Is 1000 rounds too early per detail strip 1911

G

Gunslick

New member
Well every 1000 rounds I detail strip my 1911 Springfield stainless. Looking at all the internal parts after today's training session everything looks fine. Am I detail stripping too often? I think maybe so.
 
In my opinion yes, but it's your gun. Do what makes you feel comfortable. Honestly a detail strip really isn't necessary in most cases unless you're replacing a pet as part of a maintenance schedule, and while you likely know what you're doing I think most manufacturers would prefer people not detail strip too often as people tend to make mistakes on reassembly.


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You don't need to detail strip a gun nearly that often to keep it in good working shape unless you're using it in harsh conditions.

If you know what you're doing and use some common sense, it's probably not going to hurt anything.

One way to tell if you're wasting time is to go ahead and clean it normally (no detail strip) BEFORE you do your detail strip/inspection/cleaning.

Then do your detail strip/inspection/cleaning. If you find that the gun is already clean in the course of the detail strip then your normal cleaning is working fine and you can go longer before your next detail strip.
 
I like the way you put that. Makes sense. I did put back in the factory MIM ignition parts just to come to terms with the fact that there is nothing wrong with good MIM. I will keep the c&s ignition set because I already know it works safely and have it around for a spare is i ever need it. Today was great. Shot about 400 pistol and 350 rifle. We slowed it down today because I had a new guy join us but it was nice to shoot a little slower and be a little more accurate. I am very accurate while shooting very fast but I can always get better and more accurate while being fast.
 
Other than dropping it in quicksand, there's rarely a need to do a complete disassembly of a 1911.
Most every part of the gun can be accessed and cleaned without doing so.
It's quite an open design.
 
What do you mean by detail strip?

A complete tear down of the mainspring housing, sear springs, trigger, mag release is a little excessive for 1,000 rounds. Every couple thousand thousand rounds is probably reasonable - maybe 2,500 rounds would be reasonable in my book...

If be detail strip you mean remove the slide and barrel - I do that every couple hundred rounds for a good cleaning but even that is probably excessive.
 
Heck, I got into a scrap with someone here years ago telling me I needed to replace firing pin/recoil springs after 500 rounds. We didn't see eye to eye, needless to say.

I'm more of a 3,000 round kind of guy if I'm going into that much detail. It's quite well separated from immediate powder residue, if anything the grips probably get dirtier than the mainspring in some instances...
 
Wow, some of you guys seem to have lots of spare time! ;)

I have 50+ guns and shoot at least 4 every Sunday. If I did a detail (not field) strip every 1000 rounds I would be a full-time professional gun stripper.

Field strip, wipe down, spray clean, wipe again, clean barrel, lube, done. I would think that detail stripping too often would do more damage to pins and small parts than it's worth.

Now to replacing springs too often...............
 
I like to detail strip when I buy a firearm before its first range trip and then, like Jim said, I try to do it annually depending on how many rounds have been through it. In the case of my Colt 1991 that has only had 240 rounds through it since I bought it over a year ago I think biannually will work for me.
Do I think firearms require a detailed strip? Nope, i think they would do just fine if they never recieved more than a field strip and cleaning, as Hickock45 would say, this is what I do.
 
I would take a gun down to a "bare frame" after an initial break in period of probably 500 - 1,000 rds ...but after that, I take it to a bare frame - detail strip - lube and inspection - about every 5,000 rds - which is when I replace the firing pin spring on my 1911's.

If you know what you're doing you're not hurting anything doing it more often...but I think its probably a waste of time.
 
Detail strip once a year unless you shoot over 1000 rounds a month. Then maybe twice a year or once every 18 months. More often if more rounds per month.

Field strip when needed. Maybe after each range trip. Don't let a dirty gun sit more than a couple of weeks in a safe.

As others said...too many detail strips causes excessive wear to pins and other parts. There is also no need for it.

tipoc
 
When I was shooting twice a week I detailed stripped once a year, whether it was 1000 rounds or 5000. That meant I was detail stripping three or four guns a year.
Now, it might be only once every year or three, depending on round count.
 
I detail strip 2-3 times a year on my remaining 10 or so 1911s. On a field strip clean and lube, I include removing the firing pin and extractor which most folks don't. Parts will not prematurely wear due to detailed stripping. But to answer the OP's question, if you have the time and enjoy doing it, you can take it all the way down as often as you please.
 
I shoot cast out of my semis, and that bullet lube finds it's way EVERYWHERE. I tend to detail strip more than most others would, depending on the firearm. 1911s? Every 1-2k rounds or so. I have a Jericho 941 that is a pain in the butt to detail strip. I will strip the slide on my normal schedule, but the frame hasn't been stripped in at least 5k rounds. It's a pain in the butt and I can dig most of the crud out with q-tips, plus it continues to function even if there is some caked on crud stuck in some crevices.
 
Yes I know how to detail strip a 1911. I have all the jigs and stones and what not to do sear and hammer jobs, next I want the tools to fit a barrel. In my opinion there is no need to take any classes for gunsmithing. I have been around it my entire life so I have been taking guns apart and fixing them my self when needed. Have never really sent a gun off anywhere with the exception of a Kaboomed Glock 22. That was a long time ago. It's funny, the thing that deterred me from Glock's was.....MIM parts, but as I study them and the process, MIM is everywhere and seems to function fine for law enforcement and military needs in extreme conditions so I let that one go after I got my most recent 1911.
 
I would like to point out how some people are saying "firearms" in general and talking about the 1911 specifically.

And that's fine, so long as you maintain a degree of separation between the two. The 1911, and several other duty class firearms were designed with the expectation that they would be both field, and detail stripped OFTEN, as such is the practice in virtually every military.

Done right, detail stripping that kind of gun hurts nothing. And yes, you probably are doing it more than needed.

Other kinds of firearms, particularly those with a sporting arm design, are NOT intended to be taken apart regularly, and should not be. Detail strip away, its your gun, but don't do it because you think there is a need. If there IS a need, sure, but otherwise, why bother??
 
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