The part about dropping guns is a bit puzzling coming from someone who appears to spenda a fair amount of time around firearms, however the fence post quote is surely hypothetical. I'll preface this with the fact that I am a Glock guy. Tried 1911's and while they are smooth/accurate shooters and beautiful works of art, the comfort in my hands, relative complexity, and limited capacity are not for me. To each his/her own without judgement.
I have two 1911 dropping/delicate comments relayed to me by seperate 1911 guys. A buddy of mine who daily carried a Springfield 1911 once forgot to button his shoulder rig, had it come out while exiting his vehicle and hit the concrete. He is a short guy with a low-riding sports car so it couldn't have been more than a 3ft drop. From that point on, the gun gave him nothing but problems and even after several trips to Springfield's custom shop and another local gunsmith he never got it running right again. I'm sure it was fixable, just not easily. Maybe it was too customized.
Other comment is from a LEO and fellow gun fanatic that worked security at our office building. Had a beautiful 1911 that he used to carry, but after once or twice getting caught in the rain doing traffic duty, and the disassembly/cleaning that followed, he started carrying his Glock instead. Just a quick wipe down afterwards and it was good to go.
The 1911 obviously has stood the test of time for good reason. I certainly understand the argument of differences in safety mechanisms and aesthetics from a personal preference standpoint. Both great guns for different reasons but IMHO the 1911's tend to get babied more, and in my experience, probably for good reason.
- Joe