Building your own 1911; am I crazy?

[wyrmzr]

I have been looking recently at the possibility of building my own 1911, probably Government.
Am I nuts building one of these from the ground up? I've seen some of the tutorials on doing so, and I know there's some machining, but that doesn't bother me too much.
I likely wouldn't save much money by building my own, but I'm thinking I can build a match grade 1911 so long as I'm patient and get good quality parts.
Anyone here build their own 1911, and have any advice?

[DougGuy]

I have built quite a number of them from all out bells and whistles to basically stock business gun. Buy quality parts, You will need to do a LOT of fitting if you do all this from scratch, every little part will have to be tweaked and polished, and proven utterly reliable.

I like Caspian frames, and a slide that is not so tight except at the end of the stroke where it goes into battery. That, and a well fitted barrel, with a Briley spherical bushing, will make a great shooter, chances are it will outshoot you all day long, mine did. This and a good trigger are all you need really.

[wyrmzr]

I'm surprised at the reviews on the Caspian frames, but mostly just because they're proving to be the least expensive frames out there.
The one question I have to ask: there are some that are labelled Nowlin, what the heck is that? Does Nowlin just have a different design to their barrels?

[DougGuy]

Nowlin is a ramped barrel. The frame will have a cutout that accepts the ramp. If you want a conventional barrel, don't get the Nowlin frame. Get a conventional frame and say a Wilson or other decent barrel.

The ramped barrel will let you have a fully supported chamber, so it supports the brass all the way around. A conventional barrel has a feed ramp that is flared and smoothed toward the chamber mouth, and it usually leaves a small "eyebrow" of the case unsupported on the bottom. With a high pressure cartridge like the 9mm at 36,500psi, and the 40 S&W at 35,000psi this is important. In a .45 ACP 1911 that operates at 21,000psi and 23,000psi at +P levels, the brass is thick enough in the webbed area that a fully supported chamber is not a real necessity.

Having this fully supported chamber presents some feeding issues as the breakover point where the boolit will go up under the extractor and start it's final path into the chamber is a good .100" farther rearward than the breakover point for a non-ramped, non-fully supported barrel. The conventional barrel, JUST LIKE John Moses Browning designed it in the early 20th century, still works the best and feeds the best in the .45 caliber 1911 format.

I guess you could always flare the top of the ramp and get it to feed just as well as a traditional non-ramped barrel but you would give up some of that support on the thick part of the brass to do it.

[StrawHat]

(Disclaimer: I have never built a 1911 from parts but I have built other firearms from the ground up)

Building your own allows you do build exactly what you want so long as the parts are available. It also takes much longer than buying something that is close and replacing parts with the ones you want. At my current age, I tend to find what I want and purchase it so I can spend the time shooting. Building is not as fun as it used to be, and it takes time.

Having said that, nothing beats the pride of assembling your own firearm and it working the way you planned. But be honest with yourself about what you expect to build. There are so many options available in factory models, it is hard to build something unique.

Kevin

[MBTcustom]

Ive done it as well, but I can't add much to what DougGuy said. The Briley bushing is the bomb and I highly recommend as well. Caspian makes good stuff. I like Wilson Combat for all the rest of the inside rattle, although Wolff springs are a very good investment as well.
All I will add is that before yo take another step, you should buy the book "pistolsmithing" by George C. Nonte Jr. And make sure it's all dog eared and fuzzy around the edges before you proceed. Most of what he teaches in that book applies to hand tools, and there are quite a few modern tricks not discussed in that book, but it will give you a very good foundation to build your knowledge upon.

[C. Latch]

I've taken an existing 1911 frame/slide, stripped it of all parts, and rebuilt it.

If you're not an experienced gun builder, I'll just say that building a 1911 from the ground up is almost certain to put you $1000 into a $400 pistol. If I could go back in time 15 years, instead of several customized 1911s that are worth far less than I put into them, I'd have one high-end (Wilson, Baer, etc) pistol.

YMMV.

[DougGuy]

^^^^THIS... Pretty much across the board, no matter how much you spend on the parts or whose name is on the parts, it's still a kit gun and resale will never break you even with it. The SAME EXACT PARTS, built by Wilson, Kimber, Baer, Brown, will always hold a high resale value. Go figure.

The last one I built was an edc for myself. Caspian frame, Colt Commander upper with stock Colt barrel fitted with Briley spherical barrel bushing. McCormick sear, WWI wide flanged hammer WWII grip safety, slide stop and magazine release, most other internals were gun show used parts I picked out of bulk bins on tables. Wolff springs throughout, full length guide rod, Robar rear sight, and a Videcki long aluminum trigger.

This gun's performance was mostly from myself tuning the parts. For instance filing the extractor in my own individual way so the rim went up under it with a measured amount of resistance, curving it for a measured amount of tension, rounding the front of it so it would not touch the case when in battery. Tuning the ejector by shortening and angling the end so it ejected just to the right of my feet and didn't mark the brass with an indention, these are two very important things that you can't really read too much on to start with. This kind of assembly and tuning will ultimately make or break a carry gun, the one bearing factor being that it must be UTTERLY RELIABLE, in any and every imaginable circumstance. Get either one of the extractor or the ejector just a little out of sorts, you will have a stoppage which again, in a carry gun, could be a disaster.

For a casual shooter, range gun, something to occupy time and learn with, building one is the only way to learn the craft. I would not attempt to build an edc unless and until I had mastered every function and process in how the gun runs. Anyone can go to a gun show, come home with a bag of parts and assemble a 1911 that would most likely work, right out of the box, with nothing but a sear spring to assemble it with. The US military armorers used to do this all the time, it was what JM Browning envisioned when he invented the 1911. There is a lot of interesting fun to be had doing this. It just eats up a lot of spare cash and spare time..

http://i1202.photobucket.com/albums/bb374/DougGuy/Guns/b9bd95c2-b752-46b5-8131-e53d8c637433_zpsviv56rqb.jpg (http://s1202.photobucket.com/user/DougGuy/media/Guns/b9bd95c2-b752-46b5-8131-e53d8c637433_zpsviv56rqb.jpg.html)

http://i1202.photobucket.com/albums/bb374/DougGuy/Guns/7da578d3-d6d7-4616-bf97-0ce359626c94_zps3uekjbwr.jpg (http://s1202.photobucket.com/user/DougGuy/media/Guns/7da578d3-d6d7-4616-bf97-0ce359626c94_zps3uekjbwr.jpg.html)

[bobthenailer]

I take pride in the 1911's i have built or modfied over the past 35 + years ! im a hobby gun smith I bought some books on building the 1911 as well as some tools. have built about 8 guns from the bare slide / frame up , with a unknown amount with mods to other 1911's.
I built 2 on 70 series Colt frames & slides and 5 on Caspian matched frame & slide assys 1 on a Springfield Armory slide & frame . if i were to build another i would use a Caspian frame & slide with the options from them to the frame & slide that i wanted, that they offer ! If you spend about $1,000 + in parts you will have a nice gun but that will also get you a nice factory built gun !

The nice thing is you can buy the parts as you can afford them, starting with the frame & slide assy and buying and fitting parts as you go until its done. If what you want is avaliable allready built from a company such as Kimber, STI , Para Ord , SA ect they are usually a good value and hard to beat price wise ! & will most likely hold there value better than the gun you would build !

I used the KART EZ fit barrels on my last two and i am very satisfied! the rest have Clark, Nowlin, Briley, and Heine gun smith fit barrels and or comps.

Order your fame & slide directly from Caspian they list a bunch of options that Brownells doesent offer !

[Love Life]

I'm building one now using a Norinco frame and slide. I say go for it as the experience I am gaining (which you will gain) is worth more than the sum of the parts. Well, that's what I have been telling my banker (wife).

I highly recommend you get the books from Jerry Kuhnhausen.

[Artful]

I'm building one now using a Norinco frame and slide. I say go for it as the experience I am gaining (which you will gain) is worth more than the sum of the parts. Well, that's what I have been telling my banker (wife).

I highly recommend you get the books from Jerry Kuhnhausen.
:goodpost:

I've done 4-5 of them still have couple kits to go in my bag of parts. You find out a lot about your firearm when you do this.

[rintinglen]

It is a good way to spend 2,000 dollars on a thousand dollar gun. Yes, you can learn a lot that way, but not all knowledge is equally valuable, and some of it is not worth the cost of acquisition.
If I seem cynical, well, I paid for my opinion. Those guys who say that the way to make a million in the gun business is to start with two million are not far wrong.

[wyrmzr]

The main focus I'm looking for in building my own will be a range gun; I've got my M&P as my EDC carry, but the M&P isn't match grade. Not bad, but not match grade.
I'm hoping to build a match grade gun, which I'm sure will take a lot of experimenting, a lot of tuning, but will also get me a whole lot of experience. That, combined with the ability to buy the parts as I can afford them, is very attractive right now.
Knowing that it took me about 6 months to piece together my AR, I figure on spending up to a year doing the work on a 1911, largely just because of the fitting of parts, more than the cost. The AR didn't require grinding on anything to get it to fit, it just took 6 months as I bought the parts.
I see Brownell's has a good list of parts for building a 1911 from scratch, as does Midway. Any other good suppliers anyone would recommend as I get this started? I'm likely hitting up a local gun show this weekend, partly just to see what people are offering for parts to get the project started.

[ThatFishGuy]

What's YOUR definition of "match grade"? I ask because parts selection largely comes down to what you want the gun to do. The choices are endless but my suggestion would be to very specifically understand and decide what you want first. my first build resulted in many extra purchases because I didn't realize that not all parts are compatible or weren't what I wanted in the end. Its good to spread the cost over time if you have to, but I would have a list in mind so you can watch out for good deals or sales. Don't skimp or buy used on the barrel. Plenty of good deals on lightly used barrels out there, but for your first fitting you want to know exactly what you're starting with. For that matter don't skimp on the tools you're going to have to buy either. They're an expensive start up cost, but good files, stones, jigs will last and last, and certainly make the jobs more straightforward. Also, leave the idea that building a match grade 1911 is anything like assembling an AR behind.... A whole different animal. But as others have mentioned, its a great learning experience and source of pride knowing you did what many can/could not.

[ThatFishGuy]

Also, be very careful with gun show parts. If you dont know exactly what you're looking at you might end up paying for junk or worn out parts. If the pieces are NIB then they SHOULD be ok, though I've seen some shady switcharoos going on at gun shows with parts/packaging. Gun shows are great though for picking up old abused parts really cheap, which can be inexpensive practice pieces to practice filing and fitting without wasting the $$$ of nice parts.

[wyrmzr]

As far as my definition of match grade, it has to be more accurate than me. I want to be able to hand it off to some of the old timers at the range and watch them put a magazine in the 10 ring, like they do with their own $1200+ guns, but I want to be able to say I built it, rather than just bought it off the shelf.

[C. Latch]

As far as my definition of match grade, it has to be more accurate than me. I want to be able to hand it off to some of the old timers at the range and watch them put a magazine in the 10 ring, like they do with their own $1200+ guns, but I want to be able to say I built it, rather than just bought it off the shelf.


Buy a $2000 gun and lie about where you got it.

Once upon a time rock River Arms built a really nice high-end 1911 and you could buy them for $1500, give or take, and I regret to this day that I didn't sell something so I could buy two or three of them. If you're not already an accomplished builder, you're going on a fool's errand here.

[seagiant]

Hi,
Yes you can build your own IF!

IF, you spend the time and $$$ to educate yourself first!

This takes dedication,something that seems to be in short supply today!

I have built a few 1911's I enjoy the hand work and that is what you will need to be "good" at is using your hands with tools!

Here is one of my favorite pistols I built from a Brazilian Army surplus (colt) slide and a Caspian frame.

Ambi safety, hand checkered FS, peened and soldered FS, custom fitted trigger, S&W barrel.fit bushing,slow rust blued with a set of

Ahern Ebony Grips!

Goes bang everytime you pull the trigger and shoots minute of pie plate at 50 yds!

[wyrmzr]

Two things I have are a very strong mechanical aptitude and a lot of time to work on something like this.
My current thinking is, if I manage to actually screw up a part so bad it can't be used in a match gun, then it will end up either being thrown out or it will go into an EDC (depending on what the part is, of course).
I've got plenty of patience, and a few friends who have most of the tools I'm going to need to do the work. I fully understand that taking more material off is much easier than adding it back on.
Once I build it, I don't care what the monetary value is; I'm not going to sell it. Instead, I'm going to take pride in the fact that I built it, and it works.
So, it's time to start making my wish list of parts.

[wv109323]

If accuracy is your goal then buy a pistol from someone that does it for a living. I don't think your first pistol will be as accurate as you would like it to be. With that said if you want to build it go for it. You mention that friends have most of the tools. Here is what I would recommend:
Use a Caspian frame and slide. They are oversize and can be fitted for the proper slide/frame fit. Fitting them requires removing small amounts of metal. If you buy a standard slide and frame the process is peening the rails and squeezing the slide. That is more blacksmith work than gunsmith work. Caspian's slide/frames are usually on backorder. There is a reason for that.
ALSO buy the slide machined for the sights you are going to use. Pick your sights out before buying any thing. The extra cost up front in the slide is peanuts compared to having someone machine the slide for the sights later. The front and rear sights should be a set so POA is close to POI.
If you want a checkered front strap on the frame, buy that option also.
The accepted barrel for accuracy is the Kart. They make an E-Z fit barrel. The E-Z fit requires less material to be removed and works great in 90% of the applications. It should be fine with the Caspian slide. There is also an installation kit that helps. Probably 90% of the barrels at Camp Perry are Karts. You don't need the Briley bushing. The E-Z Fit barrel has the Kart bushing fit to the barrel so you just have to fit the outer diameter to the slide.
Wolfe Springs are top notch but you will need to buy the correct weight recoil spring for the loads and slide(optics on slide) you are going to use.
Buy a ground pin set.
Buy name brand parts. Military spec. parts are O.K. if they are truly Mil. Spec. Name brand parts should be more compatible and require less fitting than others. There are unknown numbers of companies making parts for the 1911. They run from junk to jewels. Beware
For the trigger you can buy matched parts for a decent trigger weight. I don't think you could begin to put a decent trigger on a 1911 without a sear jig if you use standard parts.
The 1911.com forum has a gunsmithing section along with a couple of Bullseye pistol forums.

[Gunslinger1911]

I had fun building mine, lots of meticulous fitting !!
I had customized a few 1911's before so had some hands on.
STI fitted frame and slide, mix of Wilson and Ed Brown parts.
Did I mention 10mm chambering.
Whole 'nother bit of research on how to get recoil impulse right (high pressure and velocity v/s low pressure and velocity).

Could have bought a 10mm DW for about the same price as I have in parts - wouldn't have the satisfaction of doing it myself though.

[marvelshooter]

I have built two - both with Caspian frames and slides. The first is a 9mm that I built because I won the parts in a raffle at a shooting match. I used a KKM barrel and it shoots very well. The second I built into a .45 target pistol. The reason I built it over buying one already built is our anti gun state has a list of approved handguns that can be bought new. There are very few 1911's on the list and as far as I know none are series 70 which is what I wanted for a bullseye gun. Parts including frames and slides are not considered guns and you can buy all you want. A lot of people go this route for target 1911's.

[35remington]

Be sure to account for the "newbie effect." The problem with the pursuit of the self built world beater 1911 is human nature and the fact that you haven't built one before.

Make sure you view it as the value of the learning experience, not just some unrealistic idea that you can do it better because you will not, and especially not with your first one. Believe me, on your first one you always, always think later of what you SHOULD have done. Cheaper 1911's that function better are found when you pay someone else to do the work OR pay yourself a lot of money and TIME to do the work after you pay in time and money for mistakes.

I think everyone should attempt to build a 1911 that wants to do it. It's a worthwhile experience. Just have a realistic perspective on how well amateurs do anything on their first tries.

[Forrest r]

After shooting/building 1911's for 3+ decades in calibers ranging from 9mm to 45acp it's hard to to beat the plain jane springfield armory ro series 45acp. Read allot of good things about them so I went to a gunshow an sold a beater s&w 41 with a couple of extras & bought a springfield ro. Nothing fancy to brag about & did the tried & true h&g #68 with a bullseye load of 3.6g to 4.0g. 15 minutes of testing produced this:

http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t242/forrestr-photo/38bull50ft_zps126936b2.jpg (http://s162.photobucket.com/user/forrestr-photo/media/38bull50ft_zps126936b2.jpg.html)

I guess I could tweet/modify the 1911 45acp springfield ro but @ the end of the day that group was shot with old eyes/iron sights with the 1911 resting on a rolled up piece of cardboard. Everything I read about the ro said it was a shooter & everything I've done with it has been extremely consistent. Put a progressive spring in it & it shoots anything from mild to wild. No ftf's, jambs of any kind & has cycled the 40+ loads with the 10 cast boolits I've tried without any issues. Jacketed/home swaged bullets do ok in the ro also, Testing some home made swaged buillets/p+ hp's @ 50 ft off-hand with a double tap included.

http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t242/forrestr-photo/45acpchrony_zps82e18452.jpg (http://s162.photobucket.com/user/forrestr-photo/media/45acpchrony_zps82e18452.jpg.html)

$750 buys allot of 1911, see you at the range.

[wyrmzr]

A large part of the reason for doing this is to test myself; honestly, that's probably the primary reason. That, and the fact I can buy one piece at a time.
I don't expect my first build to be as accurate as a high dollar custom build, and in fact, I expect that there will be some parts that I will wind up buying more than once as I screw something up. With any luck, I can use the screwed up parts to build a less accurate, but still functional 1911.

[Jupiter7]

After shooting/building 1911's for 3+ decades in calibers ranging from 9mm to 45acp it's hard to to beat the plain jane springfield armory ro series 45acp. Read allot of good things about them so I went to a gunshow an sold a beater s&w 41 with a couple of extras & bought a springfield ro. Nothing fancy to brag about & did the tried & true h&g #68 with a bullseye load of 3.6g to 4.0g. 15 minutes of testing produced this:

http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t242/forrestr-photo/38bull50ft_zps126936b2.jpg (http://s162.photobucket.com/user/forrestr-photo/media/38bull50ft_zps126936b2.jpg.html)

I guess I could tweet/modify the 1911 45acp springfield ro but @ the end of the day that group was shot with old eyes/iron sights with the 1911 resting on a rolled up piece of cardboard. Everything I read about the ro said it was a shooter & everything I've done with it has been extremely consistent. Put a progressive spring in it & it shoots anything from mild to wild. No ftf's, jambs of any kind & has cycled the 40+ loads with the 10 cast boolits I've tried without any issues. Jacketed/home swaged bullets do ok in the ro also, Testing some home made swaged buillets/p+ hp's @ 50 ft off-hand with a double tap included.

http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t242/forrestr-photo/45acpchrony_zps82e18452.jpg (http://s162.photobucket.com/user/forrestr-photo/media/45acpchrony_zps82e18452.jpg.html)

$750 buys allot of 1911, see you at the range.

i liked my Range Officer so much I bought a second one. For $750, it's really tough to beat. Not to say I don't like nicer guns, I've got dan wesson, STI's, and higher end springfields. I doubt my attempts at building would come close to some of the $1500+ guns I've got, heck probably not close to $800 guns. I'm still in the slow process of a lightweight cheap build from 80% aluminum frame. It'll end up being a 4.25" light GI-esque build with very little money put into it, a real beater.

[KYCaster]

As far as my definition of match grade, it has to be more accurate than me. I want to be able to hand it off to some of the old timers at the range and watch them put a magazine in the 10 ring, like they do with their own $1200+ guns, but I want to be able to say I built it, rather than just bought it off the shelf.


So, go out and buy the cheapest *** 1911 you can find. If it doesn't shoot like you want it to, figger out why and fix it! If you start with someone's custom parts, how you gonna know what it takes to make it what it's supposed to be?

You're going to screw up plenty of parts learning to build a top of the line gun, you may as well start with junk parts and try to learn why they don't work. You'll save lots of money that way....and probably end up with the same skills.

Just my not so humble opinion........
Jerry

P.S. Get both Jerry Kuhnhausen's 1911 books, also Bob Lundergren's book.

[Love Life]

Go for it. There are two paths to follow: Start with premium parts from the ground up, or buy a beater 1911 and replace parts as you go.

I think you'll get much out of the experience either way.

My investment in tools and parts has already far exceeded the cost of the base gun, but I am learning a lot. I own and have read the shop manuals, and building the gun myself is letting me see all the info in the manuals come to life.

I will never, ever get out of this gun what I put in. However, the education has been great. Just by dis/*** a bunch of times I already feel better about taking apart my higher end 1911 pistols.

I can take the lessons learned here, and mistakes, and do a much better job on a future build or a more proficient job working on my current stable of 1911 pistols.

[ddixie884]

Many a good 1911 has been built with an aftermarket frame and surplus parts. Doesn't take a master pistolsmith......
A 4" at 50yds gun is more reliable and I cant shoot that good off hand.

[1911KY]

P.S. Get both Jerry Kuhnhausen's 1911 books, also Bob Lundergren's book.

Before you start, get at least one of these if not both. You will need a good reference on fitting a barrel. Also, on sear and hammer hook geometry.

To get great accuracy out of a 1911, the barrel and bushing have to be fit properly. If you don't have something to reference, you will have wasted a lot of money on the most important part of the build.

I have been researching a build for the past few months. I am slowly acquiring the tools needed to do so.

Sign up on the 1911forum.com and ask questions in the gunsmithing section, a lot of the best builders frequent that sub-forum.

[Green Frog]

wyrmzr, as this thread has progressed, your attitude and expectations seem to have also progressed as well. If you want the experience of building a 1911 clone from parts and of making it as good as you can, that will be a worthwhile endeavor. If you want a gun that will shoot with the Wilsons, Browns, and the other "big boys" you probably will be frustrated, especially the first time out.

I've built a couple of "utility grade" 1911s in the way you describe, and the experience (if not the product) was valuable to me. If I were going to start one today, I would start with a top-end frame and slide with the slide already cut for the sights I intended to use. I would buy good but not necessarily big name parts and fit the less expensive parts rather than trying to alter the frame and slide. In the end, the cost of building the gun would be at least equal to the cost of a good factory built gun, but I would have the advantage of knowing that gun and its parts completely... a valuable experience. You have to decide for yourself how much the experience will be worth to you.

Regards,
Froggie

[oldfart1956]

wyrmzr, since I'm way too computer illiterate to figure out how to post a link try this: go to Google and type in "1911 magazine analysis" and go to that web page. Find his write-up on building his first 1911. He has a wonderful sense of humor and a writing style that's fantastic. He did exactly what you're contemplating. If nothing else it's a great read. Mebbe someone here can post a proper link. Audie...the Oldfart.

[seagiant]

http://how-i-did-it.org/magazines/

http://how-i-did-it.org/magazines2/

[1989toddm]

Thank you wyrmzr for starting this thread, I am just starting to read and learn about "building a 1911" and this thread helps greatly!

Thanks seagiant for those links..awesome write up!

[44man]

Lot harder then you think. I built a few for friends that bought the parts.
I did it but to buy a gun ready is really cheaper.

[10sandxs]

If you do decide to go down this road, the kart ez fit barrell (or exact fit bbl as they are trying to rebrand it) is the only way to go. Spend the money on the install kit. While it may not be necessary, it makes the job MUCH easier and more precise. It is the best system to date for supporting the rear of the barrell in a consistent lockup which results in the best accuracy.

I build bullseye 1911's as a side business. There are no secrets in a gun that was designed over 100 years ago. But the execution of the build and the processes that should be followed continue to evolve. There are many resources out there, but trust those from the major builders over joe schmoes YouTube post

[trickyasafox]

ares armor makes an interesting 80% frame if you really want to back up even a step further and finish off your own frame. I've never used so I can't comment on quality.

[44man]

My hardest problem was the link. He gave me a handful but none were correct. I made my own to get the right lock up. It is an area you can't see. Then watch the triggers, we can shoot my work but a friend will go auto with it.

[10sandxs]

The kart barrell has the link and lug leg geometry set. Your controlling engagement by the pads in the locking lugs which makes it much easier for someone with hand tools to get a good fit.

[DougGuy]

Updating my input here, since I have upped and built a 5" Gubmint model since last posting in this thread. I ended up with a WWII era Remington Rand slide made late in WWII, and so I decided to do a GI build the same way as a military armorer might have built one during the war from interchangeable parts. Rather than piece the whole thing together, I used the RR slide, and found a complete Auto Ordnance 1911A1 frame from Gunbroker at an affordable price, and started my build.

Frame arrived, slide went part of the way on and stopped. This, is a GOOD thing as it required the slide to be lapped to the frame, and needed just a teeny tiny bit of filing to get the two mated smoothly together. Military armorer would not have needed to do this part since the slide to frame fit of genuine WWII parts would have rattled like an old Model T on a cattle bridge.. Chalk up one critical improvement that USED to drive 1911 builders absolutely NUTS, tightening the slide to the frame rails.. <-- This part, used to be the MOST difficult and MOST expensive part of the build. Now, with companies making aftermarket components with improved dimensions, we are SPARED the REAL WORK and will have a tack driver to show for those improvements! Next!!

I put up a post looking for a barrel here on the forum, and was connected properly with a barrel AND a bushing from a member here who shall remain anonymous (for no real reason..) and I assembled the pistol from the parts I collected from all over the USA. Gunbroker, Castboolits forum, my own parts box, and ebay.

I was not too concerned with accuracy, although I did luck out and get a really good shooter that locks up very tightly. I was after the look and feel of a WWII issued 1911A1 where they issued you one and you just learned how to shoot THAT GUN because you were stuck with it. It has the horrible gritty very stiff trigger like a stock as-issued 1911A1 would have had, but I learned to shoot it as is, and it's getting smoother over time.

This build was not really a "build" at all, not in any real sense of the word, there were no jigs, no fitting of match grade parts, no trigger job, the ONLY things I did besides lapping the slide to the frame which was necessary to even assemble the gun, was to file and tune the extractor, and throat the barrel so it would chamber and shoot .452" boolits. The rest of it, and the result, is a box stock as-issued 1911A1 which harkens back to the days where the Greatest Generation were proving themselves beyond any conceivable test, with a 1911A1 strapped to their web belt and a M1 Garand slung across their shoulder.

Auto Ordnance frame from Gunbroker ($299 + shipping and there are still some available as of this post) Yep, MADE IN USA too!

http://i1202.photobucket.com/albums/bb374/DougGuy/1911A1/pix310092583_zpsmct3ofoy.jpg (http://s1202.photobucket.com/user/DougGuy/media/1911A1/pix310092583_zpsmct3ofoy.jpg.html)

Completed 1911A1:

http://i1202.photobucket.com/albums/bb374/DougGuy/1911A1/20150609_135931crop640_zps8jlaettg.jpg (http://s1202.photobucket.com/user/DougGuy/media/1911A1/20150609_135931crop640_zps8jlaettg.jpg.html)

First 8 rounds, fired two hands standing at about 10yds.

http://i1202.photobucket.com/albums/bb374/DougGuy/1911A1/HS-LongThroat_zps8rbolkau.jpg (http://s1202.photobucket.com/user/DougGuy/media/1911A1/HS-LongThroat_zps8rbolkau.jpg.html)

Overall I am quite happy with it, I think I have less than $450 in it, and it's definitely a keeper. I was very pleased with the quality and fitment of the Auto Ordnance frame, and have started building a Commander with an older Colt slide and well, might as well get another AO frame for this one too!

[44man]

I love the 1911 and when I was in the army, I was the only one to punch out the center with it. I looked down range and seen nothing but dirt thrown up. The old rattle trap still shot. The old gun can be turned into a tack driver, maybe the best platform ever. Nobody in history has ever equaled Mr. John Browning.
But you know I still do not own one. Yes I want one. I carved one out of wood when a kid and you could not tell it was not real but we had freedom back then. I colored the grips with Oxblood shoe polish. Back then it was cap guns and fun, then BB guns. Kids today do not know how great we had it.