I carried 1911's of one sort or another through the 80's and 90's; all in .45acp. Multiple Colts (govt and officers models), a Remington (military surplus), and a Detonics combat master.
In 1999, I re-thought my carry gun setup, as that's when I started carrying an LE badge and carrying openly in uniform. The only 1911's I still owned were (and are) a blued colt govt and a stainless detonics combat master. The govt model is my old ipsc "tactical" class gun; only visible modifications are Bo-Mar sights, a slightly extended safety, and a McCormick titanium/carbon-fiber trigger. Non-visible modifications are more important; worked over by John Dixon (actually used to be his gun), anyone familiar with 70's & 80's ipsc knows who he is. The thing will literally feed empty brass, yet still lock up tight enough to put all bullets touching at 25 yards. Literally. I qualify "master" level with it still today. It's got great reliability, great accuracy, and a great 'feel'.
However, (comma), for open uniform carry, it was a poor choice. It's blued, which means I had to clean it just all the time. It's more "open" lockwork (any 1911's) meant I had to clean it just all the time. Any time it rained, any time I got dusty, any time I got back in the brush (and I
am in rural Arkansas), it had to be cleaned.
That's a long-winded way of repeating: it was a poor choice for open uniform carry.
Basically, I debated between a stainless 1911; either standard or double-stack, and the more "modern" guns. I had several friends who used Glocks and swore by them, but I couldn't get past the idea of that weird, "sproingy" trigger. But when making a "pro & con" list on paper of the advantages and disadvantages of numerous guns (stainless 1911, glock, beretta, sig, HK USP and even HK P7), the glock 19 became more and more intriguing.
Early, I dismissed the .40 and .45 glocks. Even though I reload the .45, and not the 9mm or .40, the double-stack .45 glocks just were too big around for me to want. The .40's I dismissed as I'm not convinced it's much better than a top-end 9mm, and I can also get cheap generic and milsurp 9mm; no such option with the .40S&W.
When I made my list, the G19's advantages (over my blue 1911) were:
- lighter weight
- higher capacity (228% capacity. That's significant when backup's always 20 miles away.)
- slightly smaller grip diameter than a single-stack 1911, unlike most double-stack 9mm's
- lower maintenance
- more energy per round
- more factory ammo options
It's also smaller, the same size as a commander, so it's easier to carry concealed when not in uniform. Now, instead of carrying the full-size 1911 open and the Detonics when concealed, I carry the one G19 whether concealed or open.
It did take time getting used to the trigger; no getting around that. I went through the "low & left" thing all new glock shooters seem to go through. But with practice, I've gotten past it, and now shoot expert and occasionally master with it.
The gun & two spare mags gives me right at 20,000 total ft/lbs of energy at hand, where the colt with two spares only gave me around 7,000. While muzzle energy isn't the only relevant factor, it is
a relevant factor; and this is almost a 3X increase.
Regarding the glock "KB" phenomenon, I don't know that I've ever even heard of an instance of it in 9mm; it always seems to be in .40's or .357's. And yes, I've seen a KB myself with a Colt 1911 in .38 super at an ipsc match in Houston. (Chuck P., I hope your fingerprints grew back...
oke: )
I also have no doubt that many of the departmental glock horror stories are valid; very probably due to glock rushing to meet a need or fill an order before everything was worked out. But all I can personally attest to is my personal experience with my personal guns. I've shot thousands of rounds thru my G19 and G26 both, and the only problems were FTFeed's with one ammo (Federal 147-grain Hi-Shok), and even then, only in the G19 with the post-ban 10-round magazines. Any other ammo, or even that ammo in any other mags, not a single problem; and that includes 300-400 rounds of +P+ ammo as well. Can't hardly ask for better than that.
I'm not claiming it's the "perfect gun for everybody". If you're in Alaska where you may be facing large animals, or people wearing multiple layers of leather clothing, etc, you may well need more power and penetration. Where I am, I don't; the 127-grain JHP at over 1,200 fps is fine
for where I am.
I still like my 1911's and have no intention of parting with them. They're reliable, ergonomic, powerful, and I'd still trust either with my life.
I stick with the Glock 19 as my primary defensive handgun for much the same reasons I stick with the CAR-15 as my primary defensive longarm. While it may not be able to do absolutely everything, it absolutely does a whole lot of things very well.
