A 1911 in 9mm?

[Vulcan Bob]

Why not! I was driveing home after my triumphant victory in snagging a nice 67-1 two weeks ago and remembered I needed some powder so I stopped by another LGS. Whilst browsing around a bit I wound up looking at thier Rock Island Armory pistol display. I got to looking at one of thier 1911 full size tacticals in 9mm and thought to myself that maybe a 9mm might not be a bad idea and for a price point gun it dident look too bad. So I grabbed a few pounds of Unique and was on my way. Now I know you folks know what happend next. Well I got to thinking about the danged thing and looked up some info on the net about it. Now Im not really a snob when it comes to brand names but what would my Colt's and Kimber's think if I tossed this one into the safe with them? Anyhoo, I went back to the shop last Monday and bought it, brought it home and gave it a nice "fluff and buff" cleaned it up and swapped out the smooth thick factory stocks for a pair of Kimber stocks I had laying around. Took it out to the range Tuesday morning and run fifty round of Federal 115gr FMJ's and fifty rounds of Federal 124gr FMJ's though it with no issues and the sights were just about dead on. Wendsday morning I took her out again and run a full box of fifty Speer 124gr +P Gold Dot's "my 9mm load of choice" through her with no issues other than it was a tad left of POA. At fifteen yards rapid fire Im pretty happy with the results although the last few rounds landed low as I tried speeding things up a bit too fast. With a full sized all steel gun recoil was really gentle and as I do not reload for the nine policeing and disposeing of the brass without lookng for them all made for a stress free affair for a change! For the price Im impressed so far. Thanks for looking folk's and remember, stay out of those gun shops, ya never know what you might buy!

 

[Shuutr]

Nice report. Glad you are having as much fun as I do with mine. Although I didn't get the tactical, I've had similar results.

Though my taste in grips is much worse

 

[jaykellogg]

I have two RIAs, one with a Kimber rimfire conversion and a 2011 rail gun (.45acp) with Tritium sights. Both are range guns and shoot fine. I bought replacement grips on eBay along with stainless grip screws. Both run flawlessly with any ammo I buy.

 

[doc540]

Good guns for the money.

Hey, if men can carry purses these day, they can shoot 1911's in 9mm.

 

[ACP230]

I have a Colt Combat Commander in 9mm.
The originals were made in 9 for trials the first time the military
considered replacing the 1911 .45.

It's a good shooter and holds a few more rounds than my .45s.


The Smith M39 was submitted to the same trials.

 

[M29since14]

Why not indeed. I have always liked 1911s in .38 Super. 9s are similar, but a whole lot less expensive to shoot. With the new magazines that are being made now, a 1911 can be made to feed 9x19s with excellent reliability.

One of my Supers has a spare 9mm barrel fitted and I suppose just because of the convenience of the thing, I shoot more 9s from that gun than .38s. I enjoy shooting both the small bores and the .45 in 1911s.

 

[BLACKHAWKNJ]

Now, now, now, Jeff Cooper is probably spinning in his grave. Firing a full size M1911-or Combat Commander-with 9MMs is like firing an N frame with 38 Specials.

 

[Waldo]

Now, now, now, Jeff Cooper is probably spinning in his grave. Firing a full size M1911-or Combat Commander-with 9MMs is like firing an N frame with 38 Specials.

What's wrong with shooting an N frame with 38 specials? I love my Heavy Duty.

 

[Vulcan Bob]

Nice report. Glad you are having as much fun as I do with mine. Although I didn't get the tactical, I've had similar results.

Though my taste in grips is much worse

Thanks for the kind words all. Shuutr, your taste in grips looks just fine to me, they suit the pistol and look very functional. Those nice glossy grips on mine will not provide as much traction as yours.

 

[Fishslayer]

I have the full size Tactical in .45ACP (as is proper ). A friend who is into high end handguns said it's more accurate than a $500 pistol had any right to be.

It's exceeded my expectations in just about every way.

 

[Chipmunk6]

I went 'C&R' my 1911 9mm lookalike is a Star Model B. Shoots great but parts are scarce.
Chipmunk6

 

[35Rem]

Good guns for the money.

Hey, if men can carry purses these day, they can shoot 1911's in 9mm.

They can even carry their 9mm 1911 IN their purse!

Are those capris pants?


Ha! I think a 9mm 1911 would be a LOT of fun. Purists aside, 45 ammo is roughly TWICE the cost of 9mm. I like to shoot!

 

[jaykellogg]

The only complaints I have regarding 1911s is their cost and their weight. I had a Para 14.45 (doublestack) LDA (light double action). It was a great shooting gun, but fully loaded it'd pull your pants down. I have a RIA 2011 which is a bit heavy. One of my favorites is my Kimber Ultra CDP II which is a 3" carry model with an aluminum frame. With the Kimber (which I love) there was a machining issue with the frame. I had a local gunsmith fix it at my expense and it runs flawlessly now. The machining was inside where it doesn't show. I think that is poor results on a $1200 gun. I am glad i was able to get it fixed and the repair was $40 so it didn't hit me too hard. All of my 1911s are .45acp except the one I keep set up as a .22 rimfire (I still have the .45 parts). My 9mm is a S&W M&P.

 

[Old Corp]

Have a Colt Combat Commander in 9mm that I set up identically to the one I have in .45, except the 9 is blue, and the .45 is SS.
They're alot of fun, and since my loading gear is in storage, I shoot alot of aluminum and steel cased ammo through the 9 and enjoy NOT policing brass.

 

[jaykellogg]

Regarding steel cased ammo, i bought some for my AR-15 based on people's recommendations who shoot a lot. I feel the lacquer coating can soften under heat and cause the case to stick in the chamber. Another issue I have is the steel case doesn't seal as well as a brass or an aluminum case so you get dirtier chambers. I had one case stuck in my AR. If you do use the steel case stuff, clean the chamber well and take a rod with you to the range to bump out a stuck case.

 

[shamelessinct]

9mm 1911

I built a 5" 1911 38 Super on an Essex frame and an unmarked mystery slide. Just a basic gun, it shoots 2" at 25 yards from a rest. I traded into a 9mm barrel and bushing and now have a switch caliber gun. The 9mm shoots as accurately as the Super, and for a lot less money.

 

[jaykellogg]

1911 slides are the same between .38 Super and 9mm. I briefly considered getting a .400 CorBon barrel for my .45 acp 1911, but rejected the idea. i know a lot of guys on the M&P forum are buyng M&P40s and switching to 9mm. Of course you could do the same with .357Sig. To me there is no attraction to do this. I do have a 1911 converted to .22 rimfire, but I don't change it back and fourth. I wanted a 1911 rimfire for cheap fun and it was cheaper to buy a new Rock Island Armory .45 than to just buy a frame. If I tire of it, I can sell it as a rimfire conversion and a complete 1911

 

[Joe in SC]

I really didn't want to let the secret out on what is basically a revolver forum, but I too, am nuts over 1911 pistols. If I keep going I'll soon have as many 1911's as revolvers and that ain't 1 or 2.

I bought a 9mm 1911 a few weeks ago. It is one of the Armscorp guns made in the Phillipines, but not an RIA. I had some problems with it initially and I basically figured them out for myself. The company then shipped the parts I needed.

Now that all the problems have been taken care of, I find the gun and the caliber to be much fun and entertaining. I load the vast majority of all my ammo, so working with the 9mm will present some new challenges, I suppose. I inherited a large quantity of brass and bullets from a couple of old shooting buddies that I sadly lost several years ago. Both were great fans of the 9mm, which at the time I didn't really care for. The last 10 years or so has been good for the 9mm (and all other calibers, too) with all the advancements in bullet technology. I think now it can be considered a suitable defense caliber, where before it didn't impress me as a fight stopper. I'll use the bullets I have for practice and purchase some of the new wonder rounds from the factory for carry or home defense, if the occasion arises.

I caught the bug for this 9mm 1911 much the same way VB did. I kept seeing them at the gunshops and gunshows. The price was very attractive, matter a fact it was so low that I initially discounted the guns as junk. The fact that they were Phillipine imports didn't help either. Then I started seeing reports of their value on the 1911 forums. That pretty much put me over the edge and sealed the deal.

So, to wind this up, I'll say this. These guns are worth the reasonable price and I enjoy shooting mine. Ammo and component costs are low so I can shoot more which is always great.

 

[safearm]

I have a Lightweight Colt Defender in 9mm. For me, it's the perfect balance of size, weight, capacity (8+1 with an Officer's size magazine, 9+1 with a full size magazine), and caliber. I dumped the Hogue wrap-around grips that came with it and put on the pictured Alumagrips. These too have been replaced with Dymondwood grips from RAASCO. I have an A&G Grip Extender on the standard length back-up magazine. This has turned into my EDC gun, replacing the Walther PPS that I previously carried (Note: the Colt carries one more round, weighs about the same, and is actually thinner than the PPS).

 

[palmetto99]

I picked up a second RIA (a Tactical model) to go with my RIA Match a few weeks ago. It's a .45ACP and functions well. But, I'm kind of wishing I had picked up one in 9mm. Just to mix it up a little.