Compact .45

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Cutter57

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I am interested in buying/ legally carrying a compact .45, preferably with a 3" barrel. The Kimber Ultra and the Colt Defender have caught my attention. I have heard the compacts have had feeding problems due to the angle of the ramp. Does anyone have any experience one or both? Any advise or info?
 
Do a search. It's been discussed lots of times. Lots of us love them. Some of us hate them. :)
 
Then there's the Springfield Armory Micro-Compact (a 3-incher).
Like Shootcraps said, do a search. My Micro is perfect. But many out there hate the shorties, and you'll hear more bad than good.
 
the compacts work perfectly when you fire them correctly. because the grip is so small most people limp wrist them, thus causing jams. you have to have a good hold on them for them to peform the way they should. i have not experienced this personally, i'm just passing on to you what i have read. please refer to the guns and ammo handgun addition for feb/march 2006,,,dont ask why its marked that it was given to me and thats what the cover says,,,page 26 and on.
good luck and keep a good grip.
paul gilson
palerider1
 
palerider1 said:
the compacts work perfectly when you fire them correctly. because the grip is so small most people limp wrist them, thus causing jams.
Click to expand...

I've been figuring this wrong all along then, because I've always thought guns with grips too large would be ones I'd be more likely to limp wrist. I have smaller hands.
 
From my experience. Buy a small 1911 and it MAY work out of the box. If not be ready for multiple trips back and forth to the gunmaker. Frequent recoil assembly changes. And finding just the right ammo for it. And replacing the factory mags with Wilsons or other better quality mags. Before the flames start I said may work. Lots do, lots don't. If you get a Sig 245 or Glock 30 (I have both) it would be rare (not unheard of, everyone makes a lemon every once in awhile) for either one to not work out of the box and keep on working. I had two of the really small 1911's. Couldn't get or keep either running enough to trust my rear with. If my butt were on the line right now I know my Glock or Sig would go bang. After all I went through with the small 1911's I couldn't feel that way about any of them. YMMV!
 
A gun that's easily susceptible to limp wristing should NEVER even be considered for defense.

That said, my Kimber Pro Carry is running like a top now that the slide lock is fixed and it's got a whole bunch of rounds though it.
 
Defender

My Defender runs perfectly; always has. You rarely ever hear about anything wrong with them, yet they get "libled" because of probs with the others.:(

If you live anywhere near N.C. come on down and be my guest.
 
I had a Colt Defender - sold it. That thing had razor sharp edges on it.

I had Kimber Ultra - sold it, regret it. Very nice piece! Accurate and stone reliable.

I have a Taurus PT145 Millennium Pro. Love it! Accurate and stone reliable - AND it holds 10+1 rounds of whatever .45 load I'm in the mood to carry. Plus it cost less than half of what I paid for either of the first two mentioned above.
 
two Para C6s

Awesome design, compact 1911 package, user friendle LDA trigger.
Try it, you might very well like it.
 
+1 on the Taurus PT145 Millennium Pro. It has a very nice DAO trigger and is as compact a .45 auto you can find, with the possible exception of the Kahr .45, which only holds 6+1. And the PT145 Mil Pro is about half the price.

Lou
 
Another thing about the Taurus PT145 is the fact that while it holds 10 rounds in the magazine, it still feels like a single stack mag. Very easy to grip.

Heck, I just like it. Funny thing is, I (snobbishly) resisted the thought of owning one for quite a while. I only bought it because it was so cheap I figured "what the heck".

Since then, it's by far and away my favorite carry piece.
 
i had a kimber ultra carry ten II and it gave me quite a few problems. i had already made multiple trips to the gunsmith for an auto ordnance and for the kimber bp ten II and i didn't want to fiddle with it. my friend had the EXACT same gun and it has worked fine. don't even try to tell me that i was limp wristing mine because his magically worked when i shot it but mine didn't. sure, could've been mags, recoil springs, etc. etc. the point is that modern 1911s, especially the subcompacts are spoiled little prom queens that cry and moan if you don't spend loads of money on them. i now carry a g23 and usually a g27 as well. the g27 rides in an ankle holster and despite a lack of lubrication and all the grit and lint it picks up from that spot, it still runs like a champ and has never failed. neither has the g23 but it gets treated a little nicer.

in short, i like 1911s and i own a couple. i'd even trust my life to a 1911 - after putting about a thousand rounds through it without a single malfunction. i would not, however, recommend one as a first gun. the gun writers, indeed the gun world seem to be so enamored with the 1911 that to read the gun rags, a new shooter would think he's an irresponsible for for picking anything but "old slabsides" or at the very least, a glock or hk. there are many decent combat pistols out there which will work reliably OUT OF THE BOX. after paying for the pistol, you'll be spending enough on quality leather, tritium sights, flashlight, spare mags and mag pouches and amunition that the last thing you need are multiple, expensive trips to the 'smith. get a glock, get an xd, get a taurus but not the millenium, get a s&w, rugers are great but not compact, get any reputable compact, shoot the crap out of a rental gun of the same model first, then carry and shoot it alot. once you're ready for the possible headache of 1911 ownership, then go for it, but don't trust your life to one to begin with.
 
cutter57,

I highly recommend the Springfield Champion. It is a 4" gun and is a real shooter. They generally do not exhibit the traditional feed problems that you get from the shorter (i.e., 3 1/2", 3") barrel 1911's. I have had both 3" & 3 1/2" 1911's and the 3 1/2" had feeding problems right out of the box. I worked on the gun extensively to try to eliminate them but it never got better. The 3" on the other hand was flawless in it's function. I traded them both for a 4" Wilson CQB Compact I really wanted.

A non-1911 compact I can highly recommend is the newest Taurus PT-145 Millennium Pro. This little 10+1, .45acp hand cannon is like the proverbial Timex Watch....takes a likin' and keeps on tikin'. Mine serves the role as a BUG behind my Champion. I am now reaching over 4000 rounds through the gun with no problems. Yesterday I was at the range and was shooting the Champion when a husband & wife stepped into the lane next to me. He handed her a Kahr 9mm. She told him that she did not like that gun he bought for her. I pulled out my PT-145 and proceeded to chew up a 2" hole in my target at 10 yards. They both looked at me and asked if I was a competition shooter and I said no. Then they asked what gun made that target I handed them the unloaded and action open Taurus. They both shot a full mag from the gun and headed off to the gunstore to buy one.

Mine is the Third Edition with the light rail and polymer frame cracking problems fixed:
attachment.php


This was the target from the first out of the box range session at 15yards:
attachment.php
 
Mine is the Third Edition with the light rail and polymer frame cracking problems fixed:
Click to expand...

my friend is in charge of the gun counter at a pawnshop and sees ALOT of broken milleniums. supposedly they fixed the problems but i still wouldn't touch one, personally. it wasn't just the frame that he was seeing cracked, either. he saw chipped extractors, broken ejectors and a few broken springs in different places. just like the 1911 thing, it's fine if you already have a rock solid pistol that you KNOW to be reliable for defense. if that's the case, then you can play around with other designs and spend the time and ammo on determining their reliability. if that's not the case buy something that has a reputation for reliability from the box, test it as you can and carry it. in my book that means glock, springfield xd, ruger, s&w, hk maybe a very few others. there aren't many companies that put out a product so consistently reliable that i could pick up a new in box specimen, load it and carry it without worry. those above i can say that of and others i can't. sorry but that's the absolute truth and you really shouldn't be playing around with stuff that might work as your ONLY carry weapon. i know you shouldn't do this because i did do it and it took me quite a few iterations to find something that worked right and was comfortable. if i had it to do over again, i'd skip the llama minimax and buy the ruger p90 which was my next purchase, i'd skip the auto ordnance and kimber 1911s and go to the g27 which ended up being a great carry gun and when i wanted just a little more capacity after the ban expired, the g23 still carried comfortably. glock might not be your thing but your "thing" had better be reliable. that might even mean :gasp: a revolver.
 
Oh, I'd LOVE to try one out. Guns Galore here in Lakeland has a P245 used that keeps calling to me. :) But I'm awaiting a P239, and I don't see another pistol in my future for a while, so I don't want to tease myself. :banghead:
thorazine said:
Guess it is time you tried one out!!! :D

Lakeland isn't that far from Palm Harbor.

http://sigforum.com/groupee/forums/a/tpc/f/350601935/m/824104634
Click to expand...
 
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