[Euro-American Scum]

At the time of the M9’s adoption, it was regarded as a more modern design and thus a suitable replacement for the tried and true .45, many examples of which were very elderly and worn out, giving it an undeserved reputation for unreliability.

Gosh, I must have three of the few 1911s that function flawlessly. Lucky me!

[CasearianDaoist]

Force and Division Recon in the USMC never gave it up. I imagine that many officers in the regular rifle companies still carry them too. Socom have there own "special" 45 made by HK - it is not a 1911.

[45Auto]

While I have nothing against the M9 (I own a Beretta Model 96 - the .40 S and W version of the M9) the Model of 1911A1 is my favorite autoloader. It matters little to me what company actually manufactures any particular 1911; the beauty of the gun is that it chambers the .45 ACP (yes, I know the 10mm packs quite a wallop) and "big holes are almost always better." Also there are literally dozens of manufacturers of both the pistols and aftermarket parts which, for the most part, are completely interchangeable. Building a custom pistol for carry, target, or serious competition is simply a matter of how much money you are willing to spend or how much work you are willing to do on a particular gun. The latter makes the 1911A1 a great "hobbyists" gun. I've never seen a 1911 so badly screwed up that it could not be renovated, nor one that malfunctioned to the point where it could not be "tweaked".

[CatoRenasci]

My first encounter with the M1911A1 was around 1960, a national match version my father had. While it was really too much pistol for a slight 12-year old, it was a fine pistol. Accurate and reliable. I have fired many .45s in the service, and many of them were real dogs. I think the reliability issues were mostly about accuracy, not functional reliabilty, because I've seen .45s buried in mud or sand, brushed off,, cocked and a whole magazine fired off without problem. But, in my experience on active duty most soldiers never learn to shoot the .45 with any accuracy. They're afraid of the recoil, and uncomfortable with the weight.

I'd love to try a Kimber.