Читать книгу Gun Digest 2011 онлайн

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Since its introduction, the 1911 proven itself as the United States military pistol in two World Wars and a number of other conflicts. Other countries produced the Colt/Browning design, made under license. Still other countries made unauthorized close copies of the pistol.

Civilian use of the big Colt pistol reinforced its value. By the midpoint of the 1900s, the 1911 was on its way to becoming one of the winningest target pistols use. In the latter part of the century, enforcement agencies were won over law enforcement agencies were won over to the semiautomatic pistol, and many went with the time-tested 1911.

For almost half its history, the 1911 reigned supreme as the premier semiautomatic pistol in America. During that time, no other big-bore pistol was even produced in quantity in this country. In latter part of the 20th century, other companies made competing semiautomatic pistols of more modern design, but the 1911 retained its popularity. With patent protection long gone, other firms began to make nearly exact copies-part-for-part-interchangeable 1911-type pistols-under their own names. New names, some now almost forgotten, entered the firearms lexicon. By the closing decade of the 1900s, other producers such as Springfield, Para-Ordnance and Kimber achieved major positions as 1911 manufacturers.