Favorite Semi-Auto

My daily carry piece is a Colt Commander in 45 ACP, stainkess with fixed sights. A long trigger and flat mainspring housing works wll for me, the same is on my two full size 1911's, one Kimber and one Colt. I can shoot a revolver accurately, but the old 1911 is t first handgun I cut my teeth on, and suits me right down to the ground. It isn't comfortablee, but it is comforting.

Works for me, although I'll admit I have a pile of tupperware as well.
 
 

OK, first, where's Elmer to get into this with me? AL? Second, I meant some detailed answers, RichK stated his preference for long trigger , flat mainspring housing and fixed sights so, in additon, do you like or dislike another specific feature, add on or what? Let's start with full length guide rods, good, bad or either or...... I have heard a lot of pros and cons but so far no one has made a good reason to use one on a standard 1911  (I know they may be needed on a special shorty or something but let's stick with the regular production guns, full-size and commanders etc. for this item)... the gun has worked as well now as it did when it was introduced without a full length rod so, then mainspring housings, sights, lasers, grips, grip screws-hex or slotted, there is a slew of accessories that can be discussed. This is just for fun now and maybe a little worthwhile education as to what is good or bad. Chris 

I have afull length guide rod in the Kimber, only becaue that is how it came. Neithe of the Colts has a guide rod, the 5" Colt has better fixed sights and a trigger job. Hex head grip screws just because I like the look of them. Eventually, I'll put ivory gips on all of them, again for cosmetic reasons. Other than that,I like my guns to be pretty much as they came from the factory. As for leather,open top, no retaining straps or snaps, maybe some carving for looks. No engraving on any of my guns,asi doesn't add to the functional reliability of the piece,an I bet my life on these weapons, as wll as the lives of my family.

Had a complete computer meltdown. Won't be back online anytime soon, unfortunatly. Did send me some goodies, some audio cassette tape of Mr Keith hunting in Tanzania in 1969. I have converted them to CD, and now am trying to clean the audio up and seperate it into tracks. As for the 1911, adding the full length rod seems to extend spring life, and adds a little weight for faster follow up shots, in competition settings. (IMAO). I only have 2 1911's, neither one very standard, the Kimber Ultra Carry, stock sights, custom trigger job, pinned ambi safety, and a Para P14, full length tungston rod, Hi-Viz fiber front, ambi, custom trigger job.
Like the Kimber better.
 

Dag nab it all, I was looking forward to getting him all riled up! Gunsmith can really give a whole "nuther" insight into a topic! Anyway, good replys to my questions. I was just trying to draw out some good reasons as to why or why not some of the things are promoted for the 1911. I am kind of in the mindset that too many add-ons are not a good thing, mine has a recoil buffer I added and thats it. I like the adage- if it works, don't mess with it-and the basic model seems to be just fine, even if it is a semi-auto and not a single-action sixgun! Chris

I can tell you that our duty weapon in my department is a Glock .45 ACP, and I can tell you that I have never owned one, but I have owned a couple of 1911's, my most recent being a Para Ordnance Warthog. But I am and always will be a revolver man, so I will take either my Model 27 or Model 57 over anything else. I only have one semi-pistol, that being my grandfather's Colt Woodsman.

.... lucky enough to own a Woodsman! I have a Browning 22 Challenger (Belgium Made) but I wanted a Woodsman since I was a kid. I saw a picture of a Woodsman Target in a magazine and pined for it for so long! Just never happened. Chris

A problem child the 1911's. True it beat out the SA's in Calvary competition but the Army picked the SA for a number of issues. One was fire control, another was accuracy. The 1911 does put rounds down range but to do that back in 1910 required it to be very loose. To bring her around to shoot well took some skill AND you had to stay after it because the metal was soft; and soft still... Then comes along a need for the 1911 to perform and perform tight. Somebody had a good look at the pistol internally and now we have one that works well and shoots far....Sad to report that while 1911's made today look good they are not nice to take home to mother as reported last week from C.J. Quinlan of TAG. Inc. who is Upgrading 1911's to model A2 standards. He noted to me that what he was getting in new guns is shocking inside. One new gun by a well known maker the barrel was so far out of alignment that the barrel and bushing had to be replaced.....And except for that I should not be the one to comment.....But compared to the old SA's they are not even close. The SA's are real art work and while there is not much inside, you know the parts were not made in Pakistan!...But largely the modifications have been external and cosmetic. Some additions are or can be unsafe. We have sear ledges of 0.014" down from 0.026-0.030" and some bad things going on in there for the sake of money. Not pretty.  The fact that we have had Wilson, Pachmayr, Swensen, Clark and others out there pulling the trigger we did get some good accessories and some just the best they could do. But development when you write the score after 100 years what do you have really different? Nothing......Part of this comes from the designer John Browning. He made two guns; one hammer-less and one with a hammer. He shot a few rabbits and licensed it to Colt. That's it; never saw the gun again and never modified it. March down the road for 100 years and Frank Pachmayr and Swensen start looking at how to tighten the gun up in the 60's. We got a Wide Link from Frank but it had no vertical or horizontal adjust-ability. But if you got it right you did get greater accuracy with his patented link; and his bushing which was a complication to make. Briley makes a version the bushing today. But still using 4340 steel RC26??? Please!! But then Frank didn't make his Frames and Slides in fact no one did, they were using Colts.....No, the problem is only resolved when you clean the slate and bring it back up from the ground; designing a gun to shoot using the delayed recoil Browning system. So now 100 years later we are finally at a point of re-evaluation and can judge the platform  on its design merits. Generally civilian improvements  are not suitable for military use. Most civilian applications one cannot get in trouble with adding to their guns. When it comes to accuracy what has been done in the past to the inside of the gun makes my skin crawl. Crawl SO BAD I have to make parts myself to get past it. But anyway; now we have the inside fixed we can finally look at shooting the gun far, shooting it accurately, having a little fun with it...In contrast the SA's are simple and straight forward. We have a little problem with the cylinder rod coming out in recoil; had to put a screw in there. But basically that's it. It's reliable, can handle a vast array of cartridges, is pretty safe to carry and doesn't shake itself loose every 250 rounds. Until now, or recently, the SA's have been a better gun. There will always be a place for them and as personal defense, very hard to beat!! KCL

Chris,
I hate to make you drool. A second series Sport model from 1950.

 
 

Great looking gun David. I like the way they look, sleek and funtional with style. My Challenger is close but just does not have the same mystique. As a side note you can upload photos direct to the post from Windows picture library. Al has quite an expansive accumulation of details on how to upload in the tips section. He took great pride in perfecting it. Just a thought. Chris
I had to go take a pic to post it!

 

As we're talking semi's, I'll limit myself to them. My favorite right now is a Colt Delta Gold Cup 10mm. It's been milled for a fully ramped barrel, and has also been bob-tailed. Sights are Eliason with tritium inserts.New hammer, trigger, sear, disconnector, safety, slide lock, sear spring, main spring housing, and grips. I like the hex grip screws as they protect the red coco-bolo grips from screw driver slippage. I'm not particularly fond of the one piece guide rod, but it is almost a necessity with a 24 lb recoil spring. I wouldn't own a gun with a two piece full length guide rod. Any 1911 carry gun that can't be field stripped without tools is not practical. I've been experimenting with a number of Double Tap loads, and these are real 10mm ammo, not slightly warmed over 40 S&W loads. I like the bob-tailed frame. I can get the gun turned further into my hand and that helps with control with the heavy loads.
        When the Delta is too big I carry an S&W 3914 9mm compact. I use a Kangaroo Carry rig and can wear it almost any where. If even that is too much than I carry a Colt Mustang Pocketlite .380. This is the smallest gun I have any real confidence in as a defensive weapon.

        Of course at other times, as the mood strikes, I'll carry various other revolvers and autos, just for the pure pleasure of totin' a blued steel and walnut work of art. I don't feel under gunned with a 4" 19 on my hip, or a 2 1/2" 66 either. But that's another discussion.

Well I am back. First off, no semi auto is as reliable as a good revolver. No where as powerful, as accurate out of the box.  I relaize there are a lot of JUNK being made in the revolver line, by even Smith and Wesson. But a good one is far better than a tuned Semi. For self defense, the Revolver is by far superior. And it does not leave shells littering the area for the CSI guys to use against you.

All right, what did you do that the CSI boys might be after you for, did you shoot some more siding? I personally always liked Colts from way back when, but they went through some bad stuff for a bit, don't know how they are now.......I haven't bought a new handgun for quite some time now, have most of what I need or maybe even more than I need. Chris

Well it is hard to respond about a pistol someone loves. It  doesn't always go down well. And as a gun designer it is hard to get away from the technical side. But lets try technical. The atlatl design of Browning, it has limitations. It is not a locking mechanisim but rather a delay of extraction blow back. It delays the extraction long enough for the chamber pressure to subside before it extracts. The 10mm as I told the FBI who did not listen, was the 10mm reaches peak pressure DURING extraction. It was not suitable for this design. Therefore the round is still expanding and blowing back on the breach face. It hammered the rear and then slammed the slide on closing. It was killing the gun and of course we saw fractures and failues, buldged ammo, split cases, gas in the face......Well, they did add an inner spring to stop some of slamming to the rear and of course the 10mm just went away.....The good news is you can change it to something else if you figure you don't like it. The gun can be saved.....Sorry about the 10 mike mike.
  As for the wheel gun it is good as automatics to some extent and general use...A couple of guys were here last weekend and they both had semi's and revolvers. Both are ranchers and the guns get pretty dirty. On a revolver that dirt can be very dangerous and in an auto the question was would it work.....The problem they had was drug runners along our border. Here they are with a dusty dirty gun working the range and suddenly come up to some runners carrying AK47's.....Suddenly the little revolver couldn't reach them if fired upon and neither could their auto IF either would fire...A problem of picking the right gun and staying alive....Well the choice presented is a difficult one until you look at a Combat NCO. It is made of steel 12 times stronger than any other pistol ever made, 8 times stronger than the barrel itself, it eats sand better than ammo, indestructable, all made of solid billet S7 tool steel and shoots on 20" targets at 400 yards with the sights onboard. You can store it in mud if a Navy model, clean it with sand, and it is warranted against anything for the life of the owner; even if you happen to disk it under with your tractor it will be repaired or replaced for for life.....A decision was made to go utility of purpose in the 1911 A2 Combat NCO with A3 components. The gun lives outdoors and cowboys up when you need it. It was born for the job, by design. Now it can be dressed up for a party and no one would know the difference. But the Black Lepard on the side says it means business and business it will take care of. Kind of like the old single action but of course it can't sleep in mud unless you wax those chambers.
Good shooting guys.
Karl Lippard, patent holder 1911 A2

Gunny, I forgot to mention that if you use that cap and ball shooter that you tote around the yard, you won't leave any cartridge cases lying around so that may be your best bet if you are up to nefarious deed.   Chris.

...makes a mighty fine 45, I like Chris' idea of the cap-n-ball to keep CSI-Miami off your trail! Maybe a smooth bore  as well, really confuse the chaps.
Now to adress the more serious topic of bad guys on the border, In the right hands a C-NCO may be the cat's meowww, but I've personally  seen some old boys putting their home cast bullets on a 30" steel at 600 yards out of second gen Colts and 3 screw Rugers as well, let alone me putting an XTP on it from time to time with my FA.  I'd bet money most border bad guys couldn't hit it once with a full banana clip in their AK.   
Now wheeree did that rum and coke go?
Al

Did Mr Keith have a favorite auto? I'll bet it would have been a 1911. Oh, wait, thanks to Chris's archives, we may know:
 "...Of all auto pistols, I consider the old model 1911 Colt and especially its more modern counterparts the 1911-A1 and the National Match and Gold Cup models as the best and most effictive of all auto pistols..."
Elmer Keith, Shooting Editor, Guns and Ammo, July, 1969.
Maybe Chris3755 and  Karllippard are on to something here...
[edit]
PS:
I don't think they (we) had tupperware guns back then, but he did refer to not wasting space with the "myriad of Small forign auto pistols, nor all those of domestic manufacture, so in this short treatise, we will deal only with the best in the lot"
Elmer Keith, Shooting Editor, Guns and Ammo, July, 1969.
 
http://www.elmerkeithshoot.org/GA/1969_07_Elmer_Keith_Part_3_Autos.pdf

[PPS]...in this months American Rifleman on the WWII 1911A1.