Tag: 1911

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1911 9mm Rock Island Armory Rock Ultra Tac Ultra

My Rock Island Armory Rock Ultra MS 9mm is Fixed!

For some reason, I decided to take a look at my RIA Rock Ultra MS today, as it’s been sitting in a drawer the past 2 years since the front sight came off.

A while back, I ordered another (OEM) front sight but had been shying away from installing it myself. The new front sight was bought from Armscor (was maybe $20). The only reasons I’ve held off on installing it is because I’ve never done it in the past and because I’ve been busy with other guns.

I decided to try my hand at installing the sight. I’ve files but they’re cheap – I was hoping I wouldn’t need a file. I had sandpaper on hand. I’d slowly sand off the bottom of the front sight for maybe 10-15 strokes, and then test fitment on the slide. I don’t think I even needed to file the bottom down, because I think the slide has too much cut from the front (gun maker’s error). This is probably why I found so much red thread-locker under the front sight. I also have a hammer/punch kit that came with two heavy nylon rods (specifically provided for fitting parts). I was able to tap the front sight in. I used no thread-locker since I tend to get my guns hot at the range. I don’t want to depend upon thread-locker, but I honestly don’t think I need it, the sight is so snug on the dovetail.

The sight did not come with a fiber optic element but I have some on-hand. I installed a Tru-Glo rod.

This gun is now ready for the range again.

I thought I’d shot a lot through it but, per my records, I’m currently at 590 rounds through the gun. I’ll take it to the range soon so that I can test the sight…it shouldn’t come off — I used a decent amount of effort to get the sight onto the slide.

Last I remember (and per my notes, again), this was one of my favorite guns to shoot before I bought the SAS II Ultralight and S15. I shoot it extremely well, even at distance. The trigger is heavy, though…feels like maybe 5 lb, but I’ll test that again soon and update the post with the results. The gun has a thick bull barrel and is heavy, so it’s going to feel more planted that the Ultralight. I’ve a RIA Tac Ultra MS that is bushing-barreled and the Rock Ultra MS feels more solid/tight.

As I’m out of 9mm ammo, I’ll be visiting Cabelas tomorrow to grab maybe 250 rounds of WWB for the SAS II UL, since I’m close to 2000 rounds out of that gun.

Update – Trigger pulls of Rock Ultra

1 – 4 lb 8 oz
2 – 3 lb 13 oz
3 – 4 lb 2 oz
4 – 4 lb 6 oz
5 – 4 lb 14 oz
Average of 5 for Rock Ultra – 4 lb 5 oz
Average of 5 for Tac Ultra – 2 lb 14 oz

Categories
1911 2011 double-stacked subcompact

Girsan Witness2311® Brat Is Now Released for Purchase

I talked about the EAA Girsan Witness 2311 Brat a few days ago. Well, it is now released for consumption (meaning that it is now actually being sold).

I’ve checked the street pricing and, as of 11/11/2024, it is showing as $540 as a lowest-price (see pricing here). That’s not a bad price for such a gun, but I’m suspecting that it will have QC issues, as the other EAA Girsan Witness 2311 variants have all had issues when being reviewed by independent YouTube channels. I’d be very surprised if the gun actually does well, especially with it being a smaller 1911/2011, as the smaller versions can sometimes be difficult to develop.

We’ll see how well it does, but I’m not holding my breath for a good review.

Categories
2011

The Fusion Firearms Ermox XP Pro 2011 Reviews are Trickling In

I’ve been seeing a few YouTubers posting about the new 2011 from the collaboration between Fusion Firearms and Ermox, called the XP Pro.

Usually, the first thing out of someone’s mouth is, “It’s a Turkish import that Fusion put their name on” or some crap like that. This is a true collaboration. Just as when SDS Imports worked with Tisas to up their specification standards, Fusion Firearms did the same. If it weren’t for SDS Imports showing Tisas how to make the parts in the proper fashion using the proper specs, recent Tisas products would’ve been shitty. Fusion Firearms did the same thing. The CEO of Fusion Firearms used to own Dan Wesson and he later sold DW to CZ. He’s been working with Ermox, providing them with the proper specs for the parts and advising them on how the parts need to be made.

I’ve already seen the table-top video of the XP Pro by Graham Baates. This gun looks to be well-made. Yes, there are machine marks, but that doesn’t outright define a bad 1911/2011. The culmination of parts, fitment, and finish is what makes the gun a well-received product. My first thought was that the gun looks to puch way above it’s level, similar to how $400 Tisas 1911s match a gun twice their price. I think this gun is equivalent to a Prodigy. Many folks think that Apollo 11s are equivalent to Prodigies. They are not. From what I’ve seen, the XP Pro looks to be over-built, which means it’s probably going to make a great 2011.

Some things that stood out to me were the fact that the gun comes with two optics plates – one for RMSc and equivalent footprints and one for 507C and equivalent footprints. The plates have irons built into them.

Another thing is that the gun is all bar stock. There is no MIM at all.

Almost all the parts are interchangeable with other 1911s/2011s. About the only parts that are proprietary (by necessity) are the slide catch, the mag catch, and the beavertail, and those proprietary parts are necessary due to gun being built around Glock mags.

Additionally, the grip module (yes, this is a 2011) is all-metal. The gun is heavy, which means that this gun will probably be a recoil sponge.

There will be a comped version later on.

There will be a 45ACP version later on.

The grip angle is good – it’s not Glock-like.

The controls appear to cater to concealed carry.

TheHumbleMarksman has one, as well…he’s just waiting for time to begin conducting the review.

GBGun has his but he’s leaving the country for 2 weeks, so the range portion of his review will be on-hold until he returns.

I’d talked myself into not settling for another budget 2011, but I might have to buy this one (next spring). I’ve another 4-5 months for the kinks to be worked out and for the major channels to review the gun. If things are favorable by March/April, I’ll be grabbing the XP Pro (and possible another higher-end 2011 too).

We’ll see how things play out.

Categories
double-stack double-stacked

New 2011-esque Handgun: Kimber CDS9

There was a quiet release of the Kimber CDS9, which appears to be a smaller Kimber KDS9C.

This is not a 2011, though. As with the KDS9C, it is a double-stacked handgun that is very similar to a 1911. The biggest differences are that the barrel link is more similar to a CZ handgun, and the trigger is entirely different than a typical 1911, as it is hinged. This gun is more like a Kimber Micro 9 or S&W CSX.

There is no grip safety, either, which the KDS9C also doesn’t have.

The gun is optics-ready and the barrel length is 3.19″. The gun comes with 13- and 15-round mags. There’s also a version that has a threaded barrel, which also has a reverse two-tone color scheme.

The CDS9 has an MSRP of $1075, although I’ve seen street prices of $917.

As well, the KDS9C has no MIM. I believe the CDS9 will also be MIM-less, although I’ve seen nothing supporting that claim. It would be stupid of Kimber to have no MIM in the CDS9 when the KDS9C is MIM-less.

The Humble Marksman has a great review of this handgun. It shoots well and appears to be just as reliable as the KDS9C, of which I’ve never seen a video that shows unreliability. Most folks hang onto older opinions that Kimbers are not dependable. Again, I’ve seen no videos showing bad reliability with either the KDS9C or R7 Mako variants.

I will add this to my list of To-Get guns for 2025 and will watch as others review this gun.

Categories
2011 subcompact

Girsan Witness2311® Brat – 45ACP Officer-sized Offering

A while back (maybe a year ago or close to it), I’d posted about the EAA Girsan Witness 2311 Subcompact. Well, that gun still isn’t yet for sale, but there are some changes.

Firstly, the gun will be sold as UPC 741566907081.

The gun will also be sold in two calibers – 9mm and 45ACP. The 9mm will hold 17 rounds, and the 45ACP will hold 11 rounds.

It’s barrel will be 3.4″ in length (that’s an odd length – not sure why both LFA and EAA sell odd-sized 1911s/2011s).

It will be optics-ready and will have a bull barrel.

Lastly, MSRP dropped significantly, to $679.

It’s called the 2311 Brat!

What is this gun bringing that the other 2011 variants aren’t? Well, You don’t see all that many 2011s chambered in 45ACP, especially in Officer size and while having a bull barrel.

That price is definitely attractive and offsets the fact that it’s an EAA/Girsan offering.

Categories
1911 2011 Alpha Foxtrot

A Quiet Production Release of the AF-1911 Romulus

Alpha Foxtrot has added a new product to their product line: The Romulus.

It is a double-stacked 1911, patterned specifically around the 2011, and has a polymer grip module.

It is chambered in 9mm and utilizes a bull barrel. It is being sold as either a 5″ or 4.25″ gun.

The gun is optics-ready, utilizing the RMSc footprint. When using an optic on this gun, you retain your rear iron sight.

The gun uses Staccato-patterned mags. I’m not sure how many mags it’ll come with, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it came with only one.

I’m also sure it’ll have some MIM internals, which isn’t a huge deal (MIM parts can always be replaced with tool steel parts).

The gun is priced at $1620, which is actually a pretty good price.

The only real con is that it is only backed by a 1-year limited warranty.

They started selling the Romulus on 8/1/2024, but I’ve seen NO marketing other than Alpha Foxtrot posting Instagram photos. There’s one Youtube video but it’s just a quick 10 sec video of the Romulus being rotated.

Approximately 80% of the information within this post came from their Instagram posts and not their Youtube or website content, which is a bit crazy. They REALLY need to step up their marketing game. I’m not surprised that I’ve not seen any Youtube reviews yet, and I’m not sure when I’ll see the first one, but when I do, I’ll post it on the blog.

Categories
1911 2011 Alpha Foxtrot Bul Armory Springfield Armory

So, What’s Next?

I’ve been thinking on what my next handgun should be.

A listing:

  • Dan Wesson (CZ) DWX (full sized)
  • Cosaint COS21
  • Bul Armory Tac 5″ or Tac Pro 5″
  • Alpha Foxtrot Romulus 5″ or Spatha 5″
  • Stealth Arms Platypus
  • Springfield Armory 1911 DS (Prodigy) 5″
  • GP Arms Patriot 4.8″ or Forza 3.10″

My budget is between $1000 and $2000.

What I really want is something I don’t already have, configuration-wise. I do not have a 5″ 1911 that is chambered in 9mm. I’d prefer it to be double-stacked. I’d prefer it to not be over $2000. I do not want another cheap 2011, either – that includes any Tisas, MAC, LFA, or Witness…basically, nothing under $1000.

The Dan Wesson DWX is something that I’m curious about Dan Wesson makes great 1911s and this is apparently a blend of CZ and 1911. They’ve an MSRP of $1999 and can be found as low as $1700, so they’re within the budget. DWXs are a bit different and I love the unique guns. The con of this gun is that they are not optics-ready, which is a bit crazy considering that it costs that much and modern guns are usually cut for an optic.

I was thinking Cosaint COS21 (it’s their 5″ duty gun) but that’s rather expensive, starting at $2600! The smaller variants are $100 and $200 less (starting at $2500 for the Commander and $2400 for the Officer variants). If I’m going to spend that much money, it’ll be on a Stacatto, so scratch Cosaint off the list, simply because they assault my sensibilities. They’re probably great guns but I’ve a budget to consider.

I was also considering the new 5″ Bul Armory TAC or Tac Pro, in 5″ length. The Tac Pro is only a bit lessexpensive than the the Cosaint COS21. The Tac is $2250. Both are out of budget, sadly. As well, Bul Armory only have 1-year limited warranties on their guns, so no more Bul Armory guns for me.

I may do another Alpha Foxtrot – they’ve two new double-stacked 1911s that are in the pipeline: the Spatha and the Romulus. The Spatha appears to be a double-stacked 1911 that is solid-framed, and the Romulus appears to be a legit 2011. The con for Alpha Foxtrot is that, like Bul Armory, they only have limited 1-year warranties, but I love their guns, so I may be willing to overlook the warranty. Of the two (pictured below), the Romulus has more of my interest. Prices aren’t listed yet but I’m thinking they’ll be in the mid $1000s.

There’s the Stealth Arms Platypus. The Platypus’ pro is that it’s highly configurable. It’s cons are that it’s not really a 2011 and that most folks have them.

The Springfield Armory Prodigy is something I’ve always desired, and it has a full warranty, will take standard 2011 mags, has a very robust optics mounting system, has a great grip module, and is very flat-shooting. Yes, they initially had problems. I haven’t heard of any recent complaints, though.

The GP Arms Patriot is not new (they also have the 3.1″ Forza, which is very like the Bul Armory SAS II UL and is priced at $1590) but is very configurable. They are a tad bit pricey, though…they start at $1950.

Outside of 1911s/2011s, I’ve been curious about the Glock 43X and Glock 48. Hell, I can get both of them, in MOS configuration.

Of them all, the 5″ Prodigy is the stand-out option. I can even get the variant that has 3 mags and the HEX optic,which will certainly already have the optic mounting plate, and it will still be reasonably priced (at around $1400). Plus, I already have two Checkmate mags and a 17 round Duramag.

I’ll also keep watch on what else is released this year, as I’ve until next spring to decide.

Categories
1911 2011 9mm double-stack double-stacked Tisas

Carry DS9 – A Good Gun But Not In Love With It

The last time I posted about the Tisas Carry DS9, I’d only recently bought the gun.

That was back in February 2024. It is now June 2024. I’ve owned the gun right at four months and I’ve right at 1200 rounds through the gun! Yeah, it’s that much fun to shoot/own! And, of those 1200 rounds, it has only misfed one time. I was also able to shoot that same round from the gun after loading it back into the mag. It’s eaten steel cased ammo, lots of JHP, and lots of JHP that is considered good SD ammo. This may well make for a good gun for training courses. It can withstand gunk/carbon/dirt, too — I went maybe 400 rounds before I cleaned it, at one point.

I’ve a running thread at 1911forum.com that has somewhat detailed updates. I’ve also been posting video updates on YouTube.

Initially, I ran into an issue with the gun that I couldn’t ignore or adapt to. The gun had a trigger that was not only somewhat heavy, but it was difficult to work around. The trigger wall itself was super thick, to the point that I was pulling the gun out of target alignment when actuating it. The goal was to not modify the gun before I hit 1000 rounds. I made it to maybe 450 rounds before I decided that I had to either pay a gunsmith to make the trigger better or do it myself.

I ended up buying a 19 lb mainspring and a sear spring from EGW. The sear spring is what I thought would solve the issue. I actually pulled the OEM sear spring and looked at it. The OEM spring was bent oddly and didn’t have a lot of spring/give. It was also difficult to remove and re-install. I believe the main issue was the sear spring and I was correct – when I received the EGW sear spring, it immediately solved the issue. The new spring didn’t require any tuning, either. The trigger was a bit over 5 lb when I got the gun. By 450 rounds, it was at 4 lb 8 oz. The new sear spring didn’t change the trigger weight but did change the trigger wall. The wall was much more crisp after that upgrade.

I installed the 19 lb mainspring just to determine if I’d like the change. Initially, I didn’t like it. It made the trigger feel sloppy (added some slack). I put the OEM mainspring back into the gun. Oh – that’s also the first time I did something like that. I didn’t think I could do it without a workbench or clamp but I was able to replace it without issue. I ended up re-installing the EGW mainspring and the gun ended up wearing in – the gun’s trigger feels fantastic now.

I also did several detailed strips of the gun, just to look at the individual parts. I can verify that the gun has NO MIM parts. Not a single part is MIM. None of the parts, apart from the weird sear spring, has fitment issues. No, none are polished, but they’re standard parts and fit well enough.

After I crossed 1000 rounds, I decided to have a bit of fun with the gun. I ordered 14 lb and 12 lb flat recoil springs (from EGW). I thought they’d fit but they wouldn’t fit around the short guide rod. I ended up having to buy a full length guide rod (the requirement was I required a 1/4″ diameter rod), which came with a plug designed for use with a FLGR.

I installed the parts and was shocked again…the gun felt even better, just racking the slide. When I took it to the range, I was shooting quite a bit faster, while still being accurate. The lighter recoil spring makes the gun feel more manageable, control-wise. It seems to shoot flatter. The Prodigy comes stock with a 12-lb recoil spring and those guns shoot really well. There are more than a few videos that state the Tisas guns are over-sprung…I believe it’s true.

Another great thing about the gun is that iron sights will co-witness (1/3rd) with the optic. I’ve a Cyelee CAT that works well with this gun. This optic has been 100% dependable.

There are a few bad things about this gun, though.

The optics cut is crappy. Tisas CS is insisting that the issue isn’t that they’ve milled the optics cut wrong, but that the optics makers have milled their optics wrong. I don’t think that’s the case, as I tried two different brands (Holosun and Cyelee) and neither would fit well. I could see daylight between both optics and the slide. As well, both optics were factory zero’d to have the dot rendering generally within the center of the glass, but when I installed both, both dots were rendering super-high. I wasn’t the only person with this issue, either, and many of those folks complained that they couldn’t zero their optics because they ran out of elevation adjustment when trying to bring the dot down. I fixed my issue by using an optic ship (bought from Amazon). The shim allowed a better fit on the gun (no daylight between the optic and slide) and also allowed a lower shifting of the rendered dot. The shim doesn’t help everyone, though. Some folks stated they had to use two shims to get their optic to properly zero.

What’s funny is that Tisas keeps trying to dodge blame. Not only that, but folks keep insisting that Holosun is a cheap optic and that makes Holosun at fault. WTF. These aren’t EOTechs but they aren’t exactly cheap, either.

Tisas has a problem with milling in general. Initially, their single stacked 1911s had (and still do have) issues fitting standard 1911 sights. Part of this is because they’re avoiding licensing Novak specifications. Later on, folks started complaining that they couldn’t mount their standard-sized lights on the M1918 rail mount. Tisas stated that the rails will only mount small lights. This mainly affected their Carry line – they installed smaller rails for some reason. This issue migrated to their new line of Carry DS9s. Now there’s mounting issues with the optics and I know for a fact that it is indeed the slide milling that is the issue.

Those issues and the fact that Tisas didn’t jump to help folks means that I won’t be buying any other Tisas guns. There’s also another reason. I bought the Carry DS9 after already owning a couple of double stacked 1911s that cost over twice as much as the Tisas. Those two guns feel better and shoot better. They feel expensive. That’s not saying that someone with a DS9 won’t be able to outshoot someone with a SAS II UL. What I’m saying is that, no matter how much they make the DS9s cheaper, it’s still a cheap (as in cheaply made) gun. There are immediate and significant differences when comparing a DS9 to a SAS II UL, whether a person is just handling both or shooting both. No, most folks won’t cross-shop those two guns but I’m not the only person that has bought a DS9 after owning a Prodigy or SAS II UL or even a Staccato.

In summary, I didn’t need the DS9 and the SAS II UL almost certainly spoiled me. The DS9’s trigger will never feel like the UL’s trigger. The DS9 rattles. It has side to side play in the slide. The trigger is a bit sloppy. The DS9 right-side safety isn’t blended (it cuts my hand – my Tisas single stacked Duty 45 does the same thing and I ended up swapping in a single sided safety to save my hand). The DS9 isn’t bull-barreled. There’s the optics milling issue. That sear spring on the DS9 was shoddy. All of those 7-8 sentences I just typed is justification to stay away, in my humble opinion.

For those who don’t already own a 2011 or nicely crafted double stacked 1911, this gun is probably for you, as long as you remember that a cheaper gun is going to be built cheaper. There’s a reason why 2011s, up until recently, were priced at mid $1000. If you already own something twice the cost of a DS9 (or other variant), you’re going to be disappointed, unless you love to tinker.

I love it but I’m not in love with it.

Categories
1911 2011 double-stack double-stacked sub-compact subcompact

EAA Girsan Witness 2311 3.4″ – My Poor Wallet!

So, I haven’t yet committed to yet another gun purchase, but I was bored last week and was perusing the EAA website and saw that they’re finally listing their Girsan Witness 2311 3.4″ (subcompact) on their product page. It’s sort of hidden, as you specifically have to manipulate their product menu to display it.

So, it’s using the same grip as their larger 2311s, which is interesting. It has that mullet look, which is similar to the Bul Armory SAS II UL. The MSRP of $999 is quite high, though, but all of the Girsan 2311s are at that price.

I’m interested, yeah. I was interested last year when they had it listed, but they pulled it off of their website for some reason and it’s only now showing up again.

Now, it has to get good reviews, too. The larger Girsan 2311s aren’t doing so hot since they were released, as they were either rushed to the market or they are just built like shit…the reviews of those aren’t really good.

LFA is supposedly releasing an Officer-sized 2011 too (as an Apollo). Now, those have been getting good reviews, although they have MIM (they’re working to make those guns MIM-free). I also remember TheHumbleMarksman showing, in a review, the failure of a slide release that was supposedly MIM-free, which is NOT good. I’d eventually like to see how well their 3.5″ gun does.

I asked the Tisas representative on the 1911Forum.com website if Tisas was planning to release ANY Officer-sized guns and they said, “No”. Later on, when folks were discussing it, someone said that they spoke to another Tisas rep and he/she said that it was being worked on! Now, if they can do one as a 2011, that would be awesome!

I’m sure there will be more news on this and when I see it, I’ll post an update!

Categories
1911 2011 9mm double-stack double-stacked Tisas

Let’s Discuss Several Several Things About the Tisas Carry

I’ve been to the range twice with the Tisas Carry DS9.

I’ll share some information about the first range visit. I also suspected some of the things we discussed in my last post would be apparent during the first range visit.

The trigger had issues. The gun initially had a thick walled trigger. While the trigger itself wasn’t heavy, it wasn’t light either, so that’s a wash. The trigger wall was stiff, but I shot maybe 130 rounds from the gun, so the wall softened a bit. As well, the trigger is now lighter by 1 lb.

Between the trigger’s issues and the sights, I was having issues hitting where I aimed. I shot low (90 degrees low) with every shot — not low left, but directly low. I’m not sure how to use the U-notch sights, but I’m thinking they’re off by a bit, at least.

The gun didn’t hiccup at all during the first range visit. I shot a mix of ammo, some being HP, some being SD HP, and some being FMJ. The gun is flat-shooting, too.

When I got home from the first range visit, I sat while watching TV and kept racking the gun and pulling the trigger to get that thick wall to wear-in as quickly as possible.

When I went to the range next (two days later), I shot 187 rounds. Quite a bit of ammo was shot, some HP, some SD ammo, and a lot of range ammo. I had one fail to feed one one HP (I think it was Winchester range JHP). I put it back in the magazine and it feed and shot successfully.

The gun also shot a lot better, probably due to the trigger breaking in. Also, I man-handled the gun, as the first range visit, I was sloppy with gun control (recoil management and probably trigger control). My grouping were MUCH better this range visit.

I now have 317 rounds through the gun. The gun has yet to be cleaned, which says a lot, because I’ve looked in the gun and it’s pretty filthy. The rails were overly lubricated, which may have helped. I may clean it tomorrow, as I’m not intentionally trying to induce filth-related failures.

I also published a video. I’ll be producing a longer duration video soon. The short duration one below lacks some information (I had to make it fit into a 15 minute timeframe).