3" 1911 Reliability- Experiences Needed

[LordTio3]

I got my first 1911 from Churchmouse. It's a Springfield filled with Wilson Combat and Ed Brown parts. I love the thing and it's my favorite range gun (Soon to be competition gun).

I've been thinking for quite some time about carrying a 3" 1911 as my concealed carry firearm.

I've been carrying my Glock 19 for 10 years when I'm not carrying something else for novelty and I shoot it quite well. I shoot my 1911 better, and those 230's make big holes. With a good holster and belt, I'm not afraid of the weight of the 1911's, and I'm fine with the round count. I'm just concerned with reliability.


The internet seems to be full of polarizing opinions on the subject of 3" 1911 reliability. I need some of you Long-Toothed Wisemen to share your Mileage with me. What has been your experience with 3" 1911's and their reliability?


As always, thanks for playing.
Much appreciated.
~LT3

 

[bwframe]

I got my first 1911 from Churchmouse. It's a Springfield filled with Wilson Combat and Ed Brown parts. I love the thing and it's my favorite range gun (Soon to be competition gun).

I've been thinking for quite some time about carrying a 3" 1911 as my concealed carry firearm.

I've been carrying my Glock 19 for 10 years when I'm not carrying something else for novelty and I shoot it quite well. I shoot my 1911 better, and those 230's make big holes. With a good holster and belt, I'm not afraid of the weight of the 1911's, and I'm fine with the round count. I'm just concerned with reliability.


The internet seems to be full of polarizing opinions on the subject of 3" 1911 reliability. I need some of you Long-Toothed Wisemen to share your Mileage with me. What has been your experience with 3" 1911's and their reliability?


As always, thanks for playing.
Much appreciated.
~LT3

View attachment 60329

I tried the exact same thing as you awhile back. Never could get enough rounds through the gun back to back to trust it. Finally traded off the gun.

One of the final straws that broke the camel's back was all the instructors chiming in that they had never seen a 100% reliable 3" 1911 make it through a class.

 

[churchmouse]

I do not like anything shorter than a commander length 1911. For the reasons you hear so much about.
JMHO of course.

I am so glad you enjoy the piece you got from me.

 

[LordTio3]

Yah, most of the "credible" sources that I've heard against the reliability of the Defenders or Officer's models are instructors from Tactical Courses. I'd love the package if I can get a good one that I can trust. I'm just worried about getting one and pouring hundreds of dollars into it and winding up without enough faith to carry it.

 

[wtfd661]

I had a 3" Kimber (oh my God I said Kimber ) and I honestly never had one issue with it for quite a few years and thousands of rounds. If you are concerned about the reliability of a 3" 1911 might want to take a look at other options. Several makers offer 4" and 4 1/4" barrels with Officer size grip frames if you are wanting something easy to conceal carry but the advantage of a longer barrel

 

[LordTio3]

I do not like anything shorter than a commander length 1911. For the reasons you hear so much about.
JMHO of course.

I am so glad you enjoy the piece you got from me.

So does that mean the 4” models don’t tend to have reliability problems in your experience?

Thanks again for your help defending the household for the last few years. I have never been more happy with a handgun.

 

[LordTio3]

*Deleted

 

[churchmouse]

So does that mean the 4” models don’t tend to have reliability problems in your experience?

Thanks again for your help defending the household for the last few years. I have never been more happy with a handgun.

I have found some 4" offerings to be ammo picky but beyond that they run just fine.

 

[NHT3]

I managed a trip to Berryville Arkansas a few years ago and got a tour at Nighthawk. I asked them about the short pistols (I think the shortest they build is 3 1/2".. General consensus there was that they did not like to build them. They said when they work they work fine, when they don't they have a devil of a time figuring out what is wrong with them. It's a simple timing issue. Longer slide pistols have a little more time to get the empty out and a fresh round in. Shorter slide dictates that there is less cycle time so they tend to be less reliable.

[FONT=&amp]NRA Life Member [/FONT]NRA Basic pistol instructor[FONT=&amp] /[/FONT][FONT=&amp] RSO[/FONT]
Glock certified armorer- M&P Certified armorer
[FONT=&amp]“[/FONT]Safety is not something that you hold in your hands, it happens between your ears”
Col. Jeff Cooper

 

[71silverbullet]

I have a 3 inch Colt Defender, it used to be my EDC, I have replaced it now, Mainly for a caliber change. I never had any issues with THIS particular 3 incher. I have heard several stories of non-reliable ones though. I would prefer a commander size over the 3 inch, for reasons that they are usually more reliable, usually handle better, and usually shoot better (USUALLY).

 

[Dean C.]

IMHO 3.5 is the smallest you can go and still get a reliable pistol, my Dan Wesson ECO has been flawless since I bought it though I do have to update this review sometime. As others have said the timing of the pistols is the major issue getting the next round fed fast enough while that short slide goes back and forth. That is why Dan Wesson uses a flat wound recoil spring in the ECO compared to what I call a "round wire" recoil spring in say a Kimber or a Colt.

Next you will want to use exclusively Wilson Combat magazines these babies get next round where it needs to go ASAP and they are the best magazines on the market. You need to watch the magazines because once they get "worn out" you have to replace the springs, I change the spring in my magazines every year. If you use garbage magazines the gun cycles too fast and the rounds will not feed at all, the most extreme example I ever saw was of a Kimber CDP 2 the 230gr hardball pill was stuck almost totally vertically in the magazine rendering the gun useless.

As for ammo my ECO has not been picky and I carry either Federal HST or the Gorilla Silverback FBI Load both using 230gr pills at standard velocity no +P as that moves the slide even faster! Hope this helps and good luck, the Indiana Gun Club has a few ECO's in stock right now if you are looking as well.


https://www.indianagunowners.com/forums/handguns/371475-review-dan-wesson-eco-45-acp.html

1911 Magazine | 7 Round .45 ACP | Compact-http://shopwilsoncombat.com/

(these are the mags you want)

 

[LordTio3]

Well, from this conversation alone, Churchmouse, I hope you’re happy, healthy, and have more time and money than you know what to do with; and if you’ve ever got a 4” compact 1911 you’re just sick of looking at, I’d love a crack at it.

Its really too bad. I’ve held a few Officer’s models and was ready to fall in love.

 

[bobzilla]

Iceberg had a 3.5” and now a 3”. Both super reliable. The 3.5” was a Colt 1991A1 Compact that I damn near stoke from a dealer at one of the 1500’s back in the late 90’s. I put 1500-2000 Ed’s through it and the only two issues I had were both full-size magazine related and a .40 that snuck into the can of .45’s. Funny enough it sti hit the target.

The 3” is an abomination of an ATI with some stuff? Shoots great. After 200 rounds without a failure I figured it was good to go. Doesn’t particularly like flat nosed ammo all that much but it feeds it. One of these days I’ll have Tim take a look at it and tell me if it’s going to explode soon or not.

 

[churchmouse]

Well, from this conversation alone, Churchmouse, I hope you’re happy, healthy, and have more time and money than you know what to do with; and if you’ve ever got a 4” compact 1911 you’re just sick of looking at, I’d love a crack at it.

Its really too bad. I’ve held a few Officer’s models and was ready to fall in love.

I prefer the SA Champion as it has a full size/capacity grip and a 4" ramped bull barrel. Have owned more than a few and none of them hang around very long. People have to have them.

 

[Peacekeeper3073]

I have an older 3in Kimber Ultra Tactical II. It has been a very good and dependable pistol. I got a good one.

 

[VERT]

Invest in a commander sized gun with a bob tail or rounded butt. They carry and conceal well with a proper holster and good belt. In my experience all pistols with a barrel less then about 3.5" tend to be a bit more finicky.

 

[bwframe]

Instructors scream at me when I suggest final testing your carry gun in a many hundred round class. A similar real word usage test would be various competitions where there are numerous draw strokes and shots under the pressure of a timer.

It's easy to lose track that getting a gun hot and dirty, then holstering/drawing numerous times changes the metrics of the gun. Especially when done in a large caliber gun that was cut down from it's original design specs. Also the shooter can vary when pressured beyond a sterile range session.

Is amazing how many "100% reliable" guns come out of the holster malfunctioning when they are pressured beyond the occasional 50 rounds down the pipe for groups.

And yes, I've been that guy. Holding up the class/competition, trying to make my gun work.

 

[IndyDave1776]

If 5 inches was good enough for the sainted John Moses Browning, it should be good enough for anyone!

I couldn't pass up such a good opportunity to be a wiseass!

 

[IndyDave1776]

Here we go again with the double posts.

 

[88E30M50]

I've owned a Kimber Ultra as well as several other officer sized 1911s and a couple of commander sized guns. They all worked well, even including the lowly little RIA Compact. The RIA needed spring changes quite often with a change interval at 400 rounds. The Kimbers both had dual recoil springs and that raised the change interval to something like 800 to 1500 IIRC. I swapped the dual spring setup on my Kimber Compact with a flat wire system from either Wilson or Brown and it's been great with a change interval now in the thousands. I let the Kimber Ultra go several years ago when I decided that I gained more in the shootability of a 4" gun than I lost in carrying experience for the slightly larger gun. The little gun did not shoot poorly at all, but I could just shoot the compact gun better.

If seriously looking at a Kimber, make sure that you compare apples to apples. I've had a good experience with the reliability of my Kimbers, but when you look at what you get for the dollar, a base model Kimber can get pricey. With a base model Kimber, you do not get any front strap texture, weak finish, standard sights, rubber grips and a plastic MSH. For similar or slightly more money, a Sig 1911 will come with night sights, front strap checkering, an aluminum/stainless/steel MSH with checkering, extended controls, G10 grips and a better finish.