I would not ever call a 1911 “reliable”. You need to keep up with the spring replacement (500-2000 rounds for the recoil spring), and you need to make sure that you’re keeping them very clean. I’ve had the slide stop walk out on mine in the middle of a stage, which created a stoppage that couldn’t be fixed on the clock.
It would not be my first recommendation for a carry gun.
For reliable, I’d go with a major-name striker-fired polymer framed pistol. And by “reliable” I mean a gun that you can forget to clean for 2000+ rounds, and it still works well.
That said, my carry gun is a CZ Shadow 2 Compact. It’s also not ‘reliable’; it’s going to take a lot more work than a Glock 19. I’m okay with that. And I knew that going in.
I would not ever call a 1911 “reliable”. You need to keep up with the spring replacement (500-2000 rounds for the recoil spring), and you need to make sure that you’re keeping them very clean. I’ve had the slide stop walk out on mine in the middle of a stage, which created a stoppage that couldn’t be fixed on the clock.
It would not be my first recommendation for a carry gun.
For reliable, I’d go with a major-name striker-fired polymer framed pistol. And by “reliable” I mean a gun that you can forget to clean for 2000+ rounds, and it still works well.
That said, my carry gun is a CZ Shadow 2 Compact. It’s also not ‘reliable’; it’s going to take a lot more work than a Glock 19. I’m okay with that. And I knew that going in.