[ZIF]

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.

 

[JB6464]

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 .

 

[Rwehavinfunyet]

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....!

 

[45 Bow]

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.

 

[hal copple]

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

 

[SpringerXD]

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

 

[soverystout]

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.

 

[GaBoy45]

I have 2 Colt Officers in .45 ACP and one DW Eco in 9mm. One Colt was completely gone through by Mr. Cogan and runs like a top. Have about 2000 rounds through it (factory and reloads/JHP, FMJ and Lead) and has about 3000 rounds through it by the previous owner with no reported problems. The other one is stock with no problems. The DW is new and I’ve only got 500 rounds through it now but no problems thus far.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Oldguy9]

Well..I know rumors persist that Colt made a reliable Officers ACP. But...I had four (VERY slow learner) and all were turkeys.

I had a blue steel one rebuilt by a young George Smith at Evolution Gun Works (when he did that stuff, early in his career) and it did finally work.

My team mates and I beta tested a Colt Defender some months before they were released and we were amazed that it just flat out ran. Even though we never cleaned it.

Three years ago I took a chance and bought a SA Champion in 9mm. Flawless.. Through several thousand rounds so far.

It always tickles me when folks say "if you hold it real tight it works."

A defensive firearm should work under less than ideal conditions. When you really really need it, you may not, for any of a hundred reasons be able to perform a perfect grip.

Just my thoughts...

 

[Finn2014]

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.

 

[tray burge]

I carry a Colt Officers Lightweight just about all the time now and it runs like a sewing machine with defensive ammo.

 

[RetiredRod]

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.

I think Rick means lighter weight bullets - not lighter powder charges. His point was about the magazine spring "lifting" the round quickly enough to be captured by the slide. He commented that he used to use 200 & 230 grain bullets. This implies that he now uses 185gr bullets, since 185, 200 & 230 are the three common bullet weights in 45acp.

 

[Pat-inCO]

The ONLY problem I've had with a 1911 was a full sized Springfield. You . . might . . get
a full mag emptied before it would malfunction. It went back to Springfield and has been
working fine ever since.
- - - And YES I have 3", 4", and 5" models and not all from one manufacturer.

Is it possible that I have found a break in process that facilitates that? Possible, you tell
me. Out of the box I:
~ Hand cycle the slide at least 250 times
~ Dry fire it at least 250 times
~ Detail strip it, clean and lube
~ Hand cycle/Dry fire another 100 times
- - - If it is smooth and seems to be doing its thing, it goes to the range.
If not I start the whole process again.

The Springfield mentioned above was the ONLY one that required more than 350 hand
cycle/dry-fire.

 

[Black Jack]

I thought the Officer's size 1911 was a Commander sized slide/bbl on a frame with a shortened grip??

 

[RickB]

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.

A round that weighs less; if the magazine spring is lifting a stack of rounds to position them properly for feeding, the magazine can more easily lift lighter rounds.
A stack of six, .45 ACP rounds with 185 grain bullets weighs about a half-ounce less than six rounds loaded with 230 grain bullets.

 

[tray burge]

I thought the Officer's size 1911 was a Commander sized slide/bbl on a frame with a shortened grip??

No, that's what they refer to as a CCO sometimes. Commanders are 4.25" on a full size frame/grip, if you put a Commander slide/barrel on the smaller Officers frame it then becomes the CCO , but an Officer's is 3.5" on the compact frame.

 

[Alphadog]

I was so close to pulling the trigger (pun intended) on the Ruger SR1911 officer's. It's a very sexy piece and a good value. I ended up going with the Springfield RO elite compact (forged alloy frame vs cast stainless) because you get get it for 700$ right now. Thing runs flawless, and it has a 4" barrel. You cant go wrong with a compact these days, especially with today's advances different recoil assembly technology (flat wire springs / dual spring captive) . The SR1911 switches it up with a triple spring over a full length guide rod. I've heard great things about it.

 

[edtheplumber]

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.

 

[jassing]

FWIW Hickok45 did a video comparing government, commander, & officer sized 1911 -- he was surprised by the results -- they were all fairly comparable & accurate.

 

[m/v MOJO]

I've got a 1980's Colt Officers .45 acp in stainless. It's total stock except for a trigger job I had done by a gunsmith. It's never given me any problems shooting 230 ball but... I can't shoot it worth a S*#t. Accuracy in my hands is terrible. I'm a competitive shooter and shoot other 1911's, STI's, Glocks (including the G26), etc., etc., very well. But the old Colt Officers... not so good! I'm sure it's just me