9mm Recommendations Again.

[mr alexander]

I have enjoyed shooting Government Model 1911's since I was 21 years old. Unfortunately, at 65, I am having some difficulties with these .45 ACP Pistols for two reasons. Using iron sights has become a real challenge. And, my grip strength and joints certainly are not in the condition that they used to be. I can still safely handle my Colts, but will readily admit to experiencing a bit of discomfort now when firing them.

In my opinion, the all steel, full-size 1911 platform is the ne plus ultra of all semi-auto pistol designs. As such, I would like to get one of them in 9mm caliber. Previously, Spyros commented on how much fun these pistols are to shoot and this has prompted a few questions as I have no experience with any of them:

1.) Are there any makes/models made today that come from the factory with slide cuts and adapter plates that would allow one to readily mount the mini red dot sight of their choice? This would eliminate the need for any custom gunsmithing.

2.) Factory 9mm Ball typically comes with bullets weighing 115-124-147 grains. Must one use a certain weight in order for that five inch slide to cycle reliably? I am assuming recoil levels/power vary in this caliber due to these weight differences.

3.) Casual reading in the past suggested that the design of some aftermarket magazines available at the time presented feeding issues. Things do improve eventually due to engineering changes. Nowadays, are any brands better than others?

4.) I have no experience with the mini red dot sights that are currently offered today. Any advice as to which brands/models would be suitable?

I did not mention the available budget for this pistol, but have sold several other firearms (for the reasons stated above) to create the funds for it. Not interested in anything ornate or fancy, I'm in the market for a well-built, accurate, reliable 9mm that will come with a decent trigger and is ready to shoot once the red dot sight is installed. Your advice is most appreciated. Thank you.

P.S. I've noticed that so many "plastic guns" in 9mm now come from the factory with the necessary optic slide cuts machined into them. Some pistols even come out-of-the-box with a dot sight already mounted on the slide. I prefer the heft and feel of an all steel handgun and would prefer not to go down this route if it is not necessary for me to do so.

[Dave W.]

Question 1, I do not have a good answer to. It is my understanding, that adapter plates are made, to fit in the dove tail of the rear sight, that a red dot will mount to.

2), I have never had any issues with bullet weight effecting reliability.

3) Tripp Research 9mm mags seem to be consistently the most reliable for me.

4) I have no experience with red dots on pistols. My carbines have Eotechs on them. I would assume the more the sight costs the better they are. If you have astigmatism, that throws another wrench in the works.

I have 9MM, 1911's by Springfield, Ruger and Dan Wesson. The Dan Wesson was ready to go, out of the box. The Ruger did not take much work to customize it to my liking. Not saying the Springfield was a bad gun, but it took some work to get it to what I liked.

Good luck in your journey, and enjoy shooting the 9MM's.

[Mark75H]

I tried Tripp R mags in my 9mm and could not get it to consistently feed. Was resolved by switching the follower to a better Chip McCormick. Put that follower in every mag and now they all work like GI in a .45