A few 1911 questions

[Curt Dawson]

Who makes the thinnest grips for the 1911?
What brand of night sights would you recommend?
Who is a good source for 8 round magazines?
Any recommendations for ambidextrous safety's?

[Castaway]

For a magazine, I have had a Star for 8 years and it's been completely reliable.  Not as expensive as others but fills the bill.

[44 Man]

Well, I don't know about the thinnest, but certainly the best value 'thin' grips are the Chip McCormick because you also get the new grip bushings that you need with them included in the price.  As for mags, Wilson, Wilson, and Wilson are good.  I have owned 6 Wilson mags 8 rounders for well over 20 years and they have been constantly loaded and have never missed a beat. (and now also own 3 compact 7 rounders) Just absolutely the best mags I have ever owned.  For night sights, Trijicon.  Again, I have dealt with those people for years and have been 100% satisfied.  44 Man

[Mikey]

Chip McCormick, Chip McCormick, Trijicon, almost any aftermarket safety.  HTH.  Mikey.

[RBishop]

Hey 44man,,,,what grips do you have on the Defender? And did you leave the factory rubber grip on underneath? Can't tell from the pic but it looks like a neat set-up.

Thanks!

[44 Man]

I don't want to hijack this thread but that rubber finger groove part is a Pearce grip adapter and has a very thin flap that goes under your choice of grips to hold it on.  I like it very much.  It gives me good grip and I can still have some pretty wood grips on the gun.  I have them for all of my 1911's.  44 Man

[Lloyd Smale]

44 man i agree with your choise in mags. Ive yet to have malfunction that could be attributed to a wilson mag. cant say that about the rest of them but Chip McCormicks are pretty good too. Hey those bullets look familar.

[Curt Dawson]

I decided to go with a slightly larger right side safety.I took a dremel tool and a palm sander and reshaped the grips to fit.Midway has Chip McCorrmick 10 round stainless steel magazines for $17.50.So I ordered up two of them.I will probably go with the trijoicn sights.

[ECV Slick]

I don't want to hijack this thread but that rubber finger groove part is a Pearce grip adapter and has a very thin flap that goes under your choice of grips to hold it on.  I like it very much.  It gives me good grip and I can still have some pretty wood grips on the gun.  I have them for all of my 1911's.  44 Man

I'd also like to chime-in on the Pearce "finger-notch" grip.  It does slightly raise each grip panel a touch - but I really wanted to retain the original grips for my Springfield "loaded" and the Hogue grips (while 100% perfect & functional) just didn't have the appeal as being able to keep the original wood grips.  Now I too have used the Pearce insert on all my .45's



Another nice part is the Pachmyer "semi-arched" rubber-covered mainspring housing.  They've LONG been out-of-production, but still can be had with a bit of looking.  This mainspring housing (IMHO) creates the "perfect grip" for my hand to hold the .45 - YMMV.

[Savage]

Love the McCormic thin grips. I like the smooth ones as they tend to conceal better without catching clothing. There are about as thin as it gets!

[Unter]

  Alumagrips Thin style are 5/32" 

 http://www.alumagrips.com/main.taf?p=2,1,2

[Curt Dawson]

My local gunsmith recommends the Wilson night sights as he has to many of the Trijicon front sights break off.

[1911crazy]

I been using the IAI full wrap around rubber grips from CDNN.  Not many like the rubber grips i guess i'm the only one.

[richardoldfield]

Who makes the thinnest grips for the 1911?
What brand of night sights would you recommend?
Who is a good source for 8 round magazines?
Any recommendations for ambidextrous safety's?

Honest answers:

1. I do not know
2. I am not real keen on nights sights, I prefer good sights and a flashlight (see below)
3. I do not like 8 round magazines (including Wilson's), I prefer 7 round magazines by Metalform
4. I am not left handed and I therefore prefer the Government safety.

These are King-Tappan on my RIA and the only thing I would do different is have a gold dot installed:

[oldandslow]

Right after this thread started I ordered a set of Chip McMcormack thin grips. Mostly because of 44 Man's recommendation and the picture of his gun. They finally arrived today. They are nice. I was surprised that the PT1911 I ordered them for didn't need the bushings. I used the original screws. 

[SharonAnne]

from the BROWNELLS

[SharonAnne]

OOPS

from the BROWNELLS catalog

thinnest grips- AFS Slimtech at 3.8mm
                    Alumagrip Slimline at 3.9mm
                    McCormick Slim Carry at 4mm

nightsights-- i would go with your gunsmith. he sees more than you can survey.

8 Rnd mags- i use Metalform. i have used them for 15 years with one failure. I used wilsons but the base pads eventually break off during
                  reloads.

AmbiSafety- what are you going to use it for? concealed carry? competition?

BTW Richard, the safety on your pictured gun is NOT gov.

[SharonAnne]

double OOPS

sorry Curt, you asked for SOURCE not brand. I would use Brownells