Well, that's embarrassing!

C

chaim

Member
Joined
Dec 25, 2002
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3,846
Location
Columbia, MD
So, recently I was on a search for a 5" all steel traditional .45ACP 1911. I haven't had one in some time. I narrowed to a few models that I was having trouble finding locally, and I wanted to find one local instead of ordering online if I could help it. I found one of the models I wanted, a Springfield Armory Garrison at a local dealer and bought it online. When I went to the dealer a few days later to do the paperwork, I checked the trigger (nice!) and looked over the gun (also very nice), but didn't pay attention to the markings (I "knew" what I bought). Well, in MD there is a 7 day waiting period and when the "not disapproved" email came from the Maryland State Police yesterday, I saw it was for a 9mm. I checked the receipt today and sure enough, I bought a full sized, all steel 9mm 1911 (I must have clicked the wrong one on their website).

OK, not as bad as it seems. I've been shooting my 9mms a lot, and I have been shooting my S&W 1911SC a lot (I'm going to start carrying it again), and with the price difference between 9mm and .45 I was thinking of buying a 9mm 1911 sometime in the next few months anyway. It is just that I still have a hole where this 1911 was supposed to go.

For several reasons, I prefer 9mm and .40 for CCW, but I prefer .45ACP and .38spl for home defense. My lightweight 1911SC will be OK for now for home defense, but its carry advantages (light weight) don't matter for home defense, and it is a bit of a disadvantage for home defense (while it isn't bad, I am faster on target with a heavier steel gun).

I'm not going to use a full sized, steel 9 shot 9mm for home defense, but I am keeping my mistake as a fun range gun.

So, my options:
  • Here's my excuse to buy my 2nd place gun when I was deciding what 1911 to buy and went with the SA Garrison and finally get a Colt 1911 in .45ACP as my traditional 1911, and home defense gun. There are a couple other 1911s that were running close behind as well. So, anyway, maybe I should get what I meant to this time, a traditional full sized, all steel, .45ACP 1911.
  • Get a steel Commander from Colt, Ruger, Fusion, etc (i.e. restart the search). I like short barrels, the 9mm full sized 1911 is a full sized all steel 1911, and for home defense, I like a Commander size (even in other gun designs I like the concept, some of my favorite autos I have are my CZ PCR, CZ 75B Compact, CZ P01, and Glock 19). I just like a gun sized to do well both at the range and for carry.
  • Wait on doing anything (or rather, continue with some of my other gun buying priorities), and use one of my 9mms or .40s for home defense for a while. My Glock 22, CZ P01, CZ 75B, or SIG P229 would all do well in this role. I could also go with my 1911SC even though its strengths are more for carry, it would make do just fine in this role.
  • Get a different .45. If I do this, I'd likely get an HK45, SIG P220, SAR K2 45c or SAR K2 45 full sized as these were at the top of my list when I was considering something other than a 1911 for a new .45ACP home defense gun.
  • Try to work with my RIA 1911 Rock Compact to see if I can get it to work better (it FTF or stovepipes about one out of every 100 rounds). I can go to 185 grain ammo to see if that helps (often with compact 1911s they work better with 185gr), I could try different springs, and I could polish the feed ramp. None of that would be very expensive if it doesn't work, other than the ammo, and the ammo would still be fun at the range even if the gun doesn't get put back into defensive use. As an all steel 1911 it is easy to shoot, even in .45ACP, despite being a short barrel and I'm quite accurate with it. To improve the capacity, no one says the mags have to be flush in a home defense gun, I can use my 8 round 1911 mags and have them extend a little, or 10 round mags that will extend a lot.

I can't say I have a clear leaning right now. I definitely will add an actual .45ACP, all steel, full sized 1911 again since that is still an open hole in my collection. I'd love a P220, HK45 and/or SAR K2 eventually. I'm finding the idea of an all steel Commander interesting. So, longer term, I'll probably eventually add all the options that mean buying something. Short term, I'm revamping my collection. I'm selling guns that I bought when I was on a tighter budget but didn't like or didn't quite work out for me and replacing them with what I really want. That does mean I've been spending some money on guns lately, and I have a few more to go, so putting off an additional purchase that I can wait on isn't all that bad an idea either. Then again, how can a 1911 fan not have a Colt? I probably will end up with the Colt 1911 after some of the guns I'm putting on consignment this weekend sell (I was going to do that, but in 9mm, if I had actually bought the gun I thought I did), and I wouldn't mind pushing it up a couple months (though my credit cards or savings account may prefer I wait until some of the guns I'm selling actually sell).

The earliest I'll make a decision is this weekend, and I may go longer, so I definitely would love to hear your feedback here.
 
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I’d buy the Colt .45 1911… just because you need a 1911 in .45, in principle. Because.

But I would use one of the .40s or 9s for home defense anyway. Better choice than .45 IMO. (But I don’t want to make this into a caliber war.)

Nice pickup. I really want to try a 9mm 1911. I bet they’re the cat’s meow at the range, which is where 99% of us do 99.999% of our shooting anyhow..
 
NIGHTLORD40K said:
Heck, if thats the most embarrasing thing you ever do with a gun, your not doin too shabby!
Click to expand...

:D

My only comment would be, I owned a Springfield Loaded, stainless 9mm until it had to go down the road to help pay some of the wife's medical bills but it was a great shooter.

Something about an accurate 9mm fired out of a 39-40oz, steel framed 1911...
...I know it's blasphemy from a diehard 1911 purist point of view but I loved that gun.

I have the good fortune to still own two .45acp 1911's but I'll always have a soft spot for my trusty 9mm version.
 
chaim said:
.... Well, in MD there is a 7 day waiting period and when the "not disapproved" email came from the Maryland State Police yesterday, I saw it was for a 9mm.....
Click to expand...
Wait, what? In MD, they don't "approve" your transfer, but only "not disapprove?!?"

I'm not much help on the real question in this thread, but wish you luck in sorting it out.

ETA: Were I in your shoes, I'd be looking to pick up a second 1911, but in .45 this time. You just got one in 9mm, and while I'm sure it's nice enough, it's not what you were after. I find the .45 1911 very easy to shoot, and very easy to shoot well. There are plenty of companies that make good 1911s, so it's really just a matter of how much you want to spend.
 
If you're wanting a full size 1911 in .45 and aren't anti-budget gun (think RIA), my dad just picked up a Tisas GI spec in .45 on sale for $279+tax. I don't know why he did, other than it being cheap. It's actually not a bad feeling gun. With eyes closed, I couldn't tell the difference between it and his Rock Island.

For centerfire, there's not much more fun shooting than a steel 1911 in 9mm. Especially if you reload and make some -P- loads that are just enough to function the gun.

NIGHTLORD40K said:
38- turned out to be a .32.
Click to expand...
My sight unseen "Turkish 7mm military rifle" that turned out to be an 8mm Hakim. I went ahead and bought it anyway.
 
I have 2 1911s in 45ACP. One in 9mm doesn't really appeal to me when I have double stack striker fired plastic fantastics. I am eyeing a 1911 in 10mm though. In any case, you messed up. And it wasn't even that bad of a mess up. Push some stuff out of the way in the safe, add a Sticky note that says "1911 45ACP only" and get it next time you can find one.
 
I may be the odd man out here but in a 1911 I have typically preferred it in .45 ACP. Just seemed to me to be the natural order of things as far as 1911 's go. Had a couple of full size Governments in .38 Super and 9mm. but found myself trading or selling them off for the smaller and lighter weight Commander version (a big plus with the .38 Super Model is that it's easy to convert it to 9mm).
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chaim said:
So, recently I was on a search for a 5" all steel traditional .45ACP 1911........ I checked the receipt today and sure enough, I bought a full sized, all steel 9mm 1911 (I must have clicked the wrong one on their website)..
Click to expand...
I've had more than one customer do exactly that.
Ten years ago, maybe one in twenty of the 1911's I transferred were 9x19. In the last two years it seems like half are 9x19.
 
I had a very nice SA 1911 Range officer and sold it after two weeks because the chambers were so tight they wouldn't accept my 9MM reloads- factory only. I chalked it up as a mismatch in suitability, not anything actually wrong with the gun and traded it immediately.

It should be noted that no other firearm has failed to chamber my 9mm reloads to date.

If I were actually to recommend a 1911 in .45 ACP it would be the Smith & Wesson 1911 E-Series. Even the basic model is very beautiful and functional.
1911 E-Series | Smith & Wesson (smith-wesson.com)
 
So, I looked into simply adding a .45 slide to the frame and it sounds like that won't do it, at least not in itself. It will take a few minor modifications to turn it into a .45 pistol, and some less minor modifications if I want it to work for both. I'd rather just have two pistols (OK, the 9mm being cheaper to shoot will be somewhat mitigated by the price of two guns, but then... I'll have two full sized 1911s).

As for how immediately I'm adding the full sized .45 I'm not 100% sure. I've slightly modified what I'm considering from my first post.

I'm not keeping the RIA compact. I'm not so worried about the occasional FTF, the are quite occasional but more importantly, some makers of 1911s (Wilson) recommend 185gr and not 230gr bullets in Officer sized 1911s. I've seen those recommendations elsewhere as well. I've been shooting it with 230s every time it choked. However, those who are familiar with many compact/Officer sized 1911s, take down can be "interesting". The hole in the guide rod for the take down tool is not in a location that makes it easy to remove when you are finished (the barrel is in the way). Kimber uses a similar tool, but the hole is cocked slightly to the side so it will be much easier to remove. Some (all?) Kimbers and Springfield Armory compacts have a different style tool available for the dual captured recoil assembly which makes it appear much easier. Some of the Colts use a standard non-full length guide rod which generally are easier (for me) and my preference anyway. So, I'm leaning towards replacing it. The question is, do I get a compact/Officer sized (or CCO) sized 1911 now (in .45) and get the full sized later.

If I go compact now, Kimber (I know about their hit and miss reliability), SA, and Colt will be the main contenders.

If I do the Colt for the Officer sized 1911 (now or later), I'll probably open up the full sized 1911 options to some that were close behind the SA Garrison when I was making up my mind last time. So the full sized options would be: Colt anyway, SA Ronin (but maybe doing something other than another SA would be nice for some variety), Rock Island Armory, Kimber. Kimber is last on the list though, it may sound funny but I'm less worried about their variable reliability in an Officer sized since that will be mainly a range toy that I may occasionally carry (if it proves reliable), and the full size will be a range toy but is also going to be my primary home defense pistol so reliability matters more to me. Since this will also be my home defense gun, and while it is a 9mm, the new SA Garrison is otherwise a traditional 1911, I may open up to the Taurus and others with a rail even though I don't normally like rails on 1911s (but they are nice for lights on a home defense gun).
 
I had a Colt Defender (officer sized), Springfield V10 UC, and currently own an officer sized SIG in .45. I've had a couple of the Kimber Ultra Carry. Kimber is the only one I've owned that required a tool for take down. The others by not having a barrel bushing, could be stripped faster than a full sized 1911 with no tools at all.

I shoot 200, 230 and even some 240gr reloads in my short barreled SIG. Never had the first problem and probably somewhere in the 5000 round area. I honestly can't think of a single malfunction, ever. I carry it daily.
 
Spats McGee said:
Wait, what? In MD, they don't "approve" your transfer, but only "not disapprove?!?"

I'm not much help on the real question in this thread, but wish you luck in sorting it out.

ETA: Were I in your shoes, I'd be looking to pick up a second 1911, but in .45 this time. You just got one in 9mm, and while I'm sure it's nice enough, it's not what you were after. I find the .45 1911 very easy to shoot, and very easy to shoot well. There are plenty of companies that make good 1911s, so it's really just a matter of how much you want to spend.
Click to expand...

I agree wholeheartedly!

On the subject of having bought the "wrong" caliber, I've always looked at such matters as "no reason not to add another to the collection". Just continue the search, like you're doing.

As Spats said, the 1911 in .45 is VERY easy to shoot, and it's very easy to learn to shoot well even for novice shooters.

I took two ladies from work out to shoot a couple weekends or so ago and took 4 handguns and an AR platform. The Colt 1991A1 was the favorite for one of the ladies, and she was ringing steel quite regularly with it in short order.

As for who makes good 1911's...the Colt 1991A1 was Colt's answer to the high priced 1911s in the market in the 80s and 90s. It's a quality, no-frills, 1911 with the Series 80 modification intended to fill an affordable niche. It was indeed affordable compared to many others on the market at the time.

It's not made anymore, at least not as the "1991A1". Colt does have some models that are under 4 figures new, but they're still pricier than many other quality brands out there...because "Colt".

Now, I don't have any experience with 1911's by other manufacturers. So I can't speak first hand on that subject. However, there are threads on this site which do discuss this issue, and the names "Rock Island" and "Springfield Armory" come to mind.

Rock Island's website lists their GI Standard (51421) at $499. That's a solid deal, on par for what I actually paid for my Colt 1991A1 ($450 back in 1991). And reviews here have been very positive. It's appearance is the basic, no-frills look that I like in a 1911.

Visit the various manufacturer's websites and see what's available and look for reviews on sites like this.
 
NIGHTLORD40K said:
Heck, if thats the most embarrasing thing you ever do with a gun, your not doin too shabby!
Click to expand...

True. The most embarrassing was when I took my training a couple months ago for my MD carry permit. For the last few years I only have gone to the range a couple times a year for a few hundred rounds. I passed the qualification but my groups looked more like a shotgun pattern than groups. I've bought a range membership and I've been going one to three times a week since then and will go at minimum go twice a month from here on out.

defjon said:
You thinking the subsonic rounds are better indoors?
Click to expand...
More or less. Any handgun will do some hearing damage shot indoors, but without the supersonic crack and the few dB lower rating, it may not be as bad as a higher velocity round.

Spats McGee said:
Wait, what? In MD, they don't "approve" your transfer, but only "not disapprove?!?"
Click to expand...

Yup, pretty petty, but that is anti-gun MD for you.
 
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So, while I was at the dealer to pick up my 9mm SA Garrison I bought a Colt Gold Cup. Absolutely beautiful and only around $200 more than the Competition (though about $400 more than the SA Ronin I almost went with). The only thing is since the Gold Cup is designed as a competition gun with tighter tolerances for accuracy, there's a chance it won't be reliable enough for home defense. If that happens, darn, I guess I'll need to (have an excuse to) buy another.

With MD's waiting period I can pick it up in a week.
 
Keep a Gold Cup clean and it'll not likely mess up as long as you run good ammo in it.MD is a sucky state.I have to go through it when I go for injections in my spine and I'm always worried about getting stopped for something and getting in trouble because I don't stop at the line and make everything legal for their ridiculous gun laws.The people who live in western MD are ruled by the people in the urban parts of the state although they live in a place that's more like rural WV.They can't carry a pistol,when right across the line we have permitless carry,no sales tax on guns and ammo and no crime.My stepson turned down a job flying for the MD state police because he wouldn't live in such a state,and the job required him to be a MD resident.
 
the only answer,. . . .is to ask Santa for a 45ACP.

Swapping slides is not the answer, IIRC, the ejector is different, . . . plus, you can never have too many guns.
 
Not to reawaken the thread but...

I haven't even picked up my new Colt yet (I will when they open today) due to the MD waiting period and I just bought a lightly used Dan Wesson Heritage (almost bought an unfired used Pointman, but I wanted the fixed sights for home defense). The original owner replaced the front sight with a fiber optic sight and the grips with nice wood DW grips. If I use this instead of the Gold Cup for home defense I'll probably put on some night sights on the front (leaving the regular rear sight).
 
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