9mm 1911s

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So AJ, there's a 14 in there now. Will going to 12 even be noticeable or should I jump down to 10? A side benefit here is lightening the spring should increase the recoil I would think. Personally, I find the wimpy little kick from 9mm kinda boring.
 
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And when do you reach the point of needing the more powerful firing pin spring? I'm hoping that the OEM firing pin spring will be fine just dropping from 14 to 12 or even 10.
 
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Bhfromme said:
So AJ, there's a 14 in there now. Will going to 12 be noticeable or should I jump down to 10? A side benefit here is lightening the spring should increase the recoil I would think. Personally, I find the wimpy little kick from 9mm kinda boring.
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Bill,

Will the gun cycle at all with the 115 bullets? If it does 75% of the time I would try the 12#. If less than that I may go to the 10#. My bullet of choice in the 9MM is a 147 grain. We used those in our Beretta's and HK's when I was in the Corps. If you do elect to go to the lighter bullet/spring set up, I would put a buffer in to reduce the impact of the slide to the frame during recoil.
 
I've only had one 1911 in 9mm. It was a new Commander bought in early 70s. At same time I had new M39 & new Brn.HP. To make long story short the HP was most accurate off bags, M39 easiest to shoot well offhand. The Colt was bottom on accuracy for several reasons but the one thing it would do is fire anything you shoved in it. That was not my goal so I sent that little pig down the road and never got another 9mm/ 1911 type pistol.
 
It cycles every time with the 115s. I would just stick with the heavier bullets but my accuracy seems considerably better with 115 compared to the 124s and especially the 147s. I'm not working with a large sample but it appears that way so far with just a few dozen rounds.

But slamming more force on that frame can't be a good thing. I'm hoping once the gun loosens up it'll extract everything and this all becomes a moot point.
 
Bhfromme said:
And when do you reach the point of needing the more powerful firing pin spring? I'm hoping that the OEM firing pin spring will be fine just dropping from 14 to 12 or even 10.
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Have never had to replace a firing pin spring. Have several spares, just in case they are needed.

Recoil spring I have replaced from time to time. When I shot IPSC, I used a 12 # with a buffer. Did the same for Bullseye Competition. When shooting hot loads have used an 18# spring. Have made my own by cutting coils off a 16# spring until I got the pistol to function.
 
Bhfromme said:
It cycles every time with the 115s. I would just stick with the heavier bullets but my accuracy seems considerably better with 115 compared to the 124s and especially the 147s. I'm not working with a large sample but it appears that way so far with just a few dozen rounds.

But slamming more force on that frame can't be a good thing. I'm hoping once the gun loosens up it'll extract everything and this all becomes a moot point.
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If it is cycling the 115's everytime, I would just leave it alone. To me as long as I can keep everything in a six inch bull at 25 yards it is all good. The 9MM to me was never a "target gun". As long as it shoots"minute of chest" at 25 or so yards it is good.

My preferred pistol is a .45 ACP for both target and serious work.
 
Bh, I had bifocals set up as you describe before I had cataract surgery. Those glasses actually did work well. FWIW, I've routinely used 14#-16# recoil springs with 5" 9mm 1911s for years. But, a couple of my 1911s came with factory 10# recoil springs. Those two functioned reliably with even the lightest loads, as I'm sure the manufacturers intended. But I rarely used the lightest loads, hence the heavier springs I used..
 
AJ, I said it cycles properly but what I should have said is it fires properly but feels to extract sporadically with the light 115 grain ammo.

I've run some heavier loads through it and now going back to the 115s it seems to be better. Again, this is a new gun right out of the box. Hopefully it loosens up and extracts everything I feed it but if not I'll just experiment with a lighter recoil spring. Thank you by the way. The help here on this form is just amazing.
 
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I keep toying with the idea of a 9mm 1911, but every time I do I peek in the safe and realize I have a bunch of single action 9s -- a Beretta 1951, BHP, Sig 210, Star BM (it's Commnader sized), and a Star Super B.

As I'm not going to carry a 1911 (too many other, better choices) about the only things missing between it and the others is the panache and the grip safety. The Sig has a great trigger right out of the box, the Browning had a bunch of trigger work done on it and it's slick, and the Stars are a fun shoot.

So any time the urge really grips me, I buy some ammo with the money and go blasting with the "alternatives." Besides, if I really want to shoot a 9 1911 I can always try to reclaim the Taurus I "loaned" my oldest (good luck to that!). (And even that had the grip safety disabled.)

Still, it would be nice......
 
Your extractor may need to be tweaked a little. Easy to do. Videos on You Tube. ;)

I don't recommend lightening the springs unless you're using light handloads all the time. Going to lighter springs with factory ammo will cause excessive battering to the frame and you'll be chasing brass into the next county. :rolleyes:
If I change springs in a 1911, I always go 2 or 2.5 pounds heavier. Never lighter.
 
Grayfox said:
Your extractor may need to be tweaked a little. Easy to do. Videos on You Tube. ;)

I don't recommend lightening the springs unless you're using light handloads all the time. Going to lighter springs with factory ammo will cause excessive battering to the frame and you'll be chasing brass into the next county. :rolleyes:
If I change springs in a 1911, I always go 2 or 2.5 pounds heavier. Never lighter.
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This why you put in a buffer if you use lighter springs. That is what I mentioned before.

Had a bullseye Colt M1911 in .45 ACP. I used 3.0 grains of Bullseye with a 185 grain SWC. It would not cycle with a 16 # spring. Had to use a 12 # spring and a buffer to protect the frame.
 
I've had a Colt Commander for about 8 years. In my experience, it is very dependant on magazines that actually work. I have the original two it came with and then about 6 Wilson Combat magazines. They have not been 100% though frankly. It is not in my opinion reliable enough for carry but is still a lot of fun at the range. But I have not extensively shot enough carry ammo through it and the range ammo (I prefer Blazer Brass 124 grain) is what I am primarily basing my opinion on.
 
xtrtsqrt11 said:
I've had a Colt Commander for about 8 years. In my experience, it is very dependant on magazines that actually work. I have the original two it came with and then about 6 Wilson Combat magazines. They have not been 100% though frankly. It is not in my opinion reliable enough for carry but is still a lot of fun at the range. But I have not extensively shot enough carry ammo through it and the range ammo (I prefer Blazer Brass 124 grain) is what I am primarily basing my opinion on.
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I would have a gunsmith (a real one not the parts changers that most stores have) look at it. I have had magazines that did not work, and trashed them. But with good magazines the M1911 platform is completely reliable.
 
Sorry you did all your due diligence and still got a gun that doesn't function 100%.

I didn't recommend this gun earlier because you specified a 1911, but a Sig P210 American fits your bill otherwise. Single stack, single action, all metal, completely reliable, and outstandingly accurate. At full MSRP it is more than your budget, but you won't have to spend a fortune on factory ammo to find one that will work. They will all work. Used ones can be found with some looking.

I found this carry version for under $1000, used but with everything. I have 1200 rounds through it with not a single failure of any kind.

Sorry for the drift, but there is something to be said for a gun using the cartridge for which it was designed.

I bet once the Springfield is broken in it will be great.
 

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I would buy a Colt, preferably an original Series 70 or earlier , they had no MIM cast parts in them. And I would buy a .38 super and handload for it that makes it as cheap to shoot as the 9mm and you have more power.

Another option is the .357 Sig (its a necked down .40 S&W) and probably not available in a Colt but in many other pistols like the Sig 1911.
 
I guess I'm still old school. my 1911's are 45ACP....My Chip McCormick .45 I've had for decades, great pistol and, very accurate. My .45 carry is a STI Spartan III that I've carried for years. No issues, guess I'll just stick with .45 for the 1911.
 

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I had to send my 9mm Ronin in. It wouldn't shoot smaller than about 6" at 10 feet. They put a new barrel in it and crowned it nicely. I haven't shot it to check the accuracy again.

Sent from my Pixel 3 using Tapatalk
 
I've owned both the 5" and 4.25" Ronins in 9mm as well as a Dan Wesson Vigil 4.25" 9mm. They all were great, fun pistols without any issues. I just prefer 5" and 4.25" steel 1911s in .45acp.

Now having said that one of the best deals I got was last summer, a pre-owned but unfired Springfield RO Compact in 9mm from 2015. After shooting it I swapped the rear sight to the one from the Ronin, threw on some grip tape on the frontstrap and just keep on shooting. It's also my warm weather edc. The pistol has been 100% reliable and accurate with every ammo type I've tried. It disappears under a t-shirt, love it.

 
Its been a few days BHF, has the issue improved? As for springs, as mentioned above, Wolff springs sells a calibration pack with 3 spring weights so you could dial it in that way. I'm not a fan of 115 grn 9mm. My go to is 124 or 147 for practice. Although my carry ammo is light for caliber, high speed Underwood Xtreme defense ammo.
 
bph9 said:
I would buy a Colt, preferably an original Series 70 or earlier , they had no MIM cast parts in them. .
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I think people get too hung up on MIM parts. Yes the S&W hammers and triggers don't look as nice as the old color case hardened ones but they seem to be working well. As for MIM in the 1911's, Kimber's early issues with some bad MIM parts that they used anyway has jaded a lot of folks against MIM. Myself, I would rather have a good quality MIM part than a poorly made machined one.


 
Doug M. said:
I'm kind of partial to the EMP, in large part because it is scaled around the 9mm. The standard 1911 is scaled around the 45ACP, and the Super 38 works well because of the size, too. Some folks have had to do some work to get the 1911 to work well with 9mm.
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I'm also an EMP fan. The way it's scaled to the 9 mm just "works". One of my favorites
 
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