Bad experiences with the 1911

tomrkba

Well-Known Fanatic
Joined
Apr 6, 2018
Messages
145
I am happy your guns run or that you can make them run. DW Commander 9mm runs great. NHC T4 9mm is great too. Colt XSE built when Colts were "bad". Worked fine. Early Colt WW I Repro: Ate anything, great gun. Friends report mixed results too, but nothing like my 1911 Curse.

I sent two of mine to a big name company for reliability work and neither were fixed. Now I have to drive 35 minutes one way to a Fedex shipcenter to send them back.

Let's see... here are some highlights. Mags and lube were early lessons. First one was the Ultra Compact in 1997-98.



Springfield Ultra Compact. Never ran. Went to the gunsmith four times and they couldn't get it to run

SA LW Operator. Didn't run. Sent to SACS for remediation then SA Custom Shop for mods. It was a two mag jamomatic.

SA LOADED: Worked for awhile and then took a dump. Probably just needed a new extractor but I didn't know that at the time. Sold it to a guy who said he would get it running.

Kimber Tactical Ultra II. External extractor abomination. Too many problems to list here but the incorrectly cut frame could not be fixed. New replacement had most of the same QC defects. Both were one mag wonders.

EMP's...jeebus these were messed up. SACS got the second one running and it is still going.

SA Champion stainless. Bad barrel fit with peening. Basically needed a new slide and barrel. SACS did not want to fix it.

DW Valor: Starts failing around 150 rounds, every time. Got it used. It is now a $2,800 gun after all the awesome mods. Sigh.

DW ECO: Another two mag wonder. DW couldn't fix it.

NHC Enforcer: Got it used but finish was pristine. Looked like a low round count. Three mag jamomatic. I could have gotten a new one after spending the cash. Oh well, maybe it will actually get fixed.

I am missing several other Springfields.
 
Last edited:

STI

Well-Known Fanatic
Joined
Jan 29, 2019
Messages
594
Location
NE Texas
As posted my experiences were a total opposite with mine we shot 3-4 today all 100%, the ones I have were not changed any or modified from day 1 opening the box, just cleaned, lubed and shot and shot more.
 

CECannonJr

Well-Known Fanatic
Fanatic Family
Joined
Jan 15, 2021
Messages
6,181
Location
Eastern North Carolina
I am happy your guns run or that you can make them run. DW Commander 9mm runs great. NHC T4 9mm is great too. Colt XSE built when Colts were "bad". Worked fine. Early Colt WW I Repro: Ate anything, great gun. Friends report mixed results too, but nothing like my 1911 Curse.

I sent two of mine to a big name company for reliability work and neither were fixed. Now I have to drive 35 minutes one way to a Fedex shipcenter to send them back.

Let's see... here are some highlights. Mags and lube were early lessons. First one was the Ultra Compact in 1997-98.



Springfield Ultra Compact. Never ran. Went to the gunsmith four times and they couldn't get it to run

SA LW Operator. Didn't run. Sent to SACS for remediation then SA Custom Shop for mods. It was a two mag jamomatic.

SA LOADED: Worked for awhile and then took a dump. Probably just needed a new extractor but I didn't know that at the time. Sold it to a guy who said he would get it running.

Kimber Tactical Ultra II. External extractor abomination. Too many problems to list here but the incorrectly cut frame could not be fixed. New replacement had most of the same QC defects. Both were one mag wonders.

EMP's...jeebus these were messed up. SACS got the second one running and it is still going.

SA Champion stainless. Bad barrel fit with peening. Basically needed a new slide and barrel. SACS did not want to fix it.

DW Valor: Starts failing around 150 rounds, every time. Got it used. It is now a $2,800 gun after all the awesome mods. Sigh.

DW ECO: Another two mag wonder. DW couldn't fix it.

NHC Enforcer: Got it used but finish was pristine. Looked like a low round count. Three mag jamomatic. I could have gotten a new one after spending the cash. Oh well, maybe it will actually get fixed.

I am missing several other Springfields.
I don't get it. Are you a limp wrist shooter? Is it something you're doing? I'm not disparaging you. I'm asking an honest question that you may have already considered and ruled out. If you haven't, you may want to consider looking at that.

I have seen people at the range who had terrible tendencies and experienced jams. Someone else shot the gun just fine.
 

Mike Galway

Well-Known Fanatic
Joined
Nov 5, 2018
Messages
1,671
Location
East Central Missouri
I've never seen one person with so much bad experiences . I honestly don't know what I'd do . All one can really do is hand the problem off to someone else , a known good shooter with some factory ammo , and see if they have the same misfortune .
 

tomrkba

Well-Known Fanatic
Joined
Apr 6, 2018
Messages
145
My shooting has evolved since that first one. Over the course of the past 22-23 years, it's changed from the 90's classic Isoceles to a hybrid death grip that works for any gun, one handed or two, strong or weak side, for fighting and action shooting. In shooting these last two, I tried the whole range of grip techniques. I must say that I did fail to shoot them upside down or holding them one handed with only two fingers on the grip.

—-

Paul Sharp's "Recoil Mitigation"










Training points:



Mitigating muzzle rise from the wrist (Videos 1-4):



1) Lock wrist on each hand that is touching the gun

2) Hard pinky finger pressure

3) Push thumb(s) forward hard

4) Proper grip: High in the tang, high under the trigger guard. Forward thumb on support hand. Check by placing trigger finger and support hand thumb on frame. They should be equal on the frame (point up to check).



Test by attempting to bend the wrist upward. Instructor places finger on wrist tendon to verify (Video 5). The shooter will tighten up and prevent as much movement as possible.



Mitigating side to side muzzle movement (Videos 6-7):



1) Tighten the elbow of each hand on the gun

2) Tighten the shoulder of each hand on the gun



Test by attempting to move the gun in a circle.



Mitigating gun push backwards (Videos 8-13) :



1) Use hard push-pull. Some people think push-pull doesn't work in a fight so an alternative is to bring your elbows down a bit to pinch your palms together.

2) Push from the primary hand shoulder.

3) If support hand is on the gun, pull back into the primary hand.

4) Nose over toes. Stance is aggressive and nose should be over or slightly past the forward toe. There are no stances in a fight, but this is the optimal case.



Instructor tests by pressing with continuous pressure against the shooter's hand. Their head should not move very much. The instructor should watch for head movement by comparing to a static item in the background. Properly done, the shooter's head will barely move during recoil. Watch the shooter's toes. They should not rise.



Video 14 is a summary of training points.



The only addendum I have is that you can pinch your palms together a bit to tighten your groups up at speed.
 

Bender

Well-Known Fanatic
Joined
Mar 30, 2018
Messages
2,388
Location
Meh.........
The short slide pistols are often "fixed" by running the appropriate ammo. I had a Kimber SIS ultra that ran well but I had to use lighter weight ammo. It didn't like 230gr.

You certainly have had some issues over the years.
 

Mike A1

Well-Known Fanatic
Fanatic Family
Joined
Sep 18, 2018
Messages
5,471
Location
USA
Let's see... here are some highlights. Mags and lube were early lessons. First one was the Ultra Compact in 1997-98.
I bought a Colt 1911 Officers model 1st year. That was the only Colt 1911 I ever had trouble getting to run.
Traded it for a Colt LW Commander, that is my primary CCW, trust it with my life 4 sure.

The only 45acp that wanted 185 JHPs fast & not 230 FMJ was my Star Firestar. However it had a cracked hollow guide rod,
so I made a solid rod that Star will feed empty's I know not why. Only problem is the Star weighs a ton o_O to carry.

Normally it's hard to F-Up a 1911 just take a look at U-Tube to see all kinds of folks working on & running 1911s.
 

tomrkba

Well-Known Fanatic
Joined
Apr 6, 2018
Messages
145
Yeah, the gunsmith told me to run 185's or 185 +P through the Ultra Compact. I recall it helped a little bit, but that just meant getting almost through a full mag. Sad thing was it carried so well.
 
Last edited:

Mike Galway

Well-Known Fanatic
Joined
Nov 5, 2018
Messages
1,671
Location
East Central Missouri
I bought a Colt 1911 Officers model 1st year. That was the only Colt 1911 I ever had trouble getting to run.
Traded it for a Colt LW Commander, that is my primary CCW, trust it with my life 4 sure.

The only 45acp that wanted 185 JHPs fast & not 230 FMJ was my Star Firestar. However it had a cracked hollow guide rod,
so I made a solid rod that Star will feed empty's I know not why. Only problem is the Star weighs a ton o_O to carry.

Normally it's hard to F-Up a 1911 just take a look at U-Tube to see all kinds of folks working on & running 1911s.
Years ago I had a Firestar in 9mm , wish I still had it .
 

Mike Galway

Well-Known Fanatic
Joined
Nov 5, 2018
Messages
1,671
Location
East Central Missouri
As I said above when ever I have issues I have a friend try it out . Usually it's about accuracy . If I'm not doing well with a particular gun I have my friend shoot it or stand back and critique what I'm doing . Once I was experiencing some jamming while shooting steel plates , never had issues with this gun before . My shooting partner that day said he watched me relax my grip between shots . Sure enough I focused on that , jamming stopped .
Also as said above , some guns like some ammo better than others . Short slide guns don't seem to like light loads . A friend just purchased a Glock on the Blue Label special . The Glock jammed repeatedly with his reloads . Same reloads flew right thru my 5 inch 1911 . Factory ammo did fine in the Glock .
I understand frustration , you pay good money for something , it should work . Doesn't matter what the product is . Look at how many people buy a lemon of a car , then say I'll never buy that brand again even though others will swear it's the best .
 

CECannonJr

Well-Known Fanatic
Fanatic Family
Joined
Jan 15, 2021
Messages
6,181
Location
Eastern North Carolina
As I said above when ever I have issues I have a friend try it out . Usually it's about accuracy . If I'm not doing well with a particular gun I have my friend shoot it or stand back and critique what I'm doing . Once I was experiencing some jamming while shooting steel plates , never had issues with this gun before . My shooting partner that day said he watched me relax my grip between shots . Sure enough I focused on that , jamming stopped .
Also as said above , some guns like some ammo better than others . Short slide guns don't seem to like light loads . A friend just purchased a Glock on the Blue Label special . The Glock jammed repeatedly with his reloads . Same reloads flew right thru my 5 inch 1911 . Factory ammo did fine in the Glock .
I understand frustration , you pay good money for something , it should work . Doesn't matter what the product is . Look at how many people buy a lemon of a car , then say I'll never buy that brand again even though others will swear it's the best .
All good points. But I have never met anyone who had problems with every car they ever bought.o_O
 

Kevin Rohrer

Well-Known Fanatic
Fanatic Family
Joined
Apr 18, 2019
Messages
108
I've never seen one person with so much bad experiences . I honestly don't know what I'd do . All one can really do is hand the problem off to someone else , a known good shooter with some factory ammo , and see if they have the same misfortune .
My guess is it is a combination of bad mags and lack-of-training. Even those low-end guns he mentioned should function better than what he described.
 

Babboonbobo

Well-Known Fanatic
Joined
Jun 8, 2018
Messages
1,503
Location
NW Ohio
I am happy your guns run or that you can make them run. DW Commander 9mm runs great. NHC T4 9mm is great too. Colt XSE built when Colts were "bad". Worked fine. Early Colt WW I Repro: Ate anything, great gun. Friends report mixed results too, but nothing like my 1911 Curse.

I sent two of mine to a big name company for reliability work and neither were fixed. Now I have to drive 35 minutes one way to a Fedex shipcenter to send them back.

Let's see... here are some highlights. Mags and lube were early lessons. First one was the Ultra Compact in 1997-98.



Springfield Ultra Compact. Never ran. Went to the gunsmith four times and they couldn't get it to run

SA LW Operator. Didn't run. Sent to SACS for remediation then SA Custom Shop for mods. It was a two mag jamomatic.

SA LOADED: Worked for awhile and then took a dump. Probably just needed a new extractor but I didn't know that at the time. Sold it to a guy who said he would get it running.

Kimber Tactical Ultra II. External extractor abomination. Too many problems to list here but the incorrectly cut frame could not be fixed. New replacement had most of the same QC defects. Both were one mag wonders.

EMP's...jeebus these were messed up. SACS got the second one running and it is still going.

SA Champion stainless. Bad barrel fit with peening. Basically needed a new slide and barrel. SACS did not want to fix it.

DW Valor: Starts failing around 150 rounds, every time. Got it used. It is now a $2,800 gun after all the awesome mods. Sigh.

DW ECO: Another two mag wonder. DW couldn't fix it.

NHC Enforcer: Got it used but finish was pristine. Looked like a low round count. Three mag jamomatic. I could have gotten a new one after spending the cash. Oh well, maybe it will actually get fixed.

I am missing several other Springfields.
Sorry to hear of these issues but it shines some light on your problem issues for us. Seems to me you need to stay away from Springfield to start with!
 

tomrkba

Well-Known Fanatic
Joined
Apr 6, 2018
Messages
145
Sorry to hear of these issues but it shines some light on your problem issues for us. Seems to me you need to stay away from Springfield to start with!
Oh, yeah...learned my lesson hard every few years. But their guns look so neat in the case! I still find myself wanting another LW Operator and a Loaded with factory installed night sights (for about $800).
 

tomrkba

Well-Known Fanatic
Joined
Apr 6, 2018
Messages
145
My guess is it is a combination of bad mags and lack-of-training. Even those low-end guns he mentioned should function better than what he described.

I paid attention to gun forums in trying to figure out common problems. I have notebooks full of notes on what the guns were doing; copies were sent to the gunsmiths. I always bought what I thought were "the best" mags at the time as part of the protocol IF the gun failed with factory magazines. At one point, I had dedicated at least two from every major manufacturer for testing, so they were low round count. I eventually evolved to Wilson Combat ETM's in 9 and 45 and have been using them as my primary mags. Most recently, I tried NHC factory mags for the two customs.

What do you mean by lack of training?
 
Last edited:
Top