Talk:M1911 pistol

Magazine Safety
A noteable feature of this pistol is that it has no magazine safety. Most pistols will not fire if the magazine is removed. The M1911 will fire. You can remove the magazine, but if there is a round in the chamber, the weapon will fire. This has surprised several people over the years; I know of several accidents and near-accidents that occurred because someone was screwing around and ‘didn’t know it was loaded’, thinking they had unloaded it by removing the magazine.

Looking at the illustration in this article captioned ‘A basic version of Smith & Wesson's SW1911 with user-installed Pachmayr grips.’, I see the manufacturer has stamped a warning about this on the barrel. Putting in a magazine safety would seem a better idea, but maybe the design will not allow that modification?

Some discussion of this could improve the article, maybe even warn someone who does not know. Also, has any version of an M1911 ever been made that has a magazine safety? 2A00:23C7:E284:CF00:54D6:2A36:5AF1:B439 (talk) 14:07, 9 February 2021 (UTC)


 * I'm not entirely sure what you mean by a magazine safety, but I do know that the 1911 is a closed bolt gun. Meaning, it puts round in the chamber, but does not fire it until the trigger is pulled. This means there is no way to unload the gun completely just by removing the magazine. But if you want to be safe, pull back the slide all the way to eject anything that is still in there. This is a general rule for those who use closed bolt guns.Blamazon (talk) 20:27, 12 May 2021 (UTC)


 * Also if you aren't smart enough or trained enough to know you have a round in the chamber even though the mag is removed, then you shouldn't be holding a gun. The saying "treat every gun like it's loaded until you're 100% sure it's not" should not be ignored because it will consistency save your life and the lives of others. Don't screw around when it comes to gun safety.Blamazon (talk) 08:49, 19 June 2021 (UTC)

Second Finger mention
“Language cautioning against pulling the trigger with the second finger was included”. This is not clear to a lay person. What does it mean? (I.e., how could you pull the trigger with your second finger? Mithalwulf (talk) 13:08, 26 March 2022 (UTC)


 * I can't imagine how, either, but it's apparently not only possible, it was done frequently enough to need a warning. Picture holding the weapon in your firing hand. Insert your middle (longest) finger into the trigger guard and onto the trigger.  Then imagine what happens when the slide recoils....  67.225.123.161 (talk) 20:44, 11 December 2023 (UTC)

Long barrel version and use in shooting competition
No mention of long barrel versions and related US competition target shooting use? https://www.guns.com/news/2013/11/05/size-matters-six-longslide-1911s 64.121.176.58 (talk) 05:53, 18 April 2023 (UTC)

Priced out of the market?
That 1938 price seemse very misleading. I've seen mention of Colt contract prices for the Army in the early days of $14.50. 67.225.123.161 (talk) 20:46, 11 December 2023 (UTC)