What barrel/slide length for a 9mm 1911?

[KevH]

It's a long story I won't bore anyone with, but I'm considering switching to a 9mm 1911 as my "do most things" gun.

I'm about 99.99% set that it is going to be a Wilson Combat gun. I'm stuck right now between my standard beloved Government size and their Professional size (4" bull barrel).

I shot Ken Hackathorn's personal Govnernment sized Wilson 9mm back in 2014 and thought it was amazing. It seems many prefer the Professional(4")/Commander(4.25") in 9mm though.

I'm looking really hard at either an ULC, ULC Professional, or the Tactical Carry Professional.

What say you that have experience with these guns?

[NPV]

If you’re getting a Wilson there’s a 95+% chance it will run perfect out of the box no matter what barrel length you go with. They have the 9mm formula down pretty well.

The biggest factor to me would be the difference in recoil impulse. 5” guns have a long slow impulse and the 4.25”/4” guns have a faster “snappier” impulse. You’ll probably want to shoot both to see which you prefer.

I put snappier in quotes because we’re talking 9mm 1911s here which are arguably one of the softest recoiling handguns out there.

Edited to Add: The 4.25” gun is going to have a traditional bushing setup and the 4” will be a bull barrel. Both can have advantages. I prefer bushing guns but that’s just a personal preference.

[Robinson]

I carry in the appendix position, and to me a Lightweight Commander carries great but an all steel Commander not so much. A 5" Government model actually works better for me in that position than a steel Commander.

For a gun with a lightweight alloy frame I think Commander length (4.25") is best in 9mm. Four inches is probably close enough, though I prefer a true Commander length.

The 5" 9mm guns are great to shoot though. A Lightweight Government 9mm would actually make a fine carry gun, at least for me. But then I carry a 5" steel 45 most of the time.

[JHC]

What I would do is study the posts from Buck in the "teach me about STI" thread and give serious thought to their conclusions. It appears to me they settled on 4.1 (previous Staccatto P) and 4.45 the new P. My assumption is that in most respects, their platform is close enough to 1911 characteristics as to translate.

[jeep45238]

I carry in the appendix position, and to me a Lightweight Commander carries great but an all steel Commander not so much. A 5" Government model actually works better for me in that position than a steel Commander.

For a gun with a lightweight alloy frame I think Commander length (4.25") is best in 9mm. Four inches is probably close enough, though I prefer a true Commander length.

The 5" 9mm guns are great to shoot though. A Lightweight Government 9mm would actually make a fine carry gun, at least for me. But then I carry a 5" steel 45 most of the time.

I have a govt and a commander 9mm (both steel). I agree about the impulse mentioned above.

I'm desperately jonesing for a alloy 9mm commander, there's a huge difference in weight on the belt. The commander is plenty easy to carry, but if you can make it easier for the same gun, why not? There's a lot less weight above the belt line with an alloy 1911, so the center of gravity is lower, and that helps with the gun wanting to 'roll' out and fight your gear.

[SteveB]

While I no longer carry 1911’s, I spent a lot of years messing with them, and ultimately decided that the LW Commander was the sweet spot for carry. While reliability is not an issue with the 9mm Wilson 4” guns, I am biased towards the bushing. For me, bushing guns come apart and go together more easily.

[M2CattleCo]

I'm highly biased towards 5" 1911s in any caliber. They balance better in the hand and in the holster and shoot softer. Recoil management is as much a thing with a 9mm 1911 (especially with full power ammo) as it is with a Glock. I don't find the recoil too terribly different between 'em as the metal frame and slightly higher bore axis don't damp recoil the same as a plastic frame that sits lower in the hand.

I shot and carried 5" Wilsons in 9mm for two years and went through over 20,000 rounds with no stoppages that weren't from bad ammo. Those things are built to run on HST and they do.

A double stack STI is not the same animal as a single stack and lessons learned from one don't necessarily pertain to the other.

The metal follower ETMs are the best 9mm single stack mags to date, but single stacking 9mm and making the extra .1" trip from the mag to the feedramp is still the hurdle to overcome.

A 1911 slide weighs about the same as a Glock 34 slide.

[MDFA]

I just joined the 9mm 1911 group with a Colt Combat Commander. I really like it. I can't compare it to a 5 in. 1911 as my 5 inch guns are in .45. I can say that after 400 rounds so far a 9mm 1911 feels like cheating. I'm using Wilson Combat ETM's for carry and Brownells 10 round mags for training. After 300 rounds it started running like a top. I had some nose dive FTF with the Brownells mags until the gun started breaking in. Milt Sparks VM2 for leather. Hope this helps.

[Rick R]

Not Wilsons but I first purchased a Kimber Stainless II 5” 9mm as a range toy. Then stumbled on a deal on a Ruger Lightweight Commander size 9mm SR1911. Both have been reliable and accurate with either ball or jhp ammo using CMC or Brownell’s 10 round magazines.

The 5” Kimber is easier to shoot well but the slide is slow and returns to battery with a bit of reverse recoil. The 4.25” Ruger is a tad harder to shoot accurately but recoil seems to disturb the sights less even though it’s faster than the 5”. The Ruger is hands down a better gun to carry on your belt all day. I owned two .45 Colt Commanders over the years and feel like the little Ruger is a better gun.

I just purchased a Glock 19 MOS to try out RDS guns. Shooting the Ruger and Glock side by side on a plate rack has me wanting a lightweight Commander size 9mm with an RDS. Now that’s going to cost some money...