3" 1911 Question?

[thinktwice]

Do any of you have a 3 " 1911 that has a pretty high round count? I have a Springfield Micro Compact Loaded model. I have about 300 trouble free rounds through it so far. However I don't want to carry it because of all the horror stories you hear from 1911 guys about them 3") being so unreliable. Like I said mine has been fine so far but I have heard so many bad things about them. That's why I am asking if anyone has one with a high round count that has been trouble free. I would like to start carrying it, but for the time being I carry a Glock 33 or a 30. Thanks

 

[oldandslow]

tt, 8.4.13

I've got a full sized Springer 1911 and a 3.5 inch Ultracompact. The full size has over five thousand trouble free rounds through it. The UC is much less reliable running at 2% failure to feed rates. I've tried new mags, springs and extractor and I just can't seem to get it to be as reliable as its bigger brother. If you take a look at the 1911forum this topic comes up often. The one short-barreled model which time and again is seen as reliable is the Cold Defender. The others seem to have a spotty reliability reputation. If you can put a thousand trouble free rounds through yours then it should be good to go. Good luck.

best wishes-oldandslow

 

[Kreyzhorse]

I'm just curious, but if your Micro has run trouble free, why doubt it because of what you've read?

Go put a couple more hundred rounds through it and if it runs well for you by all means I'd start carrying it. As it is right now, your gun sounds very trust worthy and I'd carry it without concern.

 

[kutz]

My Colt new agent is dependable, as is my Kimber Ultra CDP II. CDP = Cool Damn Pistol !

 

[Ambidextrous1]

The "urban legend" about short-barreled 1911s is a relic of the 20th Century. Several manufacturers have developed very reliable short-barrel 1911 designs; but, like most 1911s, they require a few hundred rounds of "breaking in" before achieving good reliability.

 

[KenW.]

I had a Colt Defender. Absolutely 100% reliable; unless you wanted holes near the center of your target.

 

[orionengnr]

Had a number of 3" 1911s. The ones that work/ed perfectly are/were:
--my Ultra CDP (pre-Series II) sold in a moment of stupidity
--my wife's Ultra CDP II
--my two Stainless Ultra Carry IIs (sold one of them in a moment of stupidity)

The two that remain aren't going anywhere.

 

[Seaman]

Have a 'SPRINGFIELD ARMORY 1911 MICRO COMPACT' with the 3" barrel. Don't carry it much, mostly because I read about how unreliable 1911s are, especially the 3" ones. The round count for the micro is a very accurate 500 bullseye shots, so not exactly an exhaustive test.

Was considering picking up a 45 cal Glock, but just saw a crime documentary about a captured car thief who was being processed at a station house in Fayette, AL. The perp scooped the arresting officer's 45 cal Glock out of the officer's retention holster and shot the cop, went down the corridor and shot another cop, and then went into the dispatch office and shot the dispatcher. The perp was 18, had no experience with handguns, only playing violent video games.

It suddenly hit me, if the cop had been carrying a 1911, the perp would have had to flip off the thumb safety (if he could even figure it out), and then also hold it correctly to disengage the grip safety. A second or two which could have given the cop a chance to tackle the perp, yell for help, etc.

Makes me want to think twice before carrying any handgun other than a 1911.

 

[hardhat harry]

Another positive vote for a 3" 1911. My Sig Ultra 1911 .45 Two Tone has been 100%, regardless of the quality of ammo, and I've shot some pretty crappy ammo lately

 

[Technosavant]

I have a Sig Ultra. It runs 100%.

Keep in mind, these high round count criticisms are usually involving hundreds, if not thousands, of rounds without a cleaning. Think about it- just how many rounds do you expect to need in an encounter? Sure, one wouldn't be my first choice for something apocalyptic, but my Ultra has fired 200 rounds in one range session without a single hiccup. When I carry the thing I have maybe 16 rounds on me. SIXTEEN. I *know* it will run that several times over. Even if I fired every single 1911 mag I have through it, that's maybe a couple hundred rounds before I need to reload the magazines themselves.

It's more reliable than I will EVER ask it to be. Who really cares if a handgun will do 10K rounds without a cleaning? I don't even have 10K rounds of .45ACP, so why would I reject a gun that won't run more ammo than I and most other people even possess? It will more than run the ammo I actually have available to shoot through it.

Is a 3" 1911 as absolutely reliable as some other designs? No. Is it more than capable of being reliable enough to do what is required? Certainly.

 

[gpjoe]

I have never had a problem with either of my compact 1911s - a Kimber Ultra CDP II and Springfield EMP. With several hundred rounds through each, I trust my life to those pistols and both are part of my regular carry rotation.

 

[Bailey Boat]

I have a winter carry gun, a Colt Defender that I bought when they first hit the stores and I do "meaningful practice" of 200 rounds per month with out fail.

I found out early on that 185's functioned much better than 230's. I think it has to do with the recoil impulse and the shortened everything. Mine is 99% reliable with my reloads and 100% with factory.

 

[Walt Sherrill]

Everything I've read about really compact guns is that they require much more frequent recoil spring changes than other guns; this seems especially true with the 1911 guns.

That said, I don't hear much said about this "maintenance" issue by the guys who use them. (Some of the ultra-compact guns manuals [or web-site info] call for recoil spring changes at about a third of the round count of their full-size brethern.)

Could that account for some of the problems with reliability?

 

[Smit]

This is a bit subjective. Do not let a stereotype push you away from a gun that is working well for you. Keep shooting it and document any failures you have. If it stays reliable and you like it, I see no reason to not trust it.

 

[seeker_two]

I'm with Technosavant....if your gun can run 300 rounds with no problems, it can handle the 16-24 rounds you'll have with you in a SD situation.

Keep calm & carry on.....