1911 Ambi Safety and opinions

tkdgeek

tkdgeek

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I've never owned a 1911 but am looking to buy my first. I rented one a week or so ago when we went to our first range in NC. Would never recommend the place but that's another issue.
The 1911 45acp format was surprisingly accurate for me even on first use with a gun that wasn't being taken care of. I'm used to my Glock 30 but the Springfield 1911 was easier to use and my accuracy came up faster than I expected. I don't need it for carry because I am very hooked on my HK 9mm.

A couple of questions please. Does the ambi safety get in the way or irritate the right hand? Some have it, some do not and I could narrow the list.
Do the Tritium sights make that much difference as it isn't going to be carry? (Again I ask as I have standard sights on the HK and have been comfortable with them) Never really looked at expensive glow in the dark ones. Maybe help older eyes? I actually read once to put a tiny bit of non-white florescent nail polish on the front dot to help a few things.
I believe I would prefer the 5" to make it a bit softer than the 4" and again, don't plan to carry so I'm hoping the 5" makes more sense.
As I've gotten older I have a bit more time to shoot handgun more frequently and enjoy it a bit more than I used to. Still prefer paper tigers with rifle but I enjoy reloading for my 45 and think the 1911 would be more accurate for the old guy.

Sorry for simple questions. I've read a fair amount but without access to someone that actually knows something I haven't been able to ask anything and have very limited ability to hands on to find out.
 
Ambi never bothered me, but you can always change it out later if you have one. No big deal.

For a range gun I like a plain black rear sight with a fiber optic front. Once again, easy to get swapped if the gun you buy doesn’t have them.

5” makes more sense, but for some reason I always shoot Commander sized pistols as well or better. That might be an individual thing as far as weight and balance go.

You can always buy more guns later if your first one isn’t perfect. :D
 
Since I'm a lefty all mine have the ambi safeties. No issues for me.
I own a couple of 1911s with night sights
But they came that way it wasn't something I actively sought. The 938 ( I know not a true 1911) is in my carry rotation not for the night sights but the weight
The other two I own with night sights stay in the safe.
 
S4f said:
Since I'm a lefty all mine have the ambi safeties. No issues for me.
I own a couple of 1911s with night sights
But they came that way it wasn't something I actively sought. The 938 ( I know not a true 1911) is in my carry rotation not for the night sights but the weight
The other two I own with night sights stay in the safe.
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Lefties don't seem to sweep the ambi's for some reason. A 938 is my EDC.
 
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To each his own.

I shoot RH and have ambi safeties on some 1911s, not all. Not an issue to me.

I have night sights on everything. Old and blind! I put XS big dot sights on one and like em.

Like holsters, it's an opinion that counts. Try as many as possible!
 
tkdgeek said:
Does the ambi safety get in the way or irritate the right hand?
...
Do the Tritium sights make that much difference as it isn't going to be carry?
Click to expand...

No and no. For me at least.
 
For a SD/HD 1911 setup tritium combat sights make sense and an ambi safety would be helpful if you’re not able to use your right hand for some reason. For a target 1911 an ambi safety for a right hander doesn’t help 99% of the time and for sights nothing is more classic to me and pretty damn easy to see than a good competition rear with serrated face and a gold dot insert front sight ... durable, good contrasting pickup and classic 1911 looks. Really though it does come down to personal preference ... and to a point looks and function.
 
We are night fire friendly here until 10 PM. Come show us how you Actually Use your night sights. Not poking around in a dark closet to see if they work but Shooting on a live range in the dark. Drawing, presenting and firing in a Hurry. I am open to learning All the time. I will run the drills without and you with...we'll all find out together.
 
I have big hands and an ambi safety tends to dig into my right hand when i shoot.
Since your stated goal is ‘accurate range toy’ ill suggest you also try a few target style wheelguns before you buy anything.
 
I very much appreciate all of the valuable information. This gives me some stuff to work on to make up my mind.
Ha, would be nice if I could get a few but that isn't how we work. I get one.
I have one nice creedmoor, one nice clays shotgun since we shoot those together, one HK (she got a browning) handgun we also shoot together on the handgun range...I have to make the purchase count. LOL.
I had been planning on some 1-1 training before we left Okla to work on my accuracy before my bad habits get out of hand but will have to find a place to do that here now. I got a rental so I could finally scratch the 1911 question off the list and was just surprised how I enjoyed the feel and more surprised that I shot it as well as my 9mm I put about a thousand rounds or so a year through. My wife goes through twice the amount as I do but she only has the one. As said, we're pretty casual.

Again, I thank you for the kind and helpful words. Not surprising as I expected there were plenty of good people with 1911's.
 
Ambi ruins the profile of the 1911 and gets in the way, IMO. First thing that happens to any of my 1911s is getting switched to the original low profile design.

I'm with Billy on night sights. I've shot at night and found them useless, though maybe they're usefulness requires a metric s-ton of practice. A glow in the dark target would be far more useful in any regard.
 
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tkdgeek said:
I'm used to my Glock 30 but the Springfield 1911 was easier to use and my accuracy came up faster than I expected. I don't need it for carry because I am very hooked on my HK 9mm.
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Confusion.

BatteryOaksBilly said:
As for me and mine....No Night Sights.....No Ambis…...
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Clarity.

gunbelt said:
...i still haven't found a sight i can see in the daylight.
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Honesty.

S4f said:
Since I'm a lefty all mine have the ambi safeties. No issues for me.
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Practicality.

Y'all may know my left handed friend who runs a LGS and usually wins a lot of pistol competitions. He is not a fan of ambi safeties. He also finds that chootin' a right handed bolt gun is done better left handed.

Adaptability.
 
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My 1911/2011 likes are based solely on competition gun setups, so take this however you see fit.

I use ambi shielded safeties and blacked out rear with fiber front.
 
I do not like ambi safeties on any gun especially a 1911. I am not a big guy and they take away from the slim profile of the 1911 when it rides in a holster. Also it is just what I am used to.

As far as night sights I think that they are the most missunderstood pieces of common gun gear on the market. Night sights are not helpful for shooting in the dark. They are good for a very limited window of low light. Too much light and you can't see your sights. No light all you can see is your sights. They are good for low light situations, think parking garage, where you can still identify a target but there might not be enough ambient light to pick up your sights quickly. The glow in this type of low light situation is very useful. When you move to a no light situation you will find yourself chasing the dot without a sense of its relationship to the rest of the pistol. 3 Dot make it worse IMHO. Dot over Dot or single front dot it better. When you are shooting in a true no light situation then a flashlight in your off hand or mounted to the gun is going to serve you better than night sights IMHO. I have shot at night back to back with a hand held light with one gun with night sights and one without. The one without actually did better. I found fiber optic and gold dots are better to see with a hand held light because they reflect the light and make it faster to pick up the front sight. This is my experience and I am sure others will feel differently. I don't remove night sights but if I am setting up my system from the ground up I skip them these days. YMMV

Finally the older style with slim white rings are not great in the daytime. This is why so many companies are coming out with night sights that have a orange, yellow etc... ring around them like these. This allows for better daytime sight pictures. The older slim white rings don't cut it as your eyes age. I like the newer black out rears with u notches and big fiberoptic like dots with a tritium insert. There you are getting the best of both worlds IMHO.

p_100010620_2.jpg
 
Since you're talking about buying a gun not parts.

Ambi would not make or break my decision, I don't have a need, if they bother you they are cheap and easy to change.

Tritium serves no purpose on a range gun. Fiber optic front is nice, with a black rear, I prefer but don't mandate adjustable. Since 1911 DO NOT get GI sights at any price. You have more options with any other dovetails.

5" is a more standardized set-up than commander. Seems like no two manufacturers do 4" the same, which becomes an issue if you need/want barrels, or any of the recoil spring assembly parts. There is also a long standing "rule" that the further you stray from the original design the more problems you're likely to have.

Suggest looking at the Springfield RO line up.
 
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MacEntyre said:
Confusion.


Clarity.


Honesty.


Practicality.

Y'all may know my left handed friend who runs a LGS and usually wins a lot of pistol competitions. He is not a fan of ambi safeties. He also finds that chootin' a right handed bolt gun is done better left handed.

Adaptability.
Click to expand...

Yes sir I'm guilty of comfusing.
I handload for my Glock 30 to get the most accurate ball and hollow so have ran quite a few through it in the last couple of years. Bit heavy to carry when I'm out at the farm but I do. I'm just not so happy with the G30 grip and there isn't much you can do if it feels a bit oversized other than learn.
When I have a Concealed Carry it is my HK 9mm. 1000 rounds a year isn't a lot (pretty casual shooter) but I'm much more comfortable with it for that purpose and some nice Federal HST. I don't reload for 9mm as they are too cheap to just buy. Like our shotgun shells when we are doing clays. Too easy just to buy.

As you have pointed out, the Clarity, Honesty and Practicality are some of the valuable takeaway from reading what the experienced people posted for me.
 
I am not a fan of ambi safeties even though I have several 1911s with them. I do not want ambi if I am going to carry it because I have had an ambi safety swipe off several times while carrying concealed. It does not bother me or get in the way on a range or match pistol and some makers do not offer the other features I want without an ambi safety. You are not looking for a carry pistol, so whether you get an ambi or not would not really matter very much.

I am also not a big fan of night sights even though the pistol in my pocket right now (365) has them. There is, as has been mentioned above, a fairly small window of light conditions in which they would be useful. They would be very useful in those conditions, and those conditions might very well be when you need a handgun the most. The question was not about a carry gun, so I would not bother with them.

It was not one of your questions, but I would suggest that you try to get a model with a beavertail grip safety. The 1911s I have without them bite my chubby little hands resulting in discomfort and bleeding on the web between my thumb and first finger.
 
I have only one with an ambi safety and it’s a new range toy and not yet a bother so it stays.

For me a commander length points better. Not sure why.

I do have some with full length guide rods and some that require special tools to take them down, I see no advantage to either for casual shooting.

Also have them in 9mm, 38super and 45acp and love them all, but suggest that folks start with 45acp.
 
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