Hello. My personal hands-on experience with 1911 longslides is limited to primarily two pistols. One is an STI Trojan chambered in 9mm. The other is a Caspian frame/slide "home build in .45 ACP.
Though the extra inch of slide/bbl doesn't seem much by the sound of it or on paper, to me it makes the guns seem considerably larger than expected. That said, even though probably
not the "best" size for most folks' intended uses, the longslide is my favorite version of the 1911 pattern pistol.
I have read the accounts of other folks saying that the longslide offers less felt recoil to just the opposite; they "kick" more. Who is telling the truth? I think that both are because felt recoil is so subjective. In .45 ACP, I note no real difference in felt recoil from my longslide Caspian compared to other all-steel 5" 1911-type pistols. In 9mm, the longslide offers very little felt recoil with very warm loads but I think this is a function of the gun's weight compared to many 9mm pistols, which are usually smaller and lighter. (I am considering building or buying a 5" 9mm 1911-pattern pistol in the near future.)
Using a 17-lb conventional recoil spring in my longslide .45 seems to work just fine with loads ranging from a handloaded 200-gr. CSWC at about 880 ft/sec from the 6" bbl to 230-gr. JHP's in the 950 ft/sec range. I note no "slowness" or "sluggishness" in the slide movement. There
seems to be
maybe less muzzle flip than my 5" pistols, but if this is the case, it's close. I really cannot say for positive. To me the 5" steel 1911 and the 6" recoil about the same.
I have not found the 6" to be more mechanically accurate than a 5", providing both are built to the same level of close fitting and so forth. I definitely
do find that the longer sight radius combined with my getting-older-every-day eyes allows me to better shoot the 6" gun with regard to accuracy.
I honestly doubt that I'm shooting anywhere close to this longslide Caspian's mechanical accuracy limits. These groups are certainly not as nice as some shooters can get, but I find it easier to obtain them with the 6" gun than its 5" mate.
These two Caspian 1911's have almost exactly the same features, the triggers being the primary differences. The main difference is the extra inch of bbl and slide. Both group better than I can and I honestly cannot tell much if any felt recoil reduction in the longslide vs the 5". To me, the 6" remains one of the most elegant and best looking versions of Mr. Browning's famous design.
Were I going to get a 1911-pattern handgun for use that might include carry, be it open or concealed as well as range visits and maybe some handgun hunting of critters, I'd probably go with the 5" gun first...BUT if I liked the 1911 design of pistol and decided to add more, the longslide would be on my short list, probably at the top.
Both of these pistols have proven reliable in the extreme and so has my 6" STI Trojan in 9mm.
Best and good luck.
