[Jpyle]

Originally Posted by Gatekeeper

http://www.coolgunsite.com/pistols/colt%20production.htm

This chart only covers up till the end of ww2.
Anybody feel like adding these up?
Looks like in 1943 alone there were nearly 500,000 1911's made
1944 over 500,000.
Thats over 1,000,000 produced in just two out of its 100 years in production

I think NGIB has owned that many himself...

[Gatekeeper]

Originally Posted by Jpyle

I think NGIB has owned that many himself...

.........this year

[Dillinger]

Originally Posted by Gatekeeper

http://www.coolgunsite.com/pistols/colt%20production.htm

This chart only covers up till the end of ww2.
Anybody feel like adding these up?
Looks like in 1943 alone there were nearly 500,000 1911's made
1944 over 500,000.
Thats over 1,000,000 produced in just two out of its 100 years in production

Facts?!?! Holy Hell, I thought we had forgot all about them for awhile. It would appear that they really do tell the REAL truth.

Thanks Gate!

JD

[wb_carpenter]

I guess I misread about what was meant by best selling model. I didn't know it was based on how many produced I thought it was asking which are selling more these days.

Whatever my opinion it was based on recent sales.

I think 1911 would win this contest I bet more 1911's have been made and sold than any other gun in history worldwide or domestic but its also has 70 years on the Glock.

I would say that more 1911's are being sold now than any other model but not outselling Glock's lineup.

next runner up I honestly have no idea probably a glock 19 but also the ruger .22 pistols sell a ton too.

I am honestly curious to see a source where we could look up manufacture gun sales per model or by company. There are so many variations of the 1911 it would be almost impossible to track sales though.

[hunter Joe]

As a firearm salesman in my little part of the woods I know that the Tupperware style firearms are selling far better than the conventional 1911 style to your everyday run of the mill gun buyer. These are the XDs, Glocks, FNs, S&W M&Ps, and a few Rugers. Sigs being a little higher end gun does have it's following but not by the average Joe. By the way, I sell more XDs and XDm than I do Glocks, it's the trend in these parts.

IMHO you should not group all handguns together and expect to find the best seller. Auto loaders and wheel gun appeal to a different demography of people as do poly-guns and 1911. I just bought an Argentine FM and love it, others people might think it's junk, so what.

It's the second or third level purchases that I'm selling the 1911s to. As a Springfield pro staffer I have let many of my customers shoot my Operator and they all like it but shy away from it whether it be fit or price. The people that do by the 1911s, first can afford them and secondly are ready to move into something a little different to shoot.

As for the bests selling firearm of all times, the Winchester Mod 94 probably has killed more whitetails than any other firearm, but that doesn't necessarily make it the best, only that it's been around the longest. This rings true for any firearm.

These are the facts reported by me, believe it or not.

[beaglesam]

Originally Posted by hideit

you are correct - i didn't put it on the list because i know it is way way down the list - study the ATF data published each year and you'll see it.

heck - the XD couldn't sell before springfield bought it and is spending a lot of money advertising it.
i know the Glock 19 and 22 is the biggest sellers of glock by a large majority and i have read that 32% of LEO have Sigs but didn't know which model

I would have thought the G17 was the biggest seller.

[hideit]

Originally Posted by wb_carpenter

I guess I misread about what was meant by best selling model. I didn't know it was based on how many produced I thought it was asking which are selling more these days.

Whatever my opinion it was based on recent sales.

I think 1911 would win this contest I bet more 1911's have been made and sold than any other gun in history worldwide or domestic but its also has 70 years on the Glock.

I would say that more 1911's are being sold now than any other model but not outselling Glock's lineup.

next runner up I honestly have no idea probably a glock 19 but also the ruger .22 pistols sell a ton too.

I am honestly curious to see a source where we could look up manufacture gun sales per model or by company. There are so many variations of the 1911 it would be almost impossible to track sales though.

try http://www.shootingindustry.com/SI0710charts/2010Firearmsreport.pdf
this is the best place i can think of
unfortunately the .40 , .45 and .50 semiautos are combined into one number

and yes the question was about just one year's production - not lifetime

[M14sRock]

When I worked full time in gun stores, back in the 80's and early 90's, the 1911's were just not selling. The store I worked in in 87, 88, and 89 still had a new Series 70 Gov't model on display. It had been the display Gov't model for years, and it finally sold in 89. Low capacity, full sized guns were out of vogue, and were just not selling. The only customers I had that were buying single stack 1911's with any regularity at that time were Filipinos. Colt barely kept the doors open, and discontinued most of their product lines.

But the 94 AWB contributed immensely to the single stack resurgence. Suddenly, 8+1 shot .45's were back in vogue. Who wanted an S&W 910 in 9mm when they could have a 9 shot 1911 in .45? Not many, that's who. And the advent of quality 10rd mags that WORKED and did not protrude too much made a huge dif as well.

Then Kimber introduced a very nicely appointed 1911 and people took note. It had custom features and parts right from the factory. Until then, if you wanted all the "necessary" bells and whistles on a 1911, you had one built (or bought a Detonics Scoremaster for BIG money). The race was on.

I had a conversation with Taran Butler in about 1992 or 1993. I was thinking about buying a cool old Clark Longslide racegun, and he talked me out of it. He said the single stack was dead, and nobody shot them in competition anymore. They could not compete with the Strayer Tripps and other high caps.

The 94 AWB changed all that, and now there are single stack divisions at matches.

1911's were just not big sellers for much of the 70's, 80's and 90's. I'm glad they are back in a huge way, but for years they were a dying breed.

[danf_fl]

But some of us "die hards" bought them anyways. IPSC and USPSA were gearing up.

[M14sRock]

Originally Posted by danf_fl

But some of us "die hards" bought them anyways. IPSC and USPSA were gearing up.

Oh, I know. At one time I had over 50 1911's. I was buying them cheap from the guys "upgrading" to modern pistols.

But the majority of the gun buyers did not want one. The "semi customs" like the Colt Government Combat Model sold OK. And when Colt finally introduced S/S they sold OK. The Officers Model sold well. But still never as well as any of the "modern" pistols.