1911 question...

[Double T]

I am purchasing a 1911 in the next weeks, and was wondering what the difference in recoil between the 4.25" commander size and officer/compact size are?

I'm looking at either a MetroArms AC Commander or a RIA CS...either or with the beavertail and combat hammers....

Anyone with experience with either of these?

I've read a lot about how the RIA's are dependable out of the box, and with the AC how it's hit or miss with whether you get feed problems.

Any helpful advice would be awesome. My wife will also be shooting this occasionally when I can drag her out the the range until I get her a 38 special revolver...she likes the look but hasn't shot/handled one yet...

Thanks,
TT

 

[JetGirl]

I am purchasing a 1911 in the next weeks, and was wondering what the difference in recoil between the 4.25" commander size and officer/compact size are?

I'm looking at either a MetroArms AC Commander or a RIA CS...either or with the beavertail and combat hammers....

Anyone with experience with either of these?

I've read a lot about how the RIA's are dependable out of the box, and with the AC how it's hit or miss with whether you get feed problems.

Any helpful advice would be awesome. My wife will also be shooting this occasionally when I can drag her out the the range until I get her a 38 special revolver...she likes the look but hasn't shot/handled one yet...

Thanks,
TT

Any time you trade frame size for "smaller" your perceived recoil is a bit more. Not unmanageable and not uncomfortable...just more.
From a 4" to a 3", you may not even notice much.
You would going from a 5" to a 3"...

Advice: if you know someone with a .38, let your wife shoot it BEFORE you buy it. If she's recoil sensitive at all, you'll be making a big $$ mistake (unless you want a snub for yourself).

 

[squirrelhntr]

i've owned a smaller barrel in .45 acp and for me the longer barrel is more comfortable to shoot in the 1911 model. advice for wife is go to the range and let her shoot different calibers and different revolvers and or pistols. most women do not like the .45 automatic from my experience anyway.

 

[Sratch16]

Advice: if you know someone with a .38, let your wife shoot it BEFORE you buy it. If she's recoil sensitive at all, you'll be making a big $$ mistake (unless you want a snub for yourself).

If you can find a ported .38 snub, it's really manageable. Taurus makes one (I have it), and it's recoil is pretty darn tame.

 

[JetGirl]

If you can find a ported .38 snub, it's really manageable. Taurus makes one (I have it), and it's recoil is pretty darn tame.

Hey, if you don't mind, I'd like to try that sometime to see the difference!
(I have the S&W 637...)

 

[iChokePeople]

But back on the OP's topic of 1911s...

I'm with the jet chick, as long as everything else is equal, the shorter barrel will be a little sassier. But all else is seldom equal. Weight plays a part. The cut of the grip and safety (and thus the height of your grip) will play a part. Subtle engineering differences in things like bore height will make a difference. Recoil spring strength.

Shoot them.

 

[Riflemen14]

I have both a full size 1911, and a SA ultra compact V10. The V10 is ported (see pics below) and is very easy is fire as the felt recoil is very mangable. To me it feels like a full size 9mm.

 

[iChokePeople]

Good example -- porting will make a difference. Careful with it for a carry gun, though...

 

[melensdad]

I am purchasing a 1911 in the next weeks, and was wondering what the difference in recoil between the 4.25" commander size and officer/compact size are?

Lots more variable than simply shortening the barrel.

Many of the mid-size and small guns are steel frame, while some of them are aluminum framed guns. As they say, you cannot beat PHYSICS and the biggest factor that affects recoil in 2 otherwise identical guns is the actual weight of the gun. I've shot midsize 1911 pistols that had more recoil than compact 1911 pistols . . . and visa-versa.

Further, if you look at the barrel length only then I can throw several different brands of 1911 pistols on the table for you to try and you'll notice that one of the brands has lower recoil than all the others largely because of the recoil system used. Throw a triple captured recoil spring assembly, into a 1911 and it will soften the perceived recoil of the gun compared to a nearly identical twin of that gun with a traditional recoil assembly. To prove this ask anyone with a 4th Generation Glock to shoot the gun side by side with a 1/2/3rd Gen Glock.

One other thing you should consider if you go down to an "Officer" sized 1911 is that there is now ammo that is optimized for the short barrels. Any time you cut the barrel length you tend to lose some velocity, this is especially true with handguns. The advancements in ammo and powder technology over the past few years have made older ammo obsolete in the smaller size guns as the optimized ammo preforms nearly (but not quite) as well from a short gun barrel as it does from a standard length barrel. I personally feel the FAT GRIP of the Para USA "Warthog" is one of the easiest of the compact 1911 pistols to shoot because the recoil is spread over a wider portion of your palm (again, back to PHYSICS).

FWIW, my daily carry is a full steel, Mag-Na-Ported, compact 45acp (Detonics CombatMaster). Some people mistakenly believe that porting will make the gun "breath fire" out the top of the barrel and cause night blindness. Not true with a 45acp. Especially untrue with modern low flash defensive ammo.

 

[ghitch75]

i guess i'm the other way on this than everyone else......unless i'm shootin' +P loads i can't tell any recoil difference from 3" to 6" when shootin' target loads(4gr Bullseye 230 LRN)....with +P's my longer barreled guns feel to me have more recoil...

 

[Sratch16]

Hey, if you don't mind, I'd like to try that sometime to see the difference!
(I have the S&W 637...)

If we can work out a place/time, you bet.

 

[Double T]

I know the recoil on the 45 will be probably be a tad much for her, but until she gets "her gun" I want her to know what to expect and how to use the 45 in case the need ever arises when I am at work (can't carry while doing home care per company policy)

Thinking of the 4.25 bbl instead of the 3.5 just due to the spread of the felt recoil

Anyone have any hands on experience with metro arms commanders?

 

[JetGirl]

If we can work out a place/time, you bet.

I'm a member of a couple places where I can take a guest... I'll PM you! Thanks!

 

[Bert]

I have both commander and officer models . and have had full sized . hands down favorite is the officer model . The mag is 1 round shorter otherwise gun fits the same . commander is a para LTC . officer is colt 1991a1 . actually have 2 colts .

 

[NHT3]

Feed ramp is part of the barrel on the 3.5 pistol which is what I would consider a pretty significant design change. Some will say functionality is compromised? It's your call but personally I prefer the "compact" size pistols. Officers length grip and 4 to 4.25 barrel length.. just my .02

 

[melensdad]

Thinking of the 4.25 bbl instead of the 3.5 just due to the spread of the felt recoil

Just for the record, the 4.25" bbl Metro Arms Commander weighs only 3 ounces more than my compact Detonics pistol. But the Metro Arms appears to use a standard recoil spring system. I'm willing to bet the larger heavier Metro Arms has MORE recoil than my little Detonics.

In fact in the late great Col. Jeff Cooper wrote (Dec 1974)

"This remarkable pistol is the smallest, lowest recoil single action .45 caliber semi-automatic in the world. The Detonics .45 is a premium quality professional tool for the serious handgun expert and combat shooter. It is capable of providing the brute force stopping power of the standard-sized .45 in a size no larger than a snub-nosed .38, or "pocket" 9mm auto. The Detonics .45 has an advanced mechanism which reduces the apparent recoil remarkably below the full-sized .45. This awesomely powerful pistol is smaller, more easily concealed, and has greater short/medium range rapid fire accuracy than any single action .45 weapon available today. This masterpiece of combat design is gaining recognition as the finest defensive handgun in the world today."​

As the Detonics patents are now public domain I'd suggest you find a 1911 that uses the multi-spring captured recoil assembly system rather than the old GI style recoil spring. Again, its very much like the newest generation of Glock pistols. The Gen 4 Glock is much lower recoiling than the earlier generation Glock pistols. They adopted a system that mimics the Detonics design. Other brands have done the same. If recoil is an issue, don't get hung up on the brand, look for the features that will help you shoot the best.

 

[Sratch16]

I'm a member of a couple places where I can take a guest... I'll PM you! Thanks!

It appears that I haven't met my minimum number of posts in order to be able to send PM's. If you can PM an email address to me, I'll respond that way for the time being.

Sorry for the hassle.

 

[JetGirl]

It appears that I haven't met my minimum number of posts in order to be able to send PM's. If you can PM an email address to me, I'll respond that way for the time being.

Sorry for the hassle.

Argh! I didn't even notice that... MY bad.
I'll PM you.

 

[viiiupndhead]

One thing to keep in mind is on a short 1911 you will likely have a glock style 2 stage recoil spring. These do "feel" different than the smooth rolling recoil of a single stage full length 1911. The smoothness of the full length single spring is probably due to decreased muzzle flip. I own both styles. The 4 inch is for IWB carry, the 5 inch is for everything else.

 

[gunfreak6989]

i got a commander and the recoil is about the same as a full size 1911 not to bad u will love them in any size u get