“This is the finest close quarters combat handgun ever designed.” Said my friend and fellow firearms instructor Ken Hackathorn holding up a 1911 .45 Pistol in front of a class he was teaching at RangeMaster back in the late 1990s. I could not have agreed more. Ken may have changed his mind since then, I do not know, but I haven’t changed mine.
According to 1911 authority William Goddard, the first lot of 1911s (other than test pistols and tool room samples) were assembled at the Colt plant on 28 December 1911 (barely making it into the year the pistol was christened). They were shipped the first week of January. The rest, as they say is history. The collecting of 1911s is a joy and a field all to itself. But after 100 years, the 1911 still soldiers on, and not for nothing.
My focus is on use of the 1911, not collecting, but I am a student of history and the history of the 1911 in use for what it was intended is one of sublime success. My intent here is to touch on that use as well as some personal shooting impressions. I intend to spend a good bit of time on the “real” 1911. That is to say, U.S. Military issue and Commercial Government Models made before 1924 when the transition was begun to the 1911a1. To be sure the 1911a1 has very few fleas on it, but it is a slightly different pistol in my estimation.
My first personal experience with a 1911 was not exactly an auspicious occasion. My father was an excellent shot, worked for the Army for most of his adult life and was a WW-II veteran. Like many former military men he had an abiding respect for the .45 Automatic. And so, other than an old double barreled shotgun that had belonged to his father, the only firearm that he owned was an ex military 1911 for which I believe he paid the munificent sum of $15.
At the age of five, I had my first encounter with this pistol. It did not bode well. My dad had to help me hold the gun up but I was the one to press….ah jerk…on the trigger. Ear plugs? Real men did not use earplugs in the early 1950s! So their little boys didn’t either. Eye protection you ask? Nobody thought about it.
When I touched that pistol off I thought the world had come to an end! There was noise, and recoil and I probably would have dropped the blamed thing if my Dad’s hands hadn’t been wrapped around mine. To add injury to insult the hot empty case dropped right down the neck of my shirt and stayed there!
My next one 10 years later, didn’t do anything to improve my assessment. My first centerfire handgun was not a 1911, it was a 1911a1. I saved up money from soft drink bottle deposits and at age 15 bought a surplus Remington Rand .45. I did not buy it because I wanted a .45 Automatic. I bought it because I wanted a center fire handgun and it was cheap. By accident of birth and circumstances I was able to purchase this gun legally, though the owner of the pawn shop insisted that my Mother vouch for me. Just two years later I could not even purchase ammo as the 1968 Gun Control Act started taking effect.