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As I sit here on this very first day of 2020 and think about life over the last 20 years there are a lot of things that come to mind. I think it is a good time to not just think about the last year but I see 2020 as pretty pivitol (I hope) as the last 20 years for many of us have been pretty hard years.
This brought to mind all of the innovation that has happen in that time. Technology has caused the speed of change in the world to accelerate exponentially. But in many ways I have to ask just how much has it really helped us in the last 20 years. Being in the technology industry I can tell you it has only further complicated my work life. All of the things we were told before the technology revolution about it making our lives simpler have really not come to fruition.
Now have these innovations made life a bit better...possibly. I think there is a case to be argued both ways.
On to the 1911 - during these 20 years we have also seen many innovations in the firearms industry as well. Lots of new models and designs have come out in that time. I can safely say that I have either owned or shot many (most?) of them. Like many of us here my thoughts have shifted back and forth between my beloved 1911 and other designs.
There is much to be said for the innovations in new firearms.
And there has been a host written about the 1911 since, well, 1911...
When designs last as long and are as highly revered as the 1911 there has to be something extremely valuable in the design other than it was the best thing at the time. The idea, much like a well made 1908 Elgin pocket watch (which I own and it keeps time as well as or better than all others I have owned), is that there is not only elegance in the design, but simplicity that makes it viable over such a long period of time.
So does the 1911 still have merit in a 2020 world?
I will go out on a limb and say that not only it has merit, but may be still the best selection on the market.
Now, I have made many comments on many post and created new ones about he value of capacity. Which has been contrary to the idea of the 1911 (really any single stack gun). And in many cases I still mentally flip back and forth, but lets take that out of the equation for the moment and assume that we all carry enough ammo to take care of a given situation.
Let’s also take out the debate around caliber because you can find a 1911 in just about any caliber. So you can have your cake and eat it too in this case.
Let’s remove the case around carryability because the 1911 comes in so many designs that you can find one that is comfortable to carry. Or simply bite the bullet and carry a Government model because, well, it still carries very well.
I want to focus on something that even I have called into question from time to time and that is its inhearnet design and reliability. And to be honest here, aside from the case of finding one that is finicky or that has a poorly tuned extractor here is my point of a 1911 design in a 2020 world;
I think anyone can learn to tun a 1911.
Look, the design is simple and if it is a good example of a faithfully designed gun then the simplicity of the design makes it pretty easy to work on.
When I came to the 1911 I had been working on traditional SIG P-Series guns and Berettas. I am a shade tree gunsmith, so I am happy to tackle anything. But I first saw the 1911 as voodo magic. Then I started really working on them and doing a bit of fitting of parts and, to be honest, I realized just how easy they were to work on. Even fitting small parts is not that hard.
The replacement of parts (outside of the highly custom fitted guns) is pretty straight forward and springs are easy to tune. I have broken down my share of guns that required 3 hands, a vice and special tools to get back together. Even my beloved SIG’s can require the young to be in just the right position between the teeth to get back together right.
A timeless design is timeless because of not only how well it is made but how simple that design tends to be. And I think that the 1911 is the night of simple design principles.
So, just some musings on this first day of 2020.
This brought to mind all of the innovation that has happen in that time. Technology has caused the speed of change in the world to accelerate exponentially. But in many ways I have to ask just how much has it really helped us in the last 20 years. Being in the technology industry I can tell you it has only further complicated my work life. All of the things we were told before the technology revolution about it making our lives simpler have really not come to fruition.
Now have these innovations made life a bit better...possibly. I think there is a case to be argued both ways.
On to the 1911 - during these 20 years we have also seen many innovations in the firearms industry as well. Lots of new models and designs have come out in that time. I can safely say that I have either owned or shot many (most?) of them. Like many of us here my thoughts have shifted back and forth between my beloved 1911 and other designs.
There is much to be said for the innovations in new firearms.
And there has been a host written about the 1911 since, well, 1911...
When designs last as long and are as highly revered as the 1911 there has to be something extremely valuable in the design other than it was the best thing at the time. The idea, much like a well made 1908 Elgin pocket watch (which I own and it keeps time as well as or better than all others I have owned), is that there is not only elegance in the design, but simplicity that makes it viable over such a long period of time.
So does the 1911 still have merit in a 2020 world?
I will go out on a limb and say that not only it has merit, but may be still the best selection on the market.
Now, I have made many comments on many post and created new ones about he value of capacity. Which has been contrary to the idea of the 1911 (really any single stack gun). And in many cases I still mentally flip back and forth, but lets take that out of the equation for the moment and assume that we all carry enough ammo to take care of a given situation.
Let’s also take out the debate around caliber because you can find a 1911 in just about any caliber. So you can have your cake and eat it too in this case.
Let’s remove the case around carryability because the 1911 comes in so many designs that you can find one that is comfortable to carry. Or simply bite the bullet and carry a Government model because, well, it still carries very well.
I want to focus on something that even I have called into question from time to time and that is its inhearnet design and reliability. And to be honest here, aside from the case of finding one that is finicky or that has a poorly tuned extractor here is my point of a 1911 design in a 2020 world;
I think anyone can learn to tun a 1911.
Look, the design is simple and if it is a good example of a faithfully designed gun then the simplicity of the design makes it pretty easy to work on.
When I came to the 1911 I had been working on traditional SIG P-Series guns and Berettas. I am a shade tree gunsmith, so I am happy to tackle anything. But I first saw the 1911 as voodo magic. Then I started really working on them and doing a bit of fitting of parts and, to be honest, I realized just how easy they were to work on. Even fitting small parts is not that hard.
The replacement of parts (outside of the highly custom fitted guns) is pretty straight forward and springs are easy to tune. I have broken down my share of guns that required 3 hands, a vice and special tools to get back together. Even my beloved SIG’s can require the young to be in just the right position between the teeth to get back together right.
A timeless design is timeless because of not only how well it is made but how simple that design tends to be. And I think that the 1911 is the night of simple design principles.
So, just some musings on this first day of 2020.
