Three 1911 handguns with similar barrel lengths
“What would you like to shoot this Wednesday?” I ask Joe.
“How about three 1911 handguns? Two have 3 ½-inch barrels and one has a 3-inch barrel.”
“OK. What other differences do they have?”
“One is a 9mm, one a .40-caliber, and the other is a .45. Do you think they will shoot a lot differently?” he asks.
“Wait a sec. One is a .40. You know I think that .40s are snappy. I don’t like them,” I return.
“Well, when you actually shoot them together, maybe this will change your mind.”
“I don’t think so,” I grump, but am willing to prove him wrong.
“So, you think the .40 will be snappier than the .45?”
“Yep. I do.”
Usually, we shoot at the Wakulla County Sheriff’s Office range on Wednesday, but this week, the range is closed. Instead, we visit friends on Sunday. They have a range in their large acreage.
It is raining.
We set up three targets: one for each gun.
First, we shoot a Rock Island M1911 A1CS 9mm gun. It has a very hefty bull barrel. Very hefty. Holding it without ammunition shows a definite heavy nose, as the entire slide weighs a lot with all that metal.
This Rock Island holds 8 rounds. Rear sight is a square without a top. You align the center of the square with a ramp front sight. To make the front sight easier to use, Joe has painted the ramp bright orange. It helps.
First, Joe racks the slide. He says it’s fairly light. Then he aims and pulls the trigger. He finds trigger and trigger pull to be quite light. But, remember. We’re shooting 1911s, so the hammer is cocked when we shoot. This means we’re not asking the trigger to pull a hammer back; we’re just asking the trigger to release the hammer. Which means, of course, that the trigger doesn’t have to perform both actions, and is therefore a much lighter trigger. Joe always says that 1911 triggers are extremely good. (He’s comparing 1911 hammer guns to my favorite striker-fired guns. Ahem.)
He finds the recoil to be in the medium range: not too strong and not light.
Next, I try the gun. Like Joe, I find trigger and trigger pull to be reasonably light. Recoil isn’t bad, either. However, I do find that racking the slide requires more work.
Accuracy? Well, it’s raining out. And it’s dark. And we’re not standing on the flat concrete of the WCSO range. We’re not going to brag about how accurately we’re shooting today. However, all rounds do hit on or close to the 8-inch target.
Joe pulls out the .40-caliber Springfield EMP. It has a bull barrel, too, but is ½-inch shorter than the 9mm Rock Island. It holds 8 rounds and has tritium sights. In daylight, tritium sights seem small. I find them difficult to see, and so it is difficult to aim. Since these sights are about 10 years old, the tritium has begun to degrade, and are not so bright as they would have been when the gun was new.
Again, we question: will the difference in length of barrel make a difference in accuracy and how we feel the gun handles?
Joe shoots first. Yes, he likes the 1911 trigger and how it pulls. Recoil? Remember, it’s a .40-caliber handgun. It definitely has more recoil than the 9mm Rock Island. And racking the slide? I watch him pull the slide, and I can tell it’s not easy.
I’m not excited about shooting this gun. And yes, I’m still prejudiced against .40-caliber handguns.
So, I shoot. I agree with Joe that the 1911 trigger is still nice. But, recoil? Yep. It’s a sharp, hard recoil. Not a gun for a new shooter. Not a fun gun for target practice.
Since Joe had loaded the gun for me to shoot, I want to rack the slide for myself to see how stiff it is.
It is stiff. I pull on the slide. And then I pull some more. I plant my feet and yank at it. No dice. Yes, Joe reports a firm slide. He’s more than right. The Springfield EMP is a gun for a strong person who doesn’t mind a sharp recoil.
Have I changed my mind about .40s? No. Not a bit.
Last, we shoot the .45-caliber Rock Island 1911 CS handgun. This handgun is very similar to the 9mm Rock Island we just shot. Also, like the 9mm, it has a 3 ½-inch barrel. It has the same barrel width as the 9mm gun, but because this barrel is drilled for a .45, it is not so thick as the 9mm.
Sights on the .45 are three big white dots. They’re much easier to align than the cut-out dark sights of the 9mm Rock Island or the tiny tritium sights of the .40-caliber Springfield. This Rock Island holds 7 rounds in its magazine.
Am I able to rack the slide on the .45? Yes, but it’s quite sturdy. Joe and I both find racking the slide to be sturdier than we did with the 9mm gun.
Accuracy? Again, it’s a rainy day. So long as we hit the 8-inch target or its near surroundings, all three handguns are accurate.
Joe and I find both the 9mm and the .45-caliber Rock Island handguns to have easy triggers and medium recoil. Racking the slide on the .45 requires more effort than the 9mm, which we expected.
And, as I expected, the .40-caliber Springfield has a harsher recoil than the others. Now, don’t get me wrong. I have a different Springfield. It’s a 9mm handgun. I like it very much, so I’m not griping that the gun we shot today is manufactured by Springfield.
I’m holding to my thought that the .40-caliber handgun is not an easy shooter.
All three of these handguns shoot accurately and will make excellent defensive weapons. Even with just a 3 or 3 ½-inch barrel, these guns have substantial weight and are probably too heavy and bulky for a small-framed person to carry, but would be useful as a car or bedside gun. (Provided that you are very sure to keep the gun away from children or any unauthorized people.)
If you’re new to shooting, please be sure to try out a gun before you purchase one.
Especially if you’re thinking about buying a .40-caliber handgun.