1911 Pistols: Myth vs Reality And My Experience

[Bailey Guns]

I'm a 1911 fanboy. I love them for a lot of reasons, especially Colts and Kimbers. I still occasionally CCW a Kimber Aegis II 9MM.

My experiences with 1911 pistols seem to be at odds with the experiences of others. I've had very few that were not near 100% reliable out of the box. I've carried them on duty, trained with them (including multi-day classes) and shot them recreationally(?), a lot. As a matter of fact, I've probably owned 50+ 1911 pistols and I've had two that I just couldn't get to work. On the other hand, I've probably owned 15 or 20 Glock pistols and had 1 (a fairly early G21) that would not work in cold weather.

I've heard people say you have to spend $500 or more in gunsmithing work to make a 1911 reliable. Not my experience at all. I've never needed a gunsmith to work on any 1911 (not counting the two Baers) except for staking the front night sight on to a Colt. That's it. They've always functioned as well as any other gun I've owned right out of the box...and they were more accurate than most.

Five 1911 pistols are in my safe now. Two Colts and three Kimbers. Kimbers really seem to take more than their share of hatin' from gun guys. I don't know why that is. I've heard rumors (most of which weren't true...such as their MIM parts are made in China) and horror stories. I've never seen anything of the sort myself. I sold thousands of Kimbers through my store and I NEVER had an unhappy customer or a complaint about the gun. Most Kimber customers returned to buy another...and another. I did have two Kimbers I didn't really like to shoot...but not because they didn't work. Both were SIS models, a Custom and a Pro. The finish was just too slick and I couldn't operate the gun as I'd like on the range because my hands would frequently slip off the slide while reloading, doing malfunction drills, etc. The gun functioned flawlessly other than that.

One Kimber, an early Warrior model, never malfunctioned for me over several thousand rounds (I'd guess about 7). I'd also guess that at least half of that was with Wolf ammo. It was far more accurate than I could ever shoot, too. I wound up giving that gun to my son and as I far as I know it's still 100% reliable.

MIM parts also seem to be a sore spot for a lot of people. I'm no expert on metallurgy. But I do know MIM is used in manufacturing by almost all gun makers and for many other industries. I've never had a problem with a MIM part despite all the horror stories I've heard.

I've also never experienced a significant problem with any of the numerous Commander or Officer-sized 1911 pistols I've owned from Colt, Kimber or Springfield, despite their reputation as unreliable. I had one customer who bought a Springfield Micro. Constant FTE stoppages when he fired it. I could not duplicate the problem when I fired it and I couldn't see any obvious issue with his technique. He was a highly experienced Glock shooter and could not shoot that gun. I bought it from him and carried/shot it for months without an issue.

And I just love Colt 1911 pistols. By far my favorite, admittedly for nostalgic reasons. In my opinion it is THE epitome of an American legend in terms of pistols.

Not trying to start a war with this lengthy post, just curious what your experiences have been with 1911s.

[pdr240]

Used Colt Commander that I "fought" with for about a year before I realized the I was the problem ... never had a NIB one.

[trlcavscout]

I tried to like 1911's. My first was a Springfield, it was OK just took some work to feed HP's. Colts suck ass and I wouldnt take one if given to me, out of 3 new colt 1911's I bought new the cheapest one to make work was $275 at a gun smith I have never had a colt that worked right. I had a couple other brands that ranged from mild tweaking to sell that pos before it blows up. The best one was an old worn out kimber I bought, It looked like ass but it actually worked. 1911's are to heavy and to low capacity, not worth trying to make them work right.

[Birddog1911]

The only 1911 that ever gave me trouble was a STI Ranger II. All of my fullsize have been fully functional. This thread needs more gun pr0n:

[SideShow Bob]

This thread needs more gun pr0n:

OK.

[Birddog1911]

OK.

Pic fail? I see nothing.

[SideShow Bob]

Pic fail? I see nothing.

See, talk about 1911s and I get an FTF........

[Birddog1911]

I tried to like 1911's. My first was a Springfield, it was OK just took some work to feed HP's. Colts suck ass and I wouldnt take one if given to me, out of 3 new colt 1911's I bought new the cheapest one to make work was $275 at a gun smith I have never had a colt that worked right. I had a couple other brands that ranged from mild tweaking to sell that pos before it blows up. The best one was an old worn out kimber I bought, It looked like ass but it actually worked. 1911's are to heavy and to low capacity, not worth trying to make them work right.

I'd like to know when the last time you fired a Colt was. They are definately not the pistol that they used to be, and every post 2007 Colt that I've owned has been flawless. My Wiley Clapp Govt. model is the finest 1911 that I've owned.

[Byte Stryke]

I tried to like 1911's. My first was a Springfield, it was OK just took some work to feed HP's. Colts suck ass and I wouldnt take one if given to me, out of 3 new colt 1911's I bought new the cheapest one to make work was $275 at a gun smith I have never had a colt that worked right. I had a couple other brands that ranged from mild tweaking to sell that pos before it blows up. The best one was an old worn out kimber I bought, It looked like ass but it actually worked. 1911's are to heavy and to low capacity, not worth trying to make them work right.

John Moses Browning Called from Heaven because he said you cannot take a hint. He wants me to tell you he hates you

[Jeffrey Lebowski]

The two questions are not analogous. A standard 1911 pattern gun, whether it's built by Colt, Kimber, Springfield or anyone else, follows the same blueprint in terms of the operating parts. A barrel that fits a Colt should fit another 1911 as should most any of the other parts. There may be differences in terms of how those parts are put together with allowances for fitting but a gun from one company should be pretty much interchangeable with a gun from another company.

Parts from a Chevy won't fit a Dodge or Ford. The blueprints and parts for each vehicle are entirely different. They're only the same in terms of general appearance which could be said for almost all semi-automatic pistols as well.

I agree, should.
I'm a 1911 fanboy myself, but mostly at the range these days. Did carry one or another full size kimber for years, though. Almost no issues.
I had a Springfield "GI" - and this gun had a TON of issues. The 'should' part of your post that caught my attention was that the slide didn't appear centered on the frame. I wish I had a picture. The [professional] gunsmith who swapped some parts for me said never again. It also got worse and worse in terms of goofy malfunctions over time to around 1500 rounds.
It went back to Springfield Armory THREE times trying to fix it. They actually cried uncle and offered me a replacement or cash. The cash became a TLE.
I loved that Springfield, but the thing would just not work.