IF, you were to have 1, and only 1, 1911… would you have it with a rail or without?
All my 1911’s are Colt, so I guess I’m in the no rail camp.
Call me old school, but I’d go without. There are still plenty of solid techniques for employing an unmounted light, when necessary. A rail adds options, but it also adds bulk and carry complications.
Chief
Without.
Sans rail.
Wow. Pretty unanimous so far. Didnt expect that.
These days? I would probably go for a railed one.
If I was going to purchase a 1911 that you can find on gunstore shelves these days, it would most likely be the Kimber Warrior.
As far as I can tell it is the best production 1911 on the market right now. Even if you want it tweaked, it is reputed to be a superb platform for tweaking. The custom makers can probably use one of the Caspian rail equipped frames to make you a pistol, or they could install an after market rail like the Dawson Precision rail…
As far as the rail itself goes, these days my argument would be “Why not?” We are only going to see better and better LED handgun-mounted lights like the Surefire X200 in the future. And when using a handgun, it is certainly easier to have the light mounted to the actual weapon than to be restricted solely to the use of a separate light. Doing a reload with a flashlight in your support hand is no fun, as is malfunction clearance, etc.
It does add a bit of bulk, but holster makers these days are making good holsters that will work with railed and light mounted weapons.
I’d get(got) the little rail so it still fits in regular holsters.
I would go with no rail as well, if I ONLY had one 1911. Personally I think I need at least 3 though, so one of them will wind up with a rail.
If I was only going to have one, and it HAD to have the rail, it would be the Dawson.
Well, I answered in the pic thread too but I suppose that was off topic. Anyways, I like having the option, but I would go with the Dawson for 2 reasons- you can still use most standard holsters and it does not ruin the beautiful lines of the 1911 like integral ones. Oh yeah, it’s usually cheaper too so there’s 3 reasons 
If God (John Moses) had intended a 1911 to have a rail, He would’ve designed it with one…
:rolleyes:
What do your sights look like? Are they the same as JMB designed? Hammer?
Dawson is nice:
If I need light I just turn the lamp on next to my couch.
Does anyone know if the Dawson rail would fit into a safariland 6004 for a standard 1911.
note big smilie after his comment? settle down…
ON TOPIC i would definitely go without the rail
Not bashing anyone’s preferences, but I’m still of the mindset that there are very, very few applications out there for which I am going to reach for a 1911 that really needs a rail.
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I’m no longer an LEO, so it isn’t like I’m going to be responding to an alarm call in some old warehouse at 0300 with nothing but a handgun at my side.
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I’m not going to to select a handgun to do my bump-in-the-night interdicting because I’ve got better choices (telephone, riot shotgun, carbine) available to me.
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I’m not a gamer or a Fed, so it isn’t too likely I am going to find myself compelled to run house-clearing drills at dawn/dusk with a .45.
All of my Wilsons have night sights on them already, so the only reason I can see for mounting a light is target discrimination/disorientation. If that’s a concern, I’ve got a SureFire or two (or three) handy already – and a number of employment options.
I fully understand the complications of reloading while holding a flashlight, but let’s be realistic here: how likely are any of us to find ourselves stuck in the middle of an extended firefight (a) at night, (b) with no backup and (c) with nothing but a 1911 to defend ourselves? Short of fighting off a mugging (which can be done quite nicely without a lot of illumination, since you already know you’re dealing with a bad guy), I find those very, very long odds.
Now, I’m not berating the rail camp by any means, because I think these can be useful pieces of kit. I just think that some of today’s “tactical” thinking has taken on some almost comical connotations for most of us. The purpose of a handgun is to fight your way back to a longarm, no? The “pistol in the offense” concept belongs to SOCOM, and even then, they haven’t done much with it beyond the basics.
Maybe I’m missing the boat, but there is a difference between readiness and being mildly ridiculous. Buy a railed blaster if that’s what you truly want, but I’m not sure it’s worth the effort to try to find some rational, comprehensive treatise on why it is truly necessary. I don’t say this with an antagonistic spirit in the slightest, but the most competent operators I’ve ever known (spent 10+ years at Bragg) carry some of the plainest 1911s you’ve ever seen.
Rails are cool. Rails are useful. Rails are versatile. But … rails are not essential for the 99th-percentile user, and that includes me.
Chief
Amen, Chief.
If I needed a rail I would get one. I like to spend my gun money on things I NEED, like lots of practice ammo. Lately I have been taking my SF 6P to the range and doing drills with the Harries technique. Some people really need the rail. However, I will hazard that there are many rail owners take their rail gun out of the box and quietly breathe “Wooooowwww.” Then put it back for another day. Or go to the range for a rigorous 50 round torture test. (It must be a torture test. They shoot so fast it only takes 15 minutes!)
Maybe I’ll just buy the Kimber Warrior and grind the rail off, polish the spot and spray paint it! Its such a great gun except for that rail:D !
Not saying you dont raise some discussable points, but please, please…dont use the word “need”. It makes my head twitch and I want to smash my computer. 
What is your issue with the word “need”? Not trying to be argumentative, just curious.
I can’t imagine having a gun without one.
I have an FN HiPower that I love, except it doesn’t have a rail.
I see it not as a necessity, but a convience. I don’t have kids, so if something goes bump in the night, it is getting my Glock pointed at it. The attached light is handy if I have to point the gun, illuminate the threat/possible threat and call the police.