4" (commander length) 1911s....who is making the most reliable?

I have the SR 1911 Commander and Springfield Range Officer Compact. I've yet to have malfunction with either.

I don't own a Colt, but I've had the DW CBOB for several years and it's been flawless:



ROCK6

Balrog said:

I am a big fan of the 5" 1911 but recently have gotten the bug for something shorter for carry. I have had mixed results with 4" (commander) length barrel models in the past and have found them hit and miss in terms of reliability. I have no interest in anything shorter than 4".

How is reliability of 4" 1911s these days?
Who is making the most reliable?

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I have been very pleased with my STI Guardian. I carry it a lot. I love a good 1911 and have 3 more full size, one Colt and two Kimber’s. The Guardian is much easier to carry. My buddy has one of the Kimber Custom 4”. Very nice too as well as Commander would be I am sure.

I've had this loaded champion for several years now and have yet to have a misfeed of any type. It's been a great pistol and one I would certainly trust my life to.

My Sig Carry Nightmare has been 100% right out of the box- no extra better parts, no 400 rounds of break-in period, no return to vendor for fixes, just a loud report every time I pull the trigger. It also carries well, looks dead sexy, and is more accurate than I am most days.

What else were you hoping to find?

I have a Remington R1 Commander in .45ACP and Springfield Range Officer Compact in 9mm. No problems with either. The R1 is a Colt Combat Commander knockoff and just the right size and weight for .45ACP. The officers size ROC (4" barrel and shorter frame) is just right for 9mm plus the alloy frame drops the weight about 1/2 pound. For .45ACP think carefully before dropping under the Combat Commander size/weight.

I hope Dan Wesson offers this 10mm Commander Classic Bobtail again so I can order one!

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My Colt Commander built in 1959 with a trigger/ramp job digests everything and has never failed. I haven't had bad ammo yet to make it fail, and I reloaded a ton of .45 for it and it loves it. I rebuilt the frame with Wilson Combat pins etc and it rocks. It's my off duty gun. The .380's are cute, but a .45 is a brute for off duty.

Stay vigilante out there girls and guys, bad people with steel and plastic are hurting our communities.

No biases here, I have a Kimber, Remington R 1, Colt 1911, Colt 1911a1 and am frothing at the bit wanting a new Series 70 Government for Christmas. I keep dropping hints to my Westie puppy but I think I will need to intervene. The 1991 series Colt Commander is a real shooter if one should need the shorter pistol.

Sig "Emperor Scorpion" comes with a 4.2" barrel.

It has been reliable so far at 350ish rounds, but did have a stove pipe at round #28. No function problems since. It did make a trip back to Sig to fix an issue of spent cases bouncing off my crainium.

They replaced the ejector with a slightly longer one and now everything runs good.

Edmo

I have a Kimber Pro Carry II. More than 3,000 rounds through it and I have never had a single failure of any kind. And I have shot some pretty terrible ammo through it. I carry it occasionally but the grip is a bit long. I see almost no advantage to the commander length over the full size. The grip is what matters.

I have been wanting something with an officer frame and a commander length slide...

I thought I might add that as mentioned, customer service can be worth something. I recently purchased a kimber micro carry. It was experiencing failures to extract. I called kimber and they sent me a label no questions asked. They fixed the issue and sent it back a couple weeks later. It is now perfect.

This was last month, just a story on recent customer service.

...

While only having a few hundred rounds so far, my Vbob has not had one single issue. None. I seem to remember reading that most recent Commander length 1911s are pretty reliable these days, so I doubt you have to spend Dan Wesson money to get reliable. They are nice, though.

Had a Colt CCO I purchased new in the mid 90's. Never a malfunction, with any ammo. Sold it as I wanted a steel frame gun to shoot a lot. Wish I kept it, after I had a full size for a while I picked up a Kimber pro carry II in the 4" size. Only issues with this one or the full size Kimber (Elite Custom II) were my failings learning to handload cast boolits. Niether gun has any issues with jacketed ammo.

Seems like most 1911 issues are with compacts shorter than 4".

The other day I shot my Gov Model Colt and then my Kimber (commander size, light weight frame) and a new Colt Commander ( steel frame). I was surprised that the Colt Commander was nearly as easy shooting as the full size Government Model but both could not match the Kimber for smooth controlled shots, maybe the dual recoil spring system tames it but recoil is not an issue shooting 230 ball in that pistol. The Colt Commander was also nice but the weight would inhibit my desire to carry it concealed. Some folks are able to handle the size and weight but at my age one looks for light weight and easily concealed size (thus my choice is Sig P 238).

Ask a question like this and you will get a dozen personal stories about the few that the poster has had or shot. That's a good thing, otherwise you just get regurgitated interwebz spew.

I've owned a few and currently have a VBOB and a Colt Lightweight Commander. The VBOB is one of the most accurate handguns I've ever fired with a top-notch trigger and sight system. However, I'm not used to that trigger and I find that it fires before I'm ready. For that reason (and the nearly 3lb weight), it stays a fun-gun and not a carry gun. The Colt, on the other hand, is extremely accurate and reliable AND that series 80 trigger is a little heavier/crispier and shoots when I want it to shoot. For that reason, I would carry it (in addition to its 25oz weight). The Colt required zero break-in while the VBOB isn't quite there yet. One of the supplied DW mags is so marked up with "failure ink" (I take a sharpie to it every time the gun fails to determine mag issues vs gun issues) that I don't even take it to the range any more. Fortunately, the second mag, Colt mags, and Chip Mc mags work fine in it.

The DW is a great gun, but if I did it over, I might stick with the Pony and maybe save up for the Brown I've been wanting.

Colt!

I have a LTW Colt Commander original 70 series that has been flawless. That being said I also have a chuck daly commander that eats everything it's fed, is accurate and has a 4lb break on the trigger, for $325 otd at a pawn shop couldn't ask for a better commander 1911.

Ok, anyone actually shoot the Ruger 4" model and can elaborate more on its function, reliability, accuracy, etc...Hows the recoil? I am looking for a 4"1911 for carry and to teach my wife to use as well...I also really love the SP. Armory champion operator...any other brand suggestions would be welcomed also.

stoky said:

I have a 4" Tactical Pro II that's reliable. Ordering a couple of parts, to configure it to my preferences, from Kimber was nettlesome.
I actually ran out of patience looking for a FTF Colt when I settled for the Kimber. I hope never to have to send it back to NY for service.

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???? I sent my slide back for a refinish and had zero problems. The work was done in short order and well done. It was shipped back as I sent it to them (overnight) in spite of the fact they say they won't.

How reliable? 100 rounds? 5000 rounds? 8+1 rounds?
All my 1911 pattern guns, mostly 5" models have needed work at one time or another.
Who has every brand and model of 4" and 4.25" 1911 out there to be able to even give an opinion on such a question? Probably nobody.
What price range? $500 or $4000?

The original question is just too vague.
The question has already changed from 4" to 4"/4.25" models.
Buy a few and tell us how reliable they've been for you.

I have a Colt 1991 Series Commander &
a Springfield Armory Range Officer Compact.

They have both been trouble free out of the box.

Commander w/steel frame is 33 oz empty,
the RO Compact has an alloy frame and is
Officer's size 4.75" Height vs 5.5"

The RO Compact is my EDC, it conceals easier.
due to the shorter grip.

If I were looking to get another .45 1911, it would be
the new offering from Colt they now offer
a llightweight Commander w/alloy frame with Novak
sights and beavertail grip safety for about $ 150 more
than the base 1991 steel commander.

My other 1911 variant is a full size S&W 1911
which had some FTFs but settled down after
500 or so rounds of break-in.

R-

Previously I mentioned the Colt Commander and
Springfield Armory RO Compact.

It's standard/GI recoil guide rod.

RO Compact w/4" Bull Barrel, the recoil spring is
captive w/full guide rod, no bushing and requires
a tool ( small screwdriver works) for takedown
& re-assembly after clean & lube.

Only nit on the RO Compact is the 'memory' button
at the base of the grip safety is uncomforable - sticks
out to far and is abrupt on the edges unlike the
S&W 1911 mem button.

R-