Citadel 1911 9mm

[napg19]

I have a Citadel 1911 full size 9mm that runs perfectly with any FMJ ammo and HPR Black OPS hollow point an Pokycase Inceptor ammo. But it won't feed Hornady FTX an Remington Golden Sabre. I don't feel like spending money on any more hollow points to see if they work. Is this the norm with 1911's? Any help is always appreciated, Thanks.

[RickB]

There is no such thing as "norm" for a "1911", unless it's a USGI M1911.
No way to know what specs are being used by Citadel, or if they're even building tight to their own specs.
In my experience (as an observer), 9mm 1911s don't run as well as .38 Super/10mm/.45, and there's a new magazine every few years that promises to be better than last year's new magazine.
I'd spend a few bucks on a different mag, since, especially among 9mm mags, no two are alike. I could be that one (or two) company's magazine will be more compatible with your gun than will the stock mag.

[Aguila Blanca]

In most cases, the "norm" for 1911s is that if they feed FMJ they'll also feed Golden Saber. I've seen any number of 1911s that wouldn't feed the more straight-sided (or tapered sided) bullets but were perfectly happy with Golden saber.

But ... every pistol is unique.

[Nathan]

Can you explain better what not running is? I would guess it is related more to the powder burn profile than the bullet shape, if the bullets are fairly fmj shaped.

[railroader]

Aren't the citadel 9mms running non ramped barrels. My ria 9mm has a rampless barrel but my sig 9mm 1911 has a ramp. Maybe that has something to do with the feeding issue with your gun.

[napg19]

Sorry, runs meant no feeding, ejection or ignition problems.
My 1911 has no ramp. bullet comes half way out of magazine and nose dives into bottom of breech. this happens weather shooting at range or just racking slide to see if which bullets jam the most.
I bought some Browning 9mm BXP personnal defense rounds on way home and I could get 2 out of 8 rounds in magazine to jam just racking slide but not shooting gun. I was at home not the range.
I ordered a Tripp magazine to see if this fix's problem. I also ran some Blazer brass 9mm FMJ through it and had several jams just racking slide. Slide was coming down hard cause I now have several bullets pushed deeper into the case from nose diving into bottom of breech.

[Gunslick]

I had a Citidell 1911....then I sold it..the end.

Apologies in advance.

[napg19]

LOL, I like a happy ending. If this Tripp magazine dosen't cure the problem there will be a visit to the local toy store.

[napg19]

A new expensive Tripp magazine(which is a real good mag) did not fix problem. As much as i love 1911's I may go back to revolvers. Through the years there has been numerous brands of semi's all with there own quirks to where I am going back to trusting wheel guns, for me anyways.

[dahermit]

Sorry, runs meant no feeding, ejection or ignition problems.Or you could just say: "functions". :)

The 9MM is a little short for the 1911 platform...that is why they put a spacer in the back of 9MM magazines. So, overall cartridge length is critical in the 9MM 1911's. I have a .38 Super in a circa 70's Colt Combat (all steel), Commander that has always functioned correctly. But, then the .38 Super round is longer than the 9MM and hence does not need a spacer in the back of the magazine to function.

[chaim]

As much as i love 1911's I may go back to revolvers. Through the years there has been numerous brands of semi's all with there own quirks to where I am going back to trusting wheel guns, for me anyways.

I love revolvers, but I don't think you should judge based upon your 1911. 1911s in general can be finicky with ammo (and some are outright designed for FMJ and aren't made to function with JHP without alterations). When you move away from the traditional .45ACP they can be even more finicky. Buy a Glock, SIG, CZ, HK, Ruger and most likely you will have 100% reliability from the first shot with nearly all ammo.

Also, revolvers don't protect you completely from the gun having its quirks. One of my Rossi 461s sometimes locks up and has to be forced open. Before you say "but that's a Rossi," my S&W 65LS often spits lead (badly enough at times that it has drawn blood from my cheek) and really needs a trip to the gunsmith.

Your 1911 may need a trip to a gunsmith for some reliability work. You may want to trade it for another 1911. Depending upon the brand of 1911, it may not be made to fire reliably with JHP. For a range gun, that may be fine. If psychologically you don't trust autos since some have failures, that is fine too, nothing wrong with a revolver for defense (though don't think that revolvers never fail). Just please don't totally write of autos due to this one 1911's quirks, don't judge all autos over 9mm (or any) 1911s. There are other more modern designs. As much as I love 1911s, they aren't the be all and end all of autos.

[napg19]

Thanks for this advise guys. I will be taking my 1911 to a gunsmith at lunch today, see what he says an then take it from there. Thanks again.

[pete2]

I have a Citadel but have never tried hollowpoints in it. I did shoot some 126 gr SWC cast bullets in it, worked fine with the Metalform mags that came with the gun but not with my Wilson mags. I'll try to remember to run some of my Win. HPs thru it. I bought it to shoot IDPA type stuff with, don't plan to carry it. It's really been a fun gun.

[michael t]

You can't really tell anything my hand racking the slide. Unless your superman your hand can't come close to the slide movement when firing.

I have a 9mm commander that's 64 years Long before HP invented and feeds the speer gold dots fine . With the original barrel I don't use any other brand in my 9's so Never tried others.