Flat or Arched Mainspring Housing

S

Skorzeny

New member
Which is more comfortable for medium- to small-handed folks - flat or arched mainspring housing in 1911A1?

Who makes the best, most durable, most ergonomic unit?

Skorzeny

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I have pretty much average sized hands. Arched works for me.

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I have smallish hand so Wilson's flat mainspring housing and standard short reach trigger works perfectly.
 
Skorzeny---
I personally like the arched. I really prefer the early 1911A1 style with checked finish and a lanyard loop. I was shown how to use the lanyard look for opening Be--Uh, make that SOFT DRINK bottles some years back and was charmed with the idea. Also, one might just be taken with the idea of a lanyard some time. I've probably installed arched replacements for flat ones in 15 or 20 pistols over the years.

Original 1911s had flat housings and long triggers. One of the modifications for the 1911A1 was the arched housing. Another was the shorter trigger. Remember, this was when the army was still teaching horseback cavalry point firing techniques, and the consensus, aster much testing, was that the arched made it easier to "point" the .45.

I can live with either style, but the flat housing seems to make the pistol point low for me. It is easier for me to train with only one type. I haven't found arched housings for the shorter-butted guns such as the Colt OACP, but I do pretty well with mine. I believe this is because the shorter frame seats higher against the heel of my hand. That's my theory, anyhow.

<<Who makes the best, most durable, most ergonomic unit?>>

Durability: I've been on ranges when literally Millions of rounds were fired through 1911 type pistols. I've never seen or even heard tell of even one time a mainspring housing broke, wore out or otherwise failed.

I doubt there's a dime's worth of difference in any of them. Flat or arched, smooth, grooved or checked. Some have a molded rubber patch glued on, to go with rubber stocks. I personally don't care for rubber on a pistol I might want to carry concealed in a belt holster. Being slightly tacky, it keeps the fabric from moving smoothly over the pistol.

In recent years, Colt's has been putting on plastic or nylon housings. Makes NO difference--This is not really a load-bearing part, as the spring itself is supported against the mainspring housing pin. Also, the plastic housings are lighter to pack around.

Boils down to personal preference, really, as do most things about pistols.

Best wishes--
RR

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---The Second Amendment ensures the rest of the Bill of Rights---
 
I like the flat ones,no sharp stuff to dig into the palm after 200 rounds and like every other gun made in the world too except some cheap spanish copys or very expensive us copys.
 
I have average size hands and find the arched housing puts the gun on target better. I just ordered two arched aluminum housings from Smith and Alexander ($35 each) for my Colt Officer and CCO. I will have the checkering sand blasted to take out some of the sharpness and to match the rest of the gun's finish.I have seem a cracked plastic housing on my friend's Colt after it dropped and landed on the housing.I also grew up on 70 series Colt which had arched so it is more natural for me.
 
Hello. I think Rocky Road said it all and he's dealt with 1911s more than many. I prefer the arched housings with short triggers on "carry guns" and the flat with long target triggers on target pistols. However, I shot practically every combination of triggers/mainspring housings one can think of and find no real difference. Best.
 
Interesting conversation! I have larger hands and really prefer the flat housing. I find the pistol points more naturally with it than the arched housing.

I just bought a Les Baer mainspring housing from Brownells (124-153-100) that is serrated rather than checkered and really like it better than the checkered ones. YMMV!
 
I am like Rocky, Arched, checkered, lanyard loop (it is a neat trick - opening bottles). I started off with arched and flat MSH's feel odd in my hands. Maybe it is because of the 36 +/- years of shooting 1911A1's.

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I have smallish-to-medium hands and have both arched and flat housings on my 1911's. I'm with Mr. Camp in that I find no difference whatsoever.
 
I like the arched housing as it positions the weapon to a natural point of aim in my hand. As a general rule, the arched main spring housing makes for a slightly longer reach, so people with small hands or short fingers may have some problems with proper fit. By adding slim grips from Slim-tech and Chip McCormick and putting in short triggers from STI (or a GI short trigger in my 1911), I have eliminated this problem. Actually, I have used the Ed Brown Wedge housing in my Kimber Ultra Elite and Colt Officer ltwt., which accomplishes the same thing as the arched housing in the full size gun.
 
Can't say that it makes a difference to me. I have a flat one on my compact, but a curved one on my government. I shoot either about equally.
 
Flat main spring housings were on the 1911, with the long triggers, which is the way that I still prefer them.
7th

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