Pistol of the Century

About.com is one of my favorite internet sites. Chock full of all sorts of gunnie goodness - a rarity for a mainstream publication - I was surprised that I hadn't read this great article on the 1911 before.

ts basic mechanical design, based on John Browning’s original 1898 patent for a recoil-operated autoloader mechanism, has been the foundation or point of reference for virtually every other centerfire autoloading pistol subsequently produced by handgun manufacturers everywhere for the entire 20th century, and it is more widely copied and imitated than any other pistol ever made.

Go check it out, and in light of it and the great comic strip I ran earlier, I present you with this. My own personal John Browning masterpiece.