Compact 1911

I have read that 1911 guns with barrel's shorter than 4 inches are prone to malfunction.

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Read this....

http://blog.wilsoncombat.com/1911/a...il&utm_term=0_7e19171a14-4c7f2b3424-296462441



I have no experience with the ATI so I cannot comment.

Colt makes reliable 3" 1911s in the Series 90 Defender line. My New Agent ate whatever I fed it with the boring reliability of a Glock. I know several people that also had New Agents and Defenders and their experiences all mirrored mine.

I find all my Colt compacts reliable

Look at American Classic Amigo

Philippine manufacturer" question. What question They make for most part good low priced 1911's . I have a American classic. Full size That will shoot with my Colts all day long in accuracy and reliability dept. For 1/2 the money.

My Colt New Agent is 100% reliable on anything I feed it.

I have had a Colt Officers Model for many years now; totally reliable and capable of some surprising accuracy, especially with 185 gr. Winchester Silvertips.

Fat Boy said:

I am considering the idea of purchasing an ATI Titan 1911 - I like the idea of a compact .45 on the 1911 platform.

I have read that 1911 guns with barrel's shorter than 4 inches are prone to malfunction. Then there is the entire "Philippine manufacturer" question.

I am hoping to learn about the design/compact format issue, and if this make/model is prone to problems and is Philippine junk before spending my hard-earned dollars

Thank you

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Depends. Is your real name Rob Pincus? If so, no dirty, filthy, disgusting compact 1911 style pistol is worth the time it takes to urinate on it.

However, contrary to Rob's opinion, there ARE plenty of reliable compact 1911's out there. If there weren't, they'd have long since gone the way of the Dodo. I bought Colt 1991A1 in the Commander version for a brother of mine; he's been shooting and carrying it for going on 25 years now with no complaints...and if there was anybody out there who'd come down hard on an unreliable gun of any kind, it's him.

I can't speak for the ATI...maybe someone else can.

I had a compact RAI that took a couple of trips back to get running reliably. However, after I got it fixed for good I sold it. If it's not reliable enough to carry, then I don't keep it around.

I switched back to a full size and have been happy.

The problem with the lil' 1911s is that they almost aren't really a 1911 anymore by the time you chop them down that far.

I know some of the bigger more premium brands make a nice compact, but for my price point, I'm sticking with the original 5" model.

The Titan is hit or miss. I did a lot of research on it. I wanted the stainless one to dress up. But first the recoil spring assembly's needed to be changed to a Colt defender model, "consensus from several forums, the screw head would either wear out or fall off, "that held it together". They just fixed that, by replacing it with a hex nut. But I don't know if that means it's ok. then FTE's, and FTF's, mag problems, the usual 1911 problems clones.
But after they are fixed they supposedly run well, it's just a matter of what the one you get needs fixed.
Worse case, a new recoil spring assembly, mag, and extractor. If that sits ok with you then go for it.
For a few bucks more you can get an R1 commander, around 6 hundred, "the new model". And be done with it

If it matters to you, I understand the frame is zinc alloy.
Str1

http://www.slickguns.com/product/am...stol-45-acp-3in-7rd-nib-x-54500-free-shipping
Here it just says steel parts

Experts will tell u not to go below 4 and a quarter inches on any 1911. Experts will also tell u that those who claim to have a 3 or 4 inch 1911 that never fails are just plain lucky.
There are plenty of videos about both sides on YouTube.

I have a kimber ultra cdp ii that I put 500 Rn and 50 jhp 230 win though the first day at the range. Not a single malfunction. That's reliable enough for me. They ain't cheap but they come with the custom features built in.

gym,
Thanks for the correction. The subject pistol is indeed steel. The lightweight is the one I was referring to:

http://www.americantactical.us/4560/detail.html

str1

You are welcome, shooter, you had me looking at specs. lol. I passed on the gun when I found that there were so many complaints, and on the same recoil system/ The blued gun seems to have less problems, and several guys swear by thm on the forums, but just about all had that screw fall out of the recoil assembly.

I have looked into the reliability of 3 and 4 inch 1911s a little on the all powerful internets as well. From what I can gather it is getting better. Braver companies such as Kimber and now Para are making 3" 1911s even though the design itself has been plagued with issues in the past. Springfield makes a very successful EMP in 9 and .40 that has a 3" barrel. I think the .45 was a bit too risky for them as a company to attempt. ATI imports several compact 3" 1911s such as the Fatboy lightweight that hold up as far as I can tell.

Herrwalther, as Ayoob mentioned a while back in his news letter. It was Kimber who almost singlehandedly can be looked to as bringing the small 1911's into the popularity that they all now enjoy, Around 10-15 years ago, when they started making guns that looked more elegant than what was around before. Since then everyone and their grandmother has tried to get in, some successfully, most not so much.
I have seen many new shooters who know nothing about guns or even calibers, drawn to the Kimber display, because of their appearance. I even had a little Korean female doctor, pull out her 1911 in a drug store to show me how proud she was of it. It's good and bad, Good because it appeals to many people who are attracted to shiny things, Bad, because many of them are really not shooters, and soon tire of carrying around a 1911 no matter how nice looking it is, and if the don't practice, it's really not good. Just my 2 cents

I have a Sig ultra compact 3" and a Sig C3. While both have been reliable, I've found the C3 w/ 4.24" commander size barrel and the officer size grip is just as easy to cc.

I would love to have Colt's Wily Trapp commander (especially one of the Talo editions)> Next would be a STI Lawman Commander, or Dan Wesson Guardian in a commander size.

gym said:

Herrwalther, as Ayoob mentioned a while back in his news letter. It was Kimber who almost singlehandedly can be looked to as bringing the small 1911's into the popularity that they all now enjoy, Around 10-15 years ago, when they started making guns that looked more elegant than what was around before. Since then everyone and their grandmother has tried to get in, some successfully, most not so much.
I have seen many new shooters who know nothing about guns or even calibers, drawn to the Kimber display, because of their appearance. I even had a little Korean female doctor, pull out her 1911 in a drug store to show me how proud she was of it. It's good and bad, Good because it appeals to many people who are attracted to shiny things, Bad, because many of them are really not shooters, and soon tire of carrying around a 1911 no matter how nice looking it is, and if the don't practice, it's really not good. Just my 2 cents

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I don't receive publications from MA. Probably should since I agree with most of his advice. Kimber is good at what they do , the problem is they are too good at what they do. A new Kimber will easily cost you about $1000 and up. Most people looking for a 3" 1911 will be a new shooter or someone elder looking for something small and easy to carry. The market could really open up if other companies braven up to make 3" 1911 in the $400 to $700 range.

I have never had a problem with compact 1911's.

I have a Rock Island compact .45, Rock Island 9mm compact, and a Kimber Ultra Raptor compact. I prefer the handling of compacts vs full-size 1911's.

I am looking at getting a NIB ATI (not stainless, at least the ones I saw.) I have also seen the recoil issues all over the 'net - I plan on replacing the spring immediately.

I am going to wait until they start putting SC rollmarks on them though - I don't want NY on it anywhere.

As you can see above, I also have no issue with guns made in the Phillipines.

My RI officer size gets a lot of carry time on the farm. It's all black w/black houge grips & holster. I have much nicer pistols, but I don't worry about this one getting scratched up.

This was one of my favorite 3" 1911 style. I foolishly sold it to buy a 1911 C3 which I love, but wish I still had both. Maybe again later?

My Armscor (RIA, Citadel, other rollmarks but not ATI) compact frame 1911s are reliable.

+ 3.5" Citadel .45 (my first .45 & first 1911, I wore out a couple recoil springs in it, decided I liked the platform, and went all-in. the frame is currently in use as the FCG in a carbine)
+ 3.5" RIA 9mm (I bought this hoping the Mrs would claim it as her own, being sneaky about it. It worked, she loves it almost as much as my 6" custom .45)
+ 4" RIA .45 (this has been my carry gun for years now, and I've run a wide variety of ammo through it - I asked the head gunsmith at RIA to make me a utility gun in CCO size for carry, on a frame I bought)


The "compact 1911s don't work" meme is obsolete. Perhaps it was true in 1985, it isn't a valid blanket statement 2014. Reliabilty has been achieved, in the case of Armscor, the bushingless bull barrel and recoil spring longevity seem to be the trade-off for reliability. [sarcasm] Oh no, I have to replace a $10 recoil spring more often, what a piece of junk![/sarcasm]

The "compact 1911s don't work" meme is obsolete. Perhaps it was true in 1985, it isn't a valid blanket statement 2014.

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I would completely agree with that comment...at least wholistically. I'm sure there are plenty of one-off exceptions, just like to every other generalized comment.