1911 frustrations

Maybe I'm a lucky one, but I have an early series 80 with 70,000 rounds plus through it with NO problems related to the weapon. Had a few feed jams when I tried to feed it with some cheap magazines (3 for $5-what was I thinking?), and a few with poorly made reloads. Other than that-it has taken all kinds of abuse. Have replaced the barrel bushing and slide stop every 20,000 rounds, and springs twice in its life so far. Cost? 400 in 1990 dollars.
Neither have been to a gunsmith for "reliability" work, or any other work for that matter. Have tried to get it to hiccup with everything from the 155 LSWC's to the 200 grain flying ashtray, along with everything else I can find.
New 1991A1 with 1500 rounds-cycles everything. 500 in 2001 dollars. What reliability issue?
 
Glocks are fine guns. I've got two of them myself. But they just don't fit my hand very well (grip circumference just a bit too big) and I HATE that awful, creepy, sproingy trigger. I find it much harder to shoot a Glock quickly and accurately than a M1911. I just can't keep the Glock's front sight steady when breaking the shot -- it always tweaks a bit when the striker finally breaks. I'm not saying that Glocks aren't accurate -- I've seen some folks do some remarkable things with them. I'm saying that I'm not as accurate with my Glocks as I am with my M1911s. YMMV.

M1911

PS. And yes, my M1911s have needed more tweaking than my Glocks.
 
After swearing that I would never own a 1911 style pistol, I bought one the day before yesterday and have never looked back.

I'd been eyeballing a used (but excellent condition) Classic Custom Target in my dealers case for almost two months. They had a Colt 1991A1 right next to it. There was no comparison between the two.

The Colt was around $550.00 I think, and the used Kimber was $625 with two mags. After examining both, I couldn't understand how Colt could charge that kind of price on a plain-jane 1911 pistol.

The Kimber already had all of the refinements right out of the box.
It runs like a train and I've had no malfunctions using a variety of ammo. I've talked to Colt owners who say they haven't been as fortunate.

The ONLY thing I am replacing on the Kimber is the slide stop. I can't reach the factory one with my right thumb, so I ordered a Wilson
Combat extended one yesterday.

For the money that you will spend on making a plain-jane Colt into a reliable, accurate working gun with a few creature comforts, you could have bought a Kimber. I don't mean that to sound snotty. It's just that a little more shopping and examination of different brands might have saved you the frustration and possibly a few bucks in the process.

Sell the Colt and buy something else or pay to upgrade it. It's pretty simple. Good luck.

:D
 
RikWriter,

Around here the prices were pretty steep compared to what you posted. I say were because I live in MA and we are not able to buy 1911s as of right now.

My bro bought a NIB Kimber Custom Carry for a little over 1K, we decided to trade off for a couple weeks. After numerous range visits I was fed up with it, I could not go to the range and get through two magazines without a jam, he had many different mags and it was the same song and dance for all of them. I have friends that also swear by the 1911s design, but they seem to have the most FTFs out of the bunch that I shoot with. This has just been my experience over the years.

Even if the gun was $600 like you stated above, why is it that a $500 Glock, $600 Sig. $700 HK or even a $340 Ruger P95DC can be expected to function properly out of the box?

That has always been my biggest complaint, if these guys are doing it for less money why cant companys that produce the 1911s do the same? I dont think that people push them to higher their standards, people accept it.

I will be honest, in general 1911s do cost much more than your standard HK, Sig or Glock. I am sure their is acceptions but in general that is teh way it is. Then when you weigh in the fact that you even have to buy better quality magazines than what is shipped with your 1911 the price starts climbing pretty fast.

I dont hate them, I am a guy that trains and makes purchases based on a self deffence stand point. I love shooting and find it very relaxing and enjoyable but ultimately its all for preperation. It is obvious that the 1911 is not the best choice fo me but for others it might be the perfect choice.

Thought I would shoot that out there.

Jason
 
Get a Sig 220 and be done with it? Well, I got one NIB Dec '00. Biggest POS I have ever had. Might have been a lemon, but couple that with Sig's POOR customer service and I was not a happy camper.
Thanks guys for all the feed back from this posting. I have learned my Colt is like that VW Bug we all had in hi-school. It's gonna take some TLC to get it right.
 
What can I tell ya JMack? I haven't had that experience with ANY factory 1911 and neither has anyone I know IRL.
I've owned over two dozen 1911s of various makes and models and the only one that had any reliability problems was a Frankenstein gun built by God knows who.
I probably have about 50,000 rounds through various 1911s.
I have several friends and even more casual acquaintances that have had similar experiences.
I HAVE found, in talking to others and in watching people shoot at the range, that failures in semiautos often come from factors other than the inherent reliability of the gun.
Just a for instance (not involving a 1911)...I have an AR15 in M4 configuration that I have yet to have a jam through after several thousand rounds. I took it to the range where I was meeting some friends. I shot a couple hundred rounds through it, no problems. I let one of my friends try shooting it and it stovepiped twice in one mag. I was nonplussed. I took it back, shot three mags through it, no jams. I let the other two guys that were there shoot a couple mags each through it...no jams. Then I gave it back to the first guy...and it jammed again.
I still don't know why, but I know it was something he was doing...and significantly, he didn't shoot ARs much, he was an AK owner.
Was he holding the gun differently? Squeezing the trigger differently? Maybe pushing the gun down on the mag base too hard? I don't know...I still don't to this day, but that AR had no jams before and none since.
The same thing seems to happen with other guns and I have to assume it could happen with 1911s too.
 
I also find the P-220 to be one of the best .45s on the market bar none. Shot thousand apon thousands of rounds through mine and never had a FTF of any kind. The P-220 is by far the most accurate gun in my line up and also my #1 gun in my collection.

As far as Sigs customer service, that sucks you had a bad experience. I called them to ask about a trigger spring for my P239, 5 days later a package arrived with a little bag of about 20 springs at no charge.

To me thats great service, maybe I lucked out or you just got a raw deal. Who knows?

Jason
 
Kermit,

I'm glad you decided to give the old 1911 a try. I've grown up with this gun, and I'm always converting people who've had one myth or another stuck in their head. They say things like, "that gun's too big, " or, ".45 kicks too much." I remember talking to this guy at the shop, who bought a Taurus PT 111 (their 9mm if I got the model wrong), and he said he bought it because he can't handle the .45 recoil. I was going to tell him that my girlfriend shoots my 1911 just fine, but if you can't say anything nice...

I can see how the sights may be small, but perhaps you need to get used to the trigger. As for the bite, are we talking about hammer bite here? I have an SA and I agree with you on the sharp edges.

I've got a 70's series that had mmc sights put on it. Those are the only upgrades, and I've never had the gun give me any problems. My friends, however, who limp wrist like hell, manage to either stove pipe my gun, or manage to "dirt farm."

Maybe all you need is to change out the sights.

ArmySon,

I wish you'd stop telling us about your $275 Colt, man, you make me want to cry. OTOH, my Dad picked up the aforementioned 70's series for about $200, but that's at 1980 prices, so you've got us... ;)
 
Guys, the 1911A1 is the Single Action Army of this century! Everyone is making parts, and with CAD-CAM, anyone can fix their own. You no longer need a gunsmith! Once you understand how it operates, you can make any semi-auto reliable! Basics are all the same. I even watched a gal take a 1911A1 apart using the firing pin and the slide (for a hammer!). It doesn't get any simpler or easier than a 1911A1! A .45 (Bar-Sto barrel), .22 conversion unit, Milt Sparks IWB holster, Dillon reloader, ........life doesn't get any better than that!
 
Everybody and their mothers manufacturer the 1911 design. Unfortunately, not all of them can do it right. Unlike the original design, a lot of new 1911’s are made very tight for better accuracy. The tighter you make it, the higher the chance for FTF’s.

Now, a very tight and accurate gun can be extremely reliable but that’s where you hear about adding an additional $200-500 dollars to the factory gun. Is it a must? Nope, there are plenty of production 1911’s that will be reliable out of the box with hardball ammo.

So why do people spend that much money on a tight, accurate, reliable 1911? Simply put, how many Glocks and SIGs have you seen that can shoot sub 1” groups at 50 yards? Yes, I’ve heard the tales online of people that can shoot dime groups with their Glocks but personally; I’ve never witnessed it. Believe me, I’ve done my fair share of shooting and have seen A LOT of matches. This isn’t a knock against the Glock or SIGs. I’m a Glock fan myself and own several. Just stating the facts.

Also, there are many individuals that shoot wadcutters through their 1911’s and have FTF’s. The design was made for hardball, not wadcutters. Ya you can shoot wadcutters through lots of 1911’s without any problems, but not all.

FWIW

Son
 
Interviewed 2 gunsmiths today. One has a 3-4 week backlog, the other will have my gun done by the end of the weekend. They are each w/in $50 bucks. I told one of the smiths that I didn't go through this much when I was looking for a pre school for my son.
I'm kinda glad I'm going through this process. I'm developing an eye for what I think is good work and good parts. I now just have to overcome the fact I'm looking at $400-500 for the work I want done.
 
The 1911 has been with us for almost 100 years. It was invented by the greatest master of gun making the world has ever seen or probably ever will see. Most autoloading pistols made today are only poor copies of it and most would not exist if they had not stolen its basic working principles. No gun througout history had been more reliable in its basic configuration. No gun in the world has been more accurate in its target grade versions. No gun in the world has had a better trigger pull than is possible in the 1911. No gun in the world is easier and faster to strip to the frame and reassembly and it can be all done without any tools. No aluminum frame gun can match it for durabilty and long term retention of accuracy. It will not melt if exposed to extreme heat unlike the plastic framed guns. History has proven that it is the combat hangun that all of the other hanguns in the world have tried to measure up to but so far have failed. Anyone who has owned many handguns, shot them and studied them and worked on them soon agrees with the historians and the experts. The 1911 is in a class by itself and is the standard by which all hanguns are compared. People who have not owned them , shot them , lived with them ,slept with them cannot possible know how great a gun they really are. Even though the gun is almost 100 years old it is still one of the safest to own and use. The 1911 is not perfect but so far nothing has come along that evern remotely can compare to it. I have owned and shot just about every major handgun ever made and although I purchased my first 1911 over 40 years ago I still stand in awe of its simplicity, durablilty, accuracy, and reliablity, and easy of maintenace. John Browning was truely the greatest fireamrs genius the world has ever seen or will ever see again. W.R.
 
The biggest problem with 1911's is everyone is holding the STOCK 1911 up to the standards of custom built 1911's. $2000 performance in a $600 gun, not going to happen.
 
Kimber versus Colt

A couple of people have sung the praises of Kimber over Colt.

Kimbers are fine guns, lots of semi-custom features, function great, accurate, etc. I have 2 of them, would trust my life to either.

But if you are a true 1911-phile, at some point you gotta break down and get a Colt. I dont see how you guys can go to sleep at night knowing you dont own one. It is the benchmark against which all other guns are measured.

So, get a Kimber and enjoy it. But dont turn your back on the original, or you are depriving yourself of a lot of joy.
 
I own quite a few Colts but with modern advances, there are far superior 1911 manufacturers today. However, any serious 1911 addict gotta have at least 1 Colt!!
 
Mah turn...

I own about a dozen 1911s. They are ALL reliable, even my military ones (allowing for the fact that I'm only supposed to feed them ball ammo). But I've had my share of lemons, and they were all either made by sub-par manufacturers or during this or that company's "dark period".

1911s aren't perfect, no gun is. Yes, there are limitations placed on them due to the design's age. Foremost is the fact that they are expensive to make, due to being designed around early 1900's manufacturing techniques that relied heavily on cheap yet skilled labor. To turn a profit current manufacturers have to cut corners, unless you won't mind paying $1200 for a plain-jane just to have all machined steel parts and expertly-fitted lockwork.

But the basic design is still solid, and what few quirks there are can be rectified easily. Buy the basic gun now, and tune it up later. Once you finally have it tuned to perfection the cost of getting it there is soon forgotten, believe me.
 
Damn that NorielX

Before he let me plink his Springfield, I didn't care about 1911's_at_all.

Now I have to get one along with an "ugly plastic" Glock 26 for summer carry. As much as I dislike the squishy Glock trigger, to me it's an excellent carry gun.

Recently, NorielX opened my eyes to the Croation HS2000. Damn you Noriel. Might I be one of the few strange folks here that have a place in my heart for both 1911's and tupperware guns?
 
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