The pistol served as the standard-issue sidearm for the United States Armed Forces from 1911 to 1985. military procured around 2.7 million M1911 and M1911A1 pistols during its service life. because of the design's relatively slim width and the stopping power of the.

Compact variants are popular civilian concealed carry weapons in the U.S. It is popular with civilian shooters in competitive events such as USPSA, IDPA, International Practical Shooting Confederation, and bullseye shooting. The pistol was widely copied, and this operating system rose to become the preeminent type of the 20th century and of nearly all modern centerfire pistols. ĭesigned by John Browning, the M1911 is the best-known of his designs to use the short recoil principle in its basic design. 45, Automatic, M1911A1 in the Vietnam War era. The designation changed to Pistol, Caliber. 45, M1911 for the original model of 1911 or Automatic Pistol, Caliber.

The pistol's formal designation as of 1940 was Automatic Pistol, Caliber. The M1911, also known as the Colt 1911, or the Colt Government, is a single-action, semi-automatic, magazine-fed, recoil-operated pistol chambered for the. 7-round or 8-round (.45 ACP) box magazine

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