RIA 1911-A1 vs DW CBOB

[SweetPotato]

The good news is whatever direction you take, you can always return to factory. Getting to know these guns is really great and makes for even more enjoyment than just hauling them out and blasting away at paper. Just be skeptical of even you own studied conclusions and you will just keep learning.

Never forget, happy wife = happy life.

I am hesitant to mess around since I messed up the SA loaded bushing badly and still unable to get 3 of them out. I think I also put the mag release on SR22 some what wrong since it required me to push a bit harder than earlier to release the mag.

[Bill Steele]

I am hesitant to mess around since I messed up the SA loaded bushing badly and still unable to get 3 of them out. I think I also put the mag release on SR22 some what wrong since it required me to push a bit harder than earlier to release the mag.

No shame in knowing your limitation mechanically, there are a lot of people on these boards that don't.

Maybe find a good 1911 smith and talk over your experiences (wife's) with him/her. I bet they can offer a few suggestions that will make things feel better to her right away. You will still be learning, just not running the punches/files yourself.

There are worse habits than 1911's, or so I tell my wife..

[SweetPotato]

There are worse habits than 1911's, or so I tell my wife..

^This. Don't get me started....reload. I scared her to death with all of the reload mishap video. Now she won't let me start.

[trigger945]

Good luck with your endeavor OP. I still can't think of how a full-sized 1911 can present more recoil (felt) than a commander-sized one. Maybe it is just that - felt, which can very much be subjective.

In any case, it's nice to see that your wife is with you on this. I can't even get my wife to shoot any of my guns anymore and I have offered her an all-expense paid instruction with a female NRA instructor. She gives me a bunch of (what I deem to be) excuses. When she asked what present I wanted, I also told her to buy me a gun that she will shoot exclusively and be her bedside gun. No luck.

Good luck again and enjoy.

[FlyingPen]

It could also just be that there is something wrong with the QA on the RIA and it's not operating properly.

[Griffdog]

I have a few 1911s including a RIA and CBOB and I don't notice a noticeable difference in recoil in any of them....maybe a slight difference with my SW1911PD.

[cindynles]

If the Dan Wesson has a square bottom FPS it will have a different recoil impulse than a standard FPS. The recoil force will be the same (physics), but the slide speed will be different (again physics).

The square bottom FPS changes the fulcrum point between the hammer and the slide, moving it lower on hammer (making the lever shorter). This will result in slowing the slide down on the extraction stroke, changing the felt recoil impulse.

[choo2x]

In the chart I've seen comparing barrel lengths, a 4" barrel shoots a bullet ~30 to 60 fps slower than a 5" barrel, depending on the bullet and cartridge. I do notice my XDM Compact 3.8" .45 ACP, seems to shoot softer than my XDM 5.25 .45 ACP, but not enough to make shooting the full sized pistol unpleasant. I'm sure all the other factors people have listed are also contributing to the increased recoil.

Bottom Line: I think your wife's perception is what matters. If she likes the DW better, she'll keep shooting. You'll just have to get another compact .45 ACP for yourself.

[RR.44]

I get what you are trying to do OP, the real solution that YOU may not want to accept is that your wife wants to shoot the CBob exclusively...let her, it's a small price to pay to keep her in the game.

Just my .02