Author Topic: Buying first 1911 (Read 1120 times)

Buster · « **on:** July 28, 2004, 03:57:27 PM »

Or should I say 1991A1. Put a Colt 1991A1 on layaway today. Should have it home Monday. It's not new, it is used with the original case and manual. And it's parkerized. It looked great, sharp and clean. Hope it is a good one. Price was the same as a new Springfield Armory G.I. model. Hope I made a good buy. Dad gave me a huge box full of .45acp hardball and I haven't had any way to shoot it. That's all changed now! :grin:

Paul S · « **Reply #1 on:** July 28, 2004, 05:19:58 PM »

Sounds great, I'm new to 45's also. I just got a Kimber 1911 about two months ago and I'm having great fun with it. Looks good,sounds good,shoots good, must be good

jacobtowne · « **Reply #2 on:** July 29, 2004, 06:04:05 AM »

Buster:
A word of caution. Before you use ball ammo (full load) make sure the recoil spring is 16 pounds (or whatever modern 1911A1s use as factory standard). The previous owner might have installed a reduced power spring to accommodate light target loads. If so, you may damage the gun.
I say modern because both of my .45s are U.S. Army, and use 16 pound springs as standard.
Good shooting.
JT

Buster · « **Reply #3 on:** July 29, 2004, 09:32:14 AM »

Is there a way to check the spring poundage, ie. counting the coils or some other way? From the looks of this pistol it is bone stock, but you never know.

jacobtowne · « **Reply #4 on:** July 30, 2004, 07:43:05 AM »

Counting coils won't do it. Springs are about 7 or 8 dollars from Brownell's.
I keep 13-16 lb. springs on hand for my Colt M1911 and Remington Rand M1911A1.
And C130E is right about buffers - they really can protect the back of the slide (whatever it's called) that slams into the guide rod head on recoil. Wilson Combat makes them - called Shok-buffs, I think. They're just thin pieces of plastic that slip onto the guide rod. I'm sure Brownell's carry them.
JT

Nanook 450 · « **Reply #5 on:** July 31, 2004, 02:20:48 PM »

This is an e-mail message from John Farnam concerning buffers - don't use them.

19 July 04

Another reason not to shun 1911 recoil buffers:

At a Basic Defensive Pistol Course last weekend in NM, a student used a plane-vanilla, Colt, Series 70 1911. It consistently failed to live eject. That is, it would eject empty cases but not live rounds. This made unloading nearly impossible, as the recalcitrant round would always hang up in the ejection port. I had to pound on it the my Dejammer in order to dislodge it.

The problem was, of course, a rubber recoil buffer, installed on the recoil spring guide rod. The pistol's owner said he had no idea how the buffer got there (yes, they always seem to grow spontaneously!), but, as soon at is was removed and unceremoniously discarded, the pistol starting working normally.

Lesson: Once again, rubber recoil buffers should never be installed on any serious pistol. It is a life-threatening mistake!

/John

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jacobtowne · « **Reply #6 on:** August 01, 2004, 06:13:40 AM »

Understood. I'm not talking about a carry gun, but rather an antique. The first time I used one on the Colt M1911, I had one failure to eject. After that, no problem. I suspect this can happen because of reduced slide travel to the rear. (?)
Wilson buffs are 1/10 inch new. They flatten pretty quickly. No problems with the RR.
JT

Buster · « **Reply #7 on:** August 01, 2004, 05:17:12 PM »

Ordered a 16# Wolff spring from Brownell's. thanks! Should pick up the Colt in the morning. :grin:

Mikey · « **Reply #8 on:** August 02, 2004, 01:59:56 AM »

Buster - go back to Wolff and ask for a 20-22 lb recoil spring kit. You will never regret it. 16 lb is the factory spring weight and that's where the 45 auto gets its recoil from. Go up to an 18-20 pound spring kit and you will notice the reduction is recoil and muzzle flip. I stock all my 45s (1911s) with 22 pounders, shoot lots of ball ammo and heavy reloads and have never had a problem with recoil yet. HTH. Mikey.

Buster · « **Reply #9 on:** August 02, 2004, 07:18:45 AM »

Here it is!

Buster · « **Reply #10 on:** August 09, 2004, 05:16:37 PM »

It appears to be all stock except for a set of Wilson Combat sights.
I've shot 42 rounds through it so far, no problems. All '72 G.I. harball.
Accuracy was so-so. I shot if off a bag of lead shot rested on my toolbox, and got about a 5-6" group at 30 yards. Had a couple of bad flyers. It does shoot to point of aim however. At 15 yards I had 3 shots touching but left, and two drifting up, and one way up. So it appears the pistol is very capable, but the shooter may not be :oops:.

Love the pistol though. Got an extra mag (Kimber...wonder who makes their mags?) and some Federal American Eagle hardball for more practice.