Category: .45 ACP

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.45 ACP 1911 Tisas

Tisas Duty 45ACP Has Now Shot Over 1000 Rounds!

I’m glad we’ve reached the 1000 round goal with this gun.

I’ve owned this gun almost four years now – 3 years 10 months, to be exact. During this time, this gun has been a pain in the ass.

The last 200 or so round was not kind to me. There was an absolute crapload of fails to feed.

Initially, the gun was straightup single shot when I decided to take it to the range again, in December 2025. Immediately, I knew there was an issue when firing the first mag. I almost packed up and went home but I thought about it for a minute or so – I was thinking, “how am I going to troubleshoot this at home?” I decided to stay but I knew it was going to suck.

I spent that whole range session clearing malfunctions. I think I shot 50 rounds (I actually shot 42 rounds). I was there for an hour. The gun would be so locked up that the only way I could clear the malfunction was to pull the mag (and the mag was resisting).

The rounds were hanging on the feed ramp, no matter the magazine. I had maybe 9 magazines with me: two 8-rnd Mecgar mags, an 8-rnd ACT mag, three ACT 7-rnd GI mags, and three Wilson Combat ETM 8-rnd mags. They were ALL misfeeding. The GI mags are somewhat new, as well as one WC mag…those shouldn’t have had issues.

It was not limp-wristing, as this was happening before I fired the gun. The very first rounds were failing to chamber, whether I slingshotted the first round or if I dropped the slide on a full magazine.

One other gun uses the above-mentioned mags, which is my Metro Arms AC Commander. Yes, that gun was misfeeding too, so I kept thinking it was the mags that was causing the issues.

I lubed the gun and put a light coating of oil on the feed ramp, and then tried each mag again. The FTFs didn’t go away.

I then decided to just focus on the GI mags. I just kept shooting, thinking that the gun would eventually start shooting well again. It didn’t. I went home perplexed.

The next day, I cleaned the mags, all but the GI mags (again, as I’d cleaned them the day before the range visit). My thought was that maybe I’d assembled the mags wrong. (All nine of them?) I did notice that three of them had rather limp spring tension. I lubed each and ensured that each was properly re-assembled.

I also suspected the ammo. I only had one type of ammo with me – Winchester white box 115-gr FMJ.

The next day, I returned to the range, with Herters 115-gr FMJ. I started with that first, in a GI mag. I had immediate failures. I again kept shooting and, toward the end of the range visit, I noticed that the gun was now only misfeeding on the very first and very last rounds of the mag. As well, when the gun misfed, I was now able to sharply bump the back of the slide, which fed the round (I’d attempted that on the first range visit and the slide wasn’t having it). I only shot with the GI mags. I went home perplexed again, but a bit more sure…I don’t think the issue was the mags, as the gun felt it was getting a bit better.

When I got home, I gave the gun a once-over to ensure nothing was amiss internally (field stripped). I didn’t see anything amiss.

I then decided to order parts. I ordered a 16-lb recoil spring and a new extractor, which I didn’t think was needed, but I was getting desperate. Once I received the spring, I found that the GI guide rod would not accept the spring (it was an EGW spring). I did quick research and found that this was a particular issue with Tisas guns – the guide rod was slightly out of spec, which caused the slide to be blocked from it’s full range of rack-back. I ordered a replacement GI guide rod from EGW, which fixed the issue. I also tuned the extractor two hours before the range visit.

I also ordered an 18-lb recoil spring for the Metro Commander, as well as a new extractor (that gun had a known bad and not really tunable extractor).

I took both guns back to the range. I only used the GI mags. The Tisas shot 69 flawless rounds…no feed or extract issues. The Metro shot 62, with 2 misfeeds (one FTF and one FTE) – I didn’t tune it’s extractor, but still, I got 60 fault-free rounds from that gun.

I’ve hindsight in that I maintain a range log of all my guns. What I should’ve done was, as soon as I had issues the very first time, was consult my range logs. I had this exact same problem in the past with the Tisas, in December 2023. I shot 147 rounds that visit. Here’s my log entry:


Today’s range visit was a HORRIBLE experience. There were many FTFs, which is weird since yesterday’s feed issues were due to aluminum case ammo and GI mags.

The gun is absolutely filthy, though, even though I lubed the rails before the range visit. I can’t remember the last time I cleaned it. The feed ranp is jet-black.

Many of the feed issues were rounds nosediving on the first and second rounds of the mags. Every mag had feed failures at some point in the shooting. I’ve WC mags, ACT GI mags, the two OEM Mecgar mags, and an ACT 8 rounder (that’s known to be crappy). They all failed. There were so many fails that I stopped counting. Most of it was the PMC bronze, although I also shot Speer Lawman TMJ 230-grain ammo and Blazer aluminum cased ammo. I spent a shitload of time clearing malfunctions.

Three of the PMC rounds hung up on the feed ramp and the projectiles were so pushed in that I had to discard them. Also, more than a few PMC rounds had case lip dings…I saw those on the spent casings as well as the ones that misfed. WTAF.

The gun was failing to feed even before shooting the gun (was occurring during racking after mag insertion — and yeah, I’m sling-shotting with authority. Again, the feed ramp is absolutely filthy, so that could be the issue. I’ve only cleaned it once since ownership (Feb 2022).

Yesterday’s small count of feed issues could just be that the gun was filthy AF. I’ve to keep in mind that these guns are not Glocks, so I shouldn’t be treating them as such. They require cleaning.

I’ll clean the gun today and visit the range again tomorrow or Friday to test again. I’ll also give the internals a once-over, just in case something is amiss with the gun.

I think I’m just going to not shoot PMC JHP through this gun anymore…it’s a waste of ammo. I’m just confused as to why this box was so bad when yesterday’s box wasn’t as bad. Last year, I also shot this same ammo without issues…they’re all from the same batch (I bought like 250 rounds of that ammo a year or two ago, from an online ammo store).

Also, my hand (between the thumb and index finger) is tore TF up…skin isn’t broken but it may as well be. I’ll have to either shoot with gloves or put a bandage on that portion of my hand. I think it’s actually the right side of the grip and thumb safeties that’s chewing up my hand.

I find it difficult to believe that the extractor and recoil spring got tired before 1000 rounds were shot, but I’ve no idea what type of metal is being used for Tisas OEM parts.

If mag springs were the issue, I’d still be having issues, even with the GI mags. I’ve yet to test the non-GI mags, though.

I also bought new 4 GI mags, although they are of questionable quality (they are Triple K branded). If I have issues with them, I’ll buy replacement springs, plus Triple K has a one-year warranty on it’s magazines.

Again, the Metro needed a new extractor and I was aware of that issue, but it’s also super odd that both guns were exhibiting the same issue, even with newish (ACT GI) mags. There’s no way all of those mags had spring issues, though.

I was going to say that I was done with cheap guns, but my RIA guns have never done this (I’ve three RIAs, two 9mm and one 10mm) and one of them is over 1000 rounds, while another is close to 700 rounds…neither of those have ever had functionality issues.

I do want an Officer 1911 and I’m eyeing a Taurus since that’ll get me a Series-80 1911, and I’ve never owned an Officer or Series-80 1911. I just don’t feel I need all my guns to be $1000. I suppose I could buy an RIA Officer, but I need front strap serrations and Taurus has those on their Officers.

Of all my 1911s and 2011s (in fact, of ALL my guns), the Tisas Duty is the one that I’m really disappointed about. I already said this before, but Tisas isn’t my favorite brand…not because I’m joining some Haterade campaign against Tisas (because they’re Turkish or a cheap brand). I’ve documented all of my issues with my Tisas guns and each of those issues are objectively shared. I’ve no bias but I don’t want shit that’s always going to break, either (or run but have heavy-assed triggers, funky sear springs, funky rails, or funky optics cuts, all of which my Tisas DS had).

At one point, I’d been thinking about using the Tisas Duty as a home defense gun. Not now. I’ve plenty of guns that have never had issues – I’ll pick one of those over a finnicky Tisas.

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.45 ACP 1911 B45R magazine SDS Imports Wilson Combat

I Upgraded To A Wilson Combat Magazine Release On My Tisas Duty B45R 1911!

Regarding the SDS Imports 1911D B45R I recently purchased, I mentioned here that it had problems with some non-OEM mags. Specifically, Wilson Combat mags were hanging upon insertion attempts. The Metalform GI mags were exhibiting the same symptoms, too.

I stated that I’d ordered a Wilson Combat magazine release. Well, it arrived Friday. I’d never removed and installed one, so that was something new to me, and it took awhile to understand how I needed to remove it, as well as how I needed to install the new one. It was simple, once I understood what I needed to do.

Once it was installed, I checked to see if the mags would snag/hang on the mag release catch. For the WC mags, they don’t. The GIs are weird, as they begin to stag and end up not snagging – there’s some slight resistance. The feed lips on the GI mags are not rounded, so I believe they’re more susceptible to resistance. I think they’ll wear-in over time, though.

So, I recommend the WC magazine release button, spring, and screw (they’re not a set…you’ve to buy each). As of now, the cost for the three parts is approx. $25.

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.45 .45 ACP 1911 45ACP B45R Cool Hand Gear Metalform SDS Imports

The SDS Imports 1911B45R Has Shipped!

I thought that White Birch Armory was asleep.

I’d been wondering why the order was sitting. My first thought was that they didn’t have the gun in stock. I’ve seen gun stores sit on orders, awaiting for a new shipment of guns. I was going to give them another day before contacting them to cancel the order. I also did research and other folks that bought firearms from them stated they were very prompt with processing orders.

I waited maybe 24 hours to see if the order would progress, because I needed to contact my FFL to inform them of the shipment. Well, I checked today at noon and the order was fully processed and had shipped! It caught me off-guard and I had to complete a web form notifying my FFL that a gun was inbound to them for me.

As well, they no longer have them in stock. I must’ve got the last available B45R.

The gun arrives at my FFL on 2/14 (it is currently 2/11). So, they use quick shipping too, which is unusual during Covid times, as most gun stores are using the cheapest shipping possible and it’s usually USPS, which is slow 90% of the time.

Even when the gun arrives on Monday, I still have to await the FFL to contact me so that I can make an appointment for pickup. When I pick it up, I will try to shoot it before I leave (my FFL is a range/store).

I also bought some things for it, but those will probably arrive later in the week.

I bought 3 sets of full-size 1911 grips (I couldn’t decide on one type and I’ve other 1911s that I can install those grips on). One is a set of dark red wood grips with gold screws that may look nice on the black 1911 – they might be slick, though, so I bought an extra set that I can use for range duty. The site I bought from was Cool Hand Gear.

I also bought a 3-pack of full-sized 45ACP Metalform mags with flat base plates. They are GI mags. I need more mags anyways and I think flat base plated 1911 mags look good in certain guns. I bought these from eBay.

I also thought to buy a new recoil spring, just in case I need it, but I think that can wait a bit.

I’m also thinking I will eventually want a silver barrel bushing (the one on the gun is black)…the silver will match the silver of the trigger blade.

Categories
.45 ACP 1911 45ACP

My Annual Purchase For 2022

I usually try to buy a gun a year, specifically around this time. Last year, I bought a RIA 10mm 5″ double-stacked 1911 and Canik TP9 Elite SC. The year before that, I bought nothing. The year prior to that, which was the year I started making this an annual experience, I bought the PSA AK-V and AK-P.

I’d planned on getting another AK and had my eye on a 5.56/.223 variant but had a number of problems committing to another AK.

For one, higher end AKs are difficult to find in stock and when they are in stock, they quickly become out-of-stock.

Secondly, I’ve one pistol caliber AK pistol, as well as an AK pistol chambered in 7.62×39. I also have two AK rifles (both in 7.62×39). I’d wanted a 5.56 AK but couldn’t decide on if I wanted yet another long gun or pistol chambered in that caliber – I have both types already. I wouldn’t have cared but when I asked on the AK subreddit, the absolutely stupid replies back soured me to any AK, so I ended up not no longer wanting an AK.

I then decided to focus on a higher end 1911, either a mid-grade Sig or Springfield Armory. In fact, I wasn’t really caring on a particular 1911 maker. I just wanted the product to have a forged frame, slide, and barrel that was 5″ max with a traditional barrel (ie, no bull barrel). Price was $1000 max with a focus on lower price. I couldn’t find much that was in stock. I saw a LOT of Springfield Armory Garrisons but I wasn’t liking the sights on those (I wanted fully adjustable front and rear sights).

I’d been looking for weeks and couldn’t find much. I even looked outside of 1911s (looked at Sig’s P320 AXG Classic and Equinox – they were all expensive as hell). I’d also looked for the Springfield Armory SA-35 but they’re definitely out of stock everywhere.

I then decided to look at any 1911 that had forged slides and frames. I became focused on the IWI Desert Eagle 1911s until I saw that their frames are cast (precision cast but still cast).

Then I remembered that some of the Turkish 1911s had forged frames and slides. I focused on SDS and Tisas (SDS imports Tisas, I believe).

I found one that was discounted to $439 and tried to buy it but changed my mind right before I committed to the purchase because the website seemed fishy (it was http://www.2agunshow.com). The website seemed “sketchAF” and the price was super cheap, undercutting the next lowest 1911 of the same make/model by close to $40. Also when I tried to select an FFL at my location 5-10 miles round me, none of the usual FFLs showed in the results…it was very odd (maybe affiliated with dealers if it wasn’t actually sketch).

This gun was also listed at $432 here but went out of stock maybe 10 min after I saw it..

I ended up going to that next lowest priced gun of the same type and paying a bit extra for it (after researching the website/store first to ensure it was a legit site for regular buyers). I bought it.

What did I buy?

I bought the SDS Imports 1911DB45R – Duty w/ Rail 45ACP 5″ Black Cerakote. It’s a nice gun. I saw a better looking version but opted out of it because it was 4.25″ – I wanted a 5″ 45ACP 1911. The gun was $470.

A question that someone is going to ask, either at my Youtube channel or here, or even in the back of his mind when reading this: How in the hell did you go from Springfield Armory to a cheap Turkish gun?

That’s an easy question to answer. A true gun enthusiast will be acutely aware of Turkey’s history of gun-making and this particular brand, which is Tisas. Most uneducated folks think “cheaply made with non-quality materials and bad fitment/finish” when anyone mentions guns made outside of the US and 1st World countries in the EU. It’s a generally ignorant mentality. I’m not even sure Turkey can be considered a 3rd Word country. It’s like folks are thinking Afghanistan when thinking of Turkey! Folks familiar with Tisas-made 1911s know that they are quality. There are many models of US-made 1911s that are still using cast frames and many $1000+ 1911s are still using MIM parts. This particular 1911 has a forged slide, barrel (which even extremely cheap and shoddily built 1911s will have), and a forged frame. I don’t think ANY 1911s currently under production and under $500 have all three of those forged parts, with the exception of Tisas 1911s. Not only that, the fitment and finish of this gun equates more to $900-1000 1911s. If someone handled and even fired this firearm (but was withheld the make and country of origin), I bet they’d heap praises on it. And if they were made aware of the material makeup of the firearm, they’d further pile on the praises. When people know it’s from Turkey, they are immediately blinded and will actively refuse to further consider the gun. When I see this, I immediately have a general idea of their thought processes. “Buy only American products.” “Why would you buy something cheaply made when, for a few dollars more, you can have a Springfield or Sig?” And, it sometimes gets uglier: “Why would you support terrorism by buying a Turkish gun?”

Turkey is a NATO partner and the company named Tisas isn’t operated by the Turkish government. Yeah, no one likes Ergodan, but that doesn’t mean all companies in Turkey have Ergodan’s mentality.

While the price of the gun may be budget-minded, the makeup of the gun itself is pretty nice. I’m getting forged parts and the gun has little MIM parts (while all Springfield Armory 1911s are full of MIM). The Tisas 1911 was the better gun.

Also, going cheaper leaves me with some money for more ammo and options to upgrade the sights (I’m pretty sure the gun will come with contrast non-adjustable sights).

I will also probably buy another gun too, since I originally wanted to spend up to $1K. It will more than likely be an AR pistol chambered in 9mm – that’s something I don’t have. I will almost certainly buy a blemished one from PSA. I’ll post more about that later.

UPDATE (12/13/2023): The only MIM part in all Tisas 1911s currently produced is the recoil spring plug, and that can easily be replaced with a non-MIM part, without the need for fitting that part. They started doing that late 2022, I believe. Pricing has crept up, but Tisas are still the only guns under $1000 that have no MIM.

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.45 ACP 9mm

Handgun Parts Received

Last week I ordered a +4 aluminum basepad for a Canik TP9 Elite SC magazine that had a flat baseplate. I bought the +4 basepad from Taylor Freelance.

It took three days for delivery. I ended up installing it wrong and had a very difficult time removing it (if you buy this part, remember to remove the plastic at the bottom of the mag spring, otherwise you’ll have a very difficult time removing the +4 basepad).

The magazine was a 10-round mag that I converted to 12-round. With the +4 basepad, the gun now holds 16+1. I carried with it yesterday. Other than initial coldness of the metal against my skin, it wore well.

I also bought an 18-lb progressive recoil spring for my .45ACP Commander 1911, from BH Spring Solutions. I compared the old spring with the new and the old one is compressed a bit and also feels a bit lighter than 18-lb). Inside the 1911, the new spring offers noticeable resistance. I can’t wait to take the 1911 to the range. Sadly, I can’t right now, as I’ve some medical issues that currently block me from leaving the house (not Covid).

I’ll capture range footage of the 1911 once I’m healthy!

Categories
.45 ACP 147-grain 9mm ammo JHP SD SP2022

Ammo!

I bought some ammo today from Walmart.  While this is nothing special in itself, I did get 100 rounds of WWB .380 FMJ since I don’t have much range ammo in that caliber (I’ve a crap load of self defense ammo in .380, though).  They didn’t have much else that I trusted, brand-wise…Tula, which is on Bersa’s Do Not list, and Remington, which I’ve grown to not trust.  So, I grabbed the WWB since I’ve never had issues with that brand.

I also bought 100 rounds of WWB 9mm JHP in 147-grain, since I rarely see that weight of 9mm in Walmart. I’d have bought more than that if I thought my wife wouldn’t complain about it.

I forgot to check what SD ammo they had, especially for 9mm.  I’ve some Remington in JHP but my carry gun does NOT like it.

I also need to check to see if my Metro Arms 1911 will eat JHP, especially since it is a 1911.  I’ve a bunch of .45 ACP but I think it’s almost all Remington, which tends to be dirty and also not be consistent with powder charge.

I’ll take the Metro Arms and the Bersa with me on my next visit so I can get some SD rounds through them.  If the Bersa is trust-worthy, I’ll consider carrying it…I just need an Alien Gear holster shell for it.

I’d been thinking of carrying my SP2022 (I love it’s trigger and decocker), but I still think that gun is a bit large for carry…the mag base plates with the pinky extensions don’t help it, either.

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.45 ACP 9mm failure to chamber P220 range SP2022

Visited the Range Today!

First 15-round magazine through the SP2022…bulls-eye is a DA shot!

 

5 magazines

 

Cleaning…119 Rounds of carbon!

 

All clean!

I finally made some time to visit the range so I could break in the SP2022.  When I bought the gun, I also bought two 50-round boxes of American Eagle 115-grain FMJ.  I filled up all four mags with that ammo so that I could break in the magazine springs.  When I paid for range time today, I also bought two more boxes of AE.

I fired 119 rounds through the Sig Pro today…8 magazines worth.  I had one jam, which is great, but I don’t exactly know WTF happened…it wasn’t a failure to feed, since the first round fed…it wasn’t a failure to extract, since the brass didn’t need to be extracted at the time of the issue.  The trigger wouldn’t release the firing pin.  Also, the slide pretty much locked up…I had to muscle it open.  Once that round popped out, I slingshotted the slide…no more issues.  That was the only round of 119 that gave me an issue with the Sig Pro today.  Also, all four of the mags were new but two of them never had rounds in them (I only filled two of them).

The P220 experienced a very similar issue with a round not wanting to properly chamber or fire, although it wasn’t the first round or mag.  Maybe that was a limp wrist issue.  Or maybe it was one of the new magazines (three of the five are new).

I fired both the 2022 and the P220, alternating between the two.  I’m thinking I should’ve just focused on one gun at a time, because my aim wasn’t where I wanted it to be.  I sighted the bulls-eye but kept hitting left of it and sometimes upper left.  I did hit the bulls-eye a few times but I was very inconsistent.  The target stayed at 7 yards the whole hour.  This “aiming” issue might just be a trigger pull issue, as I dumped 4 mags in one target and there was a giant hole to the upper left where I consistently hit.  I need to work on my trigger pull (on both guns), I think.

Also, most people complain about the placement/size of the slide release on the SP2022.  They also tend to ride the slide release, meaning the last shot doesn’t lock back the slide (because they’ve triggered the release).  That didn’t happen at all during my first range visit with this gun (I made sure my thumb was away from the release lever…it took a conscious effort).

The SP2022 got the majority of my attention today, not only because it’s new (hell, they both are), but because it is easier to fire.  I hate to say this, but I hate the recoil of my P220…or maybe I just need to fire it more.  It has more recoil than what I’m used to and I’m finding it difficult to get used to.  That slide is still stiff as hell, too, although the mags are breaking in very well.  The next range day I have, I’ll spend an hour with the 2022 and an hour with the P220, just to give them dedicated time.

I also bought a new range bag, since I felt weird carrying my two beater bags to the range today (one was a cheap NRA bag dedicated to ammo and supplies (lube, barrel rod, screw driver set…POL-type stuff) and the other (an Army map case)  had my guns in the OEM gun cases.  The range had a store and had a Bulldog XL range bag that I bought, which is much nicer than that map case and the cheap bag that the NRA sent me.

Lastly, it looks like I might be moving to California to move nearer to my wife’s family.  I’ve found that I can keep the guns I bring with me (in fact, it is advisable to load up on any guns before I move, as the CA approved gun list has severe limits).  I’d still need to find a job in CA first, then a house within a specific price range that is a reasonable distance from the job.  This is ridiculously complicated, to the point that my guns definitely take a backseat to job and house search.  Wish me luck!