US Marine explains why he won’t trust a 1911 with his life

The 1911 is arguably one of America’s favorite handguns. It’s been in service for more than a century and more and more people buy them every year despite the hefty price tag. Daniel Shaw, a US Marine and Combat Weapons Master, isn’t on-board the 1911 fan wagon and reveals why he would never trust one with his life.

Limited magazine capacity is one of his main concerns. While many users argue that the powerful .45 rounds are so powerful that you won’t need more than 7-8, this trained soldier still doesn’t think that’s quite enough.

He isn’t thrilled about the safety lever either. Instead of training through the stress that causes shooter to forget their safety is engaged, he’d rather select a weapon that doesn’t require extra steps to put lead on target.

His final concern is also the most controversial among 1911 fan boys: reliability. He will concede that there are some fantastic companies out there that make reliability paramount, but he has seen too many malfunctions in too many classes to trust the average 1911 with what matters most.

All of that being said, he doesn’t discount the 1911 entirely. This Marine simply doesn’t have the time or money required to maintain a 1911 to his standards when there are other weapons that will do the same at half the cost an effort.