My Defective Wilson 1911 Part 2

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If you buy another 1911 someday, it's probably better just to stick with a 5" or 4 1/4" 1911 of traditional design.

Short barreled 1911, in total, just seem to have more problems.

I don't think that fact is lost on Baer or Brown...they don't produce any.
 
I'm glad to hear that your dealer stood behind their word, even though the pistol did not meet your expectations. Give that dealer your business, even if it's just ammo! They deserve it!

I have to wonder how your pistol would have performed without the shock buff, and/or in another shooter's hands. It's just odd that the gun apparently worked in Arkansas but not Alaska. Shortened 1911s do have a reputation for being finicky though.

It's a shame that you are tossing in the towel on 1911s, there are a lot of great, reliable ones out there. It sounds like you already have a good gun selection though. Perhaps in the future you will try another 1911 without making such a large financial investment, and find it not only meets, but exceeds your expectations. I hope you do.
 
Youre not alone. Having worked a few gun counters you see quite a few disappointed customers. From rock island up to wilson 1911s have earned their reps as finnicky. I myself own a few and will get more but I see where you are coming from. If you can spend the money and get a Baer, Wilson, Nighthawk go for it but that gun had better work the first time and every time with all ammo.

My 1911s have had a couple rough patches and I havent submitted them to the abuse I force my sigs and glocks into.


In my opinion, in 45acp THE stand up gun for me is the SIG p220. Ive had the best luck (or good engineering) with them. They feed anything, shoot while caked in mud, covered and dried in sand, or after thousands of rounds and sitting in a range bag for months.

Now that they have a single action only option maybe a few cocked and locked enthusiasts might be interested.
 
Thanks XavierBreath

I will most certainly spend all of my gun & ammo money with Great Northern Guns, as they have earned my long-term business....

I'm sure I'll warm back up to 1911s. I do love my Colt. As far as 1911s go I think that they are the best pistol in every way except for reliability on the compact ones - I think the full size 1911s are great, but I am currently in to more compact designs....

I also think Wilsons are wonderfull, and their service is top notch.
 
"I'll never buy another custom 1911"

Remember, you didn't buy a custom gun, you purchased a high end production gun. For the same money (actually less than you paid for the Wilson) you can have a true custom gun built to your specs/needs. If there's any issues, or the gun needs tweaking/adjustments, you can take it back to the smith, assuming you use one that is local/regional. I have had two SnW 1911s that were dead on right out of the box, and one custom made, which did need some tuning/tweaking to be perfect, but perfect (for my needs) it is. I agree with Hilton Yam

" The 1911 is an aficionado's weapon, and still has a place in the modern arsenal for those who are dedicated to it. With proper setup and maintenance, the 1911 can serve you like no other weapon."

Personally, I view the 1911 as the Formula 1 of guns, and Glocks, HK, Sigs, etc as the NASCAR guns. They all have their place, but nothing compares to a good 1911 in the hands of a good shooter.

I agree with others here also, Les B's seem to be the most trouble free high end production guns right out of the box when looking at subjective feedback from people. That's what I would get if I were in the market for a production gun that $$$ range personally, but again, I would have one built (as I did) before I went that route.
 
Final;

Were you aware that H&K now sells a USP compact .45 Tactical. That's with the O ring and the threaded barrel? I've been trying to ignore the devil on my shoulder, but well hell, I'm only human.

:evil: 900F
 
I just couldn't see myself paying that kinda money for a pistol, even if I did have the extra money to do so. I'm a big Springfield Armory fan, and that's all I've had experience with. With 2 grand, I'd probably go for an AR, and lots of ammo. Eventually I will buy a factory custom 1911, but it would probably be the Springfield Loaded model.
 
As an earlier poster noted, if you lose faith in Wilson, which you probably shouldn't, remember there is Les Baer. My only regret is that living in California, not all LB models are available here. Inherently reliable and accurate after many 1000's of rounds downrage.
 
Final;

Were you aware that H&K now sells a USP compact .45 Tactical. That's with the O ring and the threaded barrel? I've been trying to ignore the devil on my shoulder, but well hell, I'm only human.
Click to expand...

Sounds interesting : )
 
Hilton Yam will build you a real custom 1911 too. At present, he is backlogged indefinitely though.
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He does do incredible work. Another route you can take is buy a Springfield Mil-Spec or Colt and buy what parts you want from hilton. Then all you have to do is send it off to the Springfield Custom Shop and have them do the work. Hilton has done some collaborative work with the Springfield and it is very nice. I just did this with my Mil-Spec.
 
Posted by finalcut:
My expectations of a $2,450 gun is that I can put at least 1,000 rounds through it without any malfunctions.

Final, I have a couple of questions here:

First: Which model did you purchase for that price?? I have two Wilsons that I bought brand new for much less than 2K, a CQB and stainless Professional.

Second: Wilson states that you should not clean or relube within the first 500 rounds. To me that is for break-in purposes.

Third: I could have missed it, but did you try different ammo??? I have never hand any problems with my MagTec or Federal, but a buddy that has a CQB has all kinds of function problems with Winchester & Hornady. He can shoot WWB, Federal, and MagTec all day without any problems.

Just trying to get some information here and offer up some suggestions.

I have several thousand rounds through both of my Wilsons and have only had two problems. At about 1800 rounds I had one of my MagTec cases stick in the chamber of the CQB and I had to drive it out with a wood dowel. Used Wilsons chamber brush on it and never had another problem. The other was one mag full of Federal HydraShoks had all kinds of feeding problems with my Professional. I sent the mag back to Wilson and they returned a new one with two other new mags for my trouble.

I am sorry to hear that you have has such problems with yours & I am glad that your dealer is refunding your money. All brands can have problems, but for the kind of money we are paying for the better ones, they should work.

bigmike45
 
Wilson Sentinel ( 3.8" barrel or so ) compact 1911

I did everyting byu the book as far as taking it out & shooting - no cleaning or lube.... Then after sending it in & getting back from repair I took it out and followed Wilsons instruction - still malfunctions.... The first time I ran Remington, & Federal. The second time Remington ( which they said should work great ).

I wanted that gun & I wanted it to work.... When it became obviouse that it was a dud, I gave up on it.

Like you - I think Wilson is great, but the whole thing has made me rethink 2,500 guns when my two XDs are running like tops ( thousands of rounds ) at a fraction of the price. I own pistols for one reason - Self D. The XDs have everyting I need for that:)
 
finalcut,

That explains the cost. The Sentinel is a very nice gun, and the only reason I did not buy it was because they came out with the Professional in stainless. I am sorry to hear you are not happy with the Wilson.

Your statement about the XD is very true. I have one, the XD45 Service, and it has been flawless. Had I bought it before Wilsons, I would probably not have them. I do enjoy shooting my Wilsons. They are extremely accurate and reliable in their operation. The XD45 and Wilson Professional share hip carry. Though I love the XD, I am and always will be a 1911 guy.

Good Luck and I am glad to see that your dealer is refunding your money!!!

bigmike45
 
In my opinion, in 45acp THE stand up gun for me is the SIG p220. Ive had the best luck (or good engineering) with them. They feed anything, shoot while caked in mud, covered and dried in sand, or after thousands of rounds and sitting in a range bag for months.
Click to expand...

The most problematic jammo matic I own is my SIG p220 ST, Its going back to sig for the second time in a year shortly. My Kimber Custom Classic Target 1998 has about 20,000 rounds through it and its flawless (it even has a blue shok buff in it). My kimber TLE II 2004 which I shot an hour ago is also flawless at about 5000 rounds fired.

Dont give up on 1911's they are great guns and are very reliable and accurate.
 
In my opinion, in 45acp THE stand up gun for me is the SIG p220. Ive had the best luck (or good engineering) with them. They feed anything, shoot while caked in mud, covered and dried in sand, or after thousands of rounds and sitting in a range bag for months.
Click to expand...

The most problematic jammo matic I own is my SIG P220 ST, Its going back to sig for the second time in a year shortly, this time it wont lock back on an empty mag.

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=190592&highlight=SIG+P220+jams
$800 for a gun and I expect it to work, SIG told me it needed 500 round break in to be reliable (Horse CRAP)

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=192908

My Kimber Custom Classic Target 1998 has about 20,000 rounds through it and its flawless (it even has a blue shok buff in it). My kimber TLE II 2004 which I shot an hour ago is also flawless at about 5000 rounds fired.
Neither of my $700 Kimbers needed any break-in and they are tight and accurate, and reliable with all kinds of ammo even my underpowered mouse fart target Semi wadcutter loads that my P220 chokes on.

Dont give up on 1911's they are great guns and are very reliable and accurate, but anyone can make a lemon.
 
I would give it another go if I were you. YOu want a target pistol with perfect tolerences, the wilson will provide.
Ask them for a brand NEW one, same model, or different, maybe you want something else? but they are willing to give you a refund, that is ****ing awesome, I would give it one more shot though.
Theres no way you will get two in a row like that, like the other guy said, every company has a lemon once in a while.
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Not too many dealers will stand behind their products these days... let alone the gun manufacturers.

Kel-Tec, Glock, and Browning are the only three I have personally dealt with that did and I can name a few with huge $$$ tags that didnt (Yes I enjoy shooting alot). Though I wont probably spend the money on a Wilson 1911. Kimber is the highest premium mark-up manufacturer of 1911s I am willing to pay for one.
 
Just go buy a new recent production Colt 1911. If there is one 1911 that will probably run right out of the box 100% its going to be a Colt.
 
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