1911 compact 3" barrels

[1911Tuner]

Mia Culpa, the sentence should have read, “…as a redundant safety in the event that the trigger on a cocked and unlocked gun (thumb safety off) might get depressed…

How can the grip safety be redundant? It was there first...long before the notion of continuous cocked and locked carry...starting with the Model 1907. It reappeared on the Model 1909, and what was to become the 1911...the prototype Model 1910.

There was no thumb safety on either of those. The pistol's manual safety was the half-cock, as per Browning's intent.

The grip safety was and is a drop safety. If you want to consider it as a redundant carry safety, that's fine...but that doesn't change the fact that its original function was as a drop safety.

 

[1911Tuner]

Anyhoo...back on topic.

A Detonics pistol was the first to school me on the pitfalls of taking too much off the slide mass and the travel. That thing nearly drove me 'round the bend, but I learned a lot from it. I applied what I learned to the Colt OM when it appeared, and...arriving at the conclusion that they can be a mite persnickety...soldiered on.

I didn't much care for'em personally, but I knew they were here to stay, and...since people in the area had begun to refer to me as "That tall guy who tunes 1911s"...I figured it was in my best interest to get to know the little blasters intimately.

I've had best success with'em by actually reducing the "recoil" spring's load, and delaying the slide by using a smaller radius on the firing pin stop...to give the residual pressure a nanosecond or two more time to fall off so the brass can release its grip on the chamber.

That entails seeing to it that the cartridge chambers as smoothly as possible by using as little extractor deflection as I can get by with and polishing the barrel ramp...not the frame/feed ramp...and plenty of tension on the extractor just in case the added slide delay isn't quite enough.

The process can get a little tedious, but worth the effort. The result has been reliability on a par with the bigger guns.

Of course, if the feed ramp angle in the frame is a little out of spec...it's a whole 'nother ball game. I recommend Excedrin Migraine an hour before starting work.

 

[cwl1862]

I have 45's in several different platforms in the 1911 I have a full size Colt Combat Elite, a Ruger Commander, and a Kimber Ultra Carry II in addition I own a SIG P220, P227, and a P245, lastly a Ruger SR-45.
The Kimber has been 100% reliable from day one with several hundred rounds through it and no spring changes. I call it my snub nosed 45 ACP! It's very intimidating to see such a big hole on the business end of such a little gun! I was very concerned on the reliability on small 45's when I first bought my Kimber and everyone said that 3" 45's were unreliable and a waste of time because they didn't work. Well I took the plunge anyway despite all the expert advise I received to the contrary and I couldn't be happier with my decision. I carry Speer's 230gr Gold dot Short barrel in my Kimber, and it works just fine. and I carry either Gold Dot's in all the rest or the Federal HST 230 gr +P or the Corbon 200gr JHP +P. I don't bother much with the 185 gr stuff.

 

[1911Tuner]

cwl...I've seen the shorties run like Singer sewing machines out of the box.

I've also seen the dark side.

I guess I could sum it up in a little poem that I heard once.

There was a little girl who had a curl in the center of her forehead.

When she was good, she was VERY good!

But when she was bad...she was horrid.

 

[Jim Watson]

Anecdotes:

I have a Colt OACP that has been considerably breathed upon. At one time it was in a carry comp configuration. I got IDPA purity and deleted the compensator for which I am now sorry.
But it is a good and reliable shooter.

I have a SA Ultra Compact 9mm which is very handy and shoots reliably now. It required recontouring the integral barrel ramp to serve as a FEED ramp for hollowpoints. Nothing connected with its length, so did my full size SA 9mm P.

FLD got an early blued Detonics in trade or pawn and took it to carry. Like me, he has the fix up mentality and before long that little gun had Colt lockwork and a REAL "tuned trigger." It shot like a dream. But he could not leave well enough alone and swapped it for a stainless gun which was not as good quality. FLG got it to work reliably but it was nowhere near as nice a gun.

The legend in the day was that Detonics had a startup order from a government spook shop whose management thought the right way to carry an auto was in Condition 2, hence the forward mounted sight and scalloped slide leading towards the hammer.

 

[cwl1862]

cwl...I've seen the shorties run like Singer sewing machines out of the box.

I've also seen the dark side.

I guess I could sum it up in a little poem that I heard once.

There was a little girl who had a curl in the center of her forehead.

When she was good, she was VERY good!

But when she was bad...she was horrid.

I agree there can be issues with any gun. & I've seen 1911's behave badly as I have seen SIG's, Colt's, Beretta's, S&W's and yes even the vaunted Glock 's have had malfunctions. They're just like any machine, sometimes they mess up and need repair. But just because it's malfunctioned doesn't necessarily it will never perform again.... Without proper care and maintenance all machines will fail. What I am saying is that todays modern short barreled 1911's don't have all of the maladies right out of the box like they used to. Most function flawlessly just like any other handgun. But just like with automobiles sometimes there can be a bad few that got out of the factory that ruin the reputation of the rest. All I can say is so far I've been pretty lucky when it comes to guns and only had one real lemon (Charter Arms Pathfinder) since replaced. Not that I don't have and own other Charters currently have an older Bulldog 44 that I'll never part with. and I wouldn't trade any of my 1911's or my SIG's for any Glock. Not bashing Glock they're good reliable firearms, but I'll never own one as they're just not to my liking, and I don't like shooting them. I don't care how many times I shoot them I've not found one I like. They feel like I'm holding onto a 2X4. They're not bad guns and they work but they're just not for everyone, and you can't change that fact no matter how highly you think of them. Sorry about the rant. I just disagree with the mindset that every problem with a firearm is solved by switching to a Glock (insert model number here). It just isn't so. (Not that you were inferring that but others have)
OBTW I'd love to find a Detonics Combat Master in good condition! I had an opportunity to buy one a long time ago and I kick myself for not doing so when I could!

 

[1911Tuner]

What I am saying is that todays modern short barreled 1911's don't have all of the maladies right out of the box like they used to.

If I was a bettin' man, I'd have to bet that there's little difference...if any...between the new ones and the early ones as far as the ratio of problem children to star performers.

The preponderance of the old ones ran just fine. The horror stories mostly came from the unreliable examples being more tedious to beat into submission. As with most other 1911 problems, there was usually somethin' simple at the root of it. It's just that the sweet spot was a little harder to find. A little...narrower. They're less forgiving of hitting wide of the mark.

 

[Zach S]

As with most other 1911 problems, there was usually somethin' simple at the root of it.

My first guess is usually extractor tension...

I learned a lot about fitting and tuning one with a 3.5" Para. Unforgiving... After getting it tuned I read about the Ken Hackthorn Extractor Test, it passed with flying colors.

 

[The Lone Haranguer]

While the bullet comes out of a three-inch barrel slightly slower than a five-inch, it is still moving plenty fast. Even if your .45 JHP doesn't expand, it will still make a .45-caliber hole. The solution, should this become a problem, is to put more holes in the target.

The biggest problem with the very short 1911s is fussy functioning, not reduced bullet velocity.

 

[DC Plumber]

I have a Colt NewAgent Lightweight. Bought it new a few months ago. After cleaning it, I did a out of the box ammo test with 4 different brands of factory ammo and my 200g LSWC handloads. No problems at all in the first 250 rounds. Then I ran it in a IDPA shoot for the fun of it, with 200g LSWC handloads. Hasn't been cleaned yet and has close to 350 trouble free rounds through it. I like the low profile snag free trench sight. It's not for hunting after all. I scored higher than my buddy at the IDPA shoot and he was shooting a XDM 9mm.

I have full confidence in this little Gem and it is my primary CCW. I'm considering selling my commander sized 1911 that I did use for CC. My 5" is my range gun.

 

[TRX]

The 1911 was designed to shoot round nose military hardball. If the gun cycles that or the civilian equivalent, it is functioning as designed.

If your 1911 variant doesn't properly cycle hollowpoint Zombie Mutilator Death Match IV ammunition, and the manufacturer didn't specifically claim the gun would cycle Mutilators... the problem is the ammunition, not the gun.

There's a lot of fancy .45 ammunition nowadays, with "modern" bullet designs that are quite a bit different from RN FMJ hardball. Not all of it is going to work in every gun, at least without some tweaking. It's just the nature of the beast.

 

[damienph]

here is my Springfield Armory Ultra Compact (3 1/2"), it has been very reliable. The only issue it has is it won't lock back after last round on all brands of magazines. It has fed everything tried in it so far.



Actually, it wouldn't always lock back on the original SA factory mags and it would never lock back on the two Kimber mags that I bought for it. Although it fed relaibly from both SA and Kimber mags. I have two Wilson Combat and five Chip McCormick Match mags that all work great.

 

[NGIB]

I carried a Colt Defender for 2 years and it was 100% reliable with any ammo I tried. I used it to shoot my SC permit course and fired a perfect score. Prior to the Colt, I carried a Kimber Ultra Carry II and it was 100% reliable as well. While a 1911 needs a bit more TLC than a poly gun, I have never had an issue with any I've owned - and that has been a lot of them...

 

[Rinspeed]

Mini 1911s are a joke no matter who makes them, anyone who tells you different has no clue what they are talking about. Some of them might work great, some of the time, but most are a crap shoot. Some pretty pictures of a great 1911, with 400 rounds through it, does not make it a great 1911.

 

[Walkalong]

I sure like mine, and I have no use for guns that won't run right.