Guide Rods

N

Nick_C_S

New member
Not really sure if this belongs in the Semi-Auto section, or the Smithy. But here goes:

Some full sized 1911's have recoil spring guide rods, and some don't. My old Colt Series 80 (1984) doesn't. My brother's Springfield does.

Other than a more complex cleaning process, is there any real difference?
 
Some full sized 1911's have recoil spring guide rods, and some don't. My old Colt Series 80 (1984) doesn't. My brother's Springfield does.
Click to expand...

Wait a minute. Are you talking about the difference between a full length guide rod and the standard GI 1911 guide rod? Pretty sure all 1911s have guide rods.
 
Full length guide rod in a 1911 is a solution looking for a problem. Don't have any in any of my 1911s and if one was in there it would be replaced.
 
Are you talking about the difference between a full length guide rod and the standard GI 1911 guide rod?
Click to expand...

Yes.

Pardon my terminology - or lack thereof. By "guide rod," I meant the full length one that's two pieces that screw together. As opposed to the little one that's only 2-1/2 inches long or so.
 
I have often said that full length guide rods help in extraction - they extract money from the pockets of the people who buy them and put it into the pockets of the sellers.

They serve no other purpose, except in the minds of the buyers.

Further, they are responsible for all the firing pin blocks and other solutions to the "problem" of a gun firing if it is dropped on the muzzle. In the standard 1911, it is almost impossible for the gun to fire under that condition because the energy will be absorbed by the slide moving back against the recoil spring. But with a FLGR, the slide cannot move back, the energy is not reduced, and the firing pin can move forward and fire a chambered round.

Jim
 
Bill Wilson has always spoke highly of full-length recoil guide rods. The ones Wilson Gun Shop sells are one piece.

You can read the ad copy here:

http://shopwilsoncombat.com/Full-Length-Guide-Rod-Full-Size/productinfo/25G/

Other than adding a little weight and changing the way the 1911 has to be disassembled, I can't say they do that much. I never bother with them any more.

I'd be leery about using a two-piece rod. It seems like a variable that doesn't have to be there. Of course, the original design didn't use a full-length rod of any sort. There are other variables that are far more important to enhance reliability and accuracy.
 
Bill Wilson has always spoke highly of full-length recoil guide rods. The ones Wilson Gun Shop sells are one piece.
Click to expand...

He says that because he sells them and makes $$$ on them.
 
^^^^^

I won't repeat what I said above; it is a gadget that solves no problems and has created many new ones for gun makers.

Jim
 
You just never know when you're going to get your spring in a tangle!

As much as I love the GI spec., I have to say the FLGR completes the design for me. Necessary? maybe not, but there are so many "unecessaries" out there that are just plain cool... like a forward-assist on the AR for example.

However I do semi agree with James K, this one potentially introduces a safety issue. But probably not unless you drop it on a wooden floor with people downstairs.
-SS-
 
I have a custom target pistol built by Bob Marvel - it came with a full length guide rod. His choice for that particular pistol. My Wilson Tactical Supergrade Professional has a full length guide rod - but it has a 4-inch, coned barrel and no barrel bushing. My Springfield EMP has a full length guide rod.

They're certainly not needed for all 1911's, but some 1911's may be designed and built to use a full length guide rod. Doesn't make any difference to me. If the gun comes with one, I run the full length guide rod.

Much of the brouhaha about the "problems" field stripping the gun is posturing by people who want to denigrate the use of the full length guide rod. In practice, it's not that difficult to take the slide stop out of the gun without using any special tools to do it.

The idea that there's a lot of money being made by supplying a full length guide rod is equally as farcical. The price difference between a full length guide rod and a standard guide rod is insignificant within the overall price of the pistol.
 
I have a lightweight Colt Commander 1911 with a full length guide rod. Evey other 1911 I own has the standard GI rod. I much prefer the standard rod to the full length. I find the full 1911 with the full length a bit more difficult to disassemble for cleaning. Cannot see any advantage to the full length rod.
 
buckhorn cortez said:
They're certainly not needed for all 1911's, but some 1911's may be designed and built to use a full length guide rod.
Click to expand...
With all due respect ... nonsense.

There is no question that some 1911s come from the factory with FLGRs, but the frame, slide, barrel and recoil spring are the same whether the pistol has a standard guide rod or a FLGR. I routinely remove any FLGR that comes in any 1911 I might purchase, and the pistols manage to function just fine without it.

The FLGR is purported to eliminate kinking of the recoil spring. Think about it. The spring is just small enough to fit in the plug and the spring tunnel in the frame. As the spring gets compressed, progressively more of it gets compressed over the standard guide rod anyway. But ... where can the spring kink? It's restrained on the bottom and both sides by the receiver and the spring tunnel in the slide, and it's restrained in the "up" axis by the barrel. So where can it kink?
 
So where can it kink?
Click to expand...

You just named where it can kink! :D

BUT, it can only kink as much as the clearance between the spring coils and the metal surrounding them, and that tiny amount has no effect on either the performance or life of the spring that I am aware of.

MAYBE the spring will wear out (shorten) a little sooner, than with a FLGR, I can't say. I can say 1911s without FLGR's have been running ok for over 100 years, so I don't see any burning need for one.
 
Here's what full length guide rods accomplish.
They don't prevent recoil spring kink.
They don't reduce muzzle flip.
They do not improve accuracy.
They don't even look right.
Useless gadgets.
 
I have owned guns that came into my possession both ways. Some FLGR's require tools to disassemble the gun. I replaced those with the standard short guide rod. Others I own can be disassembled just as easily with the FLGR. I doubt they help anything, but as long as they don't hurt anything, and don't make disassembly any more difficult I don't plan on spending money to fix what ain't broke. Wouldn't spend the money to add one either.
 
Sweet Shooter wrote:

"You just never know when you're going to get your spring in a tangle!"

and

"...this one potentially introduces a safety issue. But probably not unless you drop it on a wooden floor with people downstairs."

Why would anyone get (or be able to get) the spring in a tangle? I can't imagine anyone even remotely familiar with the 1911 doing that.

As for the "safety issue", the people who got bothered were the CA DOJ who tested a 1911 with a FLGR and had it fire when dropped; whereupon they imposed safety devices that were never used and never needed with the original spring guide, costing us all money and possibly making the pistols less reliable. If you like all those firing pin blocks and odd trigger pulls, thank the guys who gave us the FLGR.

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