Reliability of 3" 1911s

[Oldjarhead]

Recently, I saw a You Tube video, in which well known firearms trainer, Rob Pincus, had a student having a functioning problem with his 3" 1911. Pincus explained that they were not very reliable in his classes. Pincus is a big promoter of the newer polymer guns. My question is for 3" 1911 owners past and present, if they have had any problems after a customary break in period.

[CPO15]

I'm no expert, I just like the 1911. Pincus probably is an expert, and he just doesn't like the 1911. Nothing wrong either way.

The result of my pre-purchase research (ok, the Internet) indicated that the shorter the 1911, the more frequent the problems. In particular, some sources suggest the recoil spring life is as little ad 10% of the full sized gun.

The research did indicate fewer problems with the Colt offerings, so I purchased both a Talo New Agent and a Defender. I am happy with both, but only have 500 rounds through each of them. Maybe two stovepipes with the Defender as well as some brass to the face, but an extractor tensioning seems to have fixed that. No issues at all with the New Agent. Basically, they're the same gun.

I also own a 4" Wilson, also flawless after some extractor tweaking.

I do think the knock on short 1911s was warranted a while back but manufacturers have made great improvements in the past few years.

A lot of folks will report problems, but that hasn't been my experience. YMMV.

[scottl]

The Springfield EMP was designed around the 9MM cartridge.They are a good gun.

[Madcap_Magician]

A lot of the disparaging of the smaller 1911s from big school instructors I think is due to the high round count with minimal or no maintenance done in the classes they teach.

Assuming the gun is reliable at the range, and acknowledging that the shorter-barrelled guns show more frequent problems, it may still qualify as 'reliable' for carry and range use without necessarily being reliable enough to run through a high-round count, low-maintenance torture course.

[Grant D]

I bought a Colt Officers model in 1986 and put thousands of rounds through it.
The only problem I had with it was the front sight flew off twice, so I sold it.

Now I have a Kimber 3" a Llama mini max 3 1/2" a Springfield Champion loaded 4" a Colt XSE Lightwight Commander 4 1/2" and a Colt 1991A1 5"
and so far no problems with any of them (knock on wood)

[DPris]

The most accurate 1911 variant I've ever fired was a 3-inch Springfield about ten years ago.
The least reliable 1911 variant I've ever fired was the same pistol.
Out of the box, both before & after it went back to the factory to address the issue.

If the instructors who see hundreds of guns go through their classes every year are seeing a trend, I usually listen.
Denis

[RickB]

Yeah, the whole "it can't even get through a 1500-round class without a malfunction" is not a very realistic test for a self-defense handgun; not invalid, just not realistic.
A service pistol, which might be dragged through the mud, dropped in the water, left out in the weather, etc., it might be worthwhile as a preliminary test, to see if it will function after being abused, but I carry no more than one extra mag with me, so a 13-round test is enough.
The flip side is the "legendary reliability" of Glocks, which I have never actually witnessed. My shorty 1911 is as reliable as any Glock I've ever actually seen, so how can I pay much attention to someone who tells me I should replace my unreliable 1911 with a reliable Glock?

[Beretta686]

I've had a Springfield 3" 1911 before and had nothing but trouble with it.

I love my full-size 1911 (and Hi-Power too), but they always seem to require tweaking to run right (some more than others) and an extensive amount of testing to confirm they will feed whatever ammo you're feeding it, besides ball ammo.

If your heart is set on a 3" 1911 by all means go for it, but be prepared to possibly spend quite a bit of $$$ on making it run right and on testing ammo through it.

Or you can just go out and get a boring, soulless Glock 36 for around $550, that you know will run right out of the box with whatever you feed it.

Though some seem to think the Glock is the panacea for all the shooting world's problems and bow down before it like Moses brought it down from the mountain or something. I'm not going to go that far. But if you're looking for a relatively cheap gun, that will never rust and will feed anything you want to feed it, they're hard to beat for serious work, especially when compared to something like a 1911 that often needs some tweaking.

[RsqVet]

The 3 inch 1911 can work well but every aspect is more critical--- gun, shooter and mags. And I would not run 1500 rounds through one with minimal care and not expect issues. But then I would not do that with a sig P230, Smith 41 or a seecamp to name a few. Pick a platform, know it's limitations and what it needs to run.


Wilson stopped making 3 inch guns in 45 because too many came back but the issues could not be duplicated at the factory. Guess telling folks who spend 4k on a gun it's them, or their ammo or mags gets old. So what I take from that is they can run.. Just not in everyone's hands.

I like my colt officers but about all that is original to that gun is the slide and frame

[RickB]

That situation cropped-up at Detonics, the first maker of really compact 1911s, in the '70s. A gun would be returned for not functioning properly, the gun would run fine when tested, then when returned the owner would complain that nothing had changed. There really does appear to be an issue with some compact 1911s combined with some shooters.

[Double Naught Spy]

The primary mechanical issue is proper timing. If the slide movement isn't retarded appropriately, not everything has a chance to work as designed for .45 acp and so problems arise. Several of the companies found that this problem was addressed best with a 2 stage spring system.

No doubt there are additional problems by shooters who are unable to appropriate handle the recoil and torque of the little guns, thereby further introducing problems into the cycling of the action.

I have an old Kimber Ultra Elite and a Springfield EMP. Both work quite well.

[michael t]

I have a Defender ,Detonics and 2 Colt Officers You can't have any of them hey work fine.

[Jaywalker]

Smaller Wilsons work pretty well, but they're expensive. Here's how they do it, FWIW: http://wilsoncombat.com/new/compact-...eliability.asp

[mavracer]

It really has nothing to do with the 1911 design since all the Tupperware guns use the same tilting barrel and magazine, recoil spring location.
It has every thing with trying to park a big old fat 45 cartridge into a small parking spot with no room to turn.
BTW I bet more rounds have been put downrange by 3" 1911 45s than 3" Glock 45s

[springer99]

I've got a RIA Officers Model (3 1/2" bull barrel) and have yet to find anything that doesn't run well in it. This includes hardball, varous JHP and even 200gr LSWC rounds. It just eats them all up.

[DPris]

The artificial environment of any extended training class can easily be used to condemn or praise a particular model, and isn't necessarily the final word.

I've often said that the gun I carry does not have to make it through 500 (or 5000) rounds between cleanings without a malfunction, it only has to make it through what I carry on me, and even there that's a worst case scenario.

Still, when an instructor sees the same things occurring over & over again with certain models, certain makes, or certain equipment/accessories, year in & year out, I wouldn't totally ignore those observations.
Denis

[Old Stony]

I have 100% confidence in my Springfield, it just eats everything I put in it and has for years.

[Tejicano]

I've had a Para Ordnance Para Carry for years with a couple hundred rounds through it without any problems at all. Just about all the ammo I've fed it has been 230 grain JHP. It is my carry gun when I need something smaller than a full sized pistol.

But then I have a Glock M20 which, brand new out of the box, gave me a FTFeed on the first magazine so maybe I live in a parallel universe from most people I see posting on-line.

[Ibmikey]

My EMP has gobbled a lot of ammo in many enviornments without one complaint and I don't think I will tell it that it should be unreliable. Also, my Sig 938 is basically a 1911 and it too doesn't miss a beat. Are my experiences rare? From comments on this forum I think not.

[jimbob86]

The Springfield EMP was designed around the 9MM cartridge.They are a good gun.

Not so- it was designed around the 45GAP. Same front to back dimensions ..... but there is no other reason the barrel and slide is that darn thick.

My EMP runs fine if fed good ammo and kept clean.

[DealHunter]

Not so- it was designed around the 45GAP. Same front to back dimensions

I didn't know that, wonder why they never added it to the line-up (enter .45 GAP fans)?

My EMP 40 has been reliable with decent ammo but I think the tolerances are tight enough that some of the cheap stuff didn't work when I 1st got it; I wouldn't call that an issue w. the "3 inch 1911" concept though.

My 1911 3" Pro Series has digested anything and everything so far

Honestly I don't know if 1911s in general or the ammo are getting better but I've had very few issues with any so far (S&W, Springfield, Colt, Kimber, Sig).

[jimbob86]

didn't know that, wonder why they never added it to the line-up (enter .45 GAP fans)?

As I understand it, the 45GAP failed to catch on .... so they rolled out a 9 and 40 based on the R&D they had already done.

[Ibmikey]

Jimbob. What is your information source? Not that it matters but I just checked and dimensonally it appears a .45 would fit.

[jimbob86]

IIRC, it was here on this forum .... dunno where.

[Stevie-Ray]

My Kimber UCDP is my EDC. Has been for ten years or so. Perfect from the start.