Anything special I need to know about owning a 1911?

[tazman]

OOOPS!
I did a quick check in the safe and there are three of them now! Apparently the 9mm Range Officer acquired a friend(RIA ULTRA FS).
Must have sneaked in while I wasn't looking. I'll have to watch out for offspring again. Hard to tell if they are male or female when small caliber like that.

[SSGOldfart]

Warning!!!
The 1911 pistol has a habit of multiplying.
After you have owned one for a relatively short time, you may find there are more of them in your safe than you originally intended.
THIS HAPPENED TO ME.

I finally had to let the breeding pair go in order to have room in my safe for the S&W revolvers that also seem to breed. I kept a pair of the 1911 pistols but they are both female.

Yes sir that is a common problem.

[Tazlaw]

I recently acquired a Springfield 1911 in 45. When searching and learning I’ve been told I may need to “throat” the barrel. Might have to do same on yours if you shoot cast boolits.

[Mr_Sheesh]

I am not sure that the multiplying problem is solvable by us mere mortals.

When I get a new one I'll get 500 rounds of ammo set up and run it through, this removes the burrs that the manufacturer left in there (Sadly, MOST seem to do that; Price having a smith polish it up at this stage and you'll see why I do this.) It familiarizes me with the gun's quirks, if any, also.

(In really cheap autos, you can have the first few rounds be very problematic; Years ago a friend got an Auto Ordinance Thompson semi-auto 45 ACP, and I was surprised at just how BAD the burrs were in there, HORRID, but 500 rounds made it a lot more reliable and functional. Also a friends' Walther PPK had a factory DA pull that was something like 32# at first, that got better - a little - but still needed a smith's attention later. She was NOT able to DA shoot that, LOL)

I usually put a Wilson Combat slide buffer in, Midway etc. have those, just over $1 each and prevents slide cracking if someone has you shoot their ammo and it's "a little" hot. I minly shoot my own handloads, they're NOT hot, but reliable, accurate, and inexpensive. That works for me.

Suggestion, if you are shooting a lot, for the 1911s you "just might" need a progressive loader, or at least a turret press; I've shot 1000-2000 rounds a weekend at times, in the past, most weekends. Now think of reloading those with your nice Rock Chucker, one at a time. Sorta cut into the fun factor!

[Idaho45guy]

I am not sure that the multiplying problem is solvable by us mere mortals.

When I get a new one I'll get 500 rounds of ammo set up and run it through, this removes the burrs that the manufacturer left in there (Sadly, MOST seem to do that; Price having a smith polish it up at this stage and you'll see why I do this.) It familiarizes me with the gun's quirks, if any, also.

(In really cheap autos, you can have the first few rounds be very problematic; Years ago a friend got an Auto Ordinance Thompson semi-auto 45 ACP, and I was surprised at just how BAD the burrs were in there, HORRID, but 500 rounds made it a lot more reliable and functional. Also a friends' Walther PPK had a factory DA pull that was something like 32# at first, that got better - a little - but still needed a smith's attention later. She was NOT able to DA shoot that, LOL)

I usually put a Wilson Combat slide buffer in, Midway etc. have those, just over $1 each and prevents slide cracking if someone has you shoot their ammo and it's "a little" hot. I minly shoot my own handloads, they're NOT hot, but reliable, accurate, and inexpensive. That works for me.

Suggestion, if you are shooting a lot, for the 1911s you "just might" need a progressive loader, or at least a turret press; I've shot 1000-2000 rounds a weekend at times, in the past, most weekends. Now think of reloading those with your nice Rock Chucker, one at a time. Sorta cut into the fun factor!

Good tips!

Yeah, when I would work up a box of 50 .40 S&W or 10mm rounds for a match, it typically took me about 2 hours with my single-stage and attention to detail.

When I switched to 9mm, I just stopped by Walmart and picked up a box of Remington UMC 115gr JHP for $13. They were nearly as accurate as my handloads in the Glock.

[Silver Jack Hammer]

One of the most important things IMO is a checkered front strap. The pic on the OP shows some kind of checkering. Checkering a front strap is expensive. I have used skate board tape on the front strap and it works just fine.

When you get your 1911, check to see if the barrel bushing is forged. If there is a seam from casting on the barrel bushing I invest $20 on a drop in forged barrel bushing. The cast bushing can break and that will tie up your gun.

The last 1911 I bought came with a one piece recoil spring guide. I switched mine out for the proven two piece recoil spring guide.

Try some quality recoil springs, they are not expensive and they make a huge difference shooting, I just stick to recommended weight springs. A 5” government model .45 recoil spring 18.5 pounds will run 5,000 rounds before getting tired. This is an inexpensive part.

[Petrol & Powder]

The 1911 platform is an iconic platform.

Going through the list of features the OP posted, some of that is descriptive and some of it is marketing but none of it is bad:


• Match grade trigger – adjustable - 1911 triggers slide in a slot cut in the frame, they don't pivot on a trigger pin. A match trigger is generally oversized and then fitted to that slot so that it works freely but is not loose in the frame. A trigger stop screw is included to prevent over-travel after the hammer is released.

• Full-length, 1-piece guide rods- This is a guide rod for the recoil spring and requires a spring plunger with a hole to allow the rod to pass through. The original 1911 system doesn't use a full length guide. Some people like them, some people don't. The take down procedure is a bit different between guns with guide rods and guns without.

• Fiber optic front sight- self explanatory
• Fully adjustable LPA target rear sight - adjustable rear sight

• Wide front and rear cocking serrations - This is pretty much just marketing, Remington chose to use a wide serrations and place them in two locations on the slide.

• Oversized magwell for lightning-fast reloads - Some flare at the magazine well opening does help the shooter get a mag into the gun. Just about any manufacturer puts a little bit of flare in that opening, so this is a bit of marketing. Questionable if it will make you "lighting fast"

• 5” ramped, match-grade barrel - In the 1911 world there are different types of feed ramps. The standard barrel just has a chamfer cut along the lower edges of the breach. Some barrels have a feed ramp incorporated into the barrel and that requires a cut in the frame to make room for that ramped barrel. This has more to do with feeding certain bullet types than accuracy. The term "match grade barrel" get bantered around by most manufacturers and it means pretty much whatever the manufacturer wants it to mean. No one is going to say they equip their guns with "merely adequate barrels" . Also, on a 1911 the outside dimensions of the barrel are often more important than the inside dimensions. An oversized barrel that is closely fitted to the slide will provide consistent lock up and therefore consistent accuracy.

• Stainless steel frame, slide, and barrel - self explanatory but a good feature in my book.

• Ionbond PVD coating delivers the smoothest operation and unparalleled durability - "Ionbond" is a little bit of marketing flourish but PVD coating is a way to blacken stainless steel and it is a proven coating that is very durable.

• Ambidextrous extended thumb safety for easy operation in either hand - Self explanatory

• Machined G10 VZ operator grips - G10 is a very tough material, so that's a plus

• Checkered front strap and mainspring housing - self explanatory and a good feature in my book

• 9+1 round capacity in caliber .40S&W - this is straight forward. The gun is chambered in 40 S&W.

Overall that sounds like a very good "out of the box" 1911 platform.
I agree with Thumbcocker, don't change anything until you've shot that gun a lot. If it anit broke don't fix it.

[GSP7]

dont get a series 80. Get a series 70

[DougGuy]

dont get a series 80. Get a series 70

Why? I have had series 80 Colts and never had any issue with the plunger, the wimply little spring doesn't add very much to the trigger pull really. The series 70 guns can be made safer by using either an extra power firing pin spring or a titanium firing pin, or both. I suppose you could do the same for the series 80 after removing the internal parts that make up the firing pin block but I nave never seen a series 80 firing pin block make a trigger so hard to manage that it was unbearable.

"Match Grade Barrel" is not a good thing at all in reality for a cast boolit shooter. It is used as an excuse for a manufacturer to do less work to the barrel to ship the gun, it lets them skip throating the barrel completely and most makers do this because a simple bevel on the abruptly ending lands in front of the chamber will allow the use of factory hardball ammo and that's all they need to do to get by.

The chambers themselves are sometimes smaller in dimensions which can often impede the use of cast boolits. A .452" cast boolit set in a case with a moderate taper crimp usually mics out around .474" and many so called "match" chambers aren't of sufficient diameter to allow ammo any larger than .472" to feed and function.

So.. What exactly is a "Match Grade Barrel?" Is this one where they take a factory made round out of the Winchester white box and measure it, then set dimensions on the chamber and other parts like the groove diameter and the chamber length? Isn't this the same as fitting the barrel more closely to the round than let's say, the average production 1911 barrel?

Don't we as cast boolit shooters do basically the same thing to any barrel? We size to slightly larger than groove diameter, then we either throat the barrel or we seat deep enough to get the ammo to work, and don't we apply just enough crimp to make sure we don't have any setback? Aren't we making "Match Grade" boolits because we have closely sized the components to fit the barrel we want to use?

That said, all a Match Grade barrel does is make things more of a PITA to get them to work good.. They aren't any more accurate than a WWII replacement milsurp barrel, the "Match Grade" is not in the barrel at all, it is in the fitment of the barrel to the gun.

[Drm50]

I will say this about that. A Korean vet bought a new Rem 1911 at Cabelas. He decided to give it a proper cleaning before firing. Now guy was in his 80s and he was a squib, so you got to cut him some slack. He couldn’t get it back together. I had tough time myself and finger was bleeding from
burrs inside slide. They must put bushing in with wrench. The inside surfaces looked like they hired a beaver as a mill. That was a few years back when Rem 1911s first out. I’m looking for a 1911 myself. I only want a Colt series 70 original. I don’t trust the low end clones and can’t see the money for the high end, Colts are expensive enough. In 1970 a series 70 Colt was $100, a GI used was average $40. They weren’t a high volume seller either. A Colt 1911 and S&W m10 are the most dependable and durable handguns ever made.

[Silver Jack Hammer]

The Series 80 system improves safety? The 1911 was issued to mounted troops, used in trench warfare, landed at Normandy and marched to Berlin, froze in Korea and cooked in the humidity of Vietnam. The only group that said a 1911 needed a firing pin block safety were American lawyers.

[Petrol & Powder]

I've owned and shot series 70 guns and series 80 guns.
The firing pin safety on the series 80 isn't the end of the world but it adds more complexity to the gun than the platform needs. I admire the Ruger SR1911 solution of a titanium firing pin. That gives you the safety of a lighter firing pin plus faster lock time. That's a win/win.

As for a "Match Barrel", that's not a well defined thing. It's pretty much whatever a manufacturer wants to claim it is.

Back in dark ages when people had to actually work on a 1911 to improve accuracy and not just open the box, installing a match barrel took some gunsmithing. Match Barrels were externally a bit oversized and fitted to a slide. The barrel bushing was fitting to the slide and the barrel, the hood was fitted to the breach face of the slide and the lug was fitted so that the slide stop was snug just as the slide went into battery. Sometimes a longer link was used as well. It was a complicated operation but it resulted in a barrel that locked up to the slide exactly the same way every time. That work combined with fitting the slide to the frame and maybe some work to the trigger/hammer/sear would result in excellent accuracy. The trick was to get the gun as tight as possible without compromising function. A knowledgeable shooter would always set up a combat pistol a little looser than a pure target gun to ensure reliability.

These days you can buy an "out of the box" 1911 that has far better tolerances than a run of mill pistol had 40 years ago.

That being said, the meaning of the term "match barrel" depends a lot on the context. Buying a Bar-Sto match barrel from Brownells and fitting it to a gun isn't the same thing as buying a Springfield Armory gun equipped with a "match barrel" out of the box.

[Baltimoreed]

Suggestions- Keep your thumbs together or learn how to shoot it duelist and lock your wrist when you shoot that way. Series 70 Colt with a beavertail and you won’t get hammer bite. Great gun. Got a bunch.

[PHyrbird]

I have the same affliction with other items designed by JMB. Know the feeling.