The first 1911 I built was off a Mil Spec frame and slide. Gun has over 8k rounds and 0 malfunctions. Ran it through a Hackathorn class a few years back, and earned top shooter with it. I have a soft spot for old school guns myself.Originally Posted by Jim Watson
Last edited by TCFD273; 10-11-2018 at 11:46 AM.
That's why I said "hearken back to".
This is exactly why Wilson's ball cuts don't bother me, I have a very plain CQB on order right now with ball cuts. I just got the kitted email last night!!
The ball cuts on my Wilson do not align perfectly with the dust cover, but they are symmetrical. Overall, I'm indifferent.
Last edited by StraitR; 10-11-2018 at 04:17 PM.
Got this in the mail. I think I’ll like it a lot better.
My CQB Elite 9mm arrived yesterday. Picked it up from my local GS. It came with case, 2 stainless ETM mags, lube, test target, bushing wrench, build ledger, and some other Wilson flyers. In the store I noticed that the slide release was not automatically releasing when the side was retracted without a magazine. This was a bit curious as it took just a hair of finger pressure to get it to depress. Otherwise, everything else seemed pretty spot on. I immediately took it to the range along with a variety of magazines including: ETM x 4, Vickers ETM x 2, Tripp Cobra x 2, and black ETM x 3 (these would not function in my CCU). Ammo was 100 rounds of Federal 147 grain AE and 20 rounds of 147 grain HST.
The slide release lever issue went away after the first mag. I've tested the function now many times on an empty gun and it seems to be releasing normally whenever the slide is retracted.
Accuracy was a 2" hole at 15 yards off hand with 30 rounds (20 AE; 10 HST).
There were 2 FTFs - one with the AE and one with the HST. Both failures occurred with the black ETMs that would not cycle 5 or 6 rounds in my CCU without more catastrophic FTF malfunctions where the neck round in the magazine would stovepipe necessitating the entire mag be removed and the rounds stripped. Overall, these black ETMs did better in the Wilson gun as these FTFs were corrected with a quick rack to the slide and no need to strip the mag, but this is still not good enough. All the other magazines including the 4 stainless ETMs cycled fine. I sent the black ETMs back to Wilson today looking to exchange them for the Vickers ETMs which seem to run pretty good in this gun and my CCU.
Of note, I consider the 147 grain AE to be a pretty good measure of how a 9mm 1911 will run under adverse conditions. That flat faced bullet profile gives a lot of guns a fit. I have some 124 grain Winchester NATO and Blazer Brass that I plan to run this afternoon with the stainless ETMs and Vickers ETMs. I bet it does fine.
Here are some pics:
Last edited by Sensei; 10-21-2018 at 02:00 AM.
I like my rifles like my women - short, light, fast, brown, and suppressed.
Nice - is that the concealment grip safety and hammer?
Not sure how recent your black ETMs are, but I remember Todd had an issue with older black ETMs during his Springfield endurance test. This is a few years back and it appears Wilson Combat uses a new process to coat magazines.
I really like my CQB Elite Carry 9mm. It is my most 'shootable' pistol. However, I've come to the conclusion that the 9mm 1911 is simply not a 2,000 round challenge gun. It is more sensitive to lubrication and fouling than the other pistols in my safe, including my .45 1911. It can be quite reliable, but just requires a more frequent maintenance interval than my polymer framed pistols. Past 1,000 rounds I can feel the slide start to slow and malfunctions aren't far away at that point. This experience seems to track with the guidance on the Wilson website, which recommends more frequent cleaning and lubrication for 9mm 1911s in particular. Though I find cleaning every 300 rounds as recommended excessive, I find little to argue with this statement on Wilson's FAQ: The key to keeping your 1911 9mm running is keeping it clean and well lubed...
I've had better results with Slip 2000 than the Wilson Lite Oil that came with the pistol. I'd like to find something that doesn't migrate as much. Wilson doesn't recommend grease for 9mm pistols, but I wonder if something like the ALG Go Juice 0000 Very Thin Grease from Geissele would work well with a 9mm 1911. I may pick up a bottle to experiment with.
I do judge that the 13# flat wire spring has improved reliability in my particular pistol.
I agree with your comments about the 147 AE with the 9mm 1911. I wish Federal would introduce a traditional round profile 147 grain AE offering.
"When the phone rang, Parker was in the garage, killing a man."
I agree with your comments. I had a 9mm 1911 that passed the 2K challenge with no failures, but I felt I was really pushing it and probably got lucky. I think generally speaking .45 just runs better in a 1911 than 9mm. I've returned to shooting more .45 again lately even though it's a little harder on my damaged ears.
Yep.I agree with your comments about the 147 AE with the 9mm 1911. I wish Federal would introduce a traditional round profile 147 grain AE offering.
Yeah, I think the newer black ETMs are ok. I have a black Vickers 9mm mag and it’s been fine so far.
We had a few cases of the 147gr AE at work. It choked several of our MP5s and the Glock 18 (yes, we have a Glock 18, no, I don’t know why).
It is the concealment safety.
The black ETMs were purchased 6-8 months ago, so they are newer.
Today I took 2 ETMs and 2 Vickers ETMs to the range along with the CQB Elite. Ammo was:
50 rounds 147 gr AE
100 rounds 124 gr Winchester NATO
30 rounds 147 gr HST
There was 1 FTF with the AE and 1 with the HST. Both were with the Vickers ETMs. That’s about 1 FTF per 25 rounds of HST - damn. The NATO cycled fine probably due to the rounded profile.
I’m going to look at some Gold Dots, Rangers, and Golden Saber Black Belts to see which has the most rounded profile and test.
I like my rifles like my women - short, light, fast, brown, and suppressed.
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