Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns 1911s are Not Reliable.

I carried a 1911A1 as a company commander during the first Gulf War. The gun was 100% reliable, despite the conditions. Currently I carry an early Kimber Custom Classic. No problems will all types of ammo, with over a 1000 rounds through it. Most friends, all ex-military and ex-federal agents (customs) have carried 1911's and do so now. The only "bad" 1911 we've come across was a Dan Wesson that has throating issues. An informal poll of these gentlemen about which pistol they would carry in a fight (all wanted a rifle or shotgun, if possible) was a 100% in carrying a 1911A1 in 45ACP. Since these gentlemen have survived several shootouts collectively, I must defer to their wisdom.

Even a 22 derringer is better than nothing, but if trouble ever comes looking for me I hope I have the half - ninety hand cannon handy!
GWN

I have never had a single problem with my Wilson Combat. Thousands of rounds from all ammo manufactures. I won't carry anything else but the 1911.

Well, don't buy anymore and stick with what works for you.



Maybe a good 9mm is your ticket.

DN,

The more I thought about your problems, the worse it got. Now, I just can't live with myself if I don't help you out of that miserable situation you're in.

So, PM me and I'll give you my address. Just ship those three crappy 1911s (the Kimber, the Para, and the EBKC) right to me. I'll make sure to put 'em out to pasture so that they won't bother you anymore. Just consider it a kindly favor...

I think norm is stiring the fire to get a reaction. While I am not a big fan of the 1911's I have never had one fail to fire or jam in anyway even the imports from china. tom

I say he needs to start some case studies with some 9mm's, or maybe 32 ACP's.

I have found the 1911 to be as reliable as anything out there. With that being said, some of them require a little tuning by a skilled gunsmith. Guns like people are individuals and no one sample should represent the breed. I liked my beretta 92 and my glock better after some slight tuning too.

I have shot more rounds through 1911's than all other type of handguns combined. Somewhere in the tens of thousands of rounds. Mine worked just fine with the exception of an early AMT Hardballer. It was the single worst example of a 1911 that I ever witnessed. No one couold make that POS work reliably. While it was a bad example, it was not a fault of the design.

I currently have four 1911's:
Colt Gold Cup, Kimber Classic Gold Match, Springfield loaded and GI model. I would not hesitate to pick up any one of the four and bet my life on it.

YMMV

Definitely not an expert on what makes a 1911 tick, but have heard that if you limp-wrist one even the best 1911 will malfunction.

Personally have never had a malfunction with a 1911.

Hammer

Gee, Norm, that's a shame. My Kimber is approaching 2000 rounds without a bobble, using Wilson, Colt commercial and GI mags. And the bulk of that was Wolf brand Russki hard ball, which is notoriously hard on chambers since it's lacquered. Have brushed the chamber maybe twice.

My other current 1911 is a commercial Colt 1911A1---stock except for novak sights and a trigger job. Had a couple of jams with lead SWCs, mid range loads not strong enough for the springs. Never jammed with full throttle ammo.

Of the other three or four 1911s I've owned, can't say I've ever had a problem with failure to feed or jamming with good ammo and good magazines, after a hundred rounds or so of break in.

Now I did have a parts gun go full auto on me, which was God's revenge for my thinking I was getting it for a steal by paying a widow's asking price of $200, in about 1982 dollars. I quickly turned it back into parts and threw the butchered up "Essex" frame in the river. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> But it fed just fine, even full auto.

for limp wristing it...

I specifically tested all my 1911 for this "problem"

Held in hand very loosly, just enough to hold backstrap safety on and pull trigger. think I used 3 fingers, functioned flawlessly....

can't say I've encountered that problem.

I do know that limp wristing will cause the infamous Glock to malfunction. A co-worker was having great difficulties shooting with a flashlight in the weakhand using various techniques, and her Glock 22 was jamming several times per magazine. It was dark so I didn't see if it was FTFs or FTEs or both. In all fairness to autoloaders, improper shooting form shouldn't be blamed on the gun. If you're luck like Blammer, then great, because it's an extra margin of reliabliltiy, but IMHO most mechanical devices are more reliable than the human running them, and given the right circumstances, most people can manage to cause a malfunction in just about everything.
222

hey norm,

my sympathy partner on this one... i know full well that there are bad eggs in the 1911 basket..... those who would remind us of the military service record of the 1911 are ignoring the fact that a lot of this was for staff officers doing escort duty and such..... a lot of the military 45s were more paperweight than anything else.....

units that issued the 1911A1 to be used, at least in the final years of service, had armorers shooting up case loads of ammo to sort out the good from the bad... i'm speaking from personal experience here... all of my military use of the 1911 came in the late 70s - early 80s when every one knew that the guns were worn out and tired....

FWIW i carried a remington rand all over hells half acre for a few years..... i trusted it completely... it would put'em all in a 2lb coffee can at 15 yds and never, ever fail to function... it was just a security blanket though as i never used it for anything except it helped me sleep someplaces.....

<img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smirk.gif" alt="" /> you sold me that savage to help pay for your ed brown..... reckon i got the clean end of that stick..... it is my go to rifle and i treasure it dearly... i put the factory rear sight in the box that my williams fool proof came out of... it sits on the shelf in my closet...

i'm startin' to feel like a trend setter..... all of my friends were sucks fanatics when i bought my model 70 a few years back..... now most of them are shooting model 70s and at least 2 of them are actively looking for a 99 of their own.....

thanks again, ... john w

Speaking of tired and worn out. I remember carrying a 45 back in mid 1970's. I was an MP and will always remember holding three guys at gunpoint while my partner searched their car. I was hoping they wouldn't hear the slide rattling on my 45. Come to think of it I never fired that pistol, I wonder if it would have fired? <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

I think deputy norm is talking about a 3" 1911, they are more troublesome thana 4" or 5" 1911. By the way my 5" Kimber has over 15,000 rounds through it and has never jammed unless it was do to bad handloads or a shoddy magazine.

Tried something new...cast 262 grain bullets (they clocked 800fps) thru a Charles Daly 1911. The nose of the bullet was as flat as a billboard, yet they fed fine. I have a javelina hunt in Feb. and I am thinking I just might use this load....

I've owned ten or so 1911s of various makes, and most have been as reliable as any Glock or Sig. I have three Colts that are completely reliable. I have two Springfields that are completely reliable. I have a Series I Kimber CDP Compact that is completely reliable (used to have two that were completely reliable, but sold one). I have a Smith and Wesson 1911 that is completely reliable. I had a Wislon CQB Compact that was completely reliable (sold it only because the way it was made made it hard to field strip compared to a standard config 1911).

Interestingly, the most expensive 1911 I've ever purchased is the least reliable. It jams way too often to consider carrying for self defense, and that's an Ed Brown Kobra Carry, which cost me over two grand. I gave it a full thousand rounds of break in too, but after that I sent it back for correction. It was sent back to me without comment, and when I called to find out what work was done to it, Ed said that he just shot it, had no problems with it, and sent it back to me. He said it must have been my fault, i.e., limp wristing or something. This is BS, because none of my other 1911s jam on me, and limp wristing is supposed to only be a problem with lightweight 1911s, which this is not, and I have plenty of lightweight 1911s that are completely reliable. I will never buy or recommend and Ed Brown again. He refuses to do anything to back up his product. Stick with big names like Colt, Smith Wesson and Springfield. The new Series II Kimbers are known to be problematic.

PS Been owning and shooting 1911s since 1980.

TRH,

Does the Kobra use a ramped barrel?

Jog, no, the barrel has no ramp. It is a standard Commander style set up. Why?

P.S., as recommended by someone above, I emailed Ted Yost today, and got a reply same day (Fourth of July, no less) from his partner. He said he gets lots of Ed Browns in for this reason, and has no problem making them reliable. I think I will see what they can do.

TRH,

A ramped barrel usually increases reliability - especially in short slides. The feed angle is less critical and there's no "bump" in the ramp like there is on a two part ramp (frame and slide). I'm pretty sure Springfield uses ramped barrels on all their short slides.

As you know, ramped barrels also usually have fully-supported chambers and are stronger.

Ted Yost can turn your Kobra into a greased machine - there's no doubt in the world.