Opinions on alloy framed 1911s?

The problem with that is that an aluminum framed 1911 has a steel side so what you have is harder steel running on an alum frame. That is why sometimes you get uneven and accelerated wear.
Yeah I could see steel on alloy as a problem. I’m 99% sure mine were alloy on alloy... I could be wrong. I’ll check later when my kid wakes up
 
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Yeah I could see steel on alloy as a problem. I’m 99% sure mine were alloy on alloy... I could be wrong. I’ll check later when my kid wakes up

1% of you got it right. Neither SIG, nor any other mainstream manufacturer, makes a centerfire pistol slide for a locked-breech pistol from an aluminum alloy.

Hi-Points exist and some rimfire guns have zinc/Zamak slides with steel breech blocks, but aluminum would not work for a centerfire pistol slide. It didn’t even work for .38 revolver cylinders on the Aircrewman.
 
1% of you got it right. Neither SIG, nor any other mainstream manufacturer, makes a centerfire pistol slide for a locked-breech pistol from an aluminum alloy.

Hi-Points exist and some rimfire guns have zinc/Zamak slides with steel breech blocks, but aluminum would not work for a centerfire pistol slide. It didn’t even work for .38 revolver cylinders on the Aircrewman.
My bad!! My mom is also my sister so I caint help it.
 
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I was completely wrong!!
I always felt that the Spartan was an anodized alloy. The entire gun is stainless.. if you’ve ever owned one, you know why I thought what I thought.. sorry for providing worthless input @Flashpoint
 
The problem with that is that an aluminum framed 1911 has a steel side so what you have is harder steel running on an alum frame. That is why sometimes you get uneven and accelerated wear.

After owning a dozen or so Colt LW Commanders, I've found this to be spot on. The frame rails will wear long before the slide's. The anodizing helps for a time, but soon wears through. They also tend to crack at the junction of the rails and dust cover earlier. Not really a major thing, but it's part of it.

The aluminum alloy framed 1911 pattrn pistols should really be in the category of carried a lot and seldom shot.

Oh, and I've never had any feed ramp damage on any LW Commander I've owned because I've always used the standard 7-round magazines that don't let the followers pitch forward into the ramp.
 
I've never had a problem with alloy frames on 1911 in .45, though I've cracked a S&W performance center autoloader and a Sig 228 frame both from high round count.

For a carry gun that is not heavily shot (less than 10k a year), I'd be fine with alloy. For a gun that isn't carried, there is no point to an alloy frame. Less durable and higher recoil.
 
I'm having a Colt Lightweight Commander 9mm being built right now by the same gunsmith and with the same modifications as my Combat Commander 9mm.

My plan is to transition to the Lightweight for my carry gun and use the Combat for my practice and redundant gun.

In speaking to my gunsmith about the Lightweight's aluminum frame, he advised that as long as I don't plan on putting tens of thousands of rounds through it, that I would be fine. If I were to plan on putting those types of volumes through it, then he recommended a ramped barrel to replace the factory barrel.
 
So I never went with the Kimber, instead picked up a full size all steel RIA in 9mm from a a forum member. Soft shooting, accurate, not my EDC but in a kydex IWB holster conceals surprisingly well. IMG_20200425_183751.jpg IMG_20200425_183910.jpg
 
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I owned a DW Guardian in 45 for a while. 100% reliable, and I do mean ZERO failures. They make such a nice shooting gun that it was hard to differentiate shooting that 4.25" barrell and a 5". I'd trusted that gun as much as a Glock. A buddy of mine owned a Sig Nightmare Fastback and the DW was nicer to shoot despite the alloy frame.
 
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