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Compact and sub-compact 1911's flawed inherently?

16K views 50 replies 17 participants last post by  RSSZ 
#1 ·
This all started in my IDPA club as I went out to purchase a new gun about 18 months ago. First I wanted a ParaOrdnance P10 or P12 and was told not to do this by many of the master competitors including a highly decorated SWAT cop. The contention was that when the barrel lengths shrink below 4 inches the 1911 design becomes inherently flawed. I went my own way, trusting some very good articles read in various magazines and lo, discovered my buddies were 100% correct. At least as far as the P10 was concerned. I tried a buddies P12 at a match one time and suddenly found a whole host of similar problems which were duplicated when other club members tried the gun to see if maybe I was suffering from the notorious "limp wrist" problem. My shooting style was rigorously inspected as I ran a course of fire by my fellow NRA INstructors and IDPA Safety Officers. No deficiencies in technique. I should hope NOT!

THEN I went and bought a Springfield Armory "micro" 1911 and found it had a bad extractor, which I replaced all to no avail. I had continuous problems with failure to extract as well as the ever present double feeds. I got rid of it and settled on the Sig Sauer P245. No complaints since. Not one. I can compete with the P245. It's barrel is 3.9 inches. Four inches for all intents and purposes.

I wrote COL Jeff Cooper a letter and received a hand signed reply from him in which he allowed that he has heard a number of complaints about the mini 1911's and indeed he made that subject the lead topic in his most recent "Cooper's Corner" column in Guns & Ammo magazine. I'll never own a 1911 that has a barrel less than 4 inches ever again. I would consider a Kimber compact since that seems to have a Commander sized slide but an Officers sized grip.

However, I'm still examining designs other than 1911 in .45ACP such as the Beretta 8045 and the CZ/EAA models. However, I'm so happy with the P245, that my next purchase is going to be Big Brother P220. I already have five 8 rd P220 mags since they work in the P245 as well.
 
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#2 ·
I heard the same stories and heard some of them from people that had first hand experience with them. I wanted one so bad I could taste it but have since learned that an inch or two longer in a 1911 really doesn't hurt the ability to conceal it much, if any. Although I have a 4" and a 5", I carry the 5" almost exclusively and will continue to do so. In fact I am planning on selling my 4" and getting a second 5" 1911. :tongue2:
 
#3 ·
My wife's Combat Commander 45 is just perfect. I've fired thousands of rounds and NEVER had any problems. But never again will I go smaller than a Commander. At least as far as the 1911 goes!
 
#4 ·
I've got both weapons, a Para P10 stainless which functions flawlessly, and a Springfield Armory Ultra Compact V10 which eats everything I put through it. I had some concerns about the Para P10 at first, but after polishing the feed ramp, and tweeking the extractor to throw the brass high and to the right, I have never had trouble with it. I do know that using the lighter bullet weight tends to make the P10 more accurate. I've also has a Kimber custom compact that worked VERY well, but I decided to opt out of it, due to the need to replace the springs after about 5000 rounds. I've got a few Colt's, ranging from the Officers' to the older series 70 Commanders, in 45, 38 Super and 9MM in a Light weight Commander..I think it's a matter of what you feel most comfortable with, and working with it.
 
#5 ·
When I was in the business (retired in 98) most that I sold had problems. Both a Colt and a SA went back, one twice. I quit selling them. We never had problems with the Commander length guns.

Have seen and heard of similar problems with the Short Glocks in 45.
 
#6 ·
Hummmmmmm

Well, I had an early DETONICS that was function flawless & an early (first year of production) Colt Light Weight Officers Model that functioned perfectly also.

I'm giving away my age here....when I say that most of the VERY EARLY super chopped & tuned custom Colts worked really well. They were "made up" by some custom gunsmiths. Some of them were REALLY short.
They go back to the days when there were NO stubby .45s to buy.
A full size Govt. model was just custom cut down. The slide & barrel were chopped ~ special barrel bushing made & recoil spring plug etc.
The pistol butt was cut and full size magazines were also cut short & their bases welded back on.
So...it's possible for a short .45 to work properly but, everything is more critical concerning fit & finish.
I would say that the modern shortened virgins...I mean versions...suffer from quality control, mass production, and/or design problems more than any inherent size related problems.
Of course that's just my opinion.
It seems to me though that if some older short .45s have already proved themselves to work properly then there should be no reason why the modern firearms should not work also ~ if they are assembled with care and maybe actually factory function tested.

The ParaOrd & the Springer Micro I know absolutely nothing about.
 
#7 ·
KC135 said:
Have seen and heard of similar problems with the Short Glocks in 45.
Now THAT'S interesting! I have owned a Glock M30 and was sorry I ever sold it. I think that if I could only own ONE gun that I had to depend on for survival, that'd be the one.
 
#8 ·
#9 ·
I know...I said something DIFFERENT in post #3! I go back and forth on just this little gun.
 
#10 ·
It seems I am definitely in the minority here. My Seecamp DA Detonics Combat Master is still going strong after more than twenty years. A reliable compact 1911 .45 may be rare - but they do exist. Still - I dread to think what it would cost to produce one these days.
 
#11 ·
Good 1911's are hard to find a very expensive. The size of the shell and the short nature of the brass makes it a hard shell to leverage. My 1911 average $2000 and are flawless. My most expensive is $4k and is being built as we type. I consider this inexpensive for a carry gun that is protecting me and my loved ones.

I agree with Bumper I've found the Commanders to be to short barreled where the 5" and 6 " give a much better burn and improves accuracy dramatically. I have yet to fire a sub 4" that I found worthy of carry.

Ballistically I love the .45 and would not trade for love or money.
 
#12 ·
revlar said:
My Seecamp DA Detonics Combat Master is still going strong after more than twenty years. A reliable compact 1911 .45 may be rare - but they do exist. Still - I dread to think what it would cost to produce one these days.
Exactly my point. Your example is a lucky aberration and not the norm.

How long has it been since Detonics was in production? Also it never really qualified as being full production, more like semicustom. And I think it wasn't Seecamp that they worked with but rather DEVEL. Devel also worked on their own, specializing in chopping S&W 9mm's and installing a see-thru grip and a unique oval trigger guard.
 
#13 ·
nighthawk said:
I agree with Bumper I've found the Commanders to be to short barreled where the 5" and 6" give a much better burn and improves accuracy dramatically. I have yet to fire a sub 4" that I found worthy of carry.

Ballistically I love the .45 and would not trade for love or money.
I would probably balk at a 6" for concealed carry. I think 5" is optimum with a 4" being pretty good as well. There's enough evidence (whether 100% accurate or not) to convince me not to carry a sub 4". But that's probably just me :wink:
 
#14 ·
I noticed at the SHOT SHOW that Detonics is back in business.
Now called the New Detonics Corp.
They had some nice looking guns, I'm not sure if they are as reliable as the old ones were, but they are talking a good game.

I had a MK VI back in the 1980's and it performed extremely well, I wish I still had it.

However basically I agree with the concept of the 4" being the best of both worlds.

Like Bumper I carry only 4 or 5" 1911's
 
#17 ·
I ordered a Nighthawk Custom Talon Iv for my wife. I have talked with Keith and he assures me it will be reliable to the Nth degree.

 
#18 ·
Just Thought Of Another One

The ASTRA A 80
That .45 pistol had what??? A 3" barrel. Anybody remember the exact barrel length? Anyway....The Astra A 80 was an extremely reliable chopped firearm ~ but, it never was a super accurate handgun. I shot a few of those & they barely ever missed a beat.

Also my older, original DETONICS would feed anything.
 
#20 ·
The Seecamp DA conversion was not a joint Detonics/Seecamp venture - it was done aftermarket on my gun - at my request.

As for Detonics not being reliable - it's a matter of when the gun was made. There were problems with some of the earlier guns, but the lion's share of their production resulted in some extremely reliable pieces.

The generally accepted reason for the demise of the old Detonics had more to do with the low rate of production - and the resulting high cost of the product - than any inherent flaws in the design. Other than the fact that the recoil springs should be replaced every 750-1000 rounds - owners of the vast majority of the Combat Masters report very few functional problems.

I consider the high cost of the new Detonics models to be even more prohibitive these days and it will be very interesting to see if Ahern can keep the company going. I hope he can.
 
#21 ·
Here's a thought for all you 1911 fans. Springfield just announced a new 1911 micro chambered in the new .45GAP caliber. Before you start railing about how worthless .45GAP is, or how it's "an answer to a question that was never asked" or any other cliche pieces of drivel, consider this. According to the April/May edition of Guns & Ammo, SA's new ".45GAP Defender" model has almost as much breech travel behind the magazine well as a standard (5") size 1911, which the author of the article theorizes will increase reliablity. I suspect that the author is right. I'm already working out plans to sell several of my current guns so I can purchase the new Glock 38 and 39 in this new caliber, and I'm highly, highly tempted to snap up this new toy from Springfield when it comes out, and maybe the new CZ Rami in the caliber as well, just to have a well-rounded collection.
 
#22 ·
I can only speak about the Kimber models from experience. Before getting my Eclipse in 4" model, I met a cop at the range who had a Kimber Carry model in 3". He let me fire it, and with the first shot, I decided that this was not going to be a good "range" gun, where I'd wanna fire a few hundred rds at a visit. I really felt the first shot in my wrist. I could image at the end of the day having sore wrist from that. It was probably due to a combination of lightweight material and barrel length which added to recoil. I went to gun shows for a few months handling everything I could find in 4" and below, and settled on the Eclipse. It is an all-stainless model. Heavier weight does not concern me for a carry weapon, and it is one that I can take to the range all day long without sustaining soreness in the wrist. A subcompact or micro is probably a good gun for carry or backup gun, but I prefer to tote a gun that I can practice at the range with....for me it's gotta be at least 4" and all-stainless.
 
#23 ·
In August I bought a 3 inch Springfield "G.I" model. I was having numerous failures to feed using Ball ammo. So, after 350 rounds I sent it back to the factory. They tested the extractor, throated the barrel, recut & polished the feed ramp. Now, 250 rounds later I can't get the damn thing to jam with the exception of when one particular Kimber magazine is used.

I was seriously considering trading it for a Glock. But now it's running so well I won't get rid of it.
 
#24 ·
Hank, howz about some pics???

~A
 
#25 ·
I'll see what I can do!
 
#26 ·
Gentlemen, I own one of those nasty little 3" Kimbers that you guys seem to think is so balistically challenged,fuctionally challenged,and accuracy challenged. I also own, and up until reciently,carried a full size Colt 1911(highly tricked out). I found that I couldn't live with the weight and overall size of the weapon anymore. I absolutely LOVE the Colt but found myself making excuses not to put it on in the AM. I find myself wanting to apoligize to all you gentlemen from the first post at the top of page #1 for my lapse in judgement for purchasing the little Kimber Ultra CDP II. It will(i can),if properly rested cut one 2" ragged hole at 7 yds with 14 rds.But according to the ballistics chart that was posted,the little bbl. wont allow the little bullets to get going fast enough to do the BG any damage. I find that with practice( I have only put 550 rds through the little gun)I can put 2 or 3 rds(full power loads) on target very easily at 7 yds. Before you say anything I want you to know that I purchased this weapon for CCW only. NOT TARGET SHOOTING ! I can put the rds. on a white 6" pie plate from the modified Weaver position in well under 2 secs. I can double tap,3 targets,5' apart in under 2 secs. This,gentlemen,is without the proper amount of practice that I will eventually end up with. After I purchased the teeny weeny little gun,I continued to "carry" the full size 1911 until I got to the(my own)acceptable level of training so as to feel confident carring the Kimber. I realize that training NEVER stops. And I plan to never stop trying to become "mo betta" with my little gun. BTW--- I hope to do this before it falls apart and becomes unserviceable. I have bugeted to buy another 3" Kimber just as soon as this one falls apart. Let me just say that I realize that I do not know as much about weapons and tactics as some(probably most) of you do but I'm only 57 years old and still learning. I always keep my ears at the ready to absorb info from those that are more knowledgeable than myself.I will continue to do this on this site. I will listen(read) and try to best make the decissions that will help me to better protect myself and my family. I post this with respect and humility.------
 
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