My wife is looking for her first 1911 as a carry gun, I am into the traditional steel full size 1911’s. She is needing something smaller then full size, in 9mm or she said 45ACP is fine with her . she prefers a lighter non steel frame. There are so many options out there I am wanting to get a idea of what others spouses or woman on the forum chose to carry and why. I first thought of the Springfield EMP in 9mm for her and I am just wanting a good list to take with us to the gun shop for her to handle. Thanks in advanced guys/gals
Gal here. Congrats to your wife on the upcoming purchase.
I have EDC’d a Colt Commader .45acp for the past few years. Just recently I have transitioned to a Sig P238 that I have commandeered from my husband for summer carry. I do not take the transition lightly as I am a die hard 1911 fan. Frankly, the P238 surprised me. I had been avoiding due to it’s size, however is it a great mini-carry that closely mimics the 1911. Otherwise I would have nothing to do with it.
Prior to this I was fantasizing of a Springfield EMP. It was the price tag that was scaring me off. I never was able to get to the range to rent one. One thing I was concerned with was the length of the grip. When carrying the part of the firearm I have the most trouble concealing is the grip. If I lean forward the grip protrudes. My concern with the EMP is the grip + mag bumper made for an unnecessarily long grip. I wondered if it was worth jumping from a Commander to the EMP and gain no real edge concealing.
I have for a brief period carried a Colt Oacp (Officer’s acp). The grip size was just right for concealment. What I had issue with was controlling muzzle flip and recoil when shooting. It wasn’t all that pleasant and I wanted to enjoy shooting my EDC.
A grail weapon for me is a Colt CCO configuration (Officer’s frame/Commander slide). They are harder to find and they do cost a nice bit of money.
That’s my take on carrying 1911 platforms. I have not carried a Gov’t 1911, don’t intend to. But I love range time with them.
If you have any questions, just ask.
Shorts, those are nice gun selections.
A smaller person or someone swinging a lightweight 45 can also try lighter loads (152 or 185 semi-wadcutters or hollow-base round nose) to reduce muzzle flip.
Thanks sinister.
Regarding lighter loads, should the recoil spring and mainspring be adjusted for the load, particularly with the 3" 1911?
Another gal here. I carry the Springfield Armory Lightweight Champion 1911. Great fit for my hands and the recoil is very manageable. In fact I enjoy firing it and if I had more ammo to use I would fire it each day.
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Not necessarily, but you have to shoot it to see.
Federal makes one of the most accurate production 185-grain Match loads, and if you hand load there are a number of sweet hollow-point bullets that shoot just as well as semi wadcutters.
Barry’s makes a copper-coated 185-grain hollow base round nose ball profile that feeds very well in most 1911s, Commanders, and Officers without additional ramp/throat work.
Thanks for the reply’s, my wife will be sitting down to read them tonight when she gets off from work, vs my big mouth telling her and missing something.
What about the EMP?
They seem to be liked. I have a 3 inch Springfield V-10 ultra compact .45 and its fun to shoot but inaccurate as heck haha.
Personally, I’d never recommend any 1911 shorter than 4.25", for reliability reasons. Most any production 1911 will work under optimal conditions on the range, but under less than ideal conditions reliability can get dicey with the shortened recoil systems.
My personal recommendations would be a Colt O4860XSE, S&W 1911SC E Series (108483 or 108485), or Springfield Armory LW Operator. If you have the budget, even better would be a Dan Wesson Guardian in .45 or 9mm. The Guardian is the only “compact” production 9mm 1911 I’d recommend for defense. Keep in mind that the 1911 platform is designed around a cartridge with an OAL of 1.275". The shorter 9mm round introduces it’s own set of variables when placed in the larger magazine of a 1911. If you go for a 9mm 1911, select one of the recommended loads from DocKGR’s list that has a longer OAL and shoot quite a bit of it from non-standard shooting positions to determine reliability.
For comparison sake, the OAL of a 230gr Ranger SXT .45 is 1.210" and the 127gr SXT 9mm is 1.115". By comparison, a Speer Gold Dot 147gr 9mm is 1.125".
I’ll will keep these in mind. Thanks for the info.
Look at the Dan Wesson CCO. Aluminum officers frame with a true 4.25" Commander length slide. Excellent build quality as usual with all DW 1911’s. I owned and carried one before I switched to M&P’s. If I still carried 1911’s this is what I would carry.
If she really wants 9mm then the Springfield EMP is about the only option with an aluminum frame. STI makes a very nice “cco” style 9mm 1911 called the Guardian but it has a steel frame and weighs in at 32oz.
I have no experience with the Springfield EMP, but if you shop around you should be able to find a Colt Lightweight Commander (or Springfield’s equivalent).
My wife has Her CCW aand prefers either a bobtailed light weight WC Professional or one of Her two Springfield EMP’s for daily carry.
Update on my wifes search for her first 1911. Her plan was to spend only 800 on one, but when she got to hold the Colt 1911 Commander Lightweight in stainless, she was hooked. She will be picking it up this Friday. She put down the 800 dollar payment for it and the total cost for it was 1,025. She was looking closely at the Springfield champion model but it didn’t have all the extras that she was looking for. She was was very giddy all the way home. She will be even more giddy when she picks it up and when we go to the range to shoot it. I will have a range report next Saturday.
This is not where we got it, we got it at a local dealer but it looks like this one exactly.
http://www.impactguns.com/product.aspx?zpid=22753
Sha apparently has good taste!
Dude, you are so hosed.
Once she gets to shooting that thing you’re gonna go broke keeping that gal in ammo. 
My guess is the pistol will come with all the ramp stuff done (throated and polished). 185 Federal Match will cycle that thing right along, without all the push and slap of 230 Ball.
It’ll also handle all the high-rent 230-grain protection ammo (Fed Hydra Shock, Win Ranger SXT, and Rem Golden Saber).
Lucky gal.
I know Kimber gets mixed reviews here but I’ve been carrying and shooting a ultra CDP fi r 15 years now. My wife loved it although she felt that the 45acp was a little too much for her. I just picked up a CDP Ultra in 9mm. I was surprised when I saw it on the back page of the usual gun rags.
A little pricey but she is now pestering me weekly to go shooting.
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Well I have 1.2 K left. I need to order more anyways if I can find it for a decent price. I was hoping she would pick a good first gun and she did. I am glad she did not see that ED Brown 1911 in “used” glass case. When she showed me the grips she was going to be ordering for it, I said saying crap in the back of my mind. :ph34r: I was thinking of all the manly excuses i would need if I got caught shooting it with these on.
I tried talking my wife into a 9mm model for a few reason and one being the recoil for her on the light frame she bought. We ran into another shooter who had a light frame Springfield at the range this weekend and she “claims” it does not bother her. She was dead set on it being a 45 ACP, worst case I have to get her a model in 9mm. The good news I get a new 1911 if that happens 
I hope this works out for you!
OP, congrats to your wife. She picked a great gun. Right now I’m the only .45acp in the house but I’ve got 1200rds FMJ on the shelf. Can’t ever be too prepared. Thanks to Sinister, I’m going to get moving on some 185gr as well.
If you need excuses for shooting a gun with pink grips remember, “I’m just shooting it for the wife to make sure it works right” :sarcastic:
Take care yall