1911 9mm

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nchunter78

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Make no mistake, I am in the 1911 & 45 ACP camp....but I feel like a 1911 chambered for 9mm would be fun to shoot. I have never owned own in 9mm. Thoughts from those that own a 9mm 1911?
 
Its a Emp Champion contour 4.5 barrel and its a great shooter nice balance smooth crisp trigger straight from the box. Only downside is its a single stack so if your like me I love to shoot 300 + rds through it and its alot of reloading
 
nchunter78 said:
How's it shoot? I imagine recoil is minimal.
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A full size 1911 in 9mm the recoil is minimal. The cycle time seems slow compared to the shorter slide versions (officer and compacts).
A compact (3.5") is snappier but recoil is also a 2nd thought.

You can use any size mag in the smaller frame, just not the other way. The mag catch is the same distance from the feed lips. The bottom of the mag differs because of the grip length. So, short mags will hit the grip before the catch engages. Full size mags just extend an inch from the compact grip.

Here come the purists!!!
 
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@fieldgrade
He has a lot of thoughts on this subject through personal experience. I'll get out the popcorn.......
 
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I have a full size in 9mm, it is indeed a joy to shoot. My daughters even enjoyed it in their early teens.
 
They are a blast to shoot. But I have personally not experienced the out of the box reliability with that platform in 9mm that we normally expect with 45.

As long as you have reasonable expectations, factoring in that possibility, you’ll enjoy shooting it.
 
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teamglock2002 said:
Its a Emp Champion contour 4.5 barrel and its a great shooter nice balance smooth crisp trigger straight from the box. Only downside is its a single stack so if your like me I love to shoot 300 + rds through it and its alot of reloading
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EMP are not 1911’s I believe. They were designed for 9mm. Always looked like a nice carry piece.
 
fieldgrade said:
They are a blast to shoot. But I have personally not experienced the out of the box reliability with that platform in 9mm that we normally expect with 45.

As long as you have reasonable expectations, factoring in that possibility, you’ll enjoy shooting it.
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Agreed. Great range guns, but I wouldn’t trust one as a carry gun. Unless maybe I spent a ton of $ on a custom gun, shot several thousand rounds through it a it earned my trust. A 5” 1911 in 9mm is a fun target gun though.
 
I have several. All but one have run great from the start.

I used one as my primary competition gun (IDPA, USPSA, 3gun) for close to 10 years. Then 2011 and I haven't gone back for competition.

I also have a 45 (because I shot 1911s so much it seems like the right thing to do), several 1911-22s, and one 460 Rowland, just because :)

And I carried an original 9mm EMP (almost a 1911, but a little smaller frame front to back) all the time until recently, and may switch back to it in the summer.
 
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JimP42 said:
I have several. All but one have run great from the start.

I used one as my primary competition gun (IDPA, USPSA, 3gun) for close to 10 years. Then 2011 and I haven't gone back for competition.

I also have a 45 (because I shot 1911s so much it seems like the right thing to do), several 1911-22s, and one 460 Rowland, just because :)

And I carried an original 9mm EMP (almost a 1911, but a little smaller frame front to back) all the time until recently, and may switch back to it in the summer.
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I would not be afraid to face any bear with the 460 .
 
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I must have bad luck because I am 0/4 with 9mm 1911’s being reliable. These include RIA, S&W pro series and colt competition. Last 9mm 1911 I bought was the colt around 2016, and colt couldn’t fix it so they replaced it with a 45 auto model. So 8 years later I tried my 4th attempt….

A few days ago I acquired a Tisas tank commander in 9mm. Gorgeous pistol and for $380 simply amazing value. Unfortunately it cannot get 3 rounds without an extraction or ejection failure. Miserably fails the 10-8 test. Half of the empties fall down the magwell and the other half stay stuck in the chamber. Ugh. I’ve been able to rescue some such issues on 45 auto 1911’s by fitting new extractor, ejector and/or FPS so am in the process of doing this with the Tisas 9mm. Also sent Tisas an email and voicemail requesting an RMA from them if I’m not able to fix it. Regardless I’ve gotten absolutely nowhere with 9mm 1911’s over the years.

Some photos of the tank commander’s interesting stoppages from this weekend

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37F93C67-D20A-44BF-B463-848C555CD0E4.jpeg
 
fieldgrade said:
They are a blast to shoot. But I have personally not experienced the out of the box reliability with that platform in 9mm that we normally expect with 45.

As long as you have reasonable expectations, factoring in that possibility, you’ll enjoy shooting it.
Click to expand...
try these magazines they make a world of difference in the 9mm 1911 Springfield-style, built-in front ramp improves round feed into chamber. Flat follower provides consistent feeding for all 1911 9mm pistols.
https://www.brownells.com/gun-parts...rts/1911-springfield-style-9rd-9mm-magazines/
 
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vaskeet said:
try these magazines they make a world of difference in the 9mm 1911 Springfield-style, built-in front ramp improves round feed into chamber. Flat follower provides consistent feeding for all 1911 9mm pistols.
https://www.brownells.com/gun-parts...rts/1911-springfield-style-9rd-9mm-magazines/
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I’m a fan of Metalforms and ran them. If I am not mistaken they make, or once made, Dawson 1911 mags and Dan Wesson mags. They looked nearly identical except for the private labels. This is a few years ago. Not long ago.
 
92G said:
I must have bad luck because I am 0/4 with 9mm 1911’s being reliable. These include RIA, S&W pro series and colt competition. Last 9mm 1911 I bought was the colt around 2016, and colt couldn’t fix it so they replaced it with a 45 auto model. So 8 years later I tried my 4th attempt….

A few days ago I acquired a Tisas tank commander in 9mm. Gorgeous pistol and for $380 simply amazing value. Unfortunately it cannot get 3 rounds without an extraction or ejection failure. Miserably fails the 10-8 test. Half of the empties fall down the magwell and the other half stay stuck in the chamber. Ugh. I’ve been able to rescue some such issues on 45 auto 1911’s by fitting new extractor, ejector and/or FPS so am in the process of doing this with the Tisas 9mm. Also sent Tisas an email and voicemail requesting an RMA from them if I’m not able to fix it. Regardless I’ve gotten absolutely nowhere with 9mm 1911’s over the years.

Some photos of the tank commander’s interesting stoppages from this weekend

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I’ve owned RIA, Fusion, Springfield, Dan Wesson, Colt, in 9MM.

I think the Springer was the most reliable. The rest gave me gas and I sold them.

I have a double stack 1911 in 9mm now. Springfield Prodigy, and it runs rock solid now.
 
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I have a RIA in 9mm....but it began to have issues after about 1,000 rounds. I still shoot it and must have about 8,000 rounds through it by now. At least. Everyone who has shot it seems to love it, and I certainly do. The feeding issues are random and well documented here. Nobody seems to know what exactly the problem is. I've done 2 matches with it. In one it was a massive mess, and the next time it was perfect. Very odd.
It's still the gun I love shooting the most.
 
fieldgrade said:
I’m a fan of Metalforms and ran them. If I am not mistaken they make, or once made, Dawson 1911 mags and Dan Wesson mags. They looked nearly identical except for the private labels. This is a few years ago. Not long ago.
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they made the springfield magazines they also made 2 different style 1911 9mm mags the standard and the "ramped" I dont have any issues with my 1911 9MMs I have a RIA standard a RIA elite a STI spartan and a STI trojan and they all run like a champ using the metalform ramped mags
 
I've got a Ruger 9mm 1911 Lightweight Commander, dead nuts reliable and very accurate for me. I've never had the slightest hiccup with it. I did respring it with Wolf springs after 5k rounds, but only after @BatteryOaksBilly was able to induce a failure to feed by shooting it with only 3 fingers or something goofy like that. 😊
 
All of my 9s are Springfields, and I only use Tripp magazines that have been great.
 
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I have a Springfield EMP 4 that has been flawless (with ball ammo) after the first 300 or so rounds.

Every now and then something with a hole in the front will make me say impolite words during the ejection cycle. Go figure.
 
All these comments are about 9mm guns. I had a Colt Competition that choked hard on NC Shooters Supply 147 grain blue bullets. It seemed to run fine, based on recollection, on factory 115. The top bullet in 10-rd magazine bent the ejector for the subsequent owner, and Colt fixed it by installing a Super 38 ejector. I then bought a Colt Combat Unit Rail Gun, and attempted to file the part of the ejector that would have been touched by the top bullet. I don't recall any issues with the Rail Gun, but I don't think I shot it in a match, so the sample is small. I sold it.

I have a Fieldgrade special Ronin 5", via Red Marley. It is finicky on NCSS 125 gr blue bullets that I use in IDPA matches. It has run fine in the few range rounds on factory 115s. Again, not shot in a match under duress, but I'll report back. I have an SR1911 LW Commander, and it's been shot some at the range and has run fine so far. I have an SR1911 Koenig from Ruger's custom shop, and it has been 100% reliable in matches with the NCSS 125s - except for operator error when I don't seat the mags well into the extended magwell.

I also have 4.25" and 5" Emissaries. I had trouble with the 5" not cycling at all, but determined my left thumb locked down too high on the slide was causing the issue. That gun is heavy, 44+ ounces, so the slide is easy to obstruct. I haven't had that problem with the 4.25". When run properly, the Emissaries run fine - again not shot in a match under duress.
 
92G said:
I must have bad luck because I am 0/4 with 9mm 1911’s being reliable. These include RIA, S&W pro series and colt competition. Last 9mm 1911 I bought was the colt around 2016, and colt couldn’t fix it so they replaced it with a 45 auto model. So 8 years later I tried my 4th attempt….

A few days ago I acquired a Tisas tank commander in 9mm. Gorgeous pistol and for $380 simply amazing value. Unfortunately it cannot get 3 rounds without an extraction or ejection failure. Miserably fails the 10-8 test. Half of the empties fall down the magwell and the other half stay stuck in the chamber. Ugh. I’ve been able to rescue some such issues on 45 auto 1911’s by fitting new extractor, ejector and/or FPS so am in the process of doing this with the Tisas 9mm. Also sent Tisas an email and voicemail requesting an RMA from them if I’m not able to fix it. Regardless I’ve gotten absolutely nowhere with 9mm 1911’s over the years.

Some photos of the tank commander’s interesting stoppages from this weekend

View attachment 738341
View attachment 738342
View attachment 738343
Click to expand...
Yeah, if it’s not extracting then the extractor needs work. After that I’d try a lighted recoil spring and a magazine that you feel good about. Or RMA.
 
I have had a bunch of 1911s, but only two in 9mm. Both were basic Colts and I only used basic Metalform magazines. I didn't try to turn them into competition guns or something they were not, but they worked fine as simple shooters.
 
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I have a full sized Ronin 9mm which never gives me problems. It is so big and heavy, which makes it a dream to shoot. You can pretty much feel the action cycle with each shot due to moving all that weight up top and the long sight radius makes for good accuracy.

I did get all Wilson Combat mags to run in it, which seems to be a big part of the formula for reliability.
 
wemoodydc said:
I have a full sized Ronin 9mm which never gives me problems. It is so big and heavy, which makes it a dream to shoot. You can pretty much feel the action cycle with each shot due to moving all that weight up top and the long sight radius makes for good accuracy.

I did get all Wilson Combat mags to run in it, which seems to be a big part of the formula for reliability.
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Wilson mags are a smidge “taller” than many others. Insert an empty mag into the gun. Press it hard up into place and see if it contacts the ejector. I’ve bent ejectors in two Colt 9mm 1911’s running them in a “spirited” fashion during reloads in matches with Wilson ETMs.
 
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