What is it that makes the 5inch 1911 more reliable?

[HisSoldier]

I don't know for a fact but it's probable that written explanations of the function of the 1911 are more available here in this forum than anywhere else. There are a lot of sites that do well at this but THR is really great considering that it's not a 1911 only site. Thanks for all the insights guys, know that it's appreciated.

BTW, my Officer's is very reliable, I swapped out the spring with an IMSI flatwire without a FLGR and it seems to love everything I feed it. When one reads about the problems inherent in short 1911's it seems amazing that any of them work well.

 

[tz99]

??

Mass - the quantity of matter as determined from its weight or from Newton's second law of motion.

 

[JoeSlomo]

I always get a kick out of the gun shop commandos who say the design is unreliable and antiquated.

Me too...

 

[1911Tuner]

When one reads about the problems inherent in short 1911's it seems amazing that any of them work well.

It's not that it's a bad idea or even a bad design. It's just that it has so many things working against it. Always harder to downsize than to upsize.

Mass - the quantity of matter as determined from its weight or from Newton's second law of motion.

Yes. In order to try to keep it simple, I mentioned that...for the discussion...we'd equate mass with weight, even though they're not the same thing.

 

[Harvey]

I don't know for a fact but it's probable that written explanations of the function of the 1911 are more available here in this forum than anywhere else. There are a lot of sites that do well at this but THR is really great considering that it's not a 1911 only site. Thanks for all the insights guys, know that it's appreciated.

BTW, my Officer's is very reliable, I swapped out the spring with an IMSI flatwire without a FLGR and it seems to love everything I feed it. When one reads about the problems inherent in short 1911's it seems amazing that any of them work well.

Agreed.

Other than my long-dead father's Black Army Colt, all of the 1911's I've ever had have been 3 1/2" ... and all have functioned well. In fact they have met or exceeded my humble capabilities in Limited Class IPSC and IDPA competition. No complaints ... only praise for the shorties' performances. My thinking regarding the OM-length pistol is 'shoot in competition' the same weapon that one would also 'carry concealed on the street'.

The secret (well, certainly no secret) has been the use of simple full-length guide rods (some debate over usefullness) and 24# recoil springs, changed every 1K rounds.

Beyond that, simply keep the barrel feet snug to the release pin, the link relaxed, the barrel lugs well mated to the slide, the barrel married precisely to the bushing ... and all is well in terms of feed and accuracy.

If you ask me, shorties' rock.

 

[KodiakBeer]

This has been very interesting and educational, but when you look past all the technical data you'll often find one commonality in 1911 "gripe" threads (which this thread clearly isn't).
Somebody buys a 1911 from whatever manufacturer, and then begins to gripe because it won't shoot a particular brand of hollowpoint right out of the box - more often than not Gold Dots. Twenty people immediately chime in with advice ranging from "send it back to the company" to "shoot 500 rounds to break it in" to "have a gunsmith throat your chamber" to "those guns are junk and you should have bought brand X 1911 (or a Glock)".

In owning and shooting many 1911's (in various lengths, styles, manufacturers) over the years, I've found a way to beat this "issue" without resorting to any expense or angst or mechanical fixes. Simply choose your ammo based on its feed profile rather than the latest gelatin test showing a .02 greater expansion or penetration than the next brand. My choice is Hydra-Shoks because a simple glance at the narrowed nose profile shows that it's near impossible to hang one up. I switched over many years ago and have had a zero failure rate since doing so - with a variety of 1911's. And the Hydra-Shok is always at or near the top of the pile in whatever test somebody uses anyway, so I'm sacrificing nothing in terminal performance.

My advice to anyone griping about their pistol not feeding a particular brand of HP, is to simply switch to another brand. Don't get stressed, don't send it back, don't pay a gunsmith to "fix" the gun, just use a better designed hollowpoint.

 

[1911Tuner]

My advice to anyone griping about their pistol not feeding a particular brand of HP, is to simply switch to another brand.

While I can agree in theory...manufacturing variations from lot to lot in overall length, bullet shape, and even pressure/velocity numbers can turn a pet load into a pill. I've seen that happen with as little as .010 inch change in seating depth..with hardball.

Modern 1911 barrels come with chamber throats...ramps...that are relieved for smooth feed, and they should readily accept any reasonable bullet shape, provided the frame ramp and other dimensions are correct. I have several unaltered, original USGI pistols dating from 1916 to 1945 that can't tell the difference between ball and hollowpoint and lead SWC...and they'll feed it from the old GI "Hardball" type magazines. In fact, my 1919 "Black Army Colt" is quite fond of my home cast 200 grain SWC and 6 grains of Unique. Due to its age and soft steel, I haven't shot it more than about 200 times, but it's never choked, and it'll put'em into about 3 inches at 50 yards from a rest...and it shoots to point of aim.

 

[KodiakBeer]

It's not a problem I've encountered much either, but rather than micro-analyze the seating depth or lot # (or blame the pistol), just look at the profile of the bullet in question. When you compare various brands, it's obvious that some give more thought to feed profile than others. I'm just talking about HP's here.

It's probable that once a gun has been shot for a while, it will become more tolerant and shoot a wider variety of profiles, lengths, whatever, but why worry about it? Just choose the ammo with the best feed profile.

In short, I guess I'm pointing out that people give an enormous amount of thought to the caliber, make, model of gun, but very little to their ammo. People tend to choose whatever ammo brand is getting the most press lately.

I've taken a six or seven year hiatus from gun forums and am just now getting back (more time now) and seeing a pattern - dozens of threads that can be boiled down to "My new gun is junk because it isn't reliable with Gold Dots". It doesn't seem to occur to anyone that maybe the problem is with the Gold Dots...

 

[JoeSlomo]

Just choose the ammo with the best feed profile.

Yea...but....but....only HOLLOW POINTS can effectively stop threats, and brand X is superior to brand Y!!!!!!





I agree in that folks get far too hung up on the results of ballistic gelatin tests when they should be more concerned about WHAT FIRES EVERY TIME when they pull the trigger.

Folks were stopping threats with lead balls LOOOONG before the advent of "ultra-dynamic-tactical-raptor-shock-extreme-ultimate" hollow points.

I will use reloaded plated ball ammo that shoots every time over some wazoo boutique round with a profile so FUBAR it could choke Linda Lovelace.