My search for a 4" 1911, Springfield, Colt, STI
Posted: Mon May 17, 2010 12:01 am
I have been carrying regularly for about three years. I know it's not a long time for a turtle, but it's a lifetime for a hamster. I am now a dedicated 1911 owner and user. In my search, I have settled on 4" 1911's in .45ACP for my carry choice even though I have examples of all of the other lengths.
I will give you some insight to my journey for my best ( read; ongoing search ) choice for a daily carry.
When I got my CHL, I had to get some semi-auto pistols to qualify for the full SA certification. I did extensive research and purchased XD's for my sons, daughter, wife and myself for the CHL course and range qualification. A lot of the basis for the purchase of XD's was based on natural, comfortable grip, natural point of aim, interchangeability of mags and ammo, ease of use, lifetime warranty, and above all reliability. The other reason was I wanted us (the family) to all have the same pistols that operated exactly the same. In any emergency, any of us could grab anyone other family members pistol and be completely familiar with its operation.
At the time I had an old Colt 5" in 1911 (9mm), an S&W 6909, and an S&W model 59 (double action near 1911 in 9mm). None of them were reliable with JHP. None of them did anything other than ride to the ranch or range once in a while to "play" with semi-auto pistols. I carried a .357 wheel gun on me hunting and in the glove box. I did not trust any semi-automatic. Revolvers always work, no matter where or when.
Not to be confused with a review by an expert like Stephen Camp, please understand I have purchased my handguns to learn from and with, as well as, all the ammo and all opinions of mine are just that, opinions from using my own guns and ammo. Any interested ammo or guns sponsors can contact me by phone at 555-BR-549.
To shorten the story, about two years ago we took a pistol course and discovered that the whole family was gripping the double stack pistols (XD) incorrectly to compensate for our small hands. The best compromise for us maintaining commonality for all the family members seemed to be the 1911 series with thin grips. The successful answer for the family has been that now we all have, use, and carry 1911’s in .45ACP.
Sort of like Goldilocks and the three bears, the 3” 1911’s are a compromise for several reasons, and the 5” and 6” 1911’s are too big, and we as a family have settled on the 4” 1911’s as being “just right” for our needs.
Some of the magazines used in all of the pistols;
Springfield, McCormick, Wilson, Colt, and STI (Italian). All of the pistols below work perfectly with all of the magazines I have or they go in the garbage.
Ammo;
I use Speer Gold Dot, WWB JHP, Winchester Bonded, Federal PD Hydra shok, and Hornady HXT in JHP.
I use anything with a brass case for FMJ, including WWB, Federal UMC, Magtech, Ranger, etc., and reloads from USA ammo and Georgia Arms.
My four incher 1911 quest as simple as I can do it.
Springfield Champion mil spec:
Pluses: Reliable, no failures 800+ rounds FMJ and JHP. It will be handed down to my grandkids. Uses the larger 8 + 1 magazines. Trigger is stiff, but positive. I like the short trigger for my small hands, it’s closer to the grip....my shorter finger gets there easily.
Fit and finish good. Parkerized.
Minuses: No beavertail. All steel and heavier. The military sights are hard to see.
Springfield Champion SS loaded:
I don’t have a photo.
Pluses: Uses the larger 8 + 1 magazines. Night sights. Ambi-safety. Beaver tail. Supposed to have a nice trigger. Fit and finish good.
Minuses: All steel and heavier. failures – froze up at 150 rounds, frame rail had machine chatter marks, now 400+ rounds FMJ and JHP. Had a trigger failure of a double step before hammer release and sent back to Springfield. We’ll see when it returns. This is the only failure of any kind of a Springer of the dozen or so I own.
Springfield Champion Operator: (have two of them, both are great guns)
Likes: Reliable, no failures of any kind 600+ rounds FMJ and JHP. Alloy frame, lighter. Night sights. Nice trigger. Larger 8 + 1 mags. Ambi-safety. Beaver tail.
This is one of the easiest of the four inchers to use when firing. It’s easier on the hands. Recoil is less than the other alloy 4”. The safety is smoother than others.
Fit and finish are excellent.
Dislikes: Alloy frame might limit the life with heavy load ammo or with lots and lots (20 K rounds of shooting is the number I have seen). Tactical rail, hard to find leather. I honestly have no use for the rail, but the guns are great.
Colt Commander: (2 Commanders (alloy frame), standard 80 series
and XSE and one Combat Commander (all steel), all SS slide)
Photo of the standard series 80 alloy Commander with the STI Guardian
Pluses: Reliable, no failures 500+ rounds in all of them. Beaver tail. Nice triggers. Ambi-safety in the XSE. Fit and finish are good.
Minuses: Once again, alloy frames might limit pistol using heavy loads (+P) to 20K rounds. I don’t care for the standard sights on one of them (the standard 80 series Commander). Sharp edges. The safety starts biting my thumb after a couple of magazines. Blisters. The trigger guard is too sharp for a bunch of shooting (all the sharp edges need dehorning). I have had a single failure with a Colt factory magazine during a defensive handgun course.
STI Guadian:
Photo
Likes: Reliable, no failures 500+ rounds. Beaver tail. Nice trigger. Officer sized grip for easier concealed carry. The same size grip as a 3” 1911 with a 4” bbl. All steel. Adjustable target sights (nice). Fit and finish are excellent......
except plastic trigger flash.
Dislikes: Officer sized grip (note, this is a like and dislike for less ammo), one less round than the others with the full sized grips. A little snappy when compared to the Champion Operator, probably due to the shorter grip. It has perfectly manageable recoil. Much nicer than any of the 3 3” 1911’s I have.
To summarize:
I like all of the above. For carry, I would be comfortable with any of them, but more regularly using a Commander, and now the newest edition to my collection, the STI Guardian.
I would dehorn the Commander if I plan to do much shooting with it. I would prefer a bigger hump on the grip safety on the Commander. I don’t have an Mtac for the Operator because of the tactical rail............
so the choice is...
because of reliability, weigh/balance, accuracy, better sights, better trigger, and the smaller grip,.......
The STI Guardian will be spending most of it’s time in my Mtac.
I will give you some insight to my journey for my best ( read; ongoing search ) choice for a daily carry.
When I got my CHL, I had to get some semi-auto pistols to qualify for the full SA certification. I did extensive research and purchased XD's for my sons, daughter, wife and myself for the CHL course and range qualification. A lot of the basis for the purchase of XD's was based on natural, comfortable grip, natural point of aim, interchangeability of mags and ammo, ease of use, lifetime warranty, and above all reliability. The other reason was I wanted us (the family) to all have the same pistols that operated exactly the same. In any emergency, any of us could grab anyone other family members pistol and be completely familiar with its operation.
At the time I had an old Colt 5" in 1911 (9mm), an S&W 6909, and an S&W model 59 (double action near 1911 in 9mm). None of them were reliable with JHP. None of them did anything other than ride to the ranch or range once in a while to "play" with semi-auto pistols. I carried a .357 wheel gun on me hunting and in the glove box. I did not trust any semi-automatic. Revolvers always work, no matter where or when.
Not to be confused with a review by an expert like Stephen Camp, please understand I have purchased my handguns to learn from and with, as well as, all the ammo and all opinions of mine are just that, opinions from using my own guns and ammo. Any interested ammo or guns sponsors can contact me by phone at 555-BR-549.
To shorten the story, about two years ago we took a pistol course and discovered that the whole family was gripping the double stack pistols (XD) incorrectly to compensate for our small hands. The best compromise for us maintaining commonality for all the family members seemed to be the 1911 series with thin grips. The successful answer for the family has been that now we all have, use, and carry 1911’s in .45ACP.
Sort of like Goldilocks and the three bears, the 3” 1911’s are a compromise for several reasons, and the 5” and 6” 1911’s are too big, and we as a family have settled on the 4” 1911’s as being “just right” for our needs.
Some of the magazines used in all of the pistols;
Springfield, McCormick, Wilson, Colt, and STI (Italian). All of the pistols below work perfectly with all of the magazines I have or they go in the garbage.
Ammo;
I use Speer Gold Dot, WWB JHP, Winchester Bonded, Federal PD Hydra shok, and Hornady HXT in JHP.
I use anything with a brass case for FMJ, including WWB, Federal UMC, Magtech, Ranger, etc., and reloads from USA ammo and Georgia Arms.
My four incher 1911 quest as simple as I can do it.
Springfield Champion mil spec:
Pluses: Reliable, no failures 800+ rounds FMJ and JHP. It will be handed down to my grandkids. Uses the larger 8 + 1 magazines. Trigger is stiff, but positive. I like the short trigger for my small hands, it’s closer to the grip....my shorter finger gets there easily.
Fit and finish good. Parkerized.
Minuses: No beavertail. All steel and heavier. The military sights are hard to see.
Springfield Champion SS loaded:
I don’t have a photo.
Pluses: Uses the larger 8 + 1 magazines. Night sights. Ambi-safety. Beaver tail. Supposed to have a nice trigger. Fit and finish good.
Minuses: All steel and heavier. failures – froze up at 150 rounds, frame rail had machine chatter marks, now 400+ rounds FMJ and JHP. Had a trigger failure of a double step before hammer release and sent back to Springfield. We’ll see when it returns. This is the only failure of any kind of a Springer of the dozen or so I own.
Springfield Champion Operator: (have two of them, both are great guns)
Likes: Reliable, no failures of any kind 600+ rounds FMJ and JHP. Alloy frame, lighter. Night sights. Nice trigger. Larger 8 + 1 mags. Ambi-safety. Beaver tail.
This is one of the easiest of the four inchers to use when firing. It’s easier on the hands. Recoil is less than the other alloy 4”. The safety is smoother than others.
Fit and finish are excellent.
Dislikes: Alloy frame might limit the life with heavy load ammo or with lots and lots (20 K rounds of shooting is the number I have seen). Tactical rail, hard to find leather. I honestly have no use for the rail, but the guns are great.
Colt Commander: (2 Commanders (alloy frame), standard 80 series
and XSE and one Combat Commander (all steel), all SS slide)
Photo of the standard series 80 alloy Commander with the STI Guardian
Pluses: Reliable, no failures 500+ rounds in all of them. Beaver tail. Nice triggers. Ambi-safety in the XSE. Fit and finish are good.
Minuses: Once again, alloy frames might limit pistol using heavy loads (+P) to 20K rounds. I don’t care for the standard sights on one of them (the standard 80 series Commander). Sharp edges. The safety starts biting my thumb after a couple of magazines. Blisters. The trigger guard is too sharp for a bunch of shooting (all the sharp edges need dehorning). I have had a single failure with a Colt factory magazine during a defensive handgun course.
STI Guadian:
Photo
Likes: Reliable, no failures 500+ rounds. Beaver tail. Nice trigger. Officer sized grip for easier concealed carry. The same size grip as a 3” 1911 with a 4” bbl. All steel. Adjustable target sights (nice). Fit and finish are excellent......
except plastic trigger flash.
Dislikes: Officer sized grip (note, this is a like and dislike for less ammo), one less round than the others with the full sized grips. A little snappy when compared to the Champion Operator, probably due to the shorter grip. It has perfectly manageable recoil. Much nicer than any of the 3 3” 1911’s I have.
To summarize:
I like all of the above. For carry, I would be comfortable with any of them, but more regularly using a Commander, and now the newest edition to my collection, the STI Guardian.
I would dehorn the Commander if I plan to do much shooting with it. I would prefer a bigger hump on the grip safety on the Commander. I don’t have an Mtac for the Operator because of the tactical rail............
so the choice is...
because of reliability, weigh/balance, accuracy, better sights, better trigger, and the smaller grip,.......
The STI Guardian will be spending most of it’s time in my Mtac.