My new 1911

[Guest dotsun]

[TGO David]

What kind is it?

[Guest dotsun]

S.A.M. = Shooters Arms Mfg. Don't feel bad I'd never heard of them, either.

[Guest Disney]

Is it a Commodore?

Looks good! Have you shot it yet?

[Guest Mugster]

Thats a good looking little .45. I have a S.A. ultra compact that looks pretty similar. Is that a single stack or a double stack magazine?

[Guest canynracer]

Nice!!! congrats on the new member...let us know how it does!!

[Guest dotsun]

It's a single stack mag and it's not marked Commodore, but it sure does look like the one pictured on SAM's website. The gun is a blast to shoot, but it's failing to eject on occasion. I ordered a new extractor for it that should be in this week. I'm fairly bummed about that, but it's a cheap fix so I'll live. I guess the baby Glock gets to be my primary carry for at least a few more days.

[Guest Mugster]

I'm not a limp wrister, but i shoot mostly one handed. I've noticed on those tiny .45's the recoil gives you such a snap, you've got to hold it good and tight. I almost have to use 2 hands on mine...fixes extraction, FF's, and they just generally work better. You might try running a few mags putting a death grip on it or from a vice and see if the problem goes away.

[Mike.357]

Might just need some more breaking in. Any idea how many rounds have been through it? My RIA could not feed a magazine load without some kind of failure. Since the round count has increased so has reliablilty. You also might want to keep the mag loaded for a while to help break in the spring in it. Doing that seemed to help on mine as well.

[Guest dotsun]

I don't think it was a safe queen, the extractor and other parts do show signs of wear. I was also able to effect the problem by tuning the extractor so I'm pretty sure that's the issue. In fact after the adjustment and cleaning it ran much better today, just not good enough to become my carry gun.

I was using a pretty firm 2 handed grip Mugster, but I'll make certain of that the next time I get it out to the range. Hopefully next weekend if Midway gets my stuff to me this week.

You guys that carry 1911's, what defense ammo do you recommend? This is my first .45 so I'm pretty lost about that.

[willis68]

gets my stuff to me this week.

You guys that carry 1911's, what defense ammo do you recommend? This is my first .45 so I'm pretty lost about that.

Federal Hydrashok 230 Grain, I have used it for a few years, excellent carry ammo...

[Guest looneeetunes]

hey dotsun thats a goodlookin pistol. i noticed you live in clinton. did you get it around here? maryville here. i have been lookin for a ez priced 1911. i havent found rock island around here anywhere.

[Guest bkelm18]

Federal HST has been getting some pretty good reviews lately. That's what I carry in my HK USPc .40SW. If I ever do carry my 1911, I'd go with the HSTs as well.

[Pokey]

congrats on the new gun dotsun....hope everything works out for you on it...looks good!!!

[Guest Boomhower]

That's a good looking piece man. Hope you enjoy it. Maybe we'll be able to get together this week and I'll be able to look at it a little closer.......I promise that I won't be as bad as Tower though.

[Guest dotsun]

Thanks for the gratz and ammo suggestions guys. I bought it at the gun show Loon, the only place I've found that carries RIA is J Floyd's on Merchants. They had one for 400 NIB which isn't a bad price although I did see one at the show for $370.

Yeah Boom you and Tower are gun touchers.

[Guest Mugster]

I don't think it was a safe queen, the extractor and other parts do show signs of wear. I was also able to effect the problem by tuning the extractor so I'm pretty sure that's the issue. In fact after the adjustment and cleaning it ran much better today, just not good enough to become my carry gun.

I was using a pretty firm 2 handed grip Mugster, but I'll make certain of that the next time I get it out to the range. Hopefully next weekend if Midway gets my stuff to me this week.

You guys that carry 1911's, what defense ammo do you recommend? This is my first .45 so I'm pretty lost about that.

I don't carry, but i do keep a loaded .45 as a nightstand piece. You lose a lot of velocity in that short barrel. You should look for factory loadings that cater to that. You might see a box labeled "short barrel". They do a few things with burn rate/primer and try to optimize for you've got. If you can't find any of that, second choice for me would be a 185gr jhp +P loading. Lastly, i'd go with winchester white box in 230gr jhp "personal protection" from walmart. Whatever you go with, i'd recommend picking something you can afford so you can shoot it regularly.

Extractor's can be a pain. I feel you.

[Mike.357]

havent found rock island around here anywhere.

Gander Mountain in Farrugut carries them, not sure but as I recall it was 389 NIB.

[Guest Disney]

I keep Hornady 200gr +P rounds in all of my .45's. I can tell a distinct difference between them and the Remington target rounds.