Many years ago before 1911 pattern pistols in 22 Long Rifle were so commonly available I decided to build one. I obtained an Essex alloy frame and using GI parts I assembled a complete lower. Then I mounted a Colt "Conversion Unit" on it.
It never worked well. It would feed and fire most of the time, and ejection was positive, but I could never get the slide lock to function so the slide always closed after the last round was fired. Bugged me no end. I wanted the gun to work right. Plus, the combination of clearly commercial parts on the upper and GI parts on the lower clashed. I sold the entire gun.
I bought another Conversion Unit (this was back when they were still readily available). I liked it on my Gold Cup. The CU has a flat rib on top of the slide and along with the sights this makes it look right at home on the Gold Cop lower. But I wanted a complete gun. I looked for a Gold Cup lower without success. Hated the idea of spending the money for a complete gun and then trying to sell the top part. For years I was stuck.
Then one day I was perusing the Gunbroker auctions and I spotter a 1911 lower being offered. It was made by Daly and it resembled the Gold Cup with a flat mainspring housing and skeleton trigger. It had the round Commander style hammer and I prefer the Government Model's long spur. It also had an extended tang and I don't care for that, either. But otherwise I though it might work well. Think I paid $160 for it.
The Colt unit looked good on the Daly lower. It did not work so good, however. Took many months of test firing followed by tinkering at the work bench to make it function properly. But eventually it all came together. It now works great. Feeds, fires, ejects, and even locks the slide. Yee-haw!
I put on some fake ivory stocks that I had engraved with a personal design many years ago. The right panel also has a small diamond inset into it. The stone came out of a ring I had after I replaced it with one with sentimental value (my mother's engagement stone) so on a whim I asked a jeweler friend to put it in the stock panel. Always wanted a diamond studded 1911...
Still hate the hammer and tang and need to do something about them. Also, the trigger is incredibly heavy, like 15 pounds. Need to have a smith try to tune it a bit.
Had never really shot a group with it before yesterday. The CUs were not renowned for accuracy so I didn't expect great things. Also, I am a very mediocre marksman. But it was better than I expected. At 15 yards using both hands and shooting rapid fire to overcome the heavy trigger it printed a 1.25" five shot group. The first 4 were going under an inch but there's always that one bugger that gets away. I think it can do better after some trigger work. Should be good enough for the gun's intended purpose.
Anyway, being part Daly and Colt I call it "The Dolt."
It never worked well. It would feed and fire most of the time, and ejection was positive, but I could never get the slide lock to function so the slide always closed after the last round was fired. Bugged me no end. I wanted the gun to work right. Plus, the combination of clearly commercial parts on the upper and GI parts on the lower clashed. I sold the entire gun.
I bought another Conversion Unit (this was back when they were still readily available). I liked it on my Gold Cup. The CU has a flat rib on top of the slide and along with the sights this makes it look right at home on the Gold Cop lower. But I wanted a complete gun. I looked for a Gold Cup lower without success. Hated the idea of spending the money for a complete gun and then trying to sell the top part. For years I was stuck.
Then one day I was perusing the Gunbroker auctions and I spotter a 1911 lower being offered. It was made by Daly and it resembled the Gold Cup with a flat mainspring housing and skeleton trigger. It had the round Commander style hammer and I prefer the Government Model's long spur. It also had an extended tang and I don't care for that, either. But otherwise I though it might work well. Think I paid $160 for it.
The Colt unit looked good on the Daly lower. It did not work so good, however. Took many months of test firing followed by tinkering at the work bench to make it function properly. But eventually it all came together. It now works great. Feeds, fires, ejects, and even locks the slide. Yee-haw!
I put on some fake ivory stocks that I had engraved with a personal design many years ago. The right panel also has a small diamond inset into it. The stone came out of a ring I had after I replaced it with one with sentimental value (my mother's engagement stone) so on a whim I asked a jeweler friend to put it in the stock panel. Always wanted a diamond studded 1911...
Still hate the hammer and tang and need to do something about them. Also, the trigger is incredibly heavy, like 15 pounds. Need to have a smith try to tune it a bit.
Had never really shot a group with it before yesterday. The CUs were not renowned for accuracy so I didn't expect great things. Also, I am a very mediocre marksman. But it was better than I expected. At 15 yards using both hands and shooting rapid fire to overcome the heavy trigger it printed a 1.25" five shot group. The first 4 were going under an inch but there's always that one bugger that gets away. I think it can do better after some trigger work. Should be good enough for the gun's intended purpose.
Anyway, being part Daly and Colt I call it "The Dolt."
