Best 9mm 1911?

Driftwood Johnson

Driftwood Johnson

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Howdy

I don't get over here much, I spend most of my time on the Revolver section.

But I want to pose a question to the experts here and see what advice they have.

I bought this 9mm S&W 1911 Pro back in 2019.

mdhUJs.jpg




t4kSm8.jpg




Oc1UZ4.jpg




I liked it a lot but I did notice it had a habit of jamming fairly often.

I did not worry about it much until I tried using the pistol in a steel match a couple of years ago. It jammed too much and I had to drop out.



Here are a couple of photos of what it looks like when it jams. A fired case is only about halfway out of the chamber and the slide is trying to stuff a fresh round into the chamber. So the gun jams up.

E0AhcB.jpg



fFlCvV.jpg



I did a test the other day, and the pistol jammed twice firing a box of 50 rounds. Not acceptable.

Unlike most 1911s, this one has a the extractor mounted on the side of the slide. Which seems to be the cause of the problem.

I took it to a gunsmith the other day, to see what he could do about the problem. I thought perhaps it needed a stronger extractor spring.

He took it apart and cleaned it. He said there was so much gunk under the extractor claw that he was surprised any empties were being extracted.

I had given him two boxes of ammo to try it out and he reported one jam in 100 rounds after he had given the extractor area a good cleaning.

Anyway, I took the pistol to the range today to give it a torture test. I went through four boxes (200 rounds) of ammo.

At first, everything was fine. Then after maybe 100 rounds or so I had one jam. I kept shooting all 200 rounds and had a few more jams.

So it appears that lots of firing eventually deposits enough crud under the extractor claw that jams start to happen.

In the past I have only field stripped the pistol for cleaning, now I will pay a lot more attention to the extractor.

I have another 9mm 1911, this one made by Springfield Armory, and it is much more reliable, I put a few boxes through it the other day without any jams at all.

Probably because it has a conventional extractor that runs the full length of the slide and is less prone to having fouling build up.


So here is the question: What is the most reliable 9mm 1911 you know of?


The Springfield Armory 1911 I have is good, but it is designed for 9 round magazines. Yes, I can put 10 round magazines in it, but it does not have the extended grip with the mag well that makes it quick to insert magazines.


So what is your favorite 9mm 1911?

I'm thinking I may need to replace the S&W 9mm 1911.

Thanks
 
I had not heard that the S&W external extractor was so dirt sensitive.

My Springfield is probably more reliable than my Colt but both have been gunsmithed.
The 9 round magazine, either original 1950 type with spacer or Springfield “front ramp” are apparently less troublesome than the various 10-shooters. But if you have 10s don’t worry about a little protrusion. Or buy a magazine well funnel. Lots cheaper than a new gun.

Note that Bac and jmorris are plugging guns costing thousands of dollars.

Dan Wesson has a good reputation but still costs more than Colt, Smith, or Springfield.
 
What loads are you using in the S&W ?
The only thing wrong with my S&W PerfCtr Pro 1911 9mm is that the chamber throat is VERY deep and barrel has .357” grooves a therefore needs a STOUT load to give reasonable results.
I’m going to posit that your ammo is on the weak side and very dirty burning.
Try some different ammo and maybe a lighter recoil spring.
All my 1911 and S&W Performance Ctr 9’s shoot better with warmer loads.
By that I mean the euro specs which are equivalent to U.S. SAAMI +P loads, such as the new milspec 9x19 nato loads.

Also check to see if the extractor tip is chipped. I had fits with my 5906 PC IDPA 4”. Turns out the extractor tip was chipped off, likely from dropping the slide on a chambered round. I had to replace the extractor. Problem fixed. It almost took an act of congress to get them to send/sell an extractor.
 
Last edited:
Jim Watson said:
Note that Bac and jmorris are plugging guns costing thousands of dollars.
Click to expand...

Yeah, the cheap ones I have are not the best ones I have but even my $299 armscor runs like a top.

I always tried to stay away from the external extractor 1911's. They were a solution to a problem I never had. That said, I own a number of other pistols that utilize them and they work too. The Kimber and S&W 1911's with them seem to be the ones I see choke most often.
 
GooseGestapo said:
What loads are you using in the S&W ?
The only thing wrong with my S&W PerfCtr Pro 1911 9mm is that the chamber throat is VERY deep and barrel has .357” grooves a therefore needs a STOUT load to give reasonable results.
I’m going to posit that your ammo is on the weak side and very dirty burning.
Try some different ammo and maybe a lighter recoil spring.
All my 1911 and S&W Performance Ctr 9’s shoot better with warmer loads.
By that I mean the euro specs which are equivalent to U.S. SAAMI +P loads, such as the new milspec 9x19 nato loads.

Also check to see if the extractor tip is chipped. I had fits with my 5906 PC IDPA 4”. Turns out the extractor tip was chipped off, likely from dropping the slide on a chambered round. I had to replace the extractor. Problem fixed. It almost took an act of congress to get them to send/sell an extractor.
Click to expand...
All factory ammo.

115 grain full metal jacket.

It does this with all brands I have tried: Federal, Blazer with brass cases, Winchester.

It does not matter what brand I try, it starts to jam after 100 rounds or so.
 
Doesn't Smith and Wesson have a lifetime warranty on their pistols?

The first thing I would do is replace the extractor spring.
 
When I read the thread title, before reading the OP, the first thing that popped into my mind was S&W Performance Center...I've always loved that they came with the Briley barrel bushings. S&W Performance Center 1911s I have shot have always been very reliable. As opposed to Kimber, S&W really does seem to understand the external extractor...since they introduced theirs back in the 50s on the M-39.

Reading the issue you described, the automatic answer would have been fouled extractor...which would lead to to suspect underpowered ammo, especially with how frequently it was happening.

The it is happening with factory ammo, leads me to suspect a chipped extractor claw or weak coil spring adding to your issue. I'd personally try it with 124gr ammo...not WW White Box...to see if it helps.

As already mentioned, calling S&W to diagnose and correct the issue would seem a more straight forward route to pursue
 
The current S&W “Performance Center” isn’t the same thing as the old Performance Center..
It’s just a fancy line of pistols that get a LITTLE more attention before being pushed out the door. Nothing like the old one.
The only thing wrong with my 1911 PerfCtr “Pro” is that it needs a Briley barrel bushing and a Barsto barrel, fitted by a competent armorer…
And that’s the difference between then, and now…
 
I have around 8000 rounds through my Springfield and only one Jam that I can remember. I have never had the extractor out of it. One of the most relaible firearms I own.

-Jeff
 
Driftwood Johnson said:
Howdy

I don't get over here much, I spend most of my time on the Revolver section.

But I want to pose a question to the experts here and see what advice they have.

I bought this 9mm S&W 1911 Pro back in 2019.

mdhUJs.jpg




t4kSm8.jpg




Oc1UZ4.jpg




I liked it a lot but I did notice it had a habit of jamming fairly often.

I did not worry about it much until I tried using the pistol in a steel match a couple of years ago. It jammed too much and I had to drop out.



Here are a couple of photos of what it looks like when it jams. A fired case is only about halfway out of the chamber and the slide is trying to stuff a fresh round into the chamber. So the gun jams up.

E0AhcB.jpg



fFlCvV.jpg



I did a test the other day, and the pistol jammed twice firing a box of 50 rounds. Not acceptable.

Unlike most 1911s, this one has a the extractor mounted on the side of the slide. Which seems to be the cause of the problem.

I took it to a gunsmith the other day, to see what he could do about the problem. I thought perhaps it needed a stronger extractor spring.

He took it apart and cleaned it. He said there was so much gunk under the extractor claw that he was surprised any empties were being extracted.

I had given him two boxes of ammo to try it out and he reported one jam in 100 rounds after he had given the extractor area a good cleaning.

Anyway, I took the pistol to the range today to give it a torture test. I went through four boxes (200 rounds) of ammo.

At first, everything was fine. Then after maybe 100 rounds or so I had one jam. I kept shooting all 200 rounds and had a few more jams.

So it appears that lots of firing eventually deposits enough crud under the extractor claw that jams start to happen.

In the past I have only field stripped the pistol for cleaning, now I will pay a lot more attention to the extractor.

I have another 9mm 1911, this one made by Springfield Armory, and it is much more reliable, I put a few boxes through it the other day without any jams at all.

Probably because it has a conventional extractor that runs the full length of the slide and is less prone to having fouling build up.


So here is the question: What is the most reliable 9mm 1911 you know of?


The Springfield Armory 1911 I have is good, but it is designed for 9 round magazines. Yes, I can put 10 round magazines in it, but it does not have the extended grip with the mag well that makes it quick to insert magazines.


So what is your favorite 9mm 1911?

I'm thinking I may need to replace the S&W 9mm 1911.

Thanks
Click to expand...
I'd mirror polish the chamber and install a slightly stronger extractor spring.
 
Have the SA Garrison ... no idea how many rounds fired, but zero hiccups ...

I too would send that 1911 back to S&W, first off that's unacceptable, they should be made aware of it, and maybe it will help improve their product(s).
 
The Star Model BM is a single-action semi-automatic pistol that fires the 9 mm Parabellum pistol cartridge. It was produced by Star Bonifacio Echeverria, S.A. in Spain and is a compact version of the full size Star Model B. Although its external appearance resembles the classic M1911, its design is different in several respects. For example, the Star does not have the 1911's grip safety. In addition, the thumb safety on the Star BM blocks the hammer, whereas it blocks the motion of the sear on a 1911 and the Star's trigger pivots on a roll pin rather than moving straight back like a 1911A1's trigger to trip the sear. The pistol is fed by an 8-round detachable box magazine.
1711980786076.png
 
So, I've got a couple of 9mm 1911 with external extractors that have no issues: both Ed Browns. Note that I do not shoot 115gr - it's generally 124gr or 147gr (when I called and asked Ed Brown recommended against 147s in general because longer OALs in this platform may cause reliability issues, but I haven't seen any.) I've got a Kimber KDS9C with only a few hundred rounds through its external extractor and it's had no issues. My SFX9 has been a champ and it's got an external extractor (in this case Wilson prefers the longer loads - go figure.) I used to have a Gunsite edition S&W 1911PC that had an external extractor as well - no issues.

So in my limited experience with external extractors in the 1911s I don't think it's a problem. I'd change to a heavier load and see if that doesn't resolve your issue. After that recoil springs are cheap...
 
Like already said I would make a call to S&W. As to 9mm 1911's I have muddled along with a stainless Taurus 9mm for years without one hitch. It shoots what ever I load in it, factory to SWC lead reloads. Of the 4 others I have owned, one in 9mm and the rest 45 ACP all have done the same so I know little about troubleshooting a 1911. The only things I have ever done is polish the feed ramp of the other 9 that wouldn't feed reliably right off the bat and fitted a new barrel busing on one that came with one that was a sloppy fit.
 
Well Driftwood, I don't need to tell you the gun isn't right. You know better than any. Afraid you'll need to come out of the sticks & send it back.
 
9mmepiphany said:
When I read the thread title, before reading the OP, the first thing that popped into my mind was S&W Performance Center...I've always loved that they came with the Briley barrel bushings. S&W Performance Center 1911s I have shot have always been very reliable. As opposed to Kimber, S&W really does seem to understand the external extractor...since they introduced theirs back in the 50s on the M-39.
Click to expand...
The PC1911 never had the Briley bushing, my friend.
 
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