Colt M1911 - The Most Famous Hangdun Ever?
The M1911 is one of the most well known and loved handguns in the world. It has and still does serve in active armed forces units all over the world. But where did this wonderful sidearm come from? How did it take over from the standard .38 revolver as firearm of choice for the US Army - amongst others? Necessity has always been the mother of invention and this is especially true of the .45 semi-automatic pistol.
Designed by John Browning the .45 was created with one purpose in mind - stopping power. Up to that point the standard issue sidearm in the US armed forces was a .38 revolver. During the American-Phillipine War (1899 - 1913) the American forces were actively involved in fighting Phillipino insurgents who had previously been attacking Spanish forces until the Phillipines was sold to the US in 1898. One particular group of insurgents, The Moros, used mind altering native drugs to stop them from feeling any pain. US forces learned the hard way that a standard .38 simply didn't have the stopping power against these insurgents.
Enter the Colt .45 caliber revolver created by John Browning. The larger bullet proved more than adequate at stopping the native insurgents. The Army decided it needed a new semi-automatic .45 sidearm for its forces and trials began. By 1910 Brownings semi-automatic pistol had been incredibly successful at all the Army trials and was officially adopted as the US armed forces sidearm by 1911 - hence the name.
The M1911 served the US armed forces officialy (in a variety of upgraded models) until 1986 and was still in active service with some units during the first Gulf War. Even now it's still being used by certain special forces units in the US and elsewhere in the world - it's still held in such high regard.
The Colt M1911A1 was manufactured between 1924 and 1945 in large quantities for the coming war. Fortunately for you there are several airsoft gas powered Colt US model M1911A1's available on the market today so you get to relive and own a piece of history from the comfort of your own home.
The M1911 is available in both spring and gas blowback models. The spring models require cocking before each shot whereas the gas blowback models are simply charged and then provide continuous fire until the gas is spent. The blowback aspect of these guns simply means that the topslide of the gun flies backwards as each airsoft bb is shot from it. You can expect a bb velocity of over 300 feet per second from the gas powered M1911s which is more than enough for standing backyard or basement plinking. They're also more than authentic enough to be an ideal (and safe) conversation piece for any home.
Wouldn't you like to own a piece of history?
