Posted: 11/13/2010 2:50:46 PM EDT
| Was thinking of picking up a small 1911 for concealed carry, was heavily leaning towards a kimber ultra then I came across the SA ultra compact. I like the idea of a half inch longer barrel and stainless frame. Do either of these make it harder to conceal/carry? Anybody have one likes/dislikes. Will Wilson 7 rd mags fit all I see is they ship with 6rd mags. Also would I be able to get it without night sights? |
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Look, YMMV and all that BUT I had one. It went back to the factory four times before Springfield replaced it with a Champion-sized gun. It jammed like crazy and even the customer service rep at Springfield said they were "finicky". All of that is behind me now and I can boil all the advice I got down to this: The 1911 was not designed to be so short. The super-short 1911s require a very firm and consistent grip to function correctly (if they will function at all). Do you really want a defensive arm that will fail if you are shooting weak-handed, one-handed, from the ground, or at a weird angle? Skip the Ultra Compact and anything "micro"-sized as well.
1911s are not that hard to conceal. They are relatively thin. A half inch of barrel will not be an issue concealment-wise but WILL be an issue reliability-wise. And to answer your other question - any 1911 mag, of any capacity, will fit any 1911 (except trying to stick a 6-rounder in a 7-round frame). |
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Quoted:
Look, YMMV and all that BUT I had one. It went back to the factory four times before Springfield replaced it with a Champion-sized gun. It jammed like crazy and even the customer service rep at Springfield said they were "finicky". All of that is behind me now and I can boil all the advice I got down to this: The 1911 was not designed to be so short. The super-short 1911s require a very firm and consistent grip to function correctly (if they will function at all). Do you really want a defensive arm that will fail if you are shooting weak-handed, one-handed, from the ground, or at a weird angle? Skip the Ultra Compact and anything "micro"-sized as well. 1911s are not that hard to conceal. They are relatively thin. A half inch of barrel will not be an issue concealment-wise but WILL be an issue reliability-wise. And to answer your other question - any 1911 mag, of any capacity, will fit any 1911 (except trying to stick a 6-rounder in a 7-round frame). I shot a Colt defender (3" bbl) for several years and never had any issues with it except the recoil spring but that was my fault. It wasn't picky about ammo either. Also had the Micro 45 and no issues with it either. I think it is a case you may get a good one or a bad one, just like anything else. |
| My Colt Defender was flawless. I had a SA Micro .45 that fed fine after I polished the feed ramp but had the worst trigger I've ever had on any 1911. Broke at 8lbs. This was due in part to the poor fitting. It rubbed against the frame. Crappy for a $1150 pistol. |
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Quoted:
Look, YMMV and all that BUT I had one. It went back to the factory four times before Springfield replaced it with a Champion-sized gun. It jammed like crazy and even the customer service rep at Springfield said they were "finicky". All of that is behind me now and I can boil all the advice I got down to this: The 1911 was not designed to be so short. The super-short 1911s require a very firm and consistent grip to function correctly (if they will function at all). Do you really want a defensive arm that will fail if you are shooting weak-handed, one-handed, from the ground, or at a weird angle? Skip the Ultra Compact and anything "micro"-sized as well. 1911s are not that hard to conceal. They are relatively thin. A half inch of barrel will not be an issue concealment-wise but WILL be an issue reliability-wise. And to answer your other question - any 1911 mag, of any capacity, will fit any 1911 (except trying to stick a 6-rounder in a 7-round frame). I don't know about that a friend has one of the little Kimbers, It's not like I've put a 1000 rounds through it, but I've been with him and another friend and we probably put 400 rounds through it never had a hickup. I was very impressed as to how well it shot as well as how dependable it was. So, you may be right when you say the originals were not made to be so short, but these new little ones have been newly enginered to work right. |
| The first 1911-pattern gun I ever owned was a SA Ultra-Compact; I traded a very reliable, but equally inaccurate, Ruger P95 + some cash for it. It's always been quite reliable, and pretty darn accurate for a pistol with such a short barrel. After that, it was nothing but SA 1911 pistolas for me after that (well, 'cept a Sig Commander-style 1911 I picked up some time ago). I'd recommend an Ultra-Compact to anyone. |