Thread: 1911 - Disappointed

Originally Posted by JBPilot

...One of these days I'm going to buy the parts and assemble from the frame up my own commander sized 1911.

I am old enough to remember when Les Baer was brand new in the business and anyone who wanted a race gun had to build their own. I'd cull the gun shows looking for not so worn out Essex and Singer (yes, the sewing machine company) parts from WWII to rebuild. There was no more exciting process than heat straightening warped rails or hand filing them until they were straight and tight. They probably never were when they were made. Those pistols shot much better and I learned a lot about metalworking and the internal operations of small machines. I agree with Nun...never have seen a feed ramp that could not be improved out of the box, or slide, or sear or....

But that's because i've been inside so many of them. I figured if John Browning, a blacksmith, could design and make them, I could sure try to fix them. I almost got sucked into the gunsmiths world. But back then, the legend was that nobody could shoot a 45ACP with much accuracy and they would knock you on your butt. Milspec then was Minute of Man accuracy rather than the much tighter MOA we are chasing these days. Plus all the "old parts" were made in a time when they needed pistols and needed lots of them. The companies were not going to take time and refine the product.

No fault though, some of the new pistols are serious improvements. Mostly because Les figured out that machine work AFTER heat treatment was a significant improvement in ridding the pistol of the problem of thin metal components warping during the heat treatment. Then the rest like Wilson and Kimber and some of the big manufacturers followed along. The expense followed because cutting hard steel cost more in cutting tools and the improved reputation for less slop during all that dynamic motion in the hand.

The only thing I don't like about my Colt Gold Cup Series 70. When I miss I know it is my fault. I can't blame the gun.

Those Gold Cups set the standard in the early IDPA days when they came out & it took years for mfg's to turn out anything close to them in quality & price.

I have a Kimber officer's model with their carry treatment, it retails for a little more than 1000, but it's in that price ballpark. I love the gun and it hasn't given me any troubles. I have shot a buddy's Springfield long slide, and it's an incredible gun. I have a Springfield XD, and based on my experiences If I were to buy another 1911 I would probably get a Springfield.

Well, I polished my feed ramped really well. Seems it's handling factory ammo fine. Now I just need to find out what's going on with my hand loads. Dillon says certain ejectors on 1911's cause a burr around the rim causing feeding issues. Thanks for all the help I. This thread!

Forgive me if I missed this in a previous post, butdo your reloads function in your single stack? If so, then the double stack design is most likely the culprit. I'm relatively new to the platform, bought my 1st in Jan'13. I reloaded 11k worth of RN & Hornady XTP's last year, and my 6 gun gobbled them all up. The only issues I've had were w/some FP's I bought. Could not get them to feed reliably in any any of my 1911's, or XD's for that matter.

I was able to narrow the primary issue down to a certain Mfg's ammo. The other issue I was having was due to some bad brass.

I too Carrie a G19 everyday for about 90% of the time I am awake. I bought a 1911 colt commander for fun shoots and always liked them. Long story short had ammo problems too not extraction or double feeding till I started loading my own ammo got no more problems anymore. Loading light too so not much recoil. Almost lighter than my G19. Glad u got sorted.

Late to the party but when the OP said Double Stack 1911....well, it sounded kind of funny. I always thought the beauty of the 1911 (have owned 2) was their narrow profile. I've also owned a Browning Hi Power. I carried the Colt 1911 off the books while living in AZ for a couple of years due to the unfortunate meeting with a sociopath (actually my girlfriend met him and would not listen to my warnings). A double stacked 1911? Why tinker with perfection?

Originally Posted by WW243

Late to the party but when the OP said Double Stack 1911....well, it sounded kind of funny. I always thought the beauty of the 1911 (have owned 2) was their narrow profile. I've also owned a Browning Hi Power. I carried the Colt 1911 off the books while living in AZ for a couple of years due to the unfortunate meeting with a sociopath (actually my girlfriend met him and would not listen to my warnings). A double stacked 1911? Why tinker with perfection?

Yea, most people call them 2011s I think (I think that's what STI called them when they first started making them).