Some people put a lot of weight on the fact that the 1911 has a grip safety and a thumb safety...but I don't think many folk understand how it ended up that way. John Browning's first self-loading pistols had very different safeties...and often, no safety at all. So today, let's look at the guns that led up to the 1911 - the 1900, 1902, 1903 (Hammer and Hammerless) and 1905, as well as the US military trials pistols from 1907, 1909, and 1910, and see what they can tell us about the standards and practices of the time.

(Thanks to Tam for the inspiration to film this!)