2011 10mm with higher end loads... durability expectations?

[ddc]

I'm curious what your durability expectations would be if you built a 2011 chambered in 10mm and used 10mm loaded up to it's potential.

 

[shred]

Compensated?  Slide cuts?  Optic?

 

Do you have 2011 mags that work reliably with full-length 10mm or will you be loading short?

[ddc]

My OP was probably misleading as I'm not considering an actual build.

 

More detail:

 

I was talking to a friend yesterday about the 10mm options on the market, Glock 20/40, Sig X10, RIA 1911's, etc. and the 2011 subject came up.

 

We were curious if there was anything inherent in the 2011 platform that would provide additional durability above and beyond a typical 1911 based gun and possibly approaching Glock levels of durability.

[shred]

Probably no real difference, since they are effectively 1911s above the grip, but early STI doublestack mags didn't work very well with 10mm bullet profiles because the front corners were too rounded and TC-shaped bullets could drag.  They made a few now and then but most went to reloaders that loaded slightly short.  They do have ramped barrels and optional full length heavy dust covers and such that plain-jane 1911s don't.

 

You could do a heavier slide and custom stuff if you really wanted as well.  I shot many tens of thousands of rounds of 9x25 Dillon through one back in the day.

 

 

[Dranoel]

Would depend on what grip module you use. Polymer? I would expect low durability.  I am not a fan of Polymer to begin with and less so when it comes to high recoil chamberings. But a two piece design held together with essentially two screws? I give it 5k rnds max before the grip starts loosening and giving you problems.

 

With an Aluminum module 7-8k rnds. With titanium or steel (depending on the type of steel used) 10-12K. This is again because of the two piece design.  If the frame itself were extended downward enough to nearly the full grip length as tabs just long enough to reach the normal bottom grip screw length, I would say you could triple the durability in any scenario.

[shred]

Yeah, the polymer grips last a lot longer than that, even with 175+ PF 9x25 Dillon.  The grips have a steel insert and it's bushings and slots not screws holding the parts together.

 

A Glock 20 only has some mold inserts and pins holding the bits together but they do fine with 10mm.

 

[MikeBurgess]

On 3/5/2023 at 2:28 PM, Dranoel said:

Would depend on what grip module you use. Polymer? I would expect low durability.  I am not a fan of Polymer to begin with and less so when it comes to high recoil chamberings. But a two piece design held together with essentially two screws? I give it 5k rnds max before the grip starts loosening and giving you problems.

 

With an Aluminum module 7-8k rnds. With titanium or steel (depending on the type of steel used) 10-12K. This is again because of the two piece design.  If the frame itself were extended downward enough to nearly the full grip length as tabs just long enough to reach the normal bottom grip screw length, I would say you could triple the durability in any scenario.

I would be willing to bet that the polymer grip would offer the best durability, the fact that is flexes is a big plus. 

I know that STIs early aluminum grips had cracking issues, I have seen the front lug broken off the frame on several open and limited guns with steel frames.

 

 

[ltdmstr]

On 3/4/2023 at 5:14 PM, ddc said:

. . . possibly approaching Glock levels of durability.

 

I've seen plenty of 9mm and other caliber Glocks fail at moderate round counts.  Usually, the slide cracks at the ejection port.  As for durability of the 1911/2011 design with 10mm, that shouldn't pose a problem if the gun is set up correctly.  I'd start by replacing any MIM parts with forged or bar stock parts of known quality.  And also make sure the barrel is fit and timed correctly.  Re: polymer grips, the only ones I've seen cracked were either installed or removed incorrectly, or were modified in a way that weakened them.  In stock form, they are very durable.