9mm 1911’s Review First Impressions

Last weekend I shot and trained with my first 9mm 1911 pistol and it was great.  I used to carry Para 1911’s for years working for an armored car company.  I loved carrying the 1911 in a tactical thigh rig with a 2.5-inch belt and extra magazines, it didn’t bother me.  But carrying one concealed was heavy.  I started carrying the same thing as when I was working.  That got too heavy, too fast.  I quickly went from two extra magazines to one.  Then from the full sized gun to the compact gun, but still loved it.

Now I’ve been carrying a striker-fired plastic 9mm for 8 years and have gotten lazy because of the weight. But once I put a finely tuned 1911 back in my hand, it was like coming home.  The first gun I got to shoot was a Wilson Combat 9mm.  It was awesome! Super accurate, pointed perfectly, great trigger and just tight as it could be.  Loved shooting it.  Sadly, after a couple of magazines (10 rounds in a 9mm), I had to give it back.

The second day of the BCC Advanced Course in Houston the same student brought me a 1911 and a holster to train with.  Normally I don’t do that because I’m “the one-gun man,” but I couldn’t resist and had to shoot one for the day.

The Smith & Wesson Pro Series SW1911 9mm shot like my old tuned Para, but without the recoil.  It fed perfectly out of two Wilson Combat magazines I borrowed and rode well in a Wilson Combat leather holster.  Very nice set up.  The gun weighs a heavy 41 ounces and did feel heavier than my normal M&P 9 at 24 ounces.  It wasn’t undoable, but just enough to notice.  It didn’t bother me for the 8 hours on the range.

The gun shot perfectly through about 150 rounds of hard use without any malfunctions or hiccups.  The accuracy was awesome.  It made me look like I shoot better than I do.  I shot 7-yard groups about half the size from the 1911 Smith as from my M&P 9.  It just felt great and was easy to shoot accurately.

We shot one-handed, multiple shots, shooting on the move and long range shooting during the day.  The gun made me look good.  Even at 65 yards it was easy to make one-hand hits on man-sized steel.

Now I have to have one.  I’ll be saving my pennies for the gun pictured at the top of the article.  It’s an STI Tactical Lite 9mm commander sized wide-body gun.  It holds 20 rounds and is one of the nicest guns I’ve ever seen.  After shooting a 9mm 1911 now I need one.

If you ever get the chance shoot one and I think you’ll want one too.

Stay Safe,

Ben