Recommendations for 1911 9mm

[otis24]

Please recommend a 1911 9mm. I've never owned a 1911. I like the idea of sticking with a 9mm due to ammo costs, plus my Shield is 9mm. Priced under $900. This far I've looked at a light weight Ruger 1911. I've viewed a Springfield online and it had some pretty good reviews. This will be a home defense/plinking gun.

[max]

I bought a used RIA 9mm a couple of years ago and it has really impressed me. No failures of any kind so far.

[Wee Hooker]

I own 1911's in 9mm from Sig, Springfield, RIA and S&W. In that price range, I'd vote the full sized Springfield Armory Range officer. If money is tight, the RIA Ultra is a heck of a value. To be honest though, it's hard to find a bad one these days if you stick with a well respected manufacturer.

[Richard Simmons]

Rock Island Ultra FS. It's a great value and if you decide a 1911 isn't to your liking you haven't spend a ton.

[Sevens]

If there is a better deal in a 9mm chambered 1911 pistol than the Springfield Range Officer, I'd love to hear about it. This assumes that you like or want a fantastic adjustable rear target sight (some don't) and that you don't mind the rather low-key dark finish. It is a quality, accurate pistol for less money than it probably ought to sell for.

Unfortunately, Smith & Wesson doesn't seem to want to compete rationally in this particular arena at this time. They don't offer the E-Series in 9mm (a great pistol for the price), they only offer the Pro Series in 9mm which is an extremely fine looking gun that has a ridiculous price tag but otherwise brings nothing extra to the table beyond it's sharp good looks.

S&W is missing out by not offering a 9mm in the price range of the E-Series.

[petepeterson]

I bought my slightly used Colt Competition for $700. I think they're around $800 new. I've been very pleased with it.

[824tsv]

I second the 9mm Colt Competition Model. A very pleasant shooter and remarkably accurate for a 9mm.

[Kanewpadle]

Another vote for Colt Competition. 9MM 1911’s can be finicky. Buy a good one.

Springfield also has several models in your price range.

[jwk]

Springfield RO is a nice pistol but needs an ambidextrous safety for us lefties. If you don't want target sights Springfield makes other models.

Colt is Colt. Bought one bc I got a great deal on a LW Commander.

Lot of folks like the economy of a Rock island pistol.

No fleas on Ruger either.

Pick your price and features. A 9mm in a 1911 makes sense for a lot of reasons. Just use quality magazines. The one that comes w the pistol may not be a good one.

[amazingflapjack]

There area couple in the "guns for sale" section right now.

[Funflyer]

I own a Remington R1 enhanced in 9mm and it's been a great 1911 through 500 or so rounds. It did throw shells erratically at first but I replaced the firing pin stop and tuned the extractor and now it's absolutely perfect. I like that pistol so much that I bought a standard R1S in 45 which is equally as impressive. The enhanced 45 is also on my short list. Grab-a-Gun has them all on sale regularly for under $600 bones.

[LoboGunLeather]

This will probably make me sound like a 'gun snob', but I'll say it anyway: Why bother? There are plenty of fine pistols on the market that were designed specifically for the 9X19mm cartridge. The 1911 platform was designed specifically for the .45ACP (developed at the same time as part of the original development work), so pistols of that type chambered for 9X19 (or other cartridges) are pistols that have been adapted to work with other cartridges. Such a process involves much more than just a barrel with a smaller bore; magazines, feed ramps, extractors, ejectors, recoil springs, and other essential parts have been modified to adapt the pistol's basic design and functioning to a cartridge other than the one originally intended.

This adaptation has been ongoing since the mid-1950's, based largely on the emphasis on commonality of ammunition among allies and NATO countries. Colt produced the Commander series in 9mm, while S&W developed the Model 39 series, both hoping for big military contracts (which failed to take place until the late 1980's when Beretta seized the prize with the Model 92/M-9 series).

The 1911 design has been proven to be excellent for more than 100 years, with only minor adjustments during the late 1920's and early 1930's. Yes, there have been some enhancements adapted over the past 50 years or so, but the original design and function remain essentially unchanged.

I'll keep my 1911 .45's as they are, with a good Browning Hi Power 9mm for those particular needs.

Best regards.

[epj]

I have both a STI Trojan and Spartan 9mm for sale in the classified section. Both have adjustable sights.

[Wee Hooker]

Originally Posted by LoboGunLeather

This will probably make me sound like a 'gun snob', but I'll say it anyway: Why bother? There are plenty of fine pistols on the market that were designed specifically for the 9X19mm cartridge. The 1911 platform was designed specifically for the .45ACP (developed at the same time as part of the original development work), so pistols of that type chambered for 9X19 (or other cartridges) are pistols that have been adapted to work with other cartridges. Such a process involves much more than just a barrel with a smaller bore; magazines, feed ramps, extractors, ejectors, recoil springs, and other essential parts have been modified to adapt the pistol's basic design and functioning to a cartridge other than the one originally intended.

This adaptation has been ongoing since the mid-1950's, based largely on the emphasis on commonality of ammunition among allies and NATO countries. Colt produced the Commander series in 9mm, while S&W developed the Model 39 series, both hoping for big military contracts (which failed to take place until the late 1980's when Beretta seized the prize with the Model 92/M-9 series).

The 1911 design has been proven to be excellent for more than 100 years, with only minor adjustments during the late 1920's and early 1930's. Yes, there have been some enhancements adapted over the past 50 years or so, but the original design and function remain essentially unchanged.

I'll keep my 1911 .45's as they are, with a good Browning Hi Power 9mm for those particular needs.

Best regards.

To each their own.
I'd argue that if a shooter is familiar with and enjoys the 1911 platform and wants:
a) an excuse to buy another
b) the ability to shoot cheaper ammo
c) to enjoy less recoil

then it's not a bother, it's a labor of devotion.

p.s. The 1911 has been getting updates for 100+ years. This is just another (and one that has been well received.)

[HOUSTON RICK]

I picked up this ATI Commander size 9mm 1911, although I have traditional 9mm firearms and traditional Mil Spec 1911's this one seems to get more than its share of range time. The price was under $350.

[Sevens]

Originally Posted by LoboGunLeather

This will probably make me sound like a 'gun snob', but I'll say it anyway: Why bother?

I don't think anything you've said makes you sound like a gun snob and I can respect that you have your own opinion, but it seems like your words would be a more accurate assessment of a 1911 pistol if you made this observation back in the late 1950's.

These days there are almost more (successful, reliable, durable, accurate and enjoyable) different 1911 chamberings that we even need to bother to list.

I also believe it's pure folly when anyone suggests a Hi-Power to feed a desire for 9mm when the subject is 9mm in a 1911. If one were forced to pick the finest reasons to own a 1911, it would be most often be the feel in the hand and the finest stock trigger/design in perhaps the entire history of semiautomatic pistols -- two huge areas where the Hi-Power couldn't possibly be more different than a 1911.

Especially in regards to the trigger, if we made a list of semiauto pistol models and put the 1911 somewhere near the top, the Browning Hi-Power would find itself absolutely where is deserves to be somewhere near the bottom. The Hi-Power has such an awful trigger design that almost zero gun makers have ever looked at it and chosen to copy it, except for the true clones such as the Feg, the Kareen, etc.

If there were justice in this world, Rube Goldberg's estate would be making 25 cents from the sale of every Hi-Power and Hi-Power clone ever produced. And that same estate would get 10 cents for the spring added to any Hi-Power "mouse trap" magazine.

[sophie]

I bought a Springfield 1911 EMP4 in 9mm about 3 years ago and have shot the heck out of the pistol and have done a little work on it but I would rather shoot this pistol than any of my other 9 mm pistols and I have a few. The recoil is very slight and the only problem I had was shooting to the left and I corrected that with the rear sight. They are kind of pricey but have settled down some.

[Sevens]

The EMP should be duly noted as a nice pistol that looks like a 1911. Almost no parts whatsoever cross between the EMP and a 1911. The EMP is dimensionally reduced, not simply chopped or shortened here or there.