1911's and their parts

M

mattgreennra

New member
I was thinking of "jazzing" up my 1911 mostly for looks, a bit for function. This is going to go into opinion territory obviously, but here we go.
I am also under the impression that alot of 1911 parts/features are just manufacteror BS and don't do anything.

-What manufact. has the best parts? (wilson, EB, STI, etc.)
-Does changing the guide rod do anything for accuracy, or just takedown?
+I've head some guide rods from certain companies have weird takedown ways rather than nothing, or an allen. Please tell me what they are/how.
-I would change hammer for the Purtyness, does a lighter hammer actually do anything?
-Do bull barrels help w/ accuracy?
-Should I ever replace the inner parts (sear, 3 pronged "spring," plungers....) other than wear and tear?
-How many rounds can I expect out of a "loaded" full size Springfield 1911? I've heard that the barrel wears out after XX rounds, any truth to this?
-Are oversize mag release buttons nice? I'm intrigued by them.
-How long do recoil springs last?
-What strength of recoil spring is standard, what strength do you want?
 
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A few things ---

1. Need to know the use of your 1911... the ball ammo bullseye range gun will be diffirent than a carry 1911

2. IN general most will agree that guide rods have zero or minimal effect on accuracy... some like full length guide rods for "smoothing out" cycling.... one gunsmith likes them for the fact that make it harder to puch the slide out of battery if you are jabing it at someone or they are hitting at your weapon

3. Brown makes good parts... so does Wilson and many others... HOW the part is made matters a bit more than WHO made it... for my guns I stay away from any MIM parts... even wilson has some "value" MIM parts in the catalog.. they can be OK but why chance it if you are working on your own gun it's only 20 bucks or so more for the made from tool steel parts. As to stuff like sears and disconnectors I have seen few if any compelling arguments as to why one "good" makers is better than anothers.

4. In general if it is not broken do not fix it... I say this in all honestly and havign a batting avarage of 50 / 50 at times for things I set out to "improve" all thigns considered. Keep in mind that even the hammer has engagement surfaces for the sear so some fitting will be required or safety / trigger pull may be compromised... IF you must replace things without having knowladge of the fitting of the fine engagement surfaces the best thing to do is get pre-fitted set of hammer / sear / disconnector from someplace like cylinder and slide... among others. Brownells has them. For a carry gun I'd never go lighter than the more ore less standard lightweight commander style hammer like brown / wilson et. al sell on theri guns. I worry about the ignition reliabiity with the super ultra low mass hammers.

5. Ask Springer what weight the gun shipped with and if it's working well replace with same... if it's not then experiment... Wolf springs are as good as any and maker for many... I replace at 5k +/-... some go much more some less. If for duty / carry always check function after a change out with a few hundred rounds

6. I am not a fan of bull barrels... a well fit / made 1911 generates plenty of accuracy for me without one

7. In general your barrel is worn out when you can percive a decrease in accuracy or the lockeing engagement lugs / surfaces are worn to the point of loss of function. This obviously makes it depend on you.. but long story short even for an acurate / tigtht gun and shooter expect a minimum of tens of thousands of rounds...

8. Oversized mag releases are popular for the shootign sports where folks are trying to shave fractions of a second off their times... for carry / duty use they are not what I woudl use or reccomend... too easy to release in the holster or on the draw / manipulation under pressure... if you ahve to draw a weapon in defense you don't wnat to here your mag clattering to the ground as you bring the gun up.

9. In general most internal parts will last a very... very long time without replacement... if you have the gun torn down inspect for wear and if unworn there is no need... if there is any question most springs / plungers / pins are cheap enough you might as well jsut replace them
 
When you order those 'drop in parts' be prepared to make them drop in.:) If they really drop in they are probably sloppy. I have done it all and only a very few times was it simple. .... maybe it's me!
 
Drop in parts

I worked on 1911s for Uncle Sam back in the 70s, and all our parts were "drop in" it it had to be fitted, you got another part! These were, of course, GI 1911s. Don't expect to get "tuned" gun quality with drop in parts.

If your gun is going to be used ONLY for playing games, then go ahead and put all the extended ambidextrous stuff on it you want. BUT, if you might ever use the gun for serious social purposes, extended mag buttons, safeties, slide stops, can snag, get stuck, dump the mag, etc. at very bad times.

The GI specs on the recoil spring are length. I'm not going to look it up right now, but basically, if the recoil spring is "x" inches long it is serviceable. If it is shorter than that, it gets replaced.

Good luck on your project, just be sure to 1) don't do any permanent alteration to the frame/slide, and 2) keep your original parts.

I say this, because that way, if it turns out not to work well for you, you can return the gun to original condition.

Have fun, just don't expect to get top of the line quality for bargain basement prices. I'm sure you will learn a lot in the process.
 
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