SIG 1911 Ultra Compact

**fuzz** · November 17th, 2013, 09:54 PM

Question here for 1911 fans that have more experience with this firearm design than I have.

I recently bought a SIG Ultra Compact 1911 .45. SIG, as well as most people I've spoken to, claim a break-in period of at least a few hundred rounds.

I'm having problems with it feeding anything but ball ammunition. It won't eat the Hornaday Critical Defense I usually carry in my other handguns. It also fails to go into battery with most other brands of hollowpoints, especially on the first or last round in the mag.

I've heard a lot of solutions to this problem. The most common being 'polish the feed ramp'. Others include different brand mags. Some even say to replace the mag spring with something heavier than what comes from the factory.

I'd like to hear what some of you folks have to say on this forum. I really like this pistol but I'm a little disappointed it won't function the way I expect out of the box from an $800+ factory new firearm. Up to this point, I've exclusively carried glocks or M&Ps which have not been picky in the least.

Anyone have any practical solutions? Any suggestions on defensive ammo that this thing will eat reliably? What is the point of a break-in period and, in someone else's experience, did it make a difference?

any advice is appreciated.

**sigarms229** · November 17th, 2013, 10:15 PM

This probably isn't what you are going to want to hear but micro sized 1911's don't have a good history of reliability.

Basically the light weight slide carries less momentum than a commander/fullsize AND the shortened recoil spring doesn't give as much closing pressure.

Before I would do anything, I'd call Sig and send it in to making sure to tell them the brands you have tried.

**harold63** · November 17th, 2013, 10:47 PM

You could write 3 pages of why the short barreled 1911's don't perform well and probably be wrong about 90% of it.

The first thing I would do is contact Sig's CSD and see if there is a HP round they recommend or one they test to determine it does function like it should with a HP.

The recoil spring on a short barrel 1911 is stiff so it will pick up a new round after the case has been ejected with the catch being there is no forward momentum built up like there is on a longer barreled 1911. It basically has to push the round into the chamber with the slide not having any kind of momentum when the breech face picks up the round. A 1911 with a perfect feed ramp and a perfect angle of the round being sent into the chamber will darn near let you walk the round into the chamber as slow as you want to, even if it is a HP. Things such as mag follower angles, feed ramp angles and smoothness, recoil spring strength, extractors set up correctly, and the lowly limp wrist are all contributing factors when it comes to feeding a number of different kinds of HP's in your SB 1911.

If it is feeding ball with no issues, you can probably rule out recoil spring and limp wristing. You can also rule out weak ammo since the slide is going back far enough to pick up the new round. That pretty much leaves you with having to sort out the mags and possibly the feed ramp, or both, for a HP to feed, reliably.

**harold63** · November 18th, 2013, 04:19 PM

Originally Posted by fuzz

claim a break-in period of at least a few hundred rounds.

What is the point of a break-in period and, in someone else's experience, did it make a difference?

Oh yea...you don't have a 'break in' problems if your gun doesn't have issues with ball ammo. 'Breaking in' a gun merely eliminates tight/high spots that would otherwise keep the slide from cycling, optimally. Also, in some cases, it can fatigue the recoil spring just enough that your gun will cycle if you don't shoot with a super stiff grip (in theory, anyway). If you field strip your 1911 and put the slide on the frame with nothing else, it should run back and forth, freely. If there is any binding, then you could shoot it in or hand rack it until it smooths out or stops binding (the latter being the cheaper way). No amount of shooting will break in the feed ramp if it is rough or not cut at the right angle. No amount of shooting will let the mag feed, optimally, as well.

Something to remember is this particular 1911 may not be designed to run HP's. You'd want to check your OM to see what it says about that. 1911's that are designed to run on ball may not feed HP's, and therefore will require some minor tuning to get this corrected, or it could just be a matter of finding a magazine that will feed the HP's at a better angle.

**rwb1500** · November 18th, 2013, 10:13 PM

I have a shooting buddy who carries one. I've shot it some and watched him shoot it tons. Never seen it choke once, even on varied hollow points. I could hardly believe it.

Definitely get in touch with Sig.

**EB85** · November 18th, 2013, 10:40 PM

I have in the past and am still reading 3-3.5" 1911 reviews. The Sig is about the only one I have seen with almost no issues reported. Kimber and Springer has both positives and negatives but little to no issues reported with the Sig lineup. Contact them, explain the situation and they will take care of you.

**fuzz** · November 19th, 2013, 02:41 PM

Thanks for the feedback. I appreciate it.

When I bought the ultra compact, I was having a tough time deciding between that and the 2 tone C3 they had next to it. So I went back a week later and traded for the longer barrel.

I haven't had a chance to fire it yet but it seems to chamber ball and HP very well when you cycle it by hand. I bought 230 gr Lawman range ammo and 230 gr Speer Gold Dot HP. I also bought 2 Wilson mags based on what I've heard from other more experienced 1911 shooters.

I'll post the results of the first range trip in case anyone is interested.

Thanks again for the feedback. I'm new to 1911s but I love it so far. If I get good enough with this C3, it might just replace the polymer on my belt.