1911’s in general, 9mm versions specifically

[huntsman22]

Compact uses CZ-75 mags. I've been running the hell out of a Compact for awhile, and love it.

My favorite 9......

 

[WestTN2288]

So I’ve seen tisas and girsan mentioned, but what about the other cheap name brands? Specifically Rock Island.

Probably just as importantly, what are the things we’re looking for on these cheaper guns to know that you can add Forms part list and feel confident that I am more likely than not, going to end up with a Glock level of reliability? Also, I’m still stuck between whether I am going for a 9 or 45, so I’d be glad to hear what you’ve got on either.

Sorry, I’m not a 1911 guy, but this has perked my interests. Thanks in advance

 

[RockAndSage]

Also, I’m still stuck between whether I am going for a 9 or 45, so I’d be glad to hear what you’ve got on either

This can be a very tribal question, which tends to get people emotionally-driven, identity-oriented answers when you ask around. Think of the truth more as a spectrum of priorities, advantages, and limitations.

I spent about a decade each shooting .45 ACP, .40 S&W, and 9mm, and currently shoot 9mm exclusively for EDC, shifting as I got notable advantages out of each. A big part of that shift has also been the advancements in defensive bullet technology across the last 15 years.

There are pages of details, but the bottom-line points on the cartridge differences are:

- People tend to shoot 9mms more accurately, and more quickly accurately, than .45s, for the same reason they shoot .22LR and .223/5.56 better than .300 Win Mags.

- Lower recoiling also makes guns more pleasant to shoot, so people shoot more.

- Ammo for 9mm is often half the cost of .45ACP, also leading people to practice more.

- You get more ammo in 1 magazine of 9mm over .45.

- 9mm is often less than half the weight of .45, which is a big deal when you're carrying it miles, or even EDC in some cases.

- The advancements in bullet technology have led to there being, essentially, zero statistical difference in reality-based studies of shootings between the effectiveness of modern 9mm, 40, and .45.

So, bottom line on why 9mm: Quicker accuracy, more ammo, less recoil, identical effectiveness, and cheaper to practice with, leading to overall better shooting performance both immediately and especially over training cycles for the individual.

You'll get guys trying to dismiss any one of these points, but they tend to be stuck in a tribal-identity or binary, black/white thinking with how they argue it. Rather than looking at it as a spectrum of priorities, advantages, and limitations. There's nothing 'wrong' with .40 or .45, they just have different limitations, which matter more or less based on your priorities. I'd be just fine carrying one of my .45s or 40s into a violent encounter. Absolutely fine. But fine is not high-performance.

 

[Bc45]

So I was doing some research going to buy a tisas b9r but I am only finding double stack versions. Living in Hawaii we are stupid and only can have 10 round mags. I know they can pin the mags but what are some other good 1911 options that are single stack and are already cut for sight?

 

[NSI]

So I was doing some research going to buy a tisas b9r but I am only finding double stack versions. Living in Hawaii we are stupid and only can have 10 round mags. I know they can pin the mags but what are some other good 1911 options that are single stack and are already cut for sight?

I think judging by the posts above if you're looking for a scaled down single stack carry 9mm 1911, you'd want to buy an EMP and have someone like Impact Machine, Jaegerwerks, Monsoon, etc cut it for your sight of choice.

If you want a full size poverty pony single stack that's not a Tisas, the Girsan MC1911 appears to be a budget option...

If less budget, a Kimber (ugh) Aegis Elite / KHX Pro / Custom LW? This Colt?

If no budget, this Wilson? Any of these Dan Wessons?


-J

 

[WestTN2288]

This can be a very tribal question, which tends to get people emotionally-driven, identity-oriented answers when you ask around. Think of the truth more as a spectrum of priorities, advantages, and limitations.

I spent about a decade each shooting .45 ACP, .40 S&W, and 9mm, and currently shoot 9mm exclusively for EDC, shifting as I got notable advantages out of each. A big part of that shift has also been the advancements in defensive bullet technology across the last 15 years.

There are pages of details, but the bottom-line points on the cartridge differences are:

- People tend to shoot 9mms more accurately, and more quickly accurately, than .45s, for the same reason they shoot .22LR and .223/5.56 better than .300 Win Mags.

- Lower recoiling also makes guns more pleasant to shoot, so people shoot more.

- Ammo for 9mm is often half the cost of .45ACP, also leading people to practice more.

- You get more ammo in 1 magazine of 9mm over .45.

- 9mm is often less than half the weight of .45, which is a big deal when you're carrying it miles, or even EDC in some cases.

- The advancements in bullet technology have led to there being, essentially, zero statistical difference in reality-based studies of shootings between the effectiveness of modern 9mm, 40, and .45.

So, bottom line on why 9mm: Quicker accuracy, more ammo, less recoil, identical effectiveness, and cheaper to practice with, leading to overall better shooting performance both immediately and especially over training cycles for the individual.

You'll get guys trying to dismiss any one of these points, but they tend to be stuck in a tribal-identity or binary, black/white thinking with how they argue it. Rather than looking at it as a spectrum of priorities, advantages, and limitations. There's nothing 'wrong' with .40 or .45, they just have different limitations, which matter more or less based on your priorities. I'd be just fine carrying one of my .45s or 40s into a violent encounter. Absolutely fine. But fine is not high-performance.

I guess I could’ve been more clear, but I currently have a family of Glock 9mm’ and don’t feel under gunned, ever. I’m totally on board with a 9mm having me covered.

45 is just fun and kind of feels right in the 1911. Also, I’m not a fan of safe queens, but I really enjoy guns that are practical, functional, and cheap enough that cost doesn’t keep me from second guessing #s 1 and 2. Let’s be clear, 45 is in consideration because it’s fun.

 

[Braaap]

So I was doing some research going to buy a tisas b9r but I am only finding double stack versions. Living in Hawaii we are stupid and only can have 10 round mags. I know they can pin the mags but what are some other good 1911 options that are single stack and are already cut for sight?

I just picked up one of these from PSA. I think it’s what you’re looking for maybe? So far I’m impressed with it.

 

[sz28]

So I was doing some research going to buy a tisas b9r but I am only finding double stack versions. Living in Hawaii we are stupid and only can have 10 round mags. I know they can pin the mags but what are some other good 1911 options that are single stack and are already cut for sight?

Tisas Night Stalker 9mm can be found for a bit under $500 currently, excluding shipping, etc.

 

[Bowfinn]

So I was doing some research going to buy a tisas b9r but I am only finding double stack versions. Living in Hawaii we are stupid and only can have 10 round mags. I know they can pin the mags but what are some other good 1911 options that are single stack and are already cut for sight?

Tisas makes a single stack1911 with an optic cut.

1911 Night Stalker SF 9

1911 Night Stalker SF 9mm with forged frame, threaded barrel, and 9+1 capacity. Tactical 9mm pistol built for precision, carry, and target shooting.

tisasusa.com

 

[Bc45]

I think judging by the posts above if you're looking for a scaled down single stack carry 9mm 1911, you'd want to buy an EMP and have someone like Impact Machine, Jaegerwerks, Monsoon, etc cut it for your sight of choice.

If you want a full size poverty pony single stack that's not a Tisas, the Girsan MC1911 appears to be a budget option...

If less budget, a Kimber (ugh) Aegis Elite / KHX Pro / Custom LW? This Colt?

If no budget, this Wilson? Any of these Dan Wessons?


-J

Thanks I’ll have to look into them. This is my first pistol so not trying to spend a ton of money just to practice with it.

 

[TitsMcGee]

I'm shocked there's not much mention of the MAC 9ds comp here yet. $850 on a good sale. 4.25" or 5" bull barrel, bottom pic rail, comes with optics plate for an RMR, easily replaceable different trigger lengths from the factory. It seems to be the new hotness amongst the budget 2011 world right now and everything I've seen says it's for good reason. Doesn't seem to take much work to make reliable. Polishing a spot or two, couple of spring adjustments, red-dirt trigger, seems to make very happy owners.

It's certainly caught my attention. Anyone found differentley?

 

[zdc1775]

I'm shocked there's not much mention of the MAC 9ds comp here yet. $850 on a good sale. 4.25" or 5" bull barrel, bottom pic rail, comes with optics plate for an RMR, easily replaceable different trigger lengths from the factory. It seems to be the new hotness amongst the budget 2011 world right now and everything I've seen says it's for good reason. Doesn't seem to take much work to make reliable. Polishing a spot or two, couple of spring adjustments, red-dirt trigger, seems to make very happy owners.

It's certainly caught my attention. Anyone found differentley?

So I bought one a few months back, took it out of the box and did absolutely nothing to it before I ran ~500 round through it and the only reliability issue I had was with a few rounds where the slide didn't fully close, tapped the slide home and kept going. But it was horribly over sprung and had one of the worst 1911 triggers I have ever used.

After that, I fully disassembled it, polished everything, stoned the sear and hammer hooks, replaced the recoils spring, firing pin spring, and mainspring, tuned the sear spring and extractor, installed an optic, and lubed everything up. Now it has a slightly less than 3lb trigger with a very clean break, and has ran another 2,500 or so rounds with zero issues.

So overall, I think it is a good option for people who have the knowledge and ability to fit and replace parts, and tune a 1911. Not quite so much for someone who wants to just grab a gun and run it.

 

[Bc45]

When tuning the Wilson extractor is this a good video to use as a guideline? Wondering if anyone has a different way to check if extractor needs to be tweaked and how they tweak it.

 

[RockAndSage]

When tuning the Wilson extractor is this a good video to use as a guideline? Wondering if anyone has a different way to check if extractor needs to be tweaked and how they tweak it.

That's one method, which might be something I'd use in the field or at a range if I didn't have access to a work bench. The danger is that it's easy to overdo it, especially with the very wide variety of steels and heat-treatments out there on extractors. Just go really slow, in minor increments.

The old-school gunsmith method had a little more precision, but was still more on the art and experience side of things, rather than actual measured precision - you lay the extractor across the top of the open jaws of a vise, and tap it with a hammer or a hammer and punch to put more or less arc into the extractor, just a few light taps at a time, and check the fit. You get better at it the more you do it, but it definitely offers more control than what was in the video.

What I don't have any experience with, but suspect could be pretty effective, are some of the extractor adjustment tools, like Weigand's. These tools are set up to allow you to apply pretty specific arcs/bends in an extractor, using a screw and stop-screw setup, without over-doing it.

 

[Howler65]

When tuning the Wilson extractor is this a good video to use as a guideline? Wondering if anyone has a different way to check if extractor needs to be tweaked and how they tweak it.

Jason Burton also has an old extractor tuning video that is worth watching…

 

[Dobermann]

What I don't have any experience with, but suspect could be pretty effective, are some of the extractor adjustment tools, like Weigand's. These tools are set up to allow you to apply pretty specific arcs/bends in an extractor, using a screw and stop-screw setup, without over-doing it.

For those who are wondering: https://jackweigand.com/products/1911-extractor-adjusting-tool/



I think this tool, or one like it, was referenced in the first of Sweeney's 1911 books.

I've not used one, but here's a thread from the 1911 Forum about it, along with some comments about tension amounts: https://www.1911forum.com/threads/weigand-extractor-tensioning-tool.1034272/

There are some other threads about extractor fitting and tuning listed at the end of that thread.

 

[Bc45]

Just picked up my tisas 1911 B9 carry and it feels great. I did buy 2 meg-gar mags that everyone recommends and it seems they do not fit in my model the slide won’t shut.

 

[ztc92]

Just picked up my tisas 1911 B9 carry and it feels great. I did buy 2 meg-gar mags that everyone recommends and it seems they do not fit in my model the slide won’t shut.

That’s interesting and unfortunate. I also picked up a Carry B9 and it works fine with factory and Meg-Gar mags. For reference, here’s mine (originally grip next to it) with both mags. The Meg-Gar are slightly longer but not enough to cause an issue with mine.

 

[Bc45]

That’s interesting and unfortunate. I also picked up a Carry B9 and it works fine with factory and Meg-Gar mags. For reference, here’s mine (originally grip next to it) with both mags. The Meg-Gar are slightly longer but not enough to cause an issue with mine.

Yeah messing around with the original mags now the slide won’t shut either. Feeding the mags in it seems there is a tight spot somewhere

 

[ztc92]

Yeah messing around with the original mags now the slide won’t shut either. Feeding the mags in it seems there is a tight spot somewhere

Mine did that after trying to shoot some hand loads and it resolved itself after cycling it a lot. That said, I recently oiled mine and it’s running way smoother now with all mags. Maybe try that?