I have a DW ECO in 9mm with a 3.5" barrel with no reliability issues. It's my second favorite carry gun behind the 9mm DW Valkyrie commander.

 

The ECO in 9mm is a sweetheart. It is not cheap, but it works.

 

My experience with sub-Commander length 1911s was negative, but that was 20+ years ago. I had a Colt Officers ACP (3.5"), Springfield Champion (4") and Kimber Pro Carry (4"), and none of them were 100% reliable. The Kimber was at least 99% reliable, but for anything but a range toy that wasn't good enough for me. The Colt required the right ammo, the right mags, the right hold and the right day of the week to go more than a few mags without a malfunction. It's entirely possible that the bugs have been worked out of compact 1911s by now, but I'm not a gunwriter so nobody's going to give me a free one to try out.

 

Your Springfield was probably made in Brazil. The new 4" models should be good to go.

 

I bought a new Stainless Officer's back in the 1980's - and it always ran fine with Ball and Silvertips, and my 200 gr. lead wadcutter loads. I quickly upgraded it (worked in a 1911 Gunsmithy) with a King's bushing and guide rod kit, Trijicon night sights, checkering on the front strap, trigger job, etc., and never had a problem with reliability before or after modification. I did keep the springs changed by 2000 rounds, only used good magazines and ammo. If they were so unreliable, how did so many get sold? Word gets around quickly if a gun is a turkey..... And, by the way, limp wristing can be a problem with any recoil operated gun - especially with weak ammo or wrong springs.

My early Defender is been 100% since day one, also - with good ammo, mags (CMC or Wilson or Colt) and I have never had a malfunction.

Just lucky, I guess - or you guys are amazingly unlucky....
CC

 

I think there was a time when < 4" guns had a well designed reputation for being problematic. I also think that time is 20+ years in the past . I have both 3 and 4" Kimbers that run like a sewing machine. Thousands of rounds through them, from heavy, +p SD loads to powder-puff 200g SWCs- with nary a hiccup. I've seen the same performance in scores of other guns.

I think all the engineering and math has been sorted out to create a reliable, 3" 1911. You'll want to keep an eye on the recoil spring(s) and replace them regularly.

 

Same here, I have a 3 inch kimber that I got extremely cheaply new that I was convinced would not work right.......after me trying to get it to mess up its been flawless and on my trusted list of guns.

 

I bought my wife a Ruger SR1911 officer but in 9MM. About 1000 rounds later and no issues. Eats what I have feed it. She likes it and so do I. Fixin to order one in 45 and see how she does...

 

I put in the EGW kit, (spring/guide/plug,) in my Colt Officers ACP, and it works just fine with ball ammo and my SWC reloads.
But, their are several brands of hollow point ammo that I have not tried it with.

 

No issues, builders have figured out spring rates and technology like flat wire springs has helped

 

My first gen Defender = flawless

My Wilson Combat Colt 3.5” = flawless

 

My 3.5" gun, that I've had for twenty years and ~5000 rounds, runs great, as long as the springs are kept fresh.
I've fired 500 trouble-free rounds through it a few times, with periods of won't-get-through-a-mag in between, because I didn't pay attention to the recoil and/or mag springs.
I used to shoot 200gr and 230gr through it, but I've bought into Bill Wilson's belief that the short/light guns run better with light bullets, because the magazine can more easily lift a stack of lighter rounds, helping ensure they're properly presented to the fast-moving slide.

 

I have a Dan Wesson CCO in 45acp and a LW Colt Commander in 9mm. What do you mean by "lighter round". New to 1911's and not that knowledgeable about ammo. Thanks.

 

The gun needs to be considered together with the operator (firmness of grip), the maintenance of the gun, and the ammo.

I think it can be overly simplistic to say that such a gun can be expected to be reliable without considering all of these factors.

A historical example case in point was Wilson Combat's old .45acp Sentinel model. Professionals and other shooters with good firm grips experienced no reliability problems with that gun. And still today, a number of these persons cherish used .45acp Sentinels. But alas, many other buyers complained that the gun would not run reliably. They returned their guns for service, but those same guns ran flawlessly when fired by Wilson's professional test shooters. Due to Wilson's commitment to making the customer happy, a decision was made to discontinue the model ... because it was not possible to keep all of the buyers happy.

Also worth contemplating is whether one can be confident of maintaining as perfect a grip in a critical, split-second SD encounter as when shooting on the range.

 

Hm. I have an 80s model stainless officer. I dont remember having any trouble out of it. But when it was my main squeeze I only ran ball or hydrashoks through it.

 

Thanks for the input, everyone, and also a note... 230-grain JHP's are my round of choice. My TRP and Champion (4-inch) have both been flawless with these.

 

While mine are in 9mm (SW1911 3” Pro Series) and .38 Super (WC Super Sentinel), they have both been flawless with name brand factory ammo of varying weights and bullet types, to the tune of about 1000 rounds each. No Winchester though...I’ve just seen too many issues with Winchester ammo in too many guns, both 1911 and other types, that I don’t even try it. It may be fine, but there’s enough choices that work that I choose not to try it.

 

Good evening all, it has been awhile since I last logged in here, but I do come in to read the discussion thread every now and then. This thread about the Colt Officer caught my attention. I had one around 2005, it was very problematic for me, not necessarily with ammo, but with the recoil spring system. In fact, on day at the shooting range, something bound up and it sheared off the little tab on the underside the recoil spring plug and all went down range. After that, I installed a reverse system from Clark, but it was a pain to remove the the recoil spring and the barrel. I finally found another oem recoil spring plug, installed it and traded it for a stainless Colt Commander, which has been flawless.

 

I’ve had a Springfield Micro compact (3”) for awhile now and agree with the above thoughts that springs are important to keep track of as far as round count goes. I tried several different weight recoil springs with various weight bullets. What I have settled on was 22# flat wire spring and guide rod from EGW and a slightly rounded square bottom firing pin stop, very reliable so far. I also suspect the spring to round count will be increased.

 

My limited experience with Officers ACPs was, thankfully, with two guns owned by others. Both were unreliable, even with factory ball. Reportedly, many of today's compact little 1911 type pistols have evolved to be much more reliable. After a warranty trip to Springfield, a family member's little 9MM EMP Jammamatic came back a reliable little pistol. Wish we'd thought to try a less than solid grip when we were testing it post repair.

About that firm grip. I wonder if people believe will always attain the proper/firm grip required for reliability on their little minigun, if they were to actually become involved in an unanticipated lethal force situation?

 

I don't currently have any Officer size pistols, but about 15 years ago I bought a Rock Island Compact. I didn't have any issues with it. I got a chance to pick up a Commander size slide about 10 years ago and turned it into a CCO. It's still running just fine.

 

My daily carry is a Colt, bright stainless, enhanced Officers model that has never bobbled in twenty plus years of service which includes Fed 230 HST's. And it was totally stock until I recently changed out the recoil guide, spring and bushing with EGW parts and added some new Pony medallion wrap around grips which have greatly improved the weapon.The original bushing was flimsy and needed to be replaced to tightened it up after many years of use. The only imperfection was a misprint on the slide that makes it kind of unique,(although I had a pair of them with the same infliction) which reads COLT OFFICEP'S MODEL and that could be a union strike thing, but Colt got it right with this one and it works to this day without fail.Can't say the same of my late 70's Colt 1911's that required smith work to throat them to reliably feed HP's but this Colt came ready to run them right out of the box. Ditto with my Commander XSE. And that's a good thing. Internet lore claims that they were all problematic, but ask a man who owns one.

 

My 2007 Kimber Ultra Aegis (9mm) has been flawless except with UMC ammo. My Ultra CDP 45 and Colt New Agent 45 have run great. I carry all three without reservation.

 

My Colt Defender down right holds it's own right with my Colt Govt 1911 and my Commander .
I spent all last summer trying to make it a problem child because I bought into the sub 4" guns never run right , I wanted to find out for myself .
What I learned is I can shoot it as good as my Commander at 25 yards and it eats anything you shove in it with accuracy . I don't buy the talk B.W. says about using lighter rounds with a short barrel to help the magazine spring work properly for proper feeding and reliability .
I shot hundreds of 185's , 200's and 230's and the gun flat out feeds and shoots flawlessly every time .
The checkmate 7 round mags that come with the gun just flat out runs fine and in conclusion I opted to stay with 230gr Flat Nose Speer Lawman or 230gr Gold Dot ammo .
A year later and thousands of rounds fired it still run flawlessly , only upgrade I think would be nice is front strap checkering .
There should be no reason someone would need a death grip or any odd ball gripping to shoot the Defender properly , you just need to get use to the extra recoil because it's a short 3" barrel .

 

Compact pistols and reliability....

As others have said, handguns with barrels less than 4" can be just as reliable as 5" guns or larger. When it comes to reliability, I want a gun that has been thoroughly tested, and may shoot over 500 rounds to judge the reliability.

Since I use handguns for concealed carry, I really don't see any advantages to shorter slides and barrels under 4 inches. More often than not, I carry my STI 2011 .38 super Commander, which is a 4.25" slide. It conceals easily for my body style, and a Commander barrel produces better muzzle velocity compared to a 3.5" slide and barrel.....

The only small and compact pistol I own is a Star M-43 Firestar which is an all steel single action pistol with a 3.3" barrel. It has an ambi safety and looks like a smaller version of a 1911 pistol. It is a heavy compact pistol, which I like since it helps to mitigate recoil when using 9mm+P ammo for self defense..... When I use this as a self defense EDC weapon, I use an outside the waistband holster.....it is too heavy and bit too cumbersome to make a fast presentation out of a pocket....!

 

I purchased a Colt 1991 A1 new years back and never had any issues with reliability. I did however change the recoil spring about every 2K. Still running strong even with the original plug, which I kept saying I would upgrade when it launched from the gun, but has not to date.

 

I have several carry pistols, one a Dan Wesson ECO in .45. In over a thousand rounds no malfunctions with assorted factory and my reloads. I have big hands, so it is about as small a pistol I can grip adequately. I think the spiral spring in the DW is a large part of the gun's spring durability and reliability.

As others have commented, it can be difficult to get a really good grip on a really small grip when drawing in defensive practice. My other summer carry is a Sig 365, a small gun, and even with the slightly extended mag bottom, with a fast draw from in IWB holster, I can get it out and up and fired, with good accuracy, but in doing so I don't have a really secure marksman's grip on the gun.

With the 365, if I were to be in some sort of hand-to-hand fight, it is possible I could lose my grip on the pistol. But in South Carolina in the summer, it is difficult to wear a big pistol.

NV

 

Another thing that appeals to me about the Ruger is the bull barrel. I've always preferred those over having a bushing.

 

My STI Escorts are scary accurate and super reliable. It's almost hard to believe as most say that officer sized guns give up so much in shooting ability, reliability and accuracy.

My first Escort (has a 3.24 inch bull barrel) works so well that I bought a second.

Before my friends shot them they called them "bathroom stall guns" meaning that they wouldn't have much accuracy at any distance. They dropped that phrase pretty quick after shooting them.

 

I have an Escort myself that I picked up in a pawnshop(had a loose rear sight). Reinstalled the sight, and with near 1K rounds out of it, it's been absolutely reliable. It's one of my favorite carry guns, though I'm ditching the ambi safety for a standard Harrison Extreme Service safety. Got home too many times and found it off, scary. Very accurate and very reliable, never had a malf.