Lately, I've noticed a lot funny stuff being said about the 1911 that I'd like to share with you. You commonly see the following stated as fact, and well, maybe it isn't.
Don't bother to ask me if I'm on crack. I am.
Myth #1. JMB "meant" the 1911 to be carried cocked and locked, or cond. 1.
He did not, nor did the Cavalrymen in the Army tests intend that either. Some people get confused by the design's initial lack of a manual safety and think the gun was meant to be carried cocked and UNlocked. In reality, pistol people in the early 20th century were very comfortable cocking and uncocking hammers. The Army was still thinking Colt SAA and a pistol you only have to cock for the first shot was appealing. A manual safety was unnecessary for the same reason it was unnecessary on the SAA. The late addition of the safety was likely due to the relative difficulty of decocking the 1911 on a moving horse - the safety could then be briefly used.
Other prewar designs shared this sentiment. The most glaringly obvious is the VIS 1935 Radom. On this very 1911esque weapon, the safety was traded for a decocker. Cond 2 is the only possible carry method. The Radom acknowledged the preferred carry method of the time and made it safer. Has an inertial firing pin.
Cocked and locked carry was popularized in the '50s by people like Col. Jeff. It makes sense, but is essentially a new way of using an old gun.
Myth #2. "You can't carry a 1911 hammer down! It will go off when dropped."
This is a common one based on the misunderstanding of what a inertial firing pin does. The gun is as safe with the hammer down as back. 1911 firing pins can cause the gun to fire if dropped on the MUZZLE hard enough. Obviously, this would happen whereever the hammer was. But if the hammer is down and the gun dropped on the hammer, the hammer doesn't have anywhere to move. Since it can't move, it can't propell the firing pin. And the drop is driving the firing pin away from the breach, not toward it.
JMB is a genius. Ask yourself, given Myth #1, did Browning negligently design an unsafe pistol?
Myth #3. "Cocked and locked is tried and true. Those Army guys used the 1911 for 74 years."
Again, see #1. While the design was meant to be carried Cond. 2 (not cocked and locked), the standard practice for most of the 1911s service life was Cond. 3 with 5 rounds loaded in each of three mags. This was considered safer and allowed easier loading/unloading at guard shift changes.
The regular military has never advocated or allowed its soldiers or officers to carry the gun that way. One of the driving forces in the M9 trials was a gun that could be "safely" carried with a round in the chamber.
Myth #4. The Army's 1911s were tough and reliable enough for 4 wars. This applies to all 1911s.
All the 1911s ever used in government service were produced between 1911 and 1945. Since then, any boob can produce a "1911" without even signing a license agreement or looking at a blueprint. There are some amazingly good 1911s available today. There are also plently that use materials, dimensions and clearances that would not pass Army acceptance test criteria. This one should be obvious.
AMT, anyone? How about a safety lever made of sinterized metal?
Myth #5. "Special Forces types love the 1911 and still use them."
There is only one group that matches this one. The Meusoc Marines are using new 1911s built from stored armory parts and a few aftermarket items. The guns I played with in 1998 were loose and reliable.
Everybody else (Seals, Rangers, Green Berets, etc.) make due with DA 9mms. Sig 226 for the Seals, M9 for the rest. If a .45 is requested, Socom has a nice one available from HK. It is rarely used. And yes, the Seals (as a whole) do use whatever weapon they deem appropriate. The 226 and M9 both bested the control 1911s in reliability trials, which is the main thing any soldier cares about.
Before any panties get wadded, I'm not saying anything that isn't history. The 1911 definitely is a proven, reliable and tough firearm. Cond. 1 carry, while relatively new to the handgun scene (cond. 2 dating back to the first handguns, really), is a proven method of making a fairly safe weapon quickly ready to fire. Don't shoot the messenger.
(The author, when not offending people on THR, is a Navy helicopter pilot with personal/professional ties to members of the Seal Teams, Spec Ops and Marine Corps.)
Don't bother to ask me if I'm on crack. I am.
Myth #1. JMB "meant" the 1911 to be carried cocked and locked, or cond. 1.
He did not, nor did the Cavalrymen in the Army tests intend that either. Some people get confused by the design's initial lack of a manual safety and think the gun was meant to be carried cocked and UNlocked. In reality, pistol people in the early 20th century were very comfortable cocking and uncocking hammers. The Army was still thinking Colt SAA and a pistol you only have to cock for the first shot was appealing. A manual safety was unnecessary for the same reason it was unnecessary on the SAA. The late addition of the safety was likely due to the relative difficulty of decocking the 1911 on a moving horse - the safety could then be briefly used.
Other prewar designs shared this sentiment. The most glaringly obvious is the VIS 1935 Radom. On this very 1911esque weapon, the safety was traded for a decocker. Cond 2 is the only possible carry method. The Radom acknowledged the preferred carry method of the time and made it safer. Has an inertial firing pin.
Cocked and locked carry was popularized in the '50s by people like Col. Jeff. It makes sense, but is essentially a new way of using an old gun.
Myth #2. "You can't carry a 1911 hammer down! It will go off when dropped."
This is a common one based on the misunderstanding of what a inertial firing pin does. The gun is as safe with the hammer down as back. 1911 firing pins can cause the gun to fire if dropped on the MUZZLE hard enough. Obviously, this would happen whereever the hammer was. But if the hammer is down and the gun dropped on the hammer, the hammer doesn't have anywhere to move. Since it can't move, it can't propell the firing pin. And the drop is driving the firing pin away from the breach, not toward it.
JMB is a genius. Ask yourself, given Myth #1, did Browning negligently design an unsafe pistol?
Myth #3. "Cocked and locked is tried and true. Those Army guys used the 1911 for 74 years."
Again, see #1. While the design was meant to be carried Cond. 2 (not cocked and locked), the standard practice for most of the 1911s service life was Cond. 3 with 5 rounds loaded in each of three mags. This was considered safer and allowed easier loading/unloading at guard shift changes.
The regular military has never advocated or allowed its soldiers or officers to carry the gun that way. One of the driving forces in the M9 trials was a gun that could be "safely" carried with a round in the chamber.
Myth #4. The Army's 1911s were tough and reliable enough for 4 wars. This applies to all 1911s.
All the 1911s ever used in government service were produced between 1911 and 1945. Since then, any boob can produce a "1911" without even signing a license agreement or looking at a blueprint. There are some amazingly good 1911s available today. There are also plently that use materials, dimensions and clearances that would not pass Army acceptance test criteria. This one should be obvious.
AMT, anyone? How about a safety lever made of sinterized metal?
Myth #5. "Special Forces types love the 1911 and still use them."
There is only one group that matches this one. The Meusoc Marines are using new 1911s built from stored armory parts and a few aftermarket items. The guns I played with in 1998 were loose and reliable.
Everybody else (Seals, Rangers, Green Berets, etc.) make due with DA 9mms. Sig 226 for the Seals, M9 for the rest. If a .45 is requested, Socom has a nice one available from HK. It is rarely used. And yes, the Seals (as a whole) do use whatever weapon they deem appropriate. The 226 and M9 both bested the control 1911s in reliability trials, which is the main thing any soldier cares about.
Before any panties get wadded, I'm not saying anything that isn't history. The 1911 definitely is a proven, reliable and tough firearm. Cond. 1 carry, while relatively new to the handgun scene (cond. 2 dating back to the first handguns, really), is a proven method of making a fairly safe weapon quickly ready to fire. Don't shoot the messenger.
(The author, when not offending people on THR, is a Navy helicopter pilot with personal/professional ties to members of the Seal Teams, Spec Ops and Marine Corps.)
