40 S&W 1911 for Single Stack

[motosapiens]

On 12/6/2022 at 9:06 AM, Mondayshooter40 said:

Excluding the gun comparison, reliability and all the other non sense. What would the competition community rather shoot? .40 S&W or .45 ACP (both making major PF) 

i have both. I slightly prefer the recoil impulse of the 40, it's snappier, and the sights return a little more quickly, all things being equal. However all things are not equal, and my favorite 45 has a slide that is an ounce lighter, so it also returns quickly. For sure the 45 is easier to get running reliably, but it's also nice to just be able to use the same ammo i use for limited.

 

bottom line, pick one and be happy. Top shooters have success with both.

[superlifer03]

I tried a couple different 10 rd magazines in my .40 and couldn't get them to run reliably.  I gave up, and I now run plain jane Wilson 47D .45 acp mags in both my .40 1911s.  They work great now.  

The 1911 in a .40 is a different animal that one in .45(ergonomics are the same, but recoil impulse, cycling, just feels completely different to me) , and the 9mm in a steel frame 1911 is very nice to shoot.  

 

My recommendations if you want an out of the box gun to shoot, give up on the .40 and get a Dan Wesson PM9 in 9mm. 

 

OR get the Rock Island .40, put in a Koenig hammer, EGW sear and disconnector, Wilson Ultralight trigger, Dawson front sight and Dawson ICE Magwell, and Wilson 47D magazines.  

 

Good luck with your decision.  

[superlifer03]

Shoot what you got the most of!  .45 is scarce around here, if it wasn't, I would shoot .45. 

 

9mm is the funnest. 

 

I got alot of .40, so I shoot .40.  

[superlifer03]

Rock Island Rock Ultra FS 40 S&W 8 Round Pistol, Parkerized - 51719 | Palmetto State Armory

 

$581 in stock 

 

What have you got to lose.  Get this and put good guts in it.  

[Makicjf]

10 hours ago, superlifer03 said:

Rock Island Rock Ultra FS 40 S&W 8 Round Pistol, Parkerized - 51719 | Palmetto State Armory

 

$581 in stock 

 

What have you got to lose.  Get this and put good guts in it.  

I have this pistol.  Unless they have changed, it has a bull barrel. Are full size bull barrels now permitted in SS?

If so, I'd give it a try . With a bit of ramp work and a raised mag catch, mine runs Tripp 10 rounders perfectly. I also fit a 10 mm bbl.

Jason

[MikeRussell]

1 hour ago, Makicjf said:

I have this pistol.  Unless they have changed, it has a bull barrel. Are full size bull barrels now permitted in SS?

If so, I'd give it a try . With a bit of ramp work and a raised mag catch, mine runs Tripp 10 rounders perfectly. I also fit a 10 mm bbl.

Jason

 

Still illegal unless the barrel is 4.20in or less. This gun would get the shooter a bump to Open. It's the main reason I haven't bought one as a backup to my Sig 1911Max in 40.

Edited December 14, 2022 by MikeRussell

[Joe4d]

12 hours ago, superlifer03 said:

Rock Island Rock Ultra FS 40 S&W 8 Round Pistol, Parkerized - 51719 | Palmetto State Armory

 

$581 in stock 

 

What have you got to lose.  Get this and put good guts in it.  

wouldnt touch one, frames are out of spec . Royal PIA putting guts in it. Barrel not fit that well. Getting breach face erosion and none of my primers have any leakage or look odd  Just not good metal I guess.

[robertg5322]

On 12/6/2022 at 9:06 AM, Mondayshooter40 said:

Excluding the gun comparison, reliability and all the other non sense. What would the competition community rather shoot? .40 S&W or .45 ACP (both making major PF) 

I have a nice Les Baer .45 and a home made .40 S&W gun I built on a Kimber frame.

 

I set both guns up as equal as I could, and the .45 is probably the better gun based on the fact that it was built by a company that builds guns while the .40 gun was built by a guy in his garage (me) as an exercise to see if he could make it, make it it work, and make it look nice, but for whatever reason I shoot the .40 gun much better. No idea why, I just get better hits and better times with it 

 

.40 S&W brass is much easier to find laying on the ground, and bullets are a smidge less expensive, so there's also that.

[shootin-blanks]

I shot tons of ammo thru my SS(s)  in .40 .

Load them Long ...   I ran 1.185   I know some that run 1.20

I ran WIlson 47D mags for a long time, then came to rest using Tripp 10mm mags.

 

The advantages are:

 

You get to shoot your same  limited gun ammo

Brass is always available (and typically cheaper)

Slide forward reloads practicallly fall in (due to the extra empty space, 8 rds in a 9rd mag)

 

Cavets:

 

You mostly have to "roll your own"  Reloads  The ammo needs to be loaded to 10mm length for 110% reliabiltiy..

* I'm sure there are some that will eat factory length, but not the norm.

The only other, that comes to mind: During a slide BACK reload, You'll want to "SLIP" in it, like your sneaking in the driveway, 10 minutes late.

Otherwise, if  you SLAM it in,  with the extra space in the mag 8rd in a 9rd mag, the inertia will compress the spring  and can wedge the next round between the feed lips.

and the cause the worst DEATH JAM you can imagine. * ask me how I know*

 

Of course YMMV

 

They do POP up every now and then.

Over the years, my friend Robert and I have collected/procured 17 of them.

 

 

[shred]

Yeah, 5-10 years ago most of the 1911 makers had a .40 or two in the lineup, so those can be found.  New ones, not so much.

 

[robertg5322]

2 minutes ago, shred said:

Yeah, 5-10 years ago most of the 1911 makers had a .40 or two in the lineup, so those can be found.  New ones, not so much.

 

Only ones I know of new are RIA or Dan Wesson, and JFC!! that hideous slide signature makes me balk at spending almost $2k on a Dan Wesson.

[Kilrb]

53 minutes ago, robertg5322 said:

Only ones I know of new are RIA or Dan Wesson, and JFC!! that hideous slide signature makes me balk at spending almost $2k on a Dan Wesson.

Dan Wesson doesn't make one anymore, I tried to get one last year. Searched for months and finally quit looking.

[riden]

I was fortunate to grab a Sig Max Michel 1911 in 40 some years back when they were clearing inventory out. Every now & then 1 shows up on GunBroker. 

[Hammerman]

10 hours ago, shootin-blanks said:

I shot tons of ammo thru my SS(s)  in .40 .

Load them Long ...   I ran 1.185   I know some that run 1.20

I ran WIlson 47D mags for a long time, then came to rest using Tripp 10mm mags.

 

The advantages are:

 

You get to shoot your same  limited gun ammo

Brass is always available (and typically cheaper)

Slide forward reloads practicallly fall in (due to the extra empty space, 8 rds in a 9rd mag)

 

Cavets:

 

You mostly have to "roll your own"  Reloads  The ammo needs to be loaded to 10mm length for 110% reliabiltiy..

* I'm sure there are some that will eat factory length, but not the norm.

The only other, that comes to mind: During a slide BACK reload, You'll want to "SLIP" in it, like your sneaking in the driveway, 10 minutes late.

Otherwise, if  you SLAM it in,  with the extra space in the mag 8rd in a 9rd mag, the inertia will compress the spring  and can wedge the next round between the feed lips.

and the cause the worst DEATH JAM you can imagine. * ask me how I know*

 

Of course YMMV

 

They do POP up every now and then.

Over the years, my friend Robert and I have collected/procured 17 of them.

 

 

So which one is your favorite???

[robertg5322]

5 hours ago, Kilrb said:

Dan Wesson doesn't make one anymore, I tried to get one last year. Searched for months and finally quit looking.

CZ Custom site says they can get them. If only they could erase the rollmark on the slide.

[Kilrb]

19 minutes ago, robertg5322 said:

CZ Custom site says they can get them. If only they could erase the rollmark on the slide.

I checked with them, need to update their web page. They told me it was not available.

[robertg5322]

9 minutes ago, Kilrb said:

I checked with them, need to update their web page. They told me it was not available.

That's unfortunate.

[bdpaz]

2 hours ago, Kilrb said:

I checked with them, need to update their web page. They told me it was not available.

I was at CZ Custom last week and I’m pretty sure that I saw one in the display case. They do show one in stock on their website. https://czcustom.com/new-firearms/dan-wesson-elite-pistols/dw-ss-custom-cal-40-s-w.html

[shootin-blanks]

15 hours ago, Hammerman said:

So which one is your favorite???

Of the 8 that are mine,  only 3 that I shot in competion, Gen 1 Kimber with Kart barrel (factory barrel was 50fps slower than every .40 I own), the PreCZ DW w/Extreme guts and checkered frame & a rattle box springer I bought from Manny years ago.

My goto was the Springer, the techwell magwell and aluma panels really fit my hand. 2# extreme guts, Wilson lightweight trigger. fix rear and dawson front.

 

Nicest of the bunch is probably the C&S, Sean McSheehy built the whole thing for I believe the 2019 Nats. was built with both 9mm and 40 barrels.

The shake and bake paint job is not my favorite, but he was building a blaster, not a collector. Still lots of detail. 

 

[cnote]

On 12/5/2022 at 3:08 PM, Boomstick303 said:

Yes.  Keep in mind you cannot switch back and forth during a match.  You have to declare before the match starts.  If you declared Major and then ran a stage with 9-10 the magazine you would be switched to minor for the entire match.  

bumped to open

 

[shred]

Most RMs IME go with IPSC's reasoning that you didn't break the division rules, just the PF and move to Minor, same as if you declared Major in Limited and showed up with a 9mm.

 

 

[zzt]

OP, check out Warwick Tactical.  They make excellent guns to order, and they are usually quite quick.  They will make you anything you want, although the slide cuts are limited.  I have friends with their guns.  Outstanding.  To give you some idea of how anal they are about quality, they have 27 different length barrel links for a 1911.  I was incredulous.  I asked why so many.  The reply was they wanted an exact fit.

 

You don't want to reload another caliber.  So stick with a 40sw.  If you want the option of 10-rounds in a mag (reliably), call Tripp Research and tell them you want their special 10-round mag for SS that fits in the box.  DO NOT order it online or you will get the wrong one.  You have to call and they will fix you right up.

 

BTW, 40sw minor is quieter and softer than 9mm.  Don't let anyone talk you out of it.  

[CalTeacher]

10rd 40 single stack mags are a waste of time.  They’re a pain in the butt to seat and finicky.  I used the Corey system mags (you can buy those online btw), and while they’d feed, they’re not worth the hassle for minor.  If you want to shoot minor, 9 is the way to go.

 

For major, 45 with 230gr round nose ammo is reliable with nearly any mag, provided the gun is built well. 40 does have a quicker, snappier recoil impulse, and it’s certainly convenient to be able to run the same ammo in limited and SS.  Bullets are also cheaper than 45, and if you shoot 9, 38SC, or any other round that uses small primers, then you only have to stock one size of primer.

 

I own 5 single stacks, 2 in 45, 2 in 40, and one 9mm. They’re all fun to shoot.

[JayDee]

There seem to be a few camps when it comes to 40 1911s. Some say that 40s are a hassle, others say 40 mags are a hassle…… no doubt these opinions have a basis in personal experience. 
 

My experience with 1911s is that the platform can run reliably with the right combo of ammo and mag plus some smithing, if needed. 
 

I own two DWs in 40, use Tripp mags exclusively, load my ammo to 1.14” (not overly long) and both guns are super reliable. I use Tripp 9 and 10 round mags and they run equally well. I do replace the springs a followers every year if I’m shooting a lot. 
 

I used to have an STI and couldn’t get it to run with any combo until STI recut the feedramp. The point is that there are a lot of variables regardless of caliber. 
 

and yes, 40 minor feels like cheating. I switch to a 10# recoil spring and the sights come back down on target. Great for steel challenge. 

[konkapot]

I historically have had access to lots of .40 factory ammo, and shot limited for a long time, so .40 made sense to me. 

 

If not for the above I'd do .45 All Day Long. So many more gun options. 200gr .45 at about 850fps would be sweet.