Why the 1911 is NOT a Good First Gun for Self Defense

Posted by jlasater on Aug 31, 2012 in First Handgun, Guns: General, Handgun Information | 0 comments

The M1911 is one of the most recognizable and loved guns in American history. Millions of folks current own and continue to buy this cherished (and still effective) piece of American ingenuity, but I am going to briefly argue that it is a very bad choice for your first self-defense handgun.

The M1911 Handgun

Capacity

The standard 1911 comes with a 7-round magazine and including one in the chamber, you will have a total capacity of only 8 rounds which is very, very small for a full-size pistol in today’s market. You would expect 13+ in comparable modern pistols.

Multiple Manual Safeties

Given how safe modern, namebrand handguns are (including drop-safe unlike the 1911) and how easy to follow the 4-rules of gun safety are, buying the 1911 as your first gun with its thumb safety and grip safety, I feel you’re setting yourself up for failure at a time when it could count the most. Grip safeties have caused unnecessary trouble before and only add another point of failure. The thumb safety is essential to the single-action trigger, but unless you have developed the muscle memory to always turn the safety off, you might forget to at a crucial moment.

Size/Weight

A full-sized 1911 weighs is all-metal and weighs around 40 ounces. Compare that to a full-sized Glock which weighs only half that. If you’re planning on carrying a 1911 as a CCW, then I highly recommend you consider what it will be like to have almost 3 extra pounds hanging from you waist.

Value

Just about the cheapest 1911 I would ever consider buying is around $600. Compare that to under $400 for some super-reliable and great modern guns like the Sig SP2022. It would be far better in my opinion to spend the extra $100-200 and buy more practice ammo. To get a 1911 with features like adjustable sights or other fancy options, the price will jump up quickly.

There Are Just Better Options Out There

You have much to consider when considering what the best first handgun is, and there are many great reasons to own a 1911, but in this author’s humble opinion, you can find much better first handguns out there than the 1911.