1911 Advice from one with a little experience
New guy here in the market for a 1911 and like what I'm seeing. Planning on taking a mil spec for a test drive (rental). Having only experience with various revolvers and striker fired pistols, anything I should be looking for or aware of when on the range with this particular style of firearm?
1911s are their own world; they have influenced most modern semi-autos, but they remain unique in my experience. I've only owned 2, and I am no expert. I'd suggest familiarizing yourself with how they function by doing a few dry fires before using live ammo. I would not use the cock-and-lock until you are very familiar with the functionality of the entire piece.
The cock-and-lock does not de-cock the weapon; it only makes it ready to fire.
You will find that even an out of the box a mil spec 1911 has a delightfully short and easy trigger pull. The better 1911s have even better triggers.
Perhaps most importantly, please know that there is no safe, easy way to un-cock a loaded 1911. Trying to use your thumb to gently drop the hammer when a round is chambered is a bad idea. Many accidents have been caused by doing that. It's best to shoot the entire mag and wait for the slide to lock back. The only safe alternative is to drop the mag and then rack the slide (I always rack it 3 times even tough 1 should suffice) until you are sure there is no ammo in the gun. Then use both your eyes and your finger to make sure there's no mag inserted and no round in the chamber. 1911s will fire without a mag inserted (at least both mine did), and if there is not a mag inserted the slide will not lock back unless you manually engage the slide stop.
When it comes time for cleaning, YouTube has many helpful videos.
Have fun!
