No entry-level 1911a1 .380 / 9mm, steel frame, threaded barrel?

On being able to rack the slide on a pistol, here is some food for thought:

I haven't seen the guy in several years, but we shot with a dedicated pistol shooter who had lost the use of his left arm due to a motorcycle accident.

He brought a special fixture to make it possible for him to rack the slide on his pistols. Essentially it was a 2x6 base, maybe 8" long, with a 2x4 fastened vertically down the middle so that the fixture resembled an inverted "T". At about the midpoint, the 2x4 had a ~5/8" half-moon slot cut vertically down one side.
The fixture was placed on the table, about waist high. To charge his pistol, he would hold the gun with a normal grip and, pointing it straight down, put the tip of the barrel into the top of the half-moon cut. Pressing straight down sharply, the slide would be restrained by the 2x4 but the barrel was free to poke into the cut-out.
Same procedure when it was time to show a clear chamber.
This idea won't work with every style of pistol but it worked well with a Browning High-power and Glocks.
It will take a bit of practice to get the technique correct.

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Originally Posted by Ron3

I think I'll pick up a Ruger Security .380.

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Well, so much for the metal frame requirement.

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Originally Posted by Renegade04

Well, so much for the metal frame requirement.

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I give it a pass because it's a locked .380.

A 9x19 would need the heavy frame to be a pleasant shooter for a small-wristed female.

I dunno...reading about alot of ammo pickiness in the Ruger .380 Security.

How about a 1911a1 style with a 4.25 in threaded .38 Super barrel?

I could load .38 acp spec and use a lighter recoil spring my wife could work. Good feed ramp, Round hammer, short, smooth faced trigger, suppressor sights and optic ready.

Hah! Nobody makes that!

Why not 9x19? Because that seems to be the least reliable 1911 caliber.

Although...does anyone make a 4.25 in threaded, 9mm, optic ready 1911?

The Beretta 80X Cheetah .380 is a pretty nice handgun. 13+1 capacity, steel framed. You can buy a threaded barrel for them.

https://www.beretta.com/en-us/produc...cheetah-FA0042

https://www.beretta.com/en-us/produc...rel-JB80X380TH

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Originally Posted by Red*Lion

The Beretta 80X Cheetah .380 is a pretty nice handgun. 13+1 capacity, steel framed. You can buy a threaded barrel for them.

https://www.beretta.com/en-us/produc...cheetah-FA0042

https://www.beretta.com/en-us/produc...rel-JB80X380TH

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I have Cheetahs. Definitely a gun better in .32 acp. .380 is slappy from them. I have a threaded .32 barrel, too.

Wife and I both like them but she can't rack the slide. The new 80X might have a slightly milder spring and better purchase but it still isn't "easy". We tried one out at a store.

I still occasionally carry an 81FS with 4.5 inch threaded barrel. S&B 73 gr averages over 1100 fps from my chronograph and on rare occasions I get a SS crack. Lighter loaded .32 acp is good fun suppressed or not.

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Originally Posted by Ron3

I have Cheetahs. Definitely a gun better in .32 acp. .380 is slappy from them. I have a threaded .32 barrel, too.

Wife and I both like them but she can't rack the slide. The new 80X might have a slightly milder spring and better purchase but it still isn't "easy". We tried one out at a store.

I still occasionally carry an 81FS with 4.5 inch threaded barrel. S&B 73 gr averages over 1100 fps from my chronograph and on rare occasions I get a SS crack. Lighter loaded .32 acp is good fun suppressed or not.

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I like my Cheetah, but yeah, the .380 version’s recoil is out of proportion to its power level. And it’s snappy enough that it launched the orange ring out of the Trijicon front sight I had installed.

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Originally Posted by 1168

I like my Cheetah, but yeah, the .380 version’s recoil is out of proportion to its power level. And it’s snappy enough that it launched the orange ring out of the Trijicon front sight I had installed.

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That stinks.

I learned that firing .380 wore a recoil spring faster than .32. The recoil spring should be replaced in 500-1k rounds depending what you're shooting if you want the frame to have the maximum life possible.

I go by how hard the slide seems to come back and the length of the spring compared to a new one.

A suppressor increases slide velocity. Luckily the guns will operate on very weak ammo.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Ron3

That stinks.

I learned that firing .380 wore a recoil spring faster than .32. The recoil spring should be replaced in 500-1k rounds depending what you're shooting if you want the frame to have the maximum life possible.

I go by how hard the slide seems to come back and the length of the spring compared to a new one.

A suppressor increases slide velocity. Luckily the guns will operate on very weak ammo.

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Yeah, I probably need a new spring. I’m hoping to snag an extra-power one sometime, but the older-ish guide rod diameter complicates that. I’ll likely eventually grab an 80x just for the upper half.

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Originally Posted by 1168

Yeah, I probably need a new spring. I’m hoping to snag an extra-power one sometime, but the older-ish guide rod diameter complicates that. I’ll likely eventually grab an 80x just for the upper half.

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Correct.

Wolff gunsprings sells versions for the oldest version, but models with a suffix are different and nobody makes extra power springs for them.

Allegheny Arms told me they wanted to make that happen.

I do not think the 80x slide will fit on an older lower. Different recoil spring assembly entirely and slide lock / release lever. The barrels, as you know, swap across the Cheetah line.