1300+ rnds through a ‘17 Valor 5in. (2) DW Checkmate mags and (3) WC ETM magazines. No cleaning; just lubing every 500 or so. I don’t even keep track. Absolutely zero malfunctions not ammo related (one reload totally locked up the slide. Had to take the gun home with the round still in the chamber but out of battery. Lead was bunched up around the case mouth.)Originally Posted by Tom Duffy
Absolutely would rely on this gun for my welfare.
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I am currently considering a colt 01992 5" in 9mm. I don't know why. I know I lean toward 9mm because I reload them. I think in my mind I'm telling myself it will be like shooting a 4" k frame with a magazine. This meaning able to place accurate shots close together on target with little effort.
My one and only 9mm 1911 is an SA Range Officer. I bought it as a training gun when I still carried a 1911. I found I didn't care for the differing handling characteristics when compared to a 1911 in .45acp and shelved the idea. Mrs. Awesome really liked it and declared it her gun. Since then, it's fired thousands of rounds without a cleaning and only occasional lubing. (I shame myself by admitting it, but I don't really make that gun a priority) Despite that it's run with 100% reliability using the factory supplied mags and a few Wilson Combat mags. I have to admit that it's made a believer out of me and that's what I consider a budget quality pistol. A Dan Wesson Valor was my last carry 1911. I found it to be an outstanding product.
Last edited by Trooper224; 12-11-2018 at 08:38 PM.
We may lose and we may win, but we will never be here again.......
I have an EDC X9 as well as a Dan Wesson Guardian in 9mm. Previously I also had a pair of Valkyries, one in 9mm and the other in .45. Naturally we can isolate this post to the 9mm variety.
Between the two Dan Wessons and the X9, they are all reliable in my experience. Between the 3 I have had literally 0 failures from first shots to present. I didn’t have the Valkyrie very long, but I have about 2000 rounds through the X9 and 1500 through the Guardian. So from that perspective, they are both at 100%.
Design is of course a difference. The X9 is not a traditional design, and the hand feel is definitely not 1911 (as it’s a double stack). I do find it to be agreeable and pleasant...but it’s not 1911, so if that is what you are expecting, it’s not the one for you. The external extractor works. End of story. Again, purists will yell and scream perhaps, and they are right to do so, but again, it’s not a true 1911. All things being equal, I love, shoot, and carry the EDC X9 with no hesitation and think it’s a great build. The trigger is an excellent SA pull and break as one would expect...so there is that too.
The DW Guardian is also fantastic! Traditional 1911 feel and style, a smooth cycling (better and flatter than the EDC X9 in my hand), a wee bit more barrel, and the Duty Treat finish is not only great looking, but tough as nails. Trigger is good, build is spotless; and it carries like its .45 counterpart. Internal extractor of course for the purists. At half the price of the EDC (retail of course) its a value in my book. I have had many comment that from an enjoyability perspective, my Guardian 9mm is one of the most pleasurable 9mm pistols they have ever shot...of any maker. I enjoy shooting it more than my EDC X9 personally, though the latter wins on capacity which is a consideration for some from a carry perspective.
I carry both often, the Guardian is a little easier to hide as its width and the Bobtail make it very easy to conceal.
Sorry for the novel...but I really love both pistols!
Last edited by tgoldie00; 12-11-2018 at 09:49 PM.
My opinion, and a very strong one from messing with 9mm 1911s off and on since '08 is that a 5" is still the best bet reliability-wise.
Wilson Combat is where it's at for a work-horse.
The shorter slide guns (4"-4.25") tend to be more reliable with standard velocity ammo IMO.
All other things being equal, you will have a greater window of reliability with a shorter gun. As was mentioned, it is because the less heavy slide requires less recoil to put it through a full cycle. As a result you won't have as many problems with some of the lighter loaded practice ammo. For my 5" 9mm 1911s, I tend to prefer something like Speer Lawman, which has enough ass to cycle a number of guns, but I've ultimately just converted to that ammo anyways because it can be sourced for cheap.
A bushingless design might unlock smoother than a bushing. The primary benefit these companies seek to take advantage of is the slightly heavier barrel profile and the greater weight at the front of the gun, which, for a smaller gun can help it track smoother, and adds weight to soak up recoil without adding the weight to the slide, which will affect the gun's cycling.
I'm mostly opposed to the external extractor in 1911's because I have yet to find a 1911 with an internal extractor that had the appropriate tension. Granted these are mostly factory guns I purchase in the vein of Colt, Springfield, Kimber etc...but I was able to adjust tension and drive on. The 1911 with the external extractor is starting to gain in popularity, so there are some factory options and aftermarket fixes for bad ones, but if you don't have appropriate tension, it may be difficult to find the appropriate sized/weighted coil spring. I think for a 1911, the internal is still where it's at, again, unless you're looking at something like a WC EDC X9, which was developed by a professional gunsmith.
There are those on this forum and others who say that Dan Wesson is one of the best factory produced 1911's without going into semi-custom (Like Wilson or Ed Brown or Les Baer) guns. I'd buy with confidence, but I have no personal experience.
What I just mentioned above is all theory. If I have learned anything about 1911's, it is that there is a huge difference between theory and practice. A lot depends on how the gun was built, the springs used, the magazines used etc. I lay no claim to expertise on this stuff and compared to some of the guys posting my understanding is sophomoric at best. I'd go with a 5" 1911 in 9mm. Sure, it involves some trade offs. Namely that you may have to use hotter ammo than your standard WWB, but it is by far one of the easiest guns to shoot out there and as long as the gun is fit together and tuned appropriately (and if you're buying a Dan Wesson, the odds of that are good), you shouldn't need to worry about the extractor, bushing etc.
TL;DR Use good mags, good ammo, know how to do some armorer level maintenance, and all that stuff won't really matter. Get a 5" gun because they are fun as hell.
A 4" STI, a 4" Wilson, and a 4.25" Dan Wesson have been my most problematic 9mm 1911s.
My 5" Wilsons have been the best. Up there with the 45s I used to run and maybe even better.
I only run 124 and 147 grain ammo, so I don't have any experience with Wally-World 115 or mouse fart loads. But ammo is a big piece of the reliability puzzle and I choose ammo that will function best.
The X-Tac in my avatar is the one that's the stock photo on y'alls site. It's at almost 8K rounds with nothing but more lube and has not stopped to anything other than a few mangled up Winchester rounds.
Thanks to everyone who replied. There's a lot of good guidance here. I'm not a stranger to 1911s but only to 1911s in 9mm. I had a Springfield TRP in 45 that went through over 8,000 rounds before I gave the gun to my son-in-law. With reloads, I had a stove pipe about every 1,000 rounds which I consider reliable enough for a range/match gun. I've never understood when people say you need to be mechanically adept to own a 1911. All I've ever done is clean and lube every 400 rounds and it's never given me any trouble. My expectation is that a 9mm will be the same. My dealer had a Dan Wesson A2 45 1911 in stock. If I wanted another 45, this gun might be sufficient. Better machining than my Springfield with a nicer trigger and cheaper. It would be an excellent range gun.
If I were primarily interested in a carry gun with 1911 type controls, I definitely be looking at those new hybrid guns; bushingless bull barrel, flat coil spring and aluminum frame. Either a Wilson EDC X9 or a Dan Wesson ECP.
It seems like my initial choice, a Dan Wesson V-Bob Commander in 9mm is still a good gun for me. No real disadvantage to the bushing design, has a steel frame for heavy volume shooting and minimized recoil. The ready availability of different recoil springs and standard holsters are a plus. It will be interesting to see what I finally end up with.
Real guns have hammers.
My considerable experience in living with the 1911 showed me that, at 8k rounds, your TRP hadn't yet reached magic time. I found that production 1911s of good quality usually made it to between 12k-15k rounds, then things started wearing out and shooting loose. My last heavy use 1911 was an SA Range Officer I used for competition. At 15k rounds things like the plunger tube coming loose started to happen, at 20k rounds the MIM hammer and sear were worn enough to cause hammer follow and needed replacement, etc. Things like this occurring were not restricted to that sample off one, but routinely observed over 25 years of living with God's gun. When you reach that point, that's where knowing who to do things like stake a plunger tube and fit and tune an extractor come in handy.
We may lose and we may win, but we will never be here again.......
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