Thread: compact 1911

Originally Posted by d. m. ellington

I fired my first 1911 when I was 15 years old. I am now 65. For the last 50 years I have never been too far away from a 1911. Personally I have no faith in the compact .45's. I have had reliabilty issues with two Colt Commanders. The Colt Defender seems to be an exception to the rule. People I know say they are reliable. In 35 years of Military and Police work, I never met a professional who used a compact .45. I met most of the great gun writers from the 60's thru the 80's and most when questioned stated the preferred the full size. A full size is not hard to conceal with a proper holster. Others expierence may vary.

Because of my small frame when I sit a 5" barrel tends to push the weapon up and either make one side of my pants do weird things or , more often, unseats the weapon. I think I've decided on a Magnum Research 1911 C with a 4.33" barrel, just testing it at the shop it seems that 2/3" is enough to negate the problem. The MR seems to be the best bang for your buck 1911 on the market especially for the sub $800 range, with fit and finish I'd set close to that of a Springfield or Kimber (not better or the same but close).

Make sure you are using a quality gun belt. I have no problems when wearing either my leather gun belt or my riggers belts.

You might want to look at the Springfield XD compact .45. I have one of their full size tactical model with the 5 inch barrel and it is one of the few "modern" pistols I would consider. Also if you feel comfortable with a .40 S&W look at the new Steyr M1A. The Steyr is one of the most under rated pistols out there.

I have a Sig 1911 in 3 inch, a Colt Defender, a Kimber crimson carry in 3 inch, a Springfield Micro and a Springfield EMP in 40 S&W. All carry very well and I have put thousands of rounds through each without any problems. I usually carry 2 extra clips with me on these vs. only one when I carry my Glock 23 or Springfield XD 3 inch compact. I think the key is finding something that feels comfy to you and then practice till you become as proficient as possible with it.

Have fun.

Agreed Lynn.
Find a gun you are comfortable carrying with you all the time. shoot it often in different situations. As often as possible away from a bench. Until you are proficient at it. Take tactical course and find out you actually suck at it. Lol. Train more.
Always have fun doing it!!!
PS. I have seen some traffic about steyr and FTF issues.

Paul

Wish I could carry.

Someday perhaps we'll loosen our handgun laws a little.

Para Ordinance P12 is a sweety. Dbl Stack officer's size 1911. I don't carry, but if I did, I would likely not carry a 1911 unless it was a plastic frame like Tripp-Strayer. All steel is heavy. I'd lean heavily towards a G30. 'May be ugly and uninspiring, but were surprizingly fun to stay accurate with. Light weight, super reliable. For a work tool, the G30. For a torrid romance - 'gotta be 1911.

I posted elsewhere about my experience with a Colt Combat Commander. It's no longer a shorty but it shoots like dream since I put a compensator on it. My only other experience with a compact 1911 type was one of those little Springfields that had the ported barrel. I bought two at the time and gave one to my Dad.

I took mine out of the box and the trigger was HORRIBLE. It broke at around 14lbs after creeping for what felt like a couple of inches. I called Springfield and was rather rudely informed that none of their guns left their shop with no more than a 7lb trigger pull. After some less than satisfactory back and forth I was informed I could send them the pistol. I declined and proceeded to void the warranty. I cut three turns off the main spring and had a 7lb creepy trigger. I made the mistake of shooting that beast from the hip and it blew my hat off. Didn't make that mistake again. A buddy of mine just HAD to have it so I told him what I'd done to it and he still wanted it. He got it.

Dad still has his but doesn't carry it.

So for the most part I don't look at "small/smaller" 1911's.

Just my.02 and YMMV.

It doesn't have the cool factor of a 1911, but it does have 10+1 and night sights. XD45C, supertuck w/v-clips, and the crossbreed belt; works for me.

Originally Posted by RJD

It doesn't have the cool factor of a 1911, but it does have 10+1 and night sights. XD45C, supertuck w/v-clips, and the crossbreed belt; works for me.

Good weapon once they fixed the mag problems.