subcompact 1911s

**nismophreek** · 03-02-2008, 22:53

I'm interested in possibly getting a subcompact 1911 with a 3 inch barrel. Do you guys have any opinions on the subcompact 1911s? What manufacturers are making them and who do you prefer? Thanks in advance.

**jwinch2** · 03-02-2008, 23:23

The Springfield EMP is getting good reviews from what I have read. May be worth checking out.

http://www.springfield-armory.com/armory.php?model=24

**David Anderson** · 03-09-2008, 17:47

Originally Posted by nismophreek

I'm interested in possibly getting a subcompact 1911 with a 3 inch barrel. Do you guys have any opinions on the subcompact 1911s? What manufacturers are making them and who do you prefer? Thanks in advance.

I've got a Detonics Combatmaster that I'm very fond of, although I've never found it easy to shoot. You won't find a lot of those around nowadays unfortunately.

The main criteria is how well the gun fits in your hand...I have large hands with long fingers and the grip of my Detonics barely lets me get two fingers holding it. That's the main reason it's so challenging to shoot well. [Aside front the fact that I'm not that great a shot].

In addition, its powerful recoil spring assembly and short slide stroke mean you need a very firm grip on the gun. I loaned it to a pal with short stubby [but very strong] fingers and he was able to shoot it very well.

Bottom line...more than with most pistols, you'd be very wise to 'try before you buy'. Big-bore pistols don't scale down all that easily. I'm currently considering a Springfield XD in .40m and they make the same gun in .45 with a compact frame. If I was looking for another mini .45, I'd seriously look at that one.

**TonyU** · 03-09-2008, 18:00

I love my Combatmaster.
Alot of the newer subcompacts now have the standard length grip and take standard 1911 magazines.
Coincidently one of my buddies brought a Kimber with a 3 inch barrel. The only problem he had was throughout the break in period (Kimber is notorious for this). Now he has no problems.
Besides my Combatmaster i have no extensive experience with 1911 subcompacts although I shoot it juts as well as my other psitols. Although in my case I have long fingers but can get them all the on the grip.

**Chokushin** · 03-09-2008, 18:41

Certainly lots of companies make pistols of the type you are looking for..that being a sub-compact. Lots of 1911 Officers ACP's out there many by Colt as well the offerings by Kimber and Springfield. However as David ( Dave ? ) mentioned some large caliber sub-compacts are more difficult to shoot and handle. Sight radius, grip size, spring strength, etc all come into play.

Personally I have always found the Compacts as opposed to the Sub-Compacts a worthy and workable compromise. Examples being the Glock-19 as opposed to the Glock-26 or the 1911 Commanders in place of a Colt Officers model etc.

Perhaps you already have a Compact or have already considered one and decided against it for some reason..I don't know. If you haven't I would perhaps give it some consideration. There are certainly no lack of 4" - 4.25" 1911's out there that conceal well and are a little more user friendly in the shooting department.

That is my 2 cents for that it maybe worth....whatever you decide on I hope you are able to find one you like and enjoy shooting it.

**rgoad** · 03-10-2008, 08:41

What about the Kahrs? I have only seen few. I can't tell if I like them or not.

**TonyU** · 03-10-2008, 08:46

Originally Posted by rgoad

What about the Kahrs? I have only seen few. I can't tell if I like them or not.

Crap!
.......

**rgoad** · 03-10-2008, 10:21

Hmm. Thought so. So I'm back to Sigs, Glocks, Kimber, Springfield Armoury, and maybe Colt.

**TonyU** · 03-10-2008, 10:39

Sorry to be so succinct before. Kahr became very popular among my contemporaries due to their small sizes so I got to handle, shoot or at least see others shoot them. To give you a perspective, in the last few years, I've seen them almost as much as the better know handguns at our range like Glocks.
All of them had FTF issues, way past what one would consider a break in period. And I know of many that had to be returned to the manufacturer, sometimes several times, before they would work properly.
I have issues with having to return a gun I purchased new, to be repaired, because it wouldn't function properly out of the box.

**rgoad** · 03-10-2008, 11:55

I appreciate your directness. It's good to get the opinion clear. I have only seen one on our range and it, too, had a FTF issue. I was not sure if it was the owner or the product. I have had to 'tune' some guns in the past for little things to get them to feed well. Mainly the spring and the ramp. There was a little AMT .45 some years ago that was a pocket gun. It was stiff and had feed issues, too, as did every AMT I have seen. The idea was great, but reliability was not something I would want to trust when you needed it.

**jwinch2** · 05-01-2008, 00:17

Chris,

I came across these handguns recently and remembered this thread. Don't know whether or not you are still in the market but I thought I would post anyways...

http://www.kimberamerica.com/pistols/sis/sis_ultra/

http://www.paraord.com/product/category.html?cat=20