Best 9mm 1911?

Driftwood... that's what you get for messin' round with those new fangled contraptions! Real handguns have a revolving cylinder and shoot ammo that makes a cloud of white smoke!

Smokeless powder is a passing fad...

Jim Watson said:

The 945 non-1911 has the Briley ball bushing.

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Yes

All the old PC autos had them, except the 1911

9mmepiphany said:

Oops..obvious brain fart...which S&W model did?

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They basically all did, except the 1911. S&W didn’t want to deviate from the design I guess.

I don't know what the best 9mm 1911 is, but have owned a few very reliable examples from some different manufacturers. Over some years, I had three Kimber stainless target 9mms, all reliable from day one. My STI Trojan and Dan Wesson PM-9, same reliability. My more recent Springfield Emissary was reliable as received, then started failing to reliably extract after a few hundred rounds. Sent it back to SA. Came back, same issue. Replaced the extractor, never a failure since. My 9mm Colt GCNM was reliable with ball ammo through several hundred rounds, then started failing to reliably extract. Checked extractor tension, pulled, cleaned, etc. no improvement. Replaced extractor, no failures to extract since.

So my current 9mm 1911s are all reliable, with one caveat. My Colt can only be counted on to reliably feed RN ball, and one particular type of hollow point ammo. But I've owned 9mm Colts before. While I had hopes that current 9mm Colts are super duper reliable as some have reported, I was not surprised that the Colt is not as reliable as my other 9mm 1911s with all the different bullet profiles, weights, pressure levels, etc. I would never put Colt 9mm 1911s forward as the 9mm reliability champs...YMMV

My 9mm Dan Wesson has a few thousand through it with no problems.

Dan Wesson 9mm has had one malfunction in probably 2000 rounds. Like to never got it unstuck.

Sig Match Elite has been as reliable as anything I've ever owned, external extractor and all. So have the other 2 Sig 1911's but they're not 9mm.

I don't think there's much gap in prices. The Smith PC may even be a little higher.

Not sure they qualify, but my Springfield EMPs (I have both 3" and 4") have been excellent.

I only have one. A Springfield Armory Range Officer Target in 9mm. It runs fine as long as the lube in it doesn’t run dry. It’s the only pistol I have that can’t run dry.

Both my Kimber Stainless Target II 5” and SA Ronin 4.25” 9mm 1911’s have been flawless for thousands of 115 and 124 grain rounds each. Even my Kimber Ultra Carry II 3” hasn’t bobbled yet, but it only has a couple hundred through it.

Of these guns, the Kimber Target with the adjustable sights is more accurate and as an all-steel gun, felt recoil is lower, too.



I can see why one could sour on 9mm 1911’s if I owned a gun that jammed as badly as yours did. That jam percentage is off the charts, it would frustrate me to no end (as it did you). I hope the ‘smith can get it tuned to run as it should, shooting 9mm 1911’s is a lot of fun (with less recoil than the .45).

Stay safe.

I can't claim they're "the best", but my RIA 9mm 1911 and two 9mm Stars that look like 1911's all work just fine.

Since 9mm is so relatively inexpensive, I shoot a lot of it. My RIA/Citadel goes to the range almost every visit.

Hopefully you get yours fixed up.

I have a S&W 1911 9mm PC and have'nt had any feeding problems. Can't remember which brand magazines came with it but I have magazines from Wilson,Tripp,Metalform and they all worked flawlessly.

Send the it back to S&W and let them fix it.

I have the exact same gun and love it. Bought it used at my LGS.

Fix this one, put in a new extractor and spring (same labor cost, since you’re using a gunsmith). That’s your issue, most likely.

Mine has been flawless. Zero malfunctions in 400 rounds. So, this isn’t a design flaw.

Have your smith check that there are no flaws in the chamber inhibiting smooth extraction.

Fixing this 1911 will be cheaper than the loss you will on selling it to get the $$ for a new 9mm 1911.

Almost certainly an extractor issue. The internal extractors are certainly a mystery, though Colt loves 'em; that's what is used on their 9mm carbine, too. Maybe it was a Browning thing, as the original BHP also had one.
Yeah, chipped extractor, weak spring, or improper fitting; the extractor hook isn't getting enough bite on the rim. Can't hurt to have a look at the chamber for roughness.
Modern, spring loaded extractors are generally more forgiving of being allowed to slam over a cartridge rim.
Moon

My S&W Pro Series 1911 is identical to the OP's- in a little over a thousand rounds of reloads, I'm still waiting for the first malfunction. Every gun is a law unto itself, I guess.

To me 9mm makes sense in a 3” 1911 With the officers grip. If I can carry the full size grip 4.25” I just shoot .45.
check out a colt defender 9mm for a nice 1911 In 9mm.

My ACW Prime Elite isn’t too shabby…

styles said:

To me 9mm makes sense in a 3” 1911 With the officers grip. If I can carry the full size grip 4.25” I just shoot .45.
check out a colt defender 9mm for a nice 1911 In 9mm.

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I had some unwanted slide stop engagements with a 9mm Deffy; a dimple on the slidestop solved the problem. Yes, it is a nice little 9. Mine's past due for a range run.
IMHO, Commander sized 9s are a better idea than a .45 Commander, though the Combat Commander is much better.
Moon

My Ruger Officer in 9mm and my Ruger commander in 9mm have both been dead reliable.

My wife's Springfield Armory EMP was very problematic at the start. It had lots of failures to extract. Gun was sent back to S.A. and they tuned the extractor, polished the chamber and feed ramp also. Gun now has over 1500 rounds thru it, with no problems at all. It is a excellent shooter and we have enough rounds thru it now, I would bet our lives on it.

I have no issue with Springfield Ronin

jmorris said:

I always tried to stay away from the external extractor 1911's. They were a solution to a problem I never had.

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Actually JMB’s first 3 prototype submissions of what became the Model of 1911 all featured external extractors. They worked well back when and, if you trust the opinion of modern Glock/H&K, Sig, Canik, S&W, Springfield, etc owners, the external extractor appears to be an answer to reliable extraction and hey, we’re talking about a 9mm here, a purist’s nightmare.

On to the OP’s particular example I too would pay attention to the extractor and spring as these are wear parts. My SW1911 E-Series has seen North of 7,000 rounds and not faltered once but Rob at Alchemy Custom told me it was absolutely filthy when removed. From that point on I paid attention to it. A little Zippo fluid keeps it flushed and still running like a champ.

Send it in, ask for a replacement spring, push for a new extractor if possible.

Skylerbone said:

Actually JMB’s first 3 prototype submissions of what became the Model of 1911 all featured external extractors.

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Which three?
The 1910's extractor was internal, the 1909's external.
While the 1900, 1902, and 1903 .38s and 1905 and 1907 .45s had external extractors, they don't have much in common with the 1911. I think the 1909, 1910, and 1911 were related and the products of a whole new idea.

Jim Watson said:

Which three?
The 1910's extractor was internal, the 1909's external.
While the 1900, 1902, and 1903 .38s and 1905 and 1907 .45s had external extractors, they don't have much in common with the 1911. I think the 1909, 1910, and 1911 were related and the products of a whole new idea.

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The ‘05, ‘07, and ‘09 were my examples. Browning modified latter designs to suit requests. The grip safety was also added in 1910 for said same. I’ve also hear “purists” complain about flat MSHs.

These are side discussions to the issue however which is a specific example misbehaving. I own a number of pistols sold as 1911s none of which are built to original 1911 specs. and yet people don’t mention SS or extended beaver tails or safeties. Moving on…

Skylerbone said:

Actually JMB’s first 3 prototype submissions of what became the Model of 1911 all featured external extractors. They worked well back when and, if you trust the opinion of modern Glock/H&K, Sig, Canik, S&W, Springfield, etc owners, the external extractor appears to be an answer to reliable extraction and hey, we’re talking about a 9mm here, a purist’s nightmare.

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My opinion is just based off observation of lots of 1911's. I do have many external extractor firearms though, in various calibers, just no center fire 1911's with them.