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I started this project shortly after attending a two day shooting school in which I sent 1200 rounds down range. By the end of the second day my hands weren't feeling too hot so I decided that I needed something a little easier on the hands and friendlier on the ammo budget. So I had the guys at Tripp Research build me a 9MM on a Caspian slide and farme.

I got the gun last week and have managed to run 1000 rounds through it and I couldn't be happier. I heard all the dire 9MM 1911 warnings but thus far I have yet to experience one.














The list of the components are as follows:

Caspian slide and frame
Jarvis match barrel
EGW front sight
Bo-Mar combat rear sight
EGW Firing pin retainer
EGW extended ejector
Ed Brown Hard core extractor
Ed Brown grip safety
Ed Brown ambi safety
Ed Brown MSH
Keonig Low mass hammer
EGW hard sear and disconnector
Greider solid trigger
Heinie magwell with cocobolo stocks
I am not sure what slide stop and barrel bushing Virgil used. He told me way back when and it has since slipped my mind. I want to say Ed Brown for the lide stop and Wilson for the bushing.

Very nice pistol. I too am a fan of 9x19 in the 1911. Not too sure about the problems with this round in the 1911. Both of mine work just fine.

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Scott

Hi

Very nice looking>

It looks like there was some extra relief work for a high grip, or did it come that way (undercut at the base of the trigger)

thank you

Richard

You are correct Richard. While I didn't ask for it specifically Virgil knew the gun was going to be used in IDPA and went ahead and did it for me.

BTW how do you like those Spegel grips that I sent you?

That looks about as wonderful as everything I've seen from Tripp Research.

I have a stainless WWII Springfield that will go to him sometime within th enext six months for similar mods.

Very nice gun! Looks like our tastes are very similar when it comes to 1911s - here's a pair Virgil built for me not too long ago (single stack .45 for CDP and double stack .40 for ESP):

Man all those are nice, I really love the slide serrations... Did you have Caspian cut them or Tripp ?

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Julian

In my case, we started with bald Caspian slides and Virgil cut serrations himself.

I like the way the magwells are flattened on the sides.

What front sights are those?

The STI magwell was flattened on sides to make it IDPA legal - the stock STI magwell is too wide to fit in "the box". The single stack is built on Caspian frame with integral "Tactical" magwell. Sights are Brazos Micro Dot; I also have Brazos Lightning Rod on my other CDP gun and these two sights are the best FO sights on the market today, IMO.

I don't understand the issues some have with the 9mm on the 1911 platform. As a range gun, given the lack of recoil and muzzle flip, and the prices for decent 9mm range ammo, hard to argue with that combination. (And no, I am NOT talking about the 9 as a personal defense weapon.)

Of course I have odd tastes, so what the heck do I know? I have a custom Officer's size in a 38 Super as it lets me have a ball shooting loads only a bit more stout than a 9 for fun, but load up some serious rounds for defense. But that debate goes back to the 30s, when the 38 Super was touted as the SA answer to the then new 357 Mag. Dave

One of these days I'd like to get an Officer's Model built in 9x23. I've got a Series II Kimber Pro HD that'll run with either .38 Super or 9x23 and it's a "blast" shooting the hot 9 stuff through it.

Here're a couple more pictures of Virgil's work. I doubt he's as proud of this one as he is of some of his others but it's actually one of my favorites.

Why is it a favorite? Because it was cheap, it's shiny, and it runs like a scared cat. Plus I don't care if I scratch it, drop it, or make it ugly.

It's a Rock Island that started life as a GI basic .38 Super. It's now a 9mm with a Nowlin match barrel. I've got close to 9,000 rounds through the gun--almost 1,000 rounds of Super, almost 1,000 rounds of Federal 115 JHP +P+ and 6,500+ rounds of WOLF ball.

I think the issue with 9mm in 1911s is that feeding reliability can be problematic. I think it relates to the fact that 1911 was designed for ~1.25" cartridge and feeds well with those that approximate that length. I had a terrible time with the first .40S&W feeding until we learned to load them out beyond 1.2".

I only have one 9x19mm 1911, a Commander I bought from Ray Harms and it feeds beautifully. Looks box stock.

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Bob

Smiths and 1911s are what it's all about!

I have two 1911's in 9mm and both will feed ball ammo fine from a .38 Super magazine as long as I don't load the mags with ten rounds. With that said, I can load to ten rounds and get away with it most of the time but I'd never run this way in a match. And neither gun will feed hollowpoints from a Super magazine.

I have found that the "Springfield" magazine with the spacer in the front and built-in feed ramp work perfectly with all types of ammo I have tried.