Compact 1911s...

[CNobbe]

Hello all, I've been carrying/shooting Sig P238s for about a year. Love them. In fact I just bought another one to carry in spring/summer.

I've owned several 5" 1911s from Colt, Kimber, a Ruger, and a Springfield..all but one are 45s.

Been looking at a lot of carry 1911s lately, but haven't pulled the trigger yet on one.

I'm looking at Kimber Ultra Carrys, Sig Ultra Carry, and was hoping to see a Colt Defender but no such luck. I'd consider a Rock Island too as I've heard a lot of good things about them.

None of the local ranges have a 3" 1911 to rent unfortunately, as I always like to try out a gun before I buy one, so this might be a blind purchase.

The thing I need to know is... My P238 is a great gun as it's fun and accurate at the range. Much better than a pocket revolver if you know what I mean.

Are these 3" 45s pretty accurate shooters? Soft recoilng? I mainly shoot at 13-20' indoors. Don't really target shoot anymore, so I sold off a bunch of my 5" 1911s.

 

[Greg528iT]

I own a Springfield Ultra Compact. 3.5" barrel, short stack officer frame. It is as accurate as I am. Reliable, as it is said, it's a machine it does not have a choice but to function. True the timing is critical, thus keeping a good spring in it is required. The ultra comp is all steel, so it weighs a bit soaking up the recoil well, but not as much as my all steel 5" 1911. If you are looking at an AL frame, less mass to soak up recoil. Just to let you know.

 

[MICHAEL T]

my Colt Defender is very accurate at 20 yds. (far as I can shoot on my range) I bought the Defender with out shooting . I don't think recoil is that bad , I carry Corbon 185 DPX Plus P in it.
I wish I had money to but a 2nd Defender as I really like it better than my Colt Officers . LTW makes it great carry.

 

[CNobbe]

Yeah, I really wanted to find a Colt Defender in my travels today around to the various stores. Did see a lot of used like new Colt Pocket 380s, but thats about it.

My Kimber Pro Carry has an aluminium frame and I like it a lot, but even thats a tad big for carrying to me.

 

[Tigerjeebs]

If I may...

I was in the same position last year. Wanted a 1911 for carry. As many already know, the hardest portion to conceal is the grip. The slide length is almost inconsequential. I knew I wanted a commander length slide. But it had to have the shorter officer frame.

The original colt CCO is what I wanted but alas, difficult to find. I narrowed it down to two options. The kimber compact stainless II and the sig sauer C3. The sig has a true 4.25 commander length barrel and a regular GI bushing which I prefer. kimber has the full length bushingless guide rod system and a 4" barrel.

Ended up with the sig, couldn't be happier. Is amazingly accurate and the attention to detail is top notch. Conceals excellent in an N8 squared holster.

Forgot to mention, sig has a lifetime warranty. Kimber is only 1 year.
Good luck.

 

[Quick Shot xMLx]

Check out the STI Escort. Made in free America(Texas).

 

[GLI45]

+1 on the STI Escort. Alloy frame makes it a easy gun to carry. Like all my STI pistols nice tight fit, smooth operation, excellent trigger, and very accurate.

 

[bannockburn]

I have a Colt Officers Model (steel frame), and a Colt New Agent (alloy frame). Of course felt recoil is a somewhat subjective thing but to me the all steel Officers Model feels very much like a Combat Commander when I'm shooting it; very controlable, some muzzle flip (but not too much from a sight aquisition standpoint), and not all that much recoil. Basically its bark is worse than its bite.

The lighter weight New Agent is a bit more of a handfull and recoil is more pronounced, as is muzzle rise. Here the bite is probably a little greater than its bark. The plus factor to it being lighter is that its a lot easier to carry it for long periods of time, versus the heavier all steel Officers Model.

One thing I have found that makes shooting these guns a little more comfortable (and controlable), for me is to use Pachmayr grips on them. The drawback is that fabric tends to get hung up and stuck on the rubber grips, which can adversely affect its concealment and your ability to get a proper grip on the gun if you have to use it while carrying.

 

[v8stang289]

I have a Kimber Ultra Carry II with the alloy frame. It carries and conceals well for me due to the lighter weight and shorter grip. It is very accurate but can be kind of snappy with self defense loads. The recoil isn't terrible, but definitely not as tame as a full sized, steel framed 1911.