Bad Citadel 1911 Review

[dallypost]

I just took delivery of a new full sized 1911 Citadel. First, I would like to say that I really think that I am going to like this pistol. When I first open the box, I was pleased to see a full length guide rod. This must be a new upgrade because the documentation still shows the two piece part.

I have put about 50 rounds of 230 gr Remington hollow points through it and it shoots like a dream, provided that I only put four rounds in the magazine. The magazines provided with this pistol are crap. I mean these are really really crap. A huge percentage of my rounds were dropping their nose and diving straight into the front of the magazine well. These rounds did not feed, but it did manage to drive the slug into the case, producing some really short rounds. The first three rounds go into the magazine and come out without any problem. When the forth round is inserted, I noticed that it was only touching the preceding round at the primer end. This means that when the slide drives the round forward, it causes the nose of the bullet to drop before it starts to move forward. This gap between the business end of the rounds just gets larger as addition rounds are inserted into the magazine. The gap between the seventh round and the eighth round is so huge that these rounds will seldom feed. I pressed on the back of the eighth round with my thumb to drive it our of the magazine. When I do this, the front of the bullet drops 3/16 of an inch before the round begins to move forward. This means that the bullet is now sitting horizontally in the magazine instead of angled up to the chamber. Round after round dives headlong into the front of the magazine well and jambs that gun.

Before purchasing this pistol, I read nothing but glowing reviews. I am pretty sure that the problem can be resolved with a quality magazine. When their offices open, I will be speaking with the customer support people for pistol. My hope is that they will truly stand behind what I hope will be an awesome pistol. Either way, I will let you know what I have find out.

[Coltman 77]

I'm sorry to read of your disappointing experience with your new Citadel.

You could try different magazines (Wilson Combat 47D's are my choice) but the bottom line is to get in touch with their customer service and let them know about the problem.

Put the ball in their court and let them make it right. Good luck.

[g.willikers]

Don't fret, lots of guns come with el cheapo magazines.
I've had the welded on base plates, (that weren't), come flying off with all the rounds.
Throw that junker in the trash and just buy a handful of good ones, like Chip McCormick, Wilson, and others.
There's a reason they are in business.
You need a bunch anyway.
Can't have too many.

[Cadman79]

I also purchased a Citadel full size 1911 in .45acp about 3wks ago after reading lots of good things about them online. It seems to be a well made pistol and barrel bushing fits snug around the barrel to help with accuracy. Trigger pull isn't bad either --- measures at 5 1/2 pounds with my Lyman electronic trigger pull scale. That being said, I have also run into issues of ammo not feeding correctly with the factory mags. Found a good price on the Chip McCormick power mags and my ammo feeding issues went away. I like these mags so well that I've ordered a couple more. Figured I got a good enough deal on my pistol I'm not going to worry about the factory mags.

[teecro]

Hey Guys, Found this forum searching for information about the Citadel brand of 1911's.... I'm really interested in getting the Full Size in the Matte Nickel Plate finish to go with my Randall Raider (Commander Clone in Stainless) and other 5 guns. Anyway I'm curious the hear if y'all guns preformed better with higher quality mags? Are you having any issues with the right side thumb safety getting loose? Do you have the nickel plate and what do you think about the finish? Are the small parts such as the beavertail, hammer etc are they blued or parkerized? And I also see that the newer models come with a full length guide rod? I've had a hard time finding info and specs about these guns.

[lcpiper]

I think it's "quaintly" interesting that alot of people have had the exact same issue with the SIG P238 which was caused by a couple of different reasons that all compounded to really frustrate alot of people.

First, it's the new gun thing, everything is still new and springs are often stiff, particularly magazine springs. This shows up with mags at or near full capacity and the pressure is strongest. If anything else is out of alignment the increased pressures force the feed problems into play.

Next, the P238s had a feed ramp issue and when guns were sent in for the problem they were coming back with reworked and polished feed ramps.

The original recoil springs were too weak not providing enough energy to reliably chamber the next round following a shot. SIG has replaced these with newer flat springs which are much longer then the originals and provide a longer more consistant and forceful movement.

Remember those really strong mag springs, they put too much pressure on the bottom of the slide during recoil cycling and forced rounds into incorrect feed positions. Added to the weak recoil spring you can see what was happening.

And some people had problems with the mag itself in that it wasn't shaped exactly right, there have been two revisions of the mag and they are shipping with the rev 3 mags now.

So, get better mags, check out your recoil springs and compair them with others of the same type, and stick with ball ammo until you have got those guns shooting really well.

Last notes, lub those slides and stay away from cheap ammo and ammo with steel casings and you should have these guns shooting well.

[LockedBreech]

lcpiper, click the wrong thread? I do that all the time.

Original Poster, the advice provided to you was right on. Throw the factory magazines away. Seriously. They aren't worth the ammo you'll waste with misfeeds and they certainly aren't worth trusting your life to. Wilson Model 47D magazines and Chip McCormick mags are highly regarded, A-list magazines that will almost certainly solve your issues.

[Kreyzhorse]

Try a Chip McCormick mag, it will likely fix your issues.

[UZO]

Ditto Kreyzhorse... Pick up a bunch of the McCORMICK 'Power Mags'... That will usually do the trick.
Have had similar problems with a couple of my 1911s and the McCormicks cured it. Hope its just that.


.

[dblhelix]

Checkmate hybrids have always performed well for me, might be worth a look.

[lcpiper]

Nope, I didn't click the wrong thread. My comments about the P238 apply to his weapon as well. The P238 is SIG's remake of the Colt Mustang which is a baby M1911 in .380 cal.

Just take what I said and apply it to the Citadel because it does apply in many ways.

[Mrgunsngear]

For about 200 rounds my Kimber Ultra Carry II would malfunction ever 5-7 rounds. I was so mad I was ready to call them and demand a refund. Then, I went home, grabbed a Wilson Combat magazine and ran that for 100 rounds. No issues at all. Threw in a Chip McCormick---you guessed it; no issues at all. Even a pricer gun like the Kimber can come with a POS magazine.

[Rogervzv]

Original Poster, the advice provided to you was right on. Throw the factory magazines away. Seriously. They aren't worth the ammo you'll waste with misfeeds and they certainly aren't worth trusting your life to. Wilson Model 47D magazines and Chip McCormick mags are highly regarded, A-list magazines that will almost certainly solve your issues.

+1 ... I prefer the McCormick and Wilson magazines even to the original Colt magazines that came with my Colt Gold Cup.

[KyJim]

The P238 is SIG's remake of the Colt Mustang which is a baby M1911 in .380 cal.

No, it's not a 1911. The 238/Mustang has a linkless barrel system and other differences. They were patterned after a Star pistol.

[Coltman 77]

Just curious -- why are we discussing this? This thread is a month old and the OP hasn't bothered to post any response at all.

He's what is called a "drive by poster". LMAO.

[mnhntr]

The mecgar mags are crap. They come with RIA, Citadel and the like. Replace them with quality mags.

[cheezhed]

I have used mec-gar mags and like them alot never a problem with any that I have.

[Powderman]

Something to remember...

The 1911 pistol is spec'd out with a 16.5 lb. recoil spring. Unfortunately, a lot of magazines have had the springs sitting in them for a long, long time. They will lose power.

To the OP--your problem is that your recoil spring is too strong (probably an 18 lb. or heavier), and you have weak magazine springs.

I run an 18 lb. spring in my Colt Enhanced, that I use as a service pistol. I switched to McCormick magazines, and I use the +5% Wolff extra power magazine springs. Not a bobble or a hitch; they work perfectly.

[Rogervzv]

My Colt Gold cup loves the McCormick magazines. I have one Wilson and it works great too. I will use these magazines for any 1911 I ever own, which I hope will be several!

[teecro]

Well I went ahead and bought a Citadel Full Size .45ACP in Matte Nickel a few days ago as Bud's have just too good of a price at 501.00 to which it then went up to 557.00 soon after. I will likely order a couple Power Mags before I even see or much less fire the gun; I've heard for too much bad news about the mags that come with these guns as well as many others. This will be my 2nd 1911 as I've also got a Commander sized Randall that I've have since 89/90 to which it is a great running gun that I really enjoy taking to the range much more than even my Beretta 92A1...

[Haycreek]

I have tried one, seems to be built with generic parts, that may not be fitted closely, some parts, mags, trigger, sear and hammer may be poor quality. Several others may be a better choice, ie Remington, Ruger Para GI or STI entry level. Not much difference in price , but are better handguns IMHO

[kisley]

Good afternoon/evening everyone. I wanted to share some info on the Citadel 1911 as it relates to my own experiences. I purchased one over two years ago and have been very happy with it. I own a 3.5" compact in blue. As some of you have mentioned the factory mags are not the greatest. I chose the Chip McCormick 7 round power mags and the pistol has not failed to feed a round of any kind since. I have been very impressed by the accuracy of this pistol. It shoots where I aim and has done so since the first round. I shoot everything from 230 grain FMJ to 185 grain personal defense rounds with no problems. My opinion is the Citadel is a good quality, entry level 1911 for carry. I have added a Kimber 20 LPI mainspring housing and Hogue wraparound grips for good purchase. I have also added an extended thumb safety and slide stop which both make the pistol more user friendly for my own taste. I also own a Springfield Government A1 model that has been smithed to my own preferences and I find the Citadel to be comparable. I would recomment that anyone looking for a 1911 pistol give one of these a good look.

[Brownbomber2]

I have owned a citadel compact 1911 in .45 acp for about two years. I had put a few rounds through it and it ran like a top. I didn't like the slide release and decided to instal a extended slide release. I began having trouble with the rounds not chambering and the magazine fit a little looser in the mag well. I thought the magazine keeper had gotten worn and replaced it. It tightened the mag a bit, but I still had the same trouble. Tried stretching the magazine springs, no good. Tried the recoil spring, no good. Decided just as an afterthought to put the original slide release back in and it ran like a top. I compared both slide releases and there was just a bit of differance in the part that goes through the frame, into the mag well. I filled it to match the one from citadel and it runs fine now. Neither part, extended slide release nor the magazine catch fit without filing them a bit. Seems like the specs on the citadel are just a little off from colt. Probably so you have to go to them for parts.

[dgludwig]

Just curious -- why are we discussing this? This thread is a month old and the OP hasn't bothered to post any response at all.

And now it's been almost two years...

[ET.]

Maybe the OP will finally come back from the dead!!! Maybe Obama resigned instead of taking the oath of office today also, but I'm pretty sure that didn't happen either. But hey, just in case pigs fly, I bet it's the mag's fault too.