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66 Posts
Reading recent threads about 3” barrel 1911s, thought I’d take mine out for a spin at the range today.
I haven’t shot much the past year (at the range, formal training, or action shoots): of late, my 3” (Kimber Ultra CDP, Series I) is carried much, shot little.
After the shooting in Tacoma Mall (WA State) recently, however, it occurred to me best to refresh the skills a little. Thought I’d shoot off my several-year-old mixed boxes of carry ammo (Federal Hydra Shocks and Remington Golden Sabers), too.
Also, I haven’t practiced with true self-defense ammo in awhile. Hydra Shocks and Golden Sabers make a bigger bang that S&B or Winchester White Box ball, my two usual practice staples.
Lastly, with the bad reliability rep some 3” 1911s receive, let’s just say I wanted to re-establish my piece of mind. Guns, magazines, and ammo tend not to age gracefully, unlike a fine Merlot.
My Kimber’s given me very little grief in five years’ ownership, several thousand rounds-through. I have one of the “good” ones, not the cursed guns many here swear at (as opposed to “by”): it was in the first batch of Ultra CDPs delivered to area authorized Kimber dealers in mid-Y2K.
In any event: I fired off the SD ammo. Big bangs, gun shot great, no FTFs. Magazines still good, the loose nut behind the trigger pulled a little left but still did well enough. Micro 1911s are not for the timid and take extra work to shoot well due to short sight radius, but to be honest I really enjoy the thing.
Next box was cheeseball range ammo, a brand I’m not familiar with (not clear if they’re reloads). About every third magazine produced an FTF in both the Ultra CDP and my other day’s companion, a TRP Professional. The jams cleared instantly with a slide-rack in both guns, however. The load felt too weak, typical of range ammo, so I’m assuming that’s the problem since both guns fed high-power ammo without complaint and jammed at about the same rate on the cheap stuff. No more of that for me, thanks: I returned the second box.
Bottom line is not “all” 3” 1911s are junk. The volume of “bad gun” stories on 1911 forum still concerns me, however. I wish they’d work out the bugs (Springfield, Kimber, Para Ordinance, assuming the former and latter still produce micro-1911s) since the idea’s great: concealable, 1911 platform, proven-firepower cartridge. I can’t answer to the ballistics-problem argument, however.
Mine stays for now. Aesthetically pleasing, functional with SD ammo, and a manual of arms I’m very familiar with keep me attached to good old slab-sides, through thick and thin.
I haven’t shot much the past year (at the range, formal training, or action shoots): of late, my 3” (Kimber Ultra CDP, Series I) is carried much, shot little.
After the shooting in Tacoma Mall (WA State) recently, however, it occurred to me best to refresh the skills a little. Thought I’d shoot off my several-year-old mixed boxes of carry ammo (Federal Hydra Shocks and Remington Golden Sabers), too.
Also, I haven’t practiced with true self-defense ammo in awhile. Hydra Shocks and Golden Sabers make a bigger bang that S&B or Winchester White Box ball, my two usual practice staples.
Lastly, with the bad reliability rep some 3” 1911s receive, let’s just say I wanted to re-establish my piece of mind. Guns, magazines, and ammo tend not to age gracefully, unlike a fine Merlot.
My Kimber’s given me very little grief in five years’ ownership, several thousand rounds-through. I have one of the “good” ones, not the cursed guns many here swear at (as opposed to “by”): it was in the first batch of Ultra CDPs delivered to area authorized Kimber dealers in mid-Y2K.
In any event: I fired off the SD ammo. Big bangs, gun shot great, no FTFs. Magazines still good, the loose nut behind the trigger pulled a little left but still did well enough. Micro 1911s are not for the timid and take extra work to shoot well due to short sight radius, but to be honest I really enjoy the thing.
Next box was cheeseball range ammo, a brand I’m not familiar with (not clear if they’re reloads). About every third magazine produced an FTF in both the Ultra CDP and my other day’s companion, a TRP Professional. The jams cleared instantly with a slide-rack in both guns, however. The load felt too weak, typical of range ammo, so I’m assuming that’s the problem since both guns fed high-power ammo without complaint and jammed at about the same rate on the cheap stuff. No more of that for me, thanks: I returned the second box.
Bottom line is not “all” 3” 1911s are junk. The volume of “bad gun” stories on 1911 forum still concerns me, however. I wish they’d work out the bugs (Springfield, Kimber, Para Ordinance, assuming the former and latter still produce micro-1911s) since the idea’s great: concealable, 1911 platform, proven-firepower cartridge. I can’t answer to the ballistics-problem argument, however.
Mine stays for now. Aesthetically pleasing, functional with SD ammo, and a manual of arms I’m very familiar with keep me attached to good old slab-sides, through thick and thin.
