Pick a 1911: Full size vs. Commander Length

[Pawpaw]

But that's a 4" gun, not a Commander length!

[SQLGeek]

Oh well so it is. I was looking more at the Ruger SR1911 CMD anyways.

[sugar land dave]

Full size works for me.

[Charles L. Cotton]

Excalibur got me to thinking about light weight Commanders again so I started looking at the usual places, including Budsgunshop.com and suffered a severe case of sticker shock! I guess it's been a while since I bought a 1911.

My routine is to buy a Colt, then take it to Ed Vanden Berg for a Briley barrel, Ed Brown trigger group, grip safety and bushing, and Novak sights. Paying $500 to $700 for the raw material is one thing, but I'm not paying $1,100 for a frame and slide. I wish Caspian still made aluminum frames, but they quit several years ago. They sell a titanium frame at twice the price of carbon or stainless steel and I know a lot of custom pistolsmiths won't work on titanium frames because they are tough on tools. I don't know about Vanden Berg, but I'm not buying a titanium frame anyway.

Oh well, I guess I'll be carrying my "heavy" steel guns.

Chas.

[LTUME1978]

Have you ever thought about something like a M&P 45 compact? It has a 4 inch barrel (with none of the issues of a 4 inch barreled 1911 - more on that later) and a short grip for easy concealment. The standard mag holds 8 + 1 in the tube and you can use a full size mag with the grip extender for the back up (holds 10 rounds). They are very comfortable for all day carry.

I started shooting M&Ps at the recommendation of Charles and others at PSC about the time that Mr. Obama got elected for the first time. I had been away from pistol shooting for 25 years and my prior experience had been with 1911s but went with their recommendation for the M&P. I now have several very nice full size 1911s but my M&Ps are my "go to" pistols. I have burned through almost 24 pounds of titegroup (45 and 9) with several different M&Ps (don't know round count but it is a bunch). There are utterly reliable and very accurate for what they are (they are not bullseye pistols). The only stage I have ever won at PSC IDPA match was set up with 3 targets at 35 yards. I had 5 in the zero down and the 6th shot was just outside the circle (that was with a full size M&P 45). Not bad accuracy for a self defense pistol.

If you want a 1911, stay with the commander length (4 1/4 inch). I had a Kimber 4" Super Carry Pro for a very short time. Significant issues with failure to feed and failure to eject. Kimber finally bought it back from me. I may have gotten a lemon but I have heard of others that had similar issues with the 4 inch barrel 1911. I was told that I could take it to a smith here in Houston that could probably fix it for $4-5 hundred but I had no desire to throw more money at the thing.

[SQLGeek]

I tend to favor polymer guns so I've thought quite a bit about the M&P 45 mid-size or full size. I like that these offer a 10+1 capacity. The primary duty for this gun will be as a house gun, for the range and competition shooting. Carry is a consideration but not my primary one. I also like that the M&P 45 has a rail so I can put a light on it. I think I'm down to an M&P 45 or a Ruger 1911.

I alluded to it in my initial post but the reason I asked the question is that there is a very good chance that my family and I will be returning to California in the next year. The gnashing of teeth has already begun on my part but the reasons why are for another thread.

Not only does California have a 10 round magazine limit but they also have the infernal Certified Handgun Roster which you can view here: http://certguns.doj.ca.gov/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

If the handgun is not on the roster, you can't buy it from a dealer or have it shipped into the state (the police are exempt of course). You can buy it from a private seller but those guns usually command a premium. If you notice, the only S&W Semi-Autos on the list are the Shields and there are no Ruger semi-autos at all. There is an exception for people moving into the state in that they can bring with them their off list handguns.

I've been a 9mm owner since I started shooting handguns determined mainly by cost and capacity. I like and shoot a .45 well enough. Since I'm being hampered to 10 rounds, I figured a .45 for a house gun is the way to go and since everything I'm looking at is not on the California handgun roster, I figure I better get it now so I can take it with me.

If I manage to get a License to Carry in CA, I probably won't carry anything other than my Shield due to the gun climate there. I'd like the option to carry the .45 but it's not a priority.

And before anyone asks, yes I am nuts.

[Excaliber]

Excalibur got me to thinking about light weight Commanders again so I started looking at the usual places, including Budsgunshop.com and suffered a severe case of sticker shock! I guess it's been a while since I bought a 1911.

My routine is to buy a Colt, then take it to Ed Vanden Berg for a Briley barrel, Ed Brown trigger group, grip safety and bushing, and Novak sights. Paying $500 to $700 for the raw material is one thing, but I'm not paying $1,100 for a frame and slide. I wish Caspian still made aluminum frames, but they quit several years ago. They sell a titanium frame at twice the price of carbon or stainless steel and I know a lot of custom pistolsmiths won't work on titanium frames because they are tough on tools. I don't know about Vanden Berg, but I'm not buying a titanium frame anyway.

Oh well, I guess I'll be carrying my "heavy" steel guns.

Chas.

Charles, you may want to take a look at these guns. With these, I don't think you'd need to make all the changes you listed to get a gun that would meet your preferences:

Springfield lightweight champion operator

STI Duty One Lightweight 4.0

[BigD1951]

If you want a 1911, stay with the commander length (4 1/4 inch). I had a Kimber 4" Super Carry Pro for a very short time. Significant issues with failure to feed and failure to eject. Kimber finally bought it back from me. I may have gotten a lemon but I have heard of others that had similar issues with the 4 inch barrel 1911. I was told that I could take it to a smith here in Houston that could probably fix it for $4-5 hundred but I had no desire to throw more money at the thing.

Just as an informational note I have picked up a couple of the 4" Kimbers cheap just because of this reason, and the problem is only $30 to fix. Kimber used recoil springs that were too light from the factory. If you replace them with a set of Wolf springs they will function flawlessly.

[Charles L. Cotton]

Excalibur got me to thinking about light weight Commanders again so I started looking at the usual places, including Budsgunshop.com and suffered a severe case of sticker shock! I guess it's been a while since I bought a 1911.

My routine is to buy a Colt, then take it to Ed Vanden Berg for a Briley barrel, Ed Brown trigger group, grip safety and bushing, and Novak sights. Paying $500 to $700 for the raw material is one thing, but I'm not paying $1,100 for a frame and slide. I wish Caspian still made aluminum frames, but they quit several years ago. They sell a titanium frame at twice the price of carbon or stainless steel and I know a lot of custom pistolsmiths won't work on titanium frames because they are tough on tools. I don't know about Vanden Berg, but I'm not buying a titanium frame anyway.

Oh well, I guess I'll be carrying my "heavy" steel guns.

Chas.

Charles, you may want to take a look at these guns. With these, I don't think you'd need to make all the changes you listed to get a gun that would meet your preferences:

Springfield lightweight champion operator

STI Duty One Lightweight 4.0

Thanks, I have three Springfields and they are very good guns. I did have trigger jobs done, but that's a minor change.

Chas.

[Pawpaw]

The Dan Wesson Guardian I posted above doesn't need even a trigger job.

The only thing I've done to mine is to replace the trigger itself with a short smooth C&S trigger and I did that myself in about 30 minutes.

[KinnyLee]

I carry either my SA Pro or CZ/Dan Wesson CBOB. I do prefer my Pro because of more aggressive checkering, but I do carry my CBOB more while I go exercise because it is stainless steel. Both stock with no mods, and carry the same to me.