As long as its Elmer’s you should be fine.
I actually have 2 problem 5” 1911s. One is a CQB Elite that arrived 3 weeks ago. It was sent back to Wilson 2 weeks ago for the slide stop lever that didn’t like to release and occasionally caused FTF and premature slide lock with JHPs. I was told that the gun was fine and it was most likely my support thumb causing the slide lock, but 50 rounds of HST shot strong hand produced a premature slide lock at round 44. I’m waiting to hear back from Mr. Villines to see if he wants me to send him a thumb dive with videos showing the premature slide lock while firing strong hand.
The second gun is a 5” Colt Combat Unit that got a complete overhaul (extractor, ejector, safeties, trigger, recoil spring, reliability package, etc.) by Wilson. It was running pretty good before customization and came back less reliable than when I sent it. Using ETM mags it will FTF every 20-30 rounds with HST. With Tripp mags, the FTF issues with HST decrease to every 50-60 round. Gold Dots seem to run fine only with Tripp mags but more rounds need to be cycled before I have faith.
I’m not upset with nor am I faulting Wilson. I have plenty of Wilson guns that run great (45ACP CQB Elite, EDC X9, 3 Berettas). However, forum members should understand that the 9mm 1911 game can be far, far less predictable than 45ACP.
I like my rifles like my women - short, light, fast, brown, and suppressed.
Here is my take on 9mm 5" 1911 reliability.
1) The reliability of a 9mm 1911 is heavily impacted by hand and support hand location on the gun. Rubbing the slide just a little bit while riding the thumb safety, support hand location etc can foul things up.
2) The guns have to lubed with a very light oil. Any friction or binding will cause a reliability issue. 5" single stack guns have to be cleaned every few hundred rounds.
3)You always need a 19# hammer spring for the slide to cycle properly with light loads.
4) If the gun reliably feeds the top round of a loaded magazine from slide lock, it probably doesn't have an inherent feeding problem.
5) If the gun will consistently eject a fired empty case with no magazine in the gun, it probably doesn't have an inherent extractor problem.
6)The latest mags with metal followers work best in Wilson guns. Make sure they don't rub the ejector of your Colt.
7) I have not seen too many 9mm's have a problem with slide stop bump-the slide stop is detented and there is usually a ton of clearance for the 9mm bullet ogive and the slide stop lobe.
You can always contact customer service at info@wilosoncombat.com for support
Last edited by WilsonCombatRep; 11-12-2018 at 07:08 AM.
I'm sorry to hear about your problems. My personal problem gun is a S&W 9mm revolver. There's a reason revolvers shoot 38s and not 9mm.
I'm on Wilson's mailing list and I keep toying with the idea of buying that one really high end gun. They are a work of art. Then I think about how devastating it would be to spend that kind of money for a gun that wouldn't run and I think 13,000 rounds in my two HKs without a single bobble, maybe I'll stick with these.
Last edited by Tom Duffy; 11-12-2018 at 08:37 AM.
Sensei has bad luck and he's a lot more patient and optimistic about it than I would be.
I jumped into the 5" 9mm Wilsons this year and they've been phenomenal. I'm using the new 10 round ETM and 9 round Metalform ramped mags. They do fine with 147 HST. My X-Tac is well over 7K rounds with just more lube.
I don't pull the extractor out of a 9mm unless absolutely necessary.
My 5” CQB Elite came back from Wilson today after having the slide stop and recoil spring (now 12.5 lb) replaced. It was sent back due to FTF and premature slide lock issues with 147 grain JHPs. It cycled 100 rounds of 147 HST fine through an assortment of Wilson ETM and Vickers ETM mags. Things are looking brighter for this gun.
I like my rifles like my women - short, light, fast, brown, and suppressed.
More rounds through the CQB elite today. 50 rounds of 124 grain AE and 25 rounds of 147 grain HST fired through 2 Vickers ETM mags. No failures. It’s now at 250 rounds without issues since it’s last trip back.
Last edited by Sensei; 01-31-2019 at 07:49 PM.
I like my rifles like my women - short, light, fast, brown, and suppressed.
Good start