Hey Scribe

by Catoosa, Thursday, December 01, 2016, 10:36 (2852 days ago) @ Scribe

Full size or Commander?

If it's an alloy frame gun, the feed ramp will be subject to damage from some hollow point bullets, and POSSIBLY from some types of magazine followers. If the feed ramp has not been messed with, DO NOT polish it. That will remove the anodizing which is harder than the underlying alloy metal and affords some protection against scratches and gouges. Please don't ask me how I know this. Suffice to say, the best thing to do with an alloy frame is to leave it alone.

If you can find them, magazines with skirted followers that don't allow the rounds to nosedive into the feed ramp will help protect the frame and give more positive feeding. There are also magazines which have a crease in the front and a turned down area at the top which is supposed to guide the round away from the ramp. Can't remember what brand they are, but I think Dillon sells them. I've had good luck with Mec-Gar mags, too, but my treasured old LW Commander now gets only lead-bullet reloads and a carefully hoarded supply of Nyclad hollow points.

Probably best also to avoid any rounds with a short overall length. The 9mm round is shorter than the .45 acp round for which the 1911 was designed, and 9mm 1911 mags have to have a filler in them to keep the rounds from slopping back and forth under recoil. Short OAL rounds are bad to nosedive and hit the ramp. If you reload, by all means get a Lee factory crimp die and make sure the bullets are TIGHTLY crimped so that they do not push back into the case on feeding. This will quickly turn a mild reload into a little bomb - again, don't ask me how I know.

9mm 1911s are a bit tricky, but they are extremely pleasant guns to carry and shoot when you get things working right. My late-1960s vintage Commander was the first "modern" centerfire handgun I ever owned, and it was definitely a learning experience, but I still treasure the durned old thing because we went through some dark and snakey places together. It is semi-retired now, but then so am I. I expect that you will enjoy yours immensely.

Good luck!

GSC