Ed Brown or Wilson Combat for 1911

C

Cascade1911

New member
I'm interested in tuning my 1911 Mil-Spec (Springfield). I'm not looking to build a race gun, just want to smooth out a few rough edges while still having a very reliable firearm. Things I'm contemplating:

Replace the trigger with a long length solid. The Ed Brown is much cheaper but does not look like it has the tabs to adjust forward travel.

Polish, set angle on sear/ hammer. Adjust the factory parts or get new. If new, whose?

Purchase, install a lighter mainspring. Is it a good idea? If so, what spring?

Adjust trigger spring, adjust the factory spring or buy new? If new whose?

Are recoil buffers a good idea?

What's a good book for gun-smithing 1911's?

Thanks in advance for your helpful information.
 
Buy some books and read up. Talk to others who shoot and build competition guns. Asking these questions on an internet forum is going to get you lots of really dumb uninformed opinions mixed in with the intelligent answers. The standard reference book is Jerry Kuhnhausen's 1911 A Shop Manual Vol. 1. Wilson Combat and Ed Brown both make very high quality parts and guns. But all of those parts will need to be precisely fitted together correctly. A 1911 is a system. Change one part and it affects the whole system. Anyone who tells you that their part will "drop in" is trying to get your money. It is very possible to build an excellent gun from a Springfield Mil Spec with the factory original parts and the first order of business would be a match grade bbl and bushing. (again, fitted to your gun). But I have worked on quite a few Mil Specs that shot very tight groups from the factory bbl. with only a new bushing fitted. Make the gun reliable first and then tweak its accuracy.
 
Last edited:
Thanks all. Jerry Kuhnhausen's 1911 A Shop Manual Vol. 1 is on it's way. (It's amazing that Amazon, cheaper then most on most things online is way high on gun related books. Checkout their prices on Speer's reloading manual and this 1911 manual....)
 
I haven't looked for that one on Amazon, but I don't recall seeing Amazon itself stocking gun books. They've always been from other sellers, who do. If you try to get an old or out-of-print book through Amazon, it's not uncommon for the third party sellers to be asking several times the original cover price. It's because they are able to get someone willing to pay it, so I can't really blame them. It's what the market will bear.

One day I looked up Bryan Litz's book, Applied Ballistics for Long Range Shooting on Amazon. It's still in print and available from Bryan directly through his site or through Berger's site for $40 + shipping of about $4, and comes with the CD for his point mass solver trajectory software in an envelope on the inside back cover. But on Amazon, a third party seller had a used copy listed for $66. It disappeared, so somebody bought it. The one place selling a new copy (Kkebooks) wants $54+$4 shipping. That's probably just a normal pass-through margin for the store if Litz is not discounting copies to book sellers. If he is discounting them the usual 40% off cover price, then it's excessive.
 
1911 pistolsmiths recc:

1. Alex hamilton @ 10-ring precision, san antonio, texas
2. Teddy jacobson @ actions by "t", sugarland, texas
3. Wayne novak @ novak's guns, petersburg, wv.
 
Incorrect shop location

Wayne novak's shop is located in parkersburg, w. Va. And not petersburg, as i had originally posted. My mistake !!!!!

Guru1911
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top