The thread on the STI II and III got me to thinking. What’s your vote for the most messed up “improvements” to the 1911 you seen on the commercial market?
We are not talking about horrible smiths and people with Dremel tools and no brains, but product changes introduced by some company say.
My vote has to be the LDA trigger from PO they introduced some years back. You take what is the best trigger ever developed on handgun, the trigger that sets the standard by which all handguns should be judged, and you mess with that???
I didn’t actually find the LDS trigger itself all that bad, and built into a new gun design say, might even have thought it not have bad compared to some, but take what gives the 1911 shooter such an advantage (a short crisp trigger) and screw with that to allow those who don’t want to carry the 1911 as it was designed and intended? Oh hell now.
You now get the worst of both worlds, a trigger no better than many others you can choose from, and low capacity in a big gun. :rolleyes:
And there’s a fair number of people who will defend the LDA. Oh my head! :eek:
Runner up, the PO p14 double stack, but at least with enough work on it, some could get them to run for competition uses, so they at least have a niche use for some.
You’re going to have to explain your disdain for these. GI sights suck a fattie, magwells improve reloads, and adjustable sights are nice for handloads. The allenhead screws look nicer and reduce the risk of scratching your grips.
I don’t like the external extractors or plastic triggers.
I actually consider Colt’s Series 80 system to be an unusually well-integrated drop safety. Whether or not it is necessary is an entirely different discussion. Even so, I think if we’re to be perfectly honest about this, it takes nothing away from the gun, and generally works well. Not sure why folks so often seem to feel otherwise.
Most of the other drop safeties we’ve seen introduced since would surely make my list of significant unimprovements, however.
I dont particularly care for MIM parts. Some say these parts are as good as the older school solid steel parts. I still like one chunk of metal as opposed to MIM.
PREACH IT!!! I have run into a couple of these so far and they were both terrible. Both owners warned me of the “danger” of my “Cocked & Locked” 1911. Neither knew what “Condition 1” meant when I explained my love of the pistol, so I’m guessing that the concept of the proper function in a 1911 was beyond them.
I can see a use for many 1911 parts and modifications within the realm of competition, sport shooting, etc. but the one part or parts that I see no use for is the extended slide release - or better yet the ambi one that was made for a period of time
