short barrel, long grip frame 1911

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Fat Boy

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Wanting to know what 1911's have a short barrel and long(er) grip frame- I have handled (never shot/owned) a Kimber Ultra Carry + and liked the grip frame and short barrel/slide configuration. That specific model is hard to find and pricey these days. But wondered about other Kimber models and other makers?
Thank You,
 
Ive never had good luck with 1911's that had a barrel length less than that of the Commanders, and/or those using FLGR's.

I had an early Ultra Carry back in the 90's, and while it was probably the prettiest 1911 Ive owned, it was a dog, and I cant remember it ever making it through a mag without a stoppage. It had a ridiculously low RSA life too.
 
I appreciate the opinions- i am asking if there are other gun manufacturers who make something similar to the Kimber UItra Carry Plus, or Para Executive Carry-
 
Colt made at least run of pistols, for distributor Lew Horton, with a Commander-sized frame and officer’s ACP-sized slide/barrel, the Lieutenant Commander.

Wilson Combat has made the Sentinel Professional, with a very short slide/barrel upper unit, on a Commander-ish frame. I do not know if this is still an available item, from Wilson.
 
Rexster said:
Wilson Combat has made the Sentinel Professional, with a very short slide/barrel upper unit, on a Commander-ish frame. I do not know if this is still an available item, from Wilson.
Click to expand...

If the OP didnt like Kimber prices they dang sure wont like WC, even though they make a number of "short barreled" guns.

i.e. Professional = 4" bull barreled with full size frame.
20211213_094717.jpg
 
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trackskippy said:
Ive never had good luck with 1911's that had a barrel length less than that of the Commanders, and/or those using FLGR's.

I had an early Ultra Carry back in the 90's, and while it was probably the prettiest 1911 Ive owned, it was a dog, and I cant remember it ever making it through a mag without a stoppage. It had a ridiculously low RSA life too.
Click to expand...
Alright, I have to ask, what's RSA?
 
tarosean said:
If the OP didnt like Kimber prices they dang sure wont like WC, even though they make a number of "short barreled" guns.

i.e. Professional = 4" bull barreled with full size frame.
View attachment 1043393
Click to expand...

I admit that I am largely ignorant of current Kimber pricing, because I actively avoid paying attention, but I keep seeing/hearing Kimber being mentioned as a “high-end” 1911. My three 5” Kimbers, which were the “early” ones, pre-FP-safety, made in the Nineties, were beautifully-fitted and finished, visually, but had such functioning problems, that I swore-off Kimber, forever, by 2002. Three up, three down. Kimber struck out. Perhaps I bought the only three bad Kimbers ever made, but, I’d tried enough times, on a working street cop’s salary. I turned my attention to other brands.
 
Depends on how short, as noted 4” bull barrels can be had by a few makers, Wilson, Dan Wesson and Kimber to name a few. I like the 4” barrel over the commander 4.25 for balance and seeing the front site with my eyes reasons.

I think maybe I saw something by BUL with a super short barrel and long grip at some point, and I think Wilson makes, or made, a Super Sentinel with the longer grip and < 4” barrel
 
Rexster said:
Perhaps I bought the only three bad Kimbers ever made
Click to expand...

trackskippy said:
You werent the only one.
Click to expand...

Kimber picked up a reputation of bad QC for a while... likely deserved... but I think it's a little unfair to dump all that on Kimber when '80's era Colts, for example, are also known to be pretty crappy... I know, I had two.... and other manufacturers as well, and this isn't limited to automatics, but revolvers, too. 1911 guys are pretty legion, so when word gets out, it becomes legend. FWIW, I consider most Kimber 1911's a 'mid-range' pistol, not a high-end pistol... although some features will jack the price up into high-end territory, it's still just a mid-range pistol with farkle on it.

I knew nothing about all this when I bought my first Kimber... I was happy as a pig in slop. Liked it so much, I bought another a few years later, but in alloy. Personally, after shooting the 4" 1911 for 20 years, a standard 5" 1911 seems like a boat oar compared, but I don't know if I'd really like a 3". Just my personal preference.

RjHHcJwl.jpg

My 2... Pro Eclipse II on top, plain vanilla Pro Carry (pre-II) on bottom.
 
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Charlie98 said:
Kimber picked up a reputation of bad QC for a while... likely deserved... but I think it's a little unfair to dump all that on Kimber when '80's era Colts, for example, are also known to be pretty crappy... I know, I had two.... and other manufacturers as well, and this isn't limited to automatics, but revolvers, too. 1911 guys are pretty legion, so when word gets out, it becomes legend. FWIW, I consider most Kimber 1911's a 'mid-range' pistol, not a high-end pistol... although some features will jack the price up into high-end territory, it's still just a mid-range pistol with farkle on it.

I knew nothing about all this when I bought my first Kimber... I was happy as a pig in slop. Liked it so much, I bought another a few years later, but in alloy. Personally, after shooting the 4.25" 1911 for 20 years, a standard 5" 1911 seems like a boat oar compared, but I don't know if I'd really like a 3". Just my personal preference.

View attachment 1044664

My 2... Pro Eclipse II on top, plain vanilla Pro Carry (pre-II) on bottom.
Click to expand...

Arent he Kimber Pro models 4” and not 4.25? My Pro Carry was a 4”
 
I have a 3” Kimber 1911, I got 1/4” of the 1/2” difference back by adding a magwell/mainspring housing to it.

It’s a two piece, a one piece is straighter.

That also got rid of the plastic mainspring housing it came with.

index.php
 
A couple of data points from the Wilson Combat FAQ page regarding short slides and tall columns of heavy ammo...

https://www.wilsoncombat.com/handgun-faqs/

The basic functional difference between a full-size (as John Browning designed it) 1911 pistol and a compact version with a 4.25” or shorter barrel is slide mass and speed. Basically anytime you reduce mass and propel it with the same energy you will get faster cycle speed. Why does this matter? The pistol needs a certain amount of time to eject a fired case, allow the magazine to lift, position the next round for proper feeding and chamber the round. When slide mass is reduced the slide cycle speed increases and there may not be time for this to all happen properly.
Click to expand...


All the mechanical changes are important, but the biggest factor is ammunition selection because it affects both slide cycle speed and the magazine’s ability to lift the cartridge into position for proper feeding. Ammunition loaded with 230gr bullets generate more recoil impulse (especially +P loads) than 185gr loads, and 7 rounds of 185gr ammunition weighs 315gr less than 7 rounds of 230gr ammunition, making the column of ammunition easier for the magazine spring to lift. I hope you see where I’m going here?
Click to expand...
 
JTQ said:
A couple of data points from the Wilson Combat FAQ page regarding short slides and tall columns of heavy ammo...
Click to expand...

Interesting. When I first bought my Pro Eclipse, right before I had to qualify with it for my CHL, I started having feeding problems with the 2nd round in the magazine. This is when I realized the recoil length of the 4" pistol was shorter than a standard... something I never realized until then. A change to the CMC PowerMags fixed my problem... but there is certainly something to the 'short slide' feeding issue.
 
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