I have been a dedicated revolver shooter Al of my life. I own everything from NAA 22 lr to BFR 475 linebaugh. I have settled on the 44 special in a Ruger Nm flattop as my all time favorite.
I am now ready to try a 1911 45 acp and give it a fair chance. I called a trusted friend and asked advice on what manufacturer to look to for an all steel 5" model. H his text was only one word, "RUGER". So it begins.
I have always been a Colt man until they started using cast parts. It's also the reason I would not by a Ruger either. Admittedly there are traditional cast parts and there are MIM cast parts. I know Colt scaled back on the MIM cast parts because of early failures so they started mixing the parts using forged on high stress parts. I have heard that Ruger is replacing its traditional cast parts with more and more MIM parts. Hopefully and probably Ruger MIM will be better parts.
I admit that if "traditional" cast parts are made thicker, heavier, and are adequately hard they can last a long time. Of course overstressing a cast part will result in failure far sooner than a high quality heat treated forged part. A cast part is hard all the way through and they have porosity, (polite word for air holes). The forged part can be made hard on the outside and softer on the inside giving it flexibility.
Forged parts can be made hard on the outside and softer on the inside resulting in the forged part being able to take tremendous shock and still not shatter. This was known for thousands of years back in antiquity when making swords. There was a reason ancient swordsmiths never made and used cast swords.
I would not trade my "original" all forged Colts for every cast 1911 on the planet.
Having said all that I will state that if the 1911 had never been the standard issue U.S. Service Pistol today it would not even be much more than a footnote in history. Its history is what keeps its sales going on, not any real advantaged over modern pistols that are often lighter, smaller, feed better, are just as accurate, and have higher capacity and are just as durable and often cost less.
Myths die hard as well as people think the .45 acp is the superior stopping round as compared to the 9x19 and this has proven with modern bullets not to be true at all. In actuality the .45 acp is inferior as it has less penetration, less capacity, more recoil, a more loping trajectory, less comfortable to carry, less concealable, ammo more costly, less reliable with expanding bullets and people generally shoot the .45 acp less accurately because of its higher recoil. Recovery time between shots is less as well. These numerous reasons are why the 9x19 was and still is the most popular law enforcement and military caliber in the world.
I have used the 9x19 out of a short barreled Glock on an 180 lb Deer and it killed it with one shot. That is a real life experience as compared to gun rag propaganda by blow hard gun writers.
I use my 1911's for occasional range fun but a high capacity 9x19 is my carry gun and home defense gun.
If you do not own a 1911 buy one for nostalgia. I would search around for an "original" forged Colt in good condition. When you show up at the range you will get oohs and ahhs with an original Colt. The cast guns of any brand will not receive even a second glance because knowledgeable 1911 owners know the difference between the original and modern made 1911 pistols.
