I'm at a standstill between Glocks and 1911s. Have neither, but going to commit to one platform sooner or later, depending on the funds.
Any gun can kaboom with double charged loads. Many people see the spectacular failures in Glocks and interestingly, it's usually ended with "the guy was lucky he didn't get more hurt!" It's because they are tough, and fail down the magwell, like the USPs do. I've heard of 1911s kabooming and the grip panels coming off, doing more damage to shooting hands than Glocks.
Unsupported cases. I compared a USP .45 to a G30 (IIRC) and the amount of unsupported case above the feedramp appeared very similar. If you're worried, why not just use standard pressure loads and see if there is any brass bulging. If you reload, you've got to be extra careful with Glocks (actually, et. al) because of this.
180gr .40s, because of the OAL of the bullet and the high press. nature ofthe cartridge leave very little room for extra gunpowder, very easy to blow them up for that reason.
Have heard of very few kabooms with factory ammo.
Parts breaking. Have read about some, yup. Have also read about the MIM failures in some $900+ 1911s. Yikes, that'd be a bummer. Of course, the more you spend, the more you expect your weapon not only to hold up to abuse, but to be RELIABLE.
That's the hangup with me. My first pistol ever was a Para 1911. It choked like turd, every kind of malf imaginable with separate shooters and different magazines, failure to go into battery, failure to slidelock, stovepipes on empties, on LIVE rounds. Granted, 1911s are probably the most "tuneable" pistol out there, but if they can be easily tuned, doesn't it follow that they can be easily UNtuned? Every (every) rental 1911 I've ever fired (probably around 5) has malfunctioned at least once in one box of ammo. The only other rental gun besides those that has jammed on me was a Desert Eagle .44 Mag. Even a DE .50AE didn't choke once in twenty shots fired.
The trigger. The reason why a lot of people poo-poo the trigger is because they didn't get to understand the short, tactile reset. Magnum, not saying this is you, this is just my observation... when friends have shot Glocks and I showed them to ease up on the trigger return, SLOWLY until they feel the "click" then NO more, that's when they begin to see the light. Even great triggers on 1911s and P7s don't have as noticeable a reset as a Glock. Groups easily improve. If you hit what you're aiming at, even a crappy trigger is OK - I much prefer the Glock trigger to SIG, HK USP and Beretta double action triggers. Reset of the Glock trigger is far superior to all three of those, hands down. A swap of two items, a 5lb to 3lb spring or connector and use of NY1 leaf spring I've heard gives awesome pulls, and both are OEM parts. Probably a $30 trigger job that's TRULY drop in and not 1911 "drop in" which usually means some stoning required.
Low bore axis and lack of external hammer means you can get a really high grip, honestly, I'd say the Glock has probably the least amount of muzzle flip of all other platforms in similar caliber, save the P7 (which is also top heavy). Key is to really choke up on them, same thing with the beavertail on the 1911. If you don't have that beaver tail, I'm sure the muzzle flip will be significantly more.
Despite this, I have to say the 1911 is probably the superior platform for gunfighting. Most people find it easier to make fast hits with, repeatedly, with them. I'd put Glocks right up there as well. One thing about Glocks, I can detail strip them in a couple minutes using a nail and instructions on the net. Replace any part I want, know it'll work, and be on my way. With a 1911... jeez... I used what I thought were good instructions, got the grip safety off and... well, an hour later ended up going to a gunsmith with a bag of parts.
Bottom line for me, I'd be happy with either one, absolutely both will do the job. It's a matter of deciding on one of the manuals of arms and committing to it.
cheers