the Bobtail 1911: Why??

[The Rabbi]

I see the bobtail configuration is getting more popular, and a few people here have expressed a preference. I am trying to figure out what the advantage of this profile is? Is it just something new and different, or is there some advantage to reducing the grip area on a .45 caliber pistol? Is it similar to the round butt/square butt difference on Smith revolvers? I don't know. So I ask.

[Guest Mugster]

That is a good question...to which i really have no answer. One guy told me it reduces printing while carrying concealed, personally I'd kinda doubt it. 1911's are alot of things but concealable is not really one of them. I think it sells because it looks cool.

[Im Neero]

I don't have one, nor have I ever handled one, but I can definitely see how it could help with concealment. I carry a full size 1911 and the only place it really prints is the back corner of the grip where the bobtail is.

[Guest Mugster]

Well, I guess i'll have to defer to better judgement then. I don't own a modern 1911 concealed carry holster, as far as that goes.

[Im Neero]

It's no pocket pistol, but thanks to the slim design when worn IWB behind my right hip it is invisible under a t-shirt, unless I bend over, which is where the bobtail may help. I'd like to hear someone that actually has one weigh in, Tungsten?

[Kano]

Bobtail eliminates a pressure point where you feel recoil in the heel of your hand

Bobtail 1911

Guns Magazine, May, 2000 by Charles E. Petty

This defensive pistol combines the best features of the Government Model and an eminently concealable round-butt revolver.

Called the "Bobtail," this custom 1911 is distinguished by a simple but unique mainspring housing which radically alters the way the wonderful old Government Model pistol feels. Perhaps the best comparison is to look at the difference between a round-butt versus a square-butt revolver.

The alterations are made to the Government Model's frame and mainspring housing. The mainspring housing retaining pin is moved up the frame by about half an inch and the space below it is cut away almost down to the magazine well.

After examining the gun and shooting it quite a bit, I spoke with Ed Brown. When I asked him why he thought of this, he said he wondered, "What would a .45 look like with a round butt?"

High Tech, Low Profile

Instead of going out and whacking off a frame -- and possibly ruining it, Brown turned to the computer. His shop has highly sophisticated CAD/CAM software so it was possible to see how it would look before cutting any metal. According to Brown there were several versions before the finished product you see here arrived.

At the heart is a different mainspring housing made in Brown's shop. The guts of the housing -- mainspring cap, mainspring, and mainspring housing retainer -- come from the Colt Officers ACP. This story isn't about the internal parts other than to point out that reliability is not sacrificed. This story is about what a radical change in the feel of the pistol is wrought with some simple surgery.

The net result is that the thickness of the lower part of the frame is reduced by 1/2". All at once it becomes an anatomical fit. Where the mainspring housing used to push against the heel of the hand it now seems to simply wrap into it. It is incredibly difficult to find words to describe subtle feels. It's really one of those things that you just have to experience for yourself.

[onebad7up]

Yea. The bobtail feels better in the hand. That rounded edge is more ergonomic.

That being said....

I think most people like that look because a lot of the big name 1911 companies do it. Your average low end 1911 does not usually come with it.

[Guest triggertime]

As I understand it, Ed Brown designed the bobtail to reduce the grip from printing.

Which doesn't make sense to me, because concealing a full size 1911 is not that much of

a big deal to begin with.

[Guest sabrexr15]

Mainly its there,(if you shoot one without it, you will soon find out) to keep the hammer from bitting you. That fat meat between the thumb and your trigger finger gets caught between hammer and that little bobtail on most 1911, when the pistol is fired. It doesn't happen every time, just when your not paying attention to your grip.

So the new bobtails are a nice feature to get.

just my .02

regards

sabre

[Guest Verbal Kint]

Mainly its there,(if you shoot one without it, you will soon find out) to keep the hammer from bitting you. That fat meat between the thumb and your trigger finger gets caught between hammer and that little bobtail on most 1911, when the pistol is fired. It doesn't happen every time, just when your not paying attention to your grip.

Actually, you're confusing the "bobtail" option on some 1911's with the extended guard of the grip safety -- which is somtimes referred to as the "beaver tail".

The bobtail option is removing a considerable portion of the 1911's mainspring housing and frame, as already stated, to alleviate printing issues when carrying conceaed.

Example of a bobtailed 1911:

Note the angled cut on the bottom rear of the grip... with the frame and MSH material removed.

[TGO David]

Beaver Tail

Extension of the grip safety that protects the web of your thumb and forefinger.

Bobtail

Reduction of the grip frame to mitigate "printing" when carrying concealed

Bob White

Annoying bird.

Bob Hope

Comedic great, sorely missed.

Smilin Bob

Has giant weenis because of Enzyte, reportedly.

[Guest db99wj]

You could have gone in an "interesting"direction if you had kept on with the "beaver tail" like you did with the Bobtail! :dirty:

[Guest flyfishtn]

That made me really smile today!

[Guest SUNTZU]

:bowrofl:

[Guest 2HOW]

I dont think I would be interested in the bobtail, I have no problem concealing mine, it looks funny too.

[Guest CrazyLincoln]

Bob Dole

[Guest SUNTZU]

Bob Dole only carries a bobtail when Bob Dole does not want printing on Bob Doles jacket.

[Guest happyg]

I love the bob tail. For one, it aids in concealment. Two, it is more comfortable for me. The MSH does not dig into my side any more. I carry IWB and am in and out of the car all day.

[The Average Joe]

I'm going to keep the bobtail in mind the next time I'm in the market for a 1911...(as well as all the other Bob's Tungsten has listed - to funny).

Hope I don't crack up laughing at the gun counter shelling out my dough.

[Guest bazookazilla]

heehheeeeheeeeeeheeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!

I have been at work for 12 hours today with a crowd of would-be comedians and none of them said anything close to this funny.

Beaver Tail

Extension of the grip safety that protects the web of your thumb and forefinger.

Bobtail

Reduction of the grip frame to mitigate "printing" when carrying concealed

Bob White

Annoying bird.

Bob Hope

Comedic great, sorely missed.

Smilin Bob

Has giant weenis because of Enzyte, reportedly.

[Guest canynracer]

LMAO...that is good...