[ARCHIVED THREAD] - 1911 reliability (Page 1 of 3)
Posted: 8/9/2009 4:05:01 PM EDT
|
Looking for first hand knowledge here. I see threads all day where kool-aid drinkers of one model or the other spew nonsense all day. Lets try to keep this civil.
This is about your personal experiences. Not something you heard from the genius behind a gun counter, or the Army/SEAL/chairborne Ranger. I did add some attempted humor so do not get your panties in a bunch. Working on the poll now, cut me some slack. This is mostly to satisfy my curiosity. I know this gets hashed and rehashed everyday. These are the only two handguns I own. 1911's and Glocks. How has your 1911 that you own performed? |
|
I've owned two. The first was a Springfield Mil-Spec that I bought in 2001. Ran flawlessly out of the box (though I only use 230-gr FMJ). I sold that in 2004 to buy a Springfield "GI .45," since it was closer to WW2 specs. This one did have jamming problems at first, even with FMJ ammo. I took it to a reputable 1911 gunsmith, and he adjusted the extractor. It has run flawlessly ever since (this was in 2005). |
|
Lets try to keep this civil. Just looking to get a feel for other peoples experiences.
I have owned 2 Springfield 1911's, 2 Kimbers, and a Colt Combat Commander. Had a few issues with one Springer, and one Kimber. Both were cleared up so picked a few stoppages in teh Poll. |
|
My Springfield (100% factory) 1911 using factory mags had a few stoppages. Stovepiping roudns actually, and it was induced by me.
After I had it built into what it is today, (a 100% custom gun) it runs 100% without problems just as it did before, even with only the slide and frame being original. The key here is to use GOOD mags. Not gun-show specials because one is too cheap to buy quality. Second- make sure the extractor is TUNED properly. Beyond that, they run and run and run. Good design, just bubba'd by too many people. |
|
Quoted:
My everyday carry gun, a 1911, has had zero malfunctions ever, but then, it only has about 11,000 rounds through so far. I didn't answer your other poll about Glocks, because my 2 G19's don't have many rounds through them. Good to hear. What manufacturer? I would say I place more trust in my Glock, but the one that has a special meaning to me are my 1911's. I am sure for the rest of my life I will own both. But the 1911 feels like it is perfect, and just fits. Looking to pick up an under 4 inch barrel model here shortly. That another posters comments in another tread made me put up the two polls. You can answer in the other poll. You are a Glock owner. The only ones I do not want answering the poll are people who heard from their mothers, cousins, boyfriends army buddy that Glock/1911's suck. I have been shooting my Glocks alot more recently due to ammo prices, and that I have very little .45 
|
|
I have several 1911 variants and enjoy them greatly. All had to be broken-in and a few had to be tweaked beyond that, but I've also never owned a Wilson/Baer/etc. –– I own a few older Colts, a couple of Springfields, and some oddballs. FTR, my primary CCW is a Glock... but I like both platforms (and others). |
|
Quoted:
There are so many makers of 1911s that it would be hard to say that 1911s are reliable/unreliable as a whole. Some are crap, some are great. Same deal with AR15 type rifles. Very true. Just trying to see what people here experience. No poll is perfect, nor is any group study. But this website is a wealth of information, and has a lot of knowledgeable people. Just trying to satisfy my curiosity. |
|
Owned two now, both have choked on HP ammo and the newest one has choked on HP and ball ammo. I'm going to try some different mags when I have the chance. I knew going into it that I was buying a pistol that probably wouldn't run 100% right away but I love the design and the trigger. |
|
I strip and clean my Brown every 500rds. My pretty tight Baer TRS just finished eating 1100rds (mostly my low powered lead reloads in untumbled brass) this evening without stripping or cleaning.
No malfunctions although I do have one of Les Baers POS mags that fails to lock the slide back on any 1911 its run through. The good ones start at a grand, its a fact of life. Oh and yes Id rather have just these two then eight Glocks. 
|
| The 1911 vs Glock argument is fundamentally flawed due to the fact that 1911 encompasses a large variety of different manufacturers. You cannot expect a Llama or a Norinco to perform as well as, say, a TRP. Glocks, on the other hand, can be expected to perform roughly the same. Grouping all 1911s together is unfair. I have some experience with Glocks and a little with a TRP, both have performed excellently. |
|
Quoted:
I strip and clean my Brown every 500rds. My pretty tight Baer TRS just finished eating 1100rds (mostly my low powered lead reloads in untumbled brass) this evening without stripping or cleaning. No malfunctions although I do have one of Les Baers POS mags that fails to lock the slide back on any 1911 its run through. The good ones start at a grand, its a fact of life. Oh and yes Id rather have just these two then eight Glocks.
http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q217/machinegun74/IMG_0184.jpg Wow, beautiful. Nice picture as well. |
|
Quoted:
The 1911 vs Glock argument is fundamentally flawed due to the fact that 1911 encompasses a large variety of different manufacturers. You cannot expect a Llama or a Norinco to perform as well as, say, a TRP. Glocks, on the other hand, can be expected to perform roughly the same. Grouping all 1911s together is unfair. I have some experience with Glocks and a little with a TRP, both have performed excellently. You would be surprised how good the Norinco 1911s are, at least in my experience and that of a couple of people I know who have them. |
|
Quoted:
I strip and clean my Brown every 500rds. My pretty tight Baer TRS just finished eating 1100rds (mostly my low powered lead reloads in untumbled brass) this evening without stripping or cleaning. No malfunctions although I do have one of Les Baers POS mags that fails to lock the slide back on any 1911 its run through. The good ones start at a grand, its a fact of life. Oh and yes Id rather have just these two then eight Glocks.
http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q217/machinegun74/IMG_0184.jpg What finish on the TRS? Damn it i can't decide a wilson or a TRS. And i don't even have the money yet. |
|
Quoted:
The 1911 vs Glock argument is fundamentally flawed due to the fact that 1911 encompasses a large variety of different manufacturers. You cannot expect a Llama or a Norinco to perform as well as, say, a TRP. Glocks, on the other hand, can be expected to perform roughly the same. Grouping all 1911s together is unfair. I have some experience with Glocks and a little with a TRP, both have performed excellently. I'm not really looking to solve that argument. Just looking to see what the polls say. You guys can, and will argue until and after this site is gone. I just want to see what the polls say. |
|
Quoted:
I strip and clean my Brown every 500rds. My pretty tight Baer TRS just finished eating 1100rds (mostly my low powered lead reloads in untumbled brass) this evening without stripping or cleaning. No malfunctions although I do have one of Les Baers POS mags that fails to lock the slide back on any 1911 its run through. The good ones start at a grand, its a fact of life. Oh and yes Id rather have just these two then eight Glocks.
http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q217/machinegun74/IMG_0184.jpg Those are some damn fine 1911's. Did the Baer loosen up at all after putting those rounds through it? The one I fondled had a ridiculously tight slide. |
| I had a Kimber Custom Classic, a Springfield Mil-Spec Loaded, and a Remington-Rand. I never tried to push them beyond what they were designed to do, so I never really had a problem. The Springfield hates Hydra Shoks and the Kimber wouldn't cycle Cor-Bons. I didn't expect them to work well, but I wanted to test the guns for myself. Given the right ammunition, they were all excellent. |
|
I currently own 7, used to be 8. Mix of Colts both full size and Commanders, a Springfield loaded and an Rock Island which was the first one I bought. I have shot another 30 or so not counting mine. I have only encountered one that didn't work and that problem was fixed when I lent him one of my mags. I think the majority of issues are caused by people who spend 800+ on a pistol and then want to run a combo of the cheapest mags and ammo you can buy. I use Mec Gar or Colt oem mags and I have no problems, that combined with that fact that most people today who shoot have zero ability to do there own work on a pistol that needs it.
ETA: I have never had a stoppage with good factory ammo in any of mine be it HP or FMJ. All of my stoppages are related to lead SWC reloads, which didn't really concern me I just went back to my lead round nose bullets. |
|
Quoted: You would be surprised how good the Norinco 1911s are, at least in my experience and that of a couple of people I know who have them. Yep, I wish I'd held onto mine...  Look at the short list of 1911s Wilson Combat will accept as platforms for their custom builds and you'll notice Norinco is on there.  |
|
The TRS is blued, I would have one any other way.
It was also pretty tight when I got it, but really at lockup. It eased up when you got the slide back a bit. I took it out and ran the 500rd break in procedure like Baer recommends and it really smoothed up. The thing is still stupid tight in lockup and the only way to get the bushing to turn is to take it out of battery. Last time I cleaned it I had a hell of a time getting the bushing free of the slide. |
|
I'm a little surprised at the number of no failures. Both my Colt and Kimber had a few hiccups within the first 200 rounds, but never since.
I thought it was a given that the 1911 design took a couple hundred rounds to settle in. Maybe it's the difference between the stock gov't design and a ramped barrel. |
|
My first 1911 was a Kimber Compact CDP II that I picked up used from Bullseye in Tacoma. It ran flawlessly for about the first 200 rnds I shot through it. Then it started getting failure to feed issues with it not returning to battery. I could take my thumb and push the slide forward and it would got back in to battery. I was so disgusted with it I went out and bought a Springer Mil-spec.
I was new here, but I went and asked in the 1911 forums and sure enough they pointed me to a Wolf spring. Once I replaced that I haven't had a single issue. The spring is a lot stiffer and it really tamed the felt recoil. I fall in love all over again with it every time I shoot it. My Mil-spec has also been 100% reliable as well. I haven't taken a high round count class with it yet, but I have used it for a couple of carbine classes and stuff and it hasn't failed me. |
|
Quoted:
I'm a little surprised at the number of no failures. Both my Colt and Kimber had a few hiccups within the first 200 rounds, but never since. I thought it was a given that the 1911 design took a couple hundred rounds to settle in. Maybe it's the difference between the stock gov't design and a ramped barrel. One thats built right will run right from the get go in my experience. |
|
My Son's Kimber Stainless II, which he bought slightly used, had some feeding issues
when he/I first purchased it. The more it was shot, the better it ran. It has been jam-free the last coupla times he shot it before deploying to Afghanistan. The ONLY thing I don't like about it is that it throws brass all over the place, making me lay out a huge-ass tarp to catch the brass. My steel-framed ParaOrdnance P14.45 has not had any issues other than the trigger sticking for a bit. It did this for two outings then went away by itself. I love that pistol, which I alternatively call "The Hogleg" or "Big Sexy" (because of it's wide butt) I bought this pistola VERY slightly used.
I don't think it had had more than one mag through it; NO scratches, and the internals still had that white grease the factory puts in. It was made in '02; I bought it this May. |
|
Quoted:
The guide rod unscrews out of my Springfield Loaded every approx 300-500 rounds I have seen most kinds of 1911s croak in classes. What kind of numbers you talking here? 1, 2, 87? Having a pistol go down in a class would make me pissed beyond belief, and have less faith in my firearm. You do not see Glocks do the same though? |
|
Quoted:
I have my Dad's service pistol from WWII. It was made in 1917. It is 100% reliable with new mags. The original mag would probably work if I replaced the spring. Wow. That is an amazing piece of history to have. Hang on to it until you pass it down. Or until you sell it to me. 
|
|
Quoted:
Quoted:
The guide rod unscrews out of my Springfield Loaded every approx 300-500 rounds I have seen most kinds of 1911s croak in classes. What kind of numbers you talking here? 1, 2, 87? Having a pistol go down in a class would make me pissed beyond belief, and have less faith in my firearm. You do not see Glocks do the same though? I'll get beat for this but a lot of jams Ive seen at local matches and classes were either mags, home smithed, Officer sized guns or Kimbers. People that havent seen a Glock go down dont get out enough. 
|
|
Quoted: Quoted: The guide rod unscrews out of my Springfield Loaded every approx 300-500 rounds I have seen most kinds of 1911s croak in classes. What kind of numbers you talking here? 1, 2, 87? Having a pistol go down in a class would make me pissed beyond belief, and have less faith in my firearm. You do not see Glocks do the same though? Boy I've probably lost track. A bunch of the guys I shoot with around here have 1911s and they have all ceased to function. In multi day classes usually a couple of 1911s have problems. The only thing I have seen go wrong with a Glock (other than problems I induced out of stupidity) is I saw a guy get his front sight knocked off. The stage called for you to fire under a board that was supposed to represent firing out a window at floor level. The shooter raised his glock up and hit the board and the front sight flew off. he actually finished the stage without it by just indexing the whole frame. |
|
Quoted:
Quoted:
I have my Dad's service pistol from WWII. It was made in 1917. It is 100% reliable with new mags. The original mag would probably work if I replaced the spring. Wow. That is an amazing piece of history to have. Hang on to it until you pass it down. Or until you sell it to me. From my cold dead hands buddy... I actually CHL with it sometimes. |
|
Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
I have my Dad's service pistol from WWII. It was made in 1917. It is 100% reliable with new mags. The original mag would probably work if I replaced the spring. Wow. That is an amazing piece of history to have. Hang on to it until you pass it down. Or until you sell it to me. From my cold dead hands buddy... I actually CHL with it sometimes. Good deal sir. |
|
I own three 1911s.
Honestly: My Springfield Compact has experienced several FTF but that was do to my limp wristing it. I don't shoot it very well so I don't shoot it very much.... My full size Springfield experienced many FTF when new. I had the barrel throated and since then it has never had a stoppage, tens of thousands of rounds later. My full size Kimber Custom Covert ll has never had a stoppage but admittedly I have less than 5K rounds through it. I deem my full size Springfield and Kimber reliable enough that I use either of them for my self defense carry, if I didn't think I could trust my life to them I wouldn't use them. 
|