I have recently made a decision. I am officially a 1911 guy. Before I was on the fence. I like my XD-9 mostly because the ammo is cheap and it will eat anything. Also it was my first real handgun. I kept telling myself that 1911s were nice but I will take the training classes with my XD because it will be cheaper and the gun is more reliable.
After much thought I have abandoned that logic. Here is why: First, I enjoy shooting 1911s. In my opinion no other gun can match a good 1911 trigger. Second, anywhere you can find 9mm you can find 45 and its not that much more expensive. Third, my every day carry is a sig p238 which is a 1911 style battery of arms. Fourth, I am a more confident shooter with a 1911. I know its all in my head but I just don’t feel as accurate with the XD. Fifth, 1911s give me warm fuzzys. Sixth, 1911 parts are available anywhere. 1911 parts (in my experience) are second most common to glock parts.
Now that leaves the outstanding issue of reliability. I have two 1911s. A Kimber and a Sig. I have read horror stories about Kimbers, but mine is rock solid. It eats anything. JHPs are not a problem. The only thing it ever choked on was incorrectly sized wadcutters cast from tire weights. Thats right pure lead, hand cast wadcutters. It has eaten everything I throw in it without complaint. So my 1911 experience has been great. I recently purchased the Sig with the intention of making it my go-to gun. I plan on using it for training ect.
Why Sig…{angry 1911 purist comment here}…? Well it had everything I was looking for at a reasonable price. I got the Tactical Operator, which has night sights, a mag well funnel, ambi safety, 4 mags (which is more of a perk really), rail, stippeling everywhere and it has got some great reviews. The best part was the price it was about $200 under a grand. Sure its a little hard to find holsters for (due to its slide geometry), but they are out there.
anyway /pontification. Have a good night.
Very cool gun but hard to find a holster for. Blade-Tech can makes holsters for the Sig 1911 Tactical Operator. You just have to call them, rather than placing the order online.
I was looking for a light compatible holster for the Sig 1911 Tac Ops plus TRL-1. At the moment Blade-Tech looks to be the answer. Its custom made so you have your choice of colors, belt attachment and retention. Pretty good customer service too.
I will post pictures in a month when I get it.
Anyone know where I can get a cheap 1911 barrel? I was given a ton of .45 reloads with straight lead bullets. I really don’t want to lead up my Kimber barrel.
When I got my 1911, the first thing the range guys told be was, ‘Go out and buy a stack of Wilson Combat Mags’. The general idea is the Wilson Combat mags have a significantly improved design over the factory magazines.
Once I started looking around online, I found out there were different flavors made by Wilson Combat. This post compares their “Tactical Elite” to their “Legendary”, with the factory mag thrown in there for comparison.
Why Wilson Combat?
Simple answer, the follower.
The followers on standard 1911 magazines are known to create all kinds for misfeeds and jams. Wilson Combat has replaces the flat metal follower with a plastic follower. Now this is not the answer to all malfunctions. I have had more than a few malfunctions while running Wilson mags, but usually those are due to non-parabellum ammunition or other 1911 quirks.
Difference Between the Tactical Elite and the Legendary
As far as I can tell the major difference between the two magazine is the floorplates. The Legendary magazine has what I would call a tab on the bottom that extends below the handle of the gun. This makes it easy to grab while reloading. Compare this to the factory magazine, which sits flush to the handle.
The Tactical Elite mag has a flared base. If your mag release was sticky or not adequately pushing the mag down I would definitely want something like this to grab. I do have a minor concern that it would sit slush with a mag well, making it more difficult than the Legendary to extract.
These pictures illustrate the difference in extension below the gun:
Another minor difference is the Wilson Combat Tactical Elite has engraved numbering. If your into that kinda thing.
Finally, if you were to smack a badguy squarely in the floorplate of this mag, you stand a good chance of leaving a “Wilson Combat” stamp.
