product was available for multiple different guns, including the CZ scorpion
I have one and it is incredible How fast the the rate of fire is of the CZ Scorpion in full auto!
Well, I am glad to see that slide fire is back in business and there is no more talk of banning bumpfire devices
I just hope that Bair arms can get a patent attorney and get back in business because the slide fire is only available for the AK, AR and the 10/22
Remind me to NEVER do business with Maxon. So you want to attach criminal penalties to private sales? How about we get rid of the BS FOID instead?!? Coincidentally I was at a local Illinois gunshop asking why they don’t do Indiana transfers. They mentioned the particular Hoosier dealer being fast and loose. “He’s on the list of crime guns”…but of course so is my lgs. Anywho I saw an affordable AR complete lower. ATI…yeah I know TTAG did a scathing review. Anyone in the real world use an ATI lower?!?
I want the time I lost reading this BS back. Who do I talk to? “The Truth About Guns”…
Camel snot.
This tired debate is SO over.
1911 is the most un-reliable popular defensive carry pistol, and has been for over 40 years.
It should begin, and end, with that.
The facts about safety in real world (not hypothetical laboratory) human situations, weight, and length, are just frosting on the un-reliability cake.
Yes, I carried 1911s professionally. Love SHOOTING them. But not staking my life on them.
The really legitimate gripes are size and weight.
I am built small, so it would be very difficult for me to conceal a 1911 under summerweight clothing, which is year-round wear down south. If I were a large man this would not be a problem.
Weight is a consideration. I carried a .45 on a web belt while on guard duty. After 4 hours it feels like the ship’s anchor.
The so-called safety problems indicate poor training.
The reliability complaints are bogus.
That is all.
So a while back J. Law wrote about completely tricking out his GLOCK41 and then POCKET HOLSTERING that long slide pistol in a Safariland police duty 636x HUGE holster, and on top of that he had added an AIMPOINT Micro T-1 red dot sight on top of that 1911-sized pistol… and he called it his “PERFECT CARRY GUN” totally concealed in his POCKET.
For Christ Sake. That was just retarded.
Now you come along and claim this shit as your gospel and you advise us to adopt to your thinking.
How old are you people at TTAG? Fourteen?
If a police officer can tote a 1911 just fine along with this other body-worn gear on a 12-hour shift, then please don’t bore me with stories about how heavy your 1911 is. Maybe you should tone up, or man up.
Or be Clint Smith and carry TWO 1911s.
Or anything other than what you write for the unassuming masses.
You people are just ridiculous.
I trust only two,
Jesus Christ And my .45 1911
Neither one will ever lie to me.
Retired LE, firearms instructor.
Don’t make the same mistake I did, buy a damn revolver that takes too long to reload. Practically anything with a magazine is better than a cylinder during a confrontation. Think about it.
In the article he makes a statement about forgetting to switch off the safety. Like this snafu would only happen with the 1911. Then he drones on about capacity. Yes more is better, but let’s not forget that some conceal carry pistols have only 7 or 8 rounds. Then he cries about weight. So hit the gym. I have no issue with the weight of my 1911. Of course when I was in Iraq I carried an M203, and I have also carried an M249, and an M240B. The point is, carry something because even a 22lr is better than a fist. But why disparage people from using a proven platform?