1911 reliability, a poll

Reliability varies by model to model. There won't be a paractica estimate if all 1911s are lumped together.

Among quality ones with 4.25~5 inch barrel, it's not so much of a question of "How many rounds will it fire without a malfunction."

It's mostly about hardship with doing periodic maintenance because the replacement parts are not drop-in.

In regards to hostile environment reliability, even exerts have different opinions about them.

I voted A, only because my range trips with my Springfield GI model (Springfield and Powermags) typically is 150 rounds or less (store bought 230gr RN or my 200gr LSWC handloads). I always clean it after it goes out to the range. No hiccups in the last 1,000+ rounds.

I can't really say, so I voted E. I tend to bring a bunch of guns to the range when I go and rarely put more than 100-200 rounds through any one of them.

Then they all get cleaned when I get home, so I don't know just how far I can push them before they start giving me trouble. I'm not really into torture testing my guns.

My 1911s are listed in my sig, mags are mostly a mix of factory, Wilson, and Chip McCormick. Most of the ammo fired is Winchester white box.

The 1911 is/has been made by over 100 manufactures. Some are unreliable junk, some are at least as reliable as anything you can compare them to.
Their is no "the" 1911.

The 1911 is the following

1) expensive
2) pretty
3) fires expensive ammunition
4) hurts to shoot

So if you want to run a bunch of magazines through a 1911 without cleaning it, be my guest.

The ability of a gun to go x rounds without cleaning is irrelevant. And trying to prove how far a gun will go without cleaning is just abusing it. There is no real world scenario where a 1911 would have to go 500 or more rounds without cleaning. Even 250 is pushing it in an exercise. The owner should do minimal cleaning and lubing mid-course if that many rounds is required.

My 70 series Mk 4 was one of two pistols (an older Colt) that ran flawlessly in a week long Gunsite 250 Class of 15 students. Kimbers, Springfields and a Glock et al malfed at various times. The Glock jammed double feed, he couldn't rack the slide or pull the magazine, he had to leave the line to get it running again.
I did do some expedient cleaning and lube in the evenings.
I shot 230gr hardball (because that's what it was designed for) and ran GI magazines with Chip Mccormick followers and springs (8 rounds).
I've not fired 1k rounds without maintenance and am unlikely to do so in the foreseeable future.

That's why I'm not asking that question: **Please remember to observe the rule on the poll: "From personal experience only please, identifying makes and models, ammunition and magazines picks AND cleaning procedures, how reliable is the gun?"**

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Ok, I have a Springfield the has jammed once with a bad cheapo 8 round magazine after several thousand rounds (probably 5-7k). I had an Auto Ordnance that never made it more than about 2 magazines. I do however clean my guns.

So in my personal experience, Some are unreliable junk, some are at least as reliable as anything you can compare them to.

I have gone 600 rounds without cleaning. The gun doesn't get any less reliable it just gets dirtier.

I voted D, but any pistol that won't quickly becomes a safe queen for me.

I typically run 2-300 rounds a week shooting steel plates through my 9mm and/or .45ACP RIA pistols shooting steel plates. The 9mm is well over 10,000 rounds, the .45 well over 15,000, but the 9mm is catching up fast for significantly lower ammo costs.

Talking about 1911s as if they are all the same is silly. If a gun has an issue such as improper tuned extractor or other faulty part it might be able to go 250 rounds. That is not unique to 1911s. I once bought a used glock for next to nothing. The thing wouldn't run. After replacing a single worn part it works great. Also even the ammo shot and the conditions it is done under can have an impact.

That said a properly built 1911 with good magazines (one of the prime culprits in 1911 stoppages) will run a lot of rounds between cleanings. Lubing the thing is going to be more important than cleaning it. I have been in 3 day pistol classes with folks shooting 1911s and seen them go all three days without issue. I do believe they likely lubed them. I did the same with my wonder polymer 9mm I was shooting. No reason not to.

A class I did with Ken Hackathorn he instructed not to worry about cleaning guns at the end of the day but advised lubing them. There were some 1911 shooters. I remember one was a Wilson and one was a Colt. Mr. Hackathorn also shot a Wilson part of the class.

I was trying to find an old article where a 1911 I think a S&W E serioes IIRC was cleaned and degreased and fired 1000 rounds with no lube. I thought it was an old Hilton Yam article but couldn't find it.

Check out this endurance test of 1911 (and a 9mm one at that as they are supposed to be much less reliable) done by Todd G at pistol-training.com. Pretty impressive really

http://pistol-training.com/archives/6942

http://pistol-training.com/archives/7018

I have seen a 3" 1911s grow sluggish and start not returning completely to battery towards the end of a higher round count class. I don't know how it was lubed.

Long story short, in my experience and seeing others at classes 1911 stoppages seem to come from user error, bad mags, ammo issues, lack of lubrication, parts issues more than not being cleaned.

The 1911 is the following

1) expensive
2) pretty
3) fires expensive ammunition
4) hurts to shoot

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1) They can be but I've seen RIAs, Norincos,etc go for $300-400. You can also pay 10 times that and everywhere in between.

2) I won't argue that point. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder but to me they are very good looking guns

3) depends on the caliber it is chambered in. I know some are not but I'm kind of like 9x19 1911s.

4) Really I've never thought that of a 5" steel gun. Even the CCO size alloy guns don't strike me as painful and I'm not recoil junkie. I typically let my 110 lbs girl friend shoot my 5" 45 and she does so without objection.

I have been carrying and shooting 1911s off and on for 20 years. Name the brand, I have probably carried and shot it: Colt, Les Baer, Springfield, Kimber, S&W, Dan Wesson.

In the last few years I have broken in both a Colt 1991 stainless Commander and a DW Heritage with 250-500 rounds each; no failures with either of them.

I don't torture my handguns by shooting and not cleaning them; I don't see the point of it.

I answered "e". I typically clean and lube my handguns after every range visit, shooting 50-100 rounds, including break-in. Shooting without cleaning is not a reliability test to me; cleaning and shooting trouble-free is a reliability test.

BTW, I have owned four Glocks: three G19s and one G17. I sold them all. NONE of them was 100% reliable within a few hundred rounds. My recent
1911s were much more reliable than the Glocks (Gen 2, FWIW).

Not to start a make/model war, that's just the way it was for me.

EDIT: I shoot 230-gr. hardball (typically WW or Federal American Eagle) and use the factory magazines. I also typically shoot full-sized (5") 1911s; I've only owned three Commanders, two Colts and the LB.

Girodin said:

1) They can be but I've seen RIAs, Norincos,etc go for $300-400. You can also pay 10 times that and everywhere in between.

2) I won't argue that point. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder but to me they are very good looking guns

3) depends on the caliber it is chambered in. I know some are not but I'm kind of like 9x19 1911s.

4) Really I've never thought that of a 5" steel gun. Even the CCO size alloy guns don't strike me as painful and I'm not recoil junkie. I typically let my 110 lbs girl friend shoot my 5" 45 and she does so without objection.

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Every single point (except the beauty part, thats subjective) that I made can be ignored if youre talking about a Rock Island chambered in 9mm.

In my case I fire powerhouse .45 loads out of a stainless Sig 1911.
The part about it hurting to shoot is just me being not used to it. I'm not used to it because its too expensive to shoot regularly!

So I clean it way more often than my other guns on a per round basis.

I don't get a chance to shoot except at home on the weekends. Sometimes I'll shoot 300 rounds on Saturday and if I know I can shoot Sunday I won't clean the gun. As long as I can see a film of lube remaining on the working surfaces of the gun when I take it apart for cleaning that's good enough for me.

I've voted E, simply because I've never needed to go much higher than 200 - 300 rounds per range session. Would my gun do more? I suspect it would.

Here is Todd Jarret doing it

Part 1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q7wL2QuFTLQ

Part 2 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFF0TbhgQMY

Part 2 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfZ9AdOWUNw

Notice Todd had nothing break and his gun worked just fine. It did get pretty hot though.

For reference, I believe James Yeager did the same test with a G19. He took longer to do it than Jarrett (remember the G19 basically has double the mag capacity so Jarrett needed to do twice the number of mag changes), and Yeager melted the guide rod, and launched out of the gun, though in defense of the Glock it kept on working.

Yeager G19 1000 round https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_JuF23qazI

Para P-13, Para CCW, Springfield GI, RIA GI, DW CBOB. Not one malfunction in probably over 3000 rounds fired total. The RIA, I used for bowling pin matches every week for a year and put over 2000 rounds through it with nary a hiccup.

I tend to think the 1911s popularity lends itself to more criticism perceived unreliability. Nonetheless, I do not own any of those pistols anymore. Outdated and obsolete. (Shrug)

though in defense of the Glock it kept on working.

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except all malfunctions, even prior to the meltdown, were blamed on Ammo in typical glock fashion.

As for the OP's question I have several 1911's where they specifically didnt want you cleaning the pistol or even taking it down till after 300-500 full power rounds were put through it.

I voted E, I've never really seen the need to run 1000 rounds without cleaning a gun. I don't even really pay attention to round count, I've probably shot in excess of 500 rounds at a match with no maintenance and I'm sure I've gone well over a thousand many times with nothing more than yanking a bore snake thru the barrel a little sprits of oil and wipe down. I can't remember the last malfunction that wasn't reloaded ammo related.

Here is my take from 2 different pistols.

1942 Colt M1911A1, reblued before I got her & I changed out all the springs to Wilson combat ones about 20 years ago & only used Wilson Combat mags "saving the original service one as is."
One range session of 300+ rounds back in 97' UMC Ball, no issues & okay accuracy for a old service piece, about 4 years ago I fired 100 rounds UMC Hollow points through her & still very reliable.

Colt 1991A1, wife has put over 200 rounds in one session of both UMC Ball & UMC Hollow Points with no issues, & excellent accuracy, she's a much straighter shooter with her .45 than I am with mine.

I bought a GI type Turkish (Tisas) 1911 about five years ago. I doubt if I have ever run more than 200 rounds through it without cleaning it, so I chose E. IIRC I have used McCormick magazines. All it has ever shot has been whatever FMJ ammo was the cheapest. It has never malfunctioned in any way.

The recoil doesn't bother me a bit. It feels no different to me than 45LC or 44 special. All three are fun to shoot, imho. They don't sting like my 44 magnum.