100th Anniversary of the Colt 1911

[Blagger]

How could you guys forget the anniversary of this faithful American war horse?!

Anyway...

That's right, ladies and gentlemen, 2011 marks the hundredth anniversary of America's longest serving sidearm to date. That's right, it's the Colt 1911 .45. I've only ever fired one once and it belongs to my father-in-law, and to be honest, I wasn't very good with it.

But that's enough from me. Why not share some of your earliest memories in the company of this piece of American history. But until then...

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GPDXNIiDFt4"]... I'll leave you all in the capable hands of hickok45.[/ame]

 

[uscitizen]

Why sonny I helped Sam colt Make the first one.

 

[Sunni Man]

The best pistol ever made.

 

[whitehall]

The "official" reason for doing away with the venerable old warhorse was to conform to NATO standards. My guess is that the limp wristed lady Soldiers (and some men) couldn't hold one up much less withstand the substantial recoil. I carried one as a field radio operator in the Marines. Today the elite law-enforcement agencies like the FBI are going to the big .45 1911 instead of the anemic weight 9mm round.

 

[Toome]

Nice thing about the .45 is that you don't necessarily have to kill your target. If you hit your target, that person stays hit.

Bad thing about the 9mm is that you HAVE TO kill your opponent because if you don't, you've got a pissed off bad guy on your hands who is still capable of killing you or otherwise ruining your day.

Yeah, I never understood the NATO compatibility thing. Whenever I've deployed with NATO nations, there was never any sharing of anything: ammunition, communications, information...nada, zilch, nothing.

 

[Skull Pilot]

The Peacemaker.

 

[Blagger]

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ck66O0osLhQ"]A Colt it is not, but it was the British Empire's most faithful servant, nonetheless. [/ame]

 

[whitehall]

Nice thing about the .45 is that you don't necessarily have to kill your target. If you hit your target, that person stays hit.

Bad thing about the 9mm is that you HAVE TO kill your opponent because if you don't, you've got a pissed off bad guy on your hands who is still capable of killing you or otherwise ruining your day.

Yeah, I never understood the NATO compatibility thing. Whenever I've deployed with NATO nations, there was never any sharing of anything: ammunition, communications, information...nada, zilch, nothing.

Bullet weight and velocity add up to stopping power. You can't have true stopping power with only one of the elements. The .45 has the weight and the mass to stop an assailant. The 9 and the .38 just puts holes in them and they keep coming.

 

[hjmick]

Great firearm...

I should take mine to the range and celebrate...