Full Length Guide Rods?

I don't know or care, I don't use the full length rods. I have yet to wear out a spring because it was kinking under recoil. In my opinion all full length rods do is add some weight to the muzzle end and make racking the slide seem smoother.

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Ne Conjuge Nobiscum
"If there be treachery, let there be jehad!"
 
Makes your 1911 looks good. Never seen a kinked spring ..... No noticeable improvement in recoil using a FLGR...you cannot press check if chamber is loaded...just my own experience...

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jj0287
 
Hi, guys,

IMHO, full length guide rods, like many other accessories for 1911 type pistols, aid in extraction. They extract money from a customer's pocket and put it into the pocket of the gadget maker.

Jim
 
Hello. I use the standard "GI" type spring guide. The full length guides make the gun more difficult to field strip and I've observed no advantage. I removed such a guide from my Kimber and replaced it with a standard guide and spring cap. Works fine and is easy to clean. Best.
 
Kimber claims they aid in accuracy but I think all their other mods really contribute to that, personally I like the GI plug set up better as you can press check your piece and you don't have the three hands syndrome when field stripping, just my 2 cents.

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Somedays you eat the bear...somedays the bear eats you.
 
Oh my, yes! My recoil springs kink up all the time. John Browning really pulled a boner when he designed that piece o'junk, the Colt 45 Automatic Pistol. Definitely buy a Kimber or Glock. Bad Browning, bad Browning!

:D

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Be mentally deliberate but muscularly fast. Aim for just above the belt buckle Wyatt Earp
"It is error alone that needs government support; truth can stand by itself." Tom Jefferson
If you have to shoot a man, shoot him in the guts, it may not kill him... sometimes they die slow, but it'll paralyze his brain and arm and the fight is all but over Wild Bill Hickok
Remember: When you attempt to rationalize two inconsistent positions, you risk drowning as your own sewage backs up.
45 ACP: Give 'em a new navel! BigG
 
I do get a chuckle with Companies claim an accuracy improvement with guide rods. The bullet has already left the barrel before the rearward movement of the slide starts to compress the spring. Must be something magical happening that I don't understand.
 
Isn't it interesting that most of the people who have something good to say about guide rods are those who sell them?

If you look at the space where the recoil spring runs it is already guided by the dust cover and barrel. There really isn't much room for the spring to do anything more than flex a little. It takes a whale of a bend to truly "kink" a big spring like that.

When guide rods were getting a lot of push from the parts sellers I Ransom rest tested a custom gun that came with one adn then- without removing the frame from the rest- replaced the full length rod with GI parts and shot it again with the same ammo. Guess what? Absoltely no difference in accuracy.

"Extracting money" is right on.
 
I have a full-length guide rod in every 1911 I own (5 at present) and I use shock buffs on all except my officers model. They seem to improve the consistency of the action. Finding my brass is easy. It's always in a little pile about 6 to 8 feet away. None of mine have malfunctioned since the rods were installed. I change recoil springs every year or 1000 rounds, whichever comes first.

By the way, field stripping is quite easy with a plastic bushing wrench and it's easier on the thumb than the "old-fashioned way". And a press check is quite easy also - just grasp the forward serrations between thumb and forefinger and retract the slide.

Mikey
 
Ain't hi-tech grand!! Makes me wanna go hug a K!M3ER! LOL

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Be mentally deliberate but muscularly fast. Aim for just above the belt buckle Wyatt Earp
"It is error alone that needs government support; truth can stand by itself." Tom Jefferson
If you have to shoot a man, shoot him in the guts, it may not kill him... sometimes they die slow, but it'll paralyze his brain and arm and the fight is all but over Wild Bill Hickok
Remember: When you attempt to rationalize two inconsistent positions, you risk drowning as your own sewage backs up.
45 ACP: Give 'em a new navel! BigG
 
The idea is consistent lockup, that's where the accuracy claims come from. Of course, if the rest of the gun is a rattletrap, it really won't matter I guess.
As far as "press checking" goes - I don't think it's a real high percentage operation to be sticking your finger by the muzzle to see if your gun's really loaded. Looks cool when Steven Segal does it, but no one ADs in the movies.
I do use full length guide rods on all my 1911s except for my Springfield V10 Ultra Compact. My .02...
 
Hey B!gG, whaddya mean "hug a KIMBER?" COLT is using full length guide rods in all of its new XSL pistols...OOPS! Open mouth, insert foot, B!gG!
 
I use a full length guide rod in my full size 1911. It's the Dwyer Group Gripper style.

It probably does prevent spring kinking, but I never really had a problem before installing the full length guide.

It does add a bit of weight up front, which I like.

I believe it makes the recoil spring last just a little longer, but that's hard to quantify.

Does look kool, but that's subjective of course.

Definitely changes the steps in the take down procedure, but I haven't noticed the process being any harder or taking longer. It is only a pistol after all...

Joe


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Go NRA
 
I installed a Wilson FL rod/plug in my 1991A1 Compact more for the plug than the guide rod.

My XS Commander came with a FL rod from Colt.

I don't think they really bring much positve change to the party and they do add another part that needs to be lubed! I guess I can take 'em or leave 'em! I haven't had any problems with either setup so, I guess I'll leave them in! :)

[This message has been edited by DMSC (edited January 06, 2000).]
 
Full length guide rods do absolutely nothing for the accuracy or reliability of the gun. Period. The accuracy lies in the fit of the lugs to the slide stop and the bushing to the barrel and slide. The recoil spring cannot kink inside the gun. The recoil spring guide is held straight by the spring tension against it, and it guides the back of the spring. The front of the spring is kept straight and guided by the OD of the spring in the spring tunnel of the slide. The gap between the end of the guide and the back of the spring tunnel is about 1/4". The spring cannot kink. If it is then there is something else wrong. Either in disassembly or that the undrlug of the barrel is too long and contacts the back of the spring guide, forcing it downward. Group grippers are a abomination, in the sense that they are using the link to lock the gun up into the lugs, when that is the job of the underlug anf slide stop. The link is just a toggle to pull the barrel out of battery and push it back up. Not a locking point.

The only thing a full length rod does is add weight up front which will help sight tracking and muzzle flip to a limited extent.

I use full length rods in my match guns, and use the standard plug and guide in my carry guns. that way the gun can be stripped easier, a one handed press cocking/clearing drill can be done easier.

Brian
 
Ever hear of sarcasm, Rick? Du-uh! ;)

PS: Rosco Benson calls 'em Rectal Thermometer Guide Rods, I call 'em a regular K!M3ER feature.

PPS: I know my Colt (Kimber clone :D) XS has one, no big deal. Read comment one again!
Regards! BigG

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Be mentally deliberate but muscularly fast. Aim for just above the belt buckle Wyatt Earp
"It is error alone that needs government support; truth can stand by itself." Tom Jefferson
If you have to shoot a man, shoot him in the guts, it may not kill him... sometimes they die slow, but it'll paralyze his brain and arm and the fight is all but over Wild Bill Hickok
Remember: When you attempt to rationalize two inconsistent positions, you risk drowning as your own sewage backs up.
45 ACP: Give 'em a new navel! BigG
 
I've HEARD of sarcasm B!gG, just never seen you do it correctly. How much is Colt paying you again? Or have the checks stopped since the bank closed their doors?
 
Nope: I have seen new shock buffs break during the first magazine, I have seen frames crack where the buffs put lateral pressure during recoil and I can not feel any difference in recoil with them in place.
Others like them, I don't.

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Ne Conjuge Nobiscum
"If there be treachery, let there be jehad!"




[This message has been edited by Jim V (edited January 06, 2000).]
 
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