Opinion: Why Everyone Should Own a 1911
Kevin Felts 02.09.18
Every household in the United States should have a 1911. To enforce this, maybe congress should pass a law that would force people to buy a 1911. Much like the Affordable Care Act, make owning a 1911 a requirement for every person.
When a young adult graduates high school, maybe the school should hand out a 1911 to every student?
When census takers go house to house, if the family does not have a 1911, have the census takers hand them out like candy.
Someone ask me, “Why should everyone have a 1911?” Thank you, I am glad someone asked.
Not For Reliability
A buddy of mine likes to describe the 1911 with two certain words: Outdated and overrated. The 1911 is probably overrated. Pick up just about any 1911 and it is sure to have a malfunction within the first box of ammo put through it.
For example, my personal Remington 1911 R1 had a malfunction on the first magazine. In contrast, my Beretta 92f had only a handful of ammunition related malfunctions in close to 25 years. How were the malfunctions ammo related? The malfunctions happened while working up reloads. Some of the reloads had a low powder charge, which would have caused just about any handgun to malfunction.
While working up a load, I like to start low, load 5 rounds with a certain amount of powder, then increase the charge every five rounds. Once loaded, take all of the rounds out to the range, and using a chronograph note the velocity of every charge of powder. It was during those development rounds that my 92f failed to eject.
Won Two World Wars
Is it because the 1911 helped win two World Wars? Loosely related, yes. Serving in World War I and II are not the main reasons, but it is related to the reason to have one.
There were a great number of firearms which served in numerous conflicts all over the world. The 1911 should not be singled out.
American Ingenuity
Now we are getting somewhere. The 1911 was designed by John Moses Browning, who designed a number of firearms that are still in use today. Just about all self-loading handguns on the market today were influenced by John Browning.
The example set by John Browning is something others can look up to:
- Create a product.
- Patent the product.
- Start a company.
- Sell product.
- Leave a legacy.
The items listed above are the foundation of our capitalist society.
Reminder to Tyrants
This is somewhat related to World War I and World War II. Having a 1911 in the house is a reminder that we live in a free nation, and we must be diligent to preserve that freedom.
The 1911 is a reminder of those who sacrificed everything so we may have to life we do today.
While the muzzleloader may be associated with the revolutionary war, and the lever action with winning the west, the 1911 is a reflection of everything American–our ingenuity and yearning for enduring freedom.
