Range day today. Had the Ruger MkII and the Springfield RO 1911. I was pleased with the Ruger it has new grips, Holosun RDS, and a Voquartsen kit. The 1911 is a different story. I have been annoyed with the fiber front sight aka the orange blob so today I took a black marker and blacked it out for a test. A definite improvement. I want to go with a finer front sight and tighter rear sight.
Anyone changed out a 1911 front sight?
Any suggestions for a replacement?
Best method to remove the fiber optic sight and install another front sight? without marring the cerakote finish?
Off a rest the 1911 is not even close to the Ruger MKII at 25 yds. The 1911 has at least 10K rds by now but cycles near perfectly.
The rest of the overhaul is at least to clean up the loose bushing and lighten the trigger.
Ill weigh a new barrel and bushing vs just the bushing.
1911 Overhaul
Re: 1911 Overhaul
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No good deed goes unpunished.
Re: 1911 Overhaul
A Range Officer should be pretty easy - those should have dovetails for the front sight in place of the GI tenon.
The easiest fix will be to seek out a black replacement rod for the fiber optic insert and just melt it in like one would a fiber optic replacement.
Many of Springfields front sights are centered up with a roll pin driven through them. Knock that out, pull the Allen screw from the rear, then drift out the sights to the shooters left. If you have a pusher, great, if not, brass rod.
Dawson Precision has replacement front and rear in both different heights and blade/notch widths. Their website's sight calculator has come in very handy for me on several occasions.
Pretty Cerakote inside the dovetail? Kiss it goodbye. My SOP is to measure the height/thickness of the dovetail on the sight that came out then CAREFULLY stone the bottom of the new one until it's bigger than the original by a few thousandths. You want it tight enough that it takes a decent whack to move it, but not needing a sledge hammer either.
Loose bushing? With the slide locked into battery, can you move either the muzzle end of the barrel within the bushing or the bushing within the slide? If so, by how much? If you push downward on the chamber when the gun's in battery, are you getting any movement? So long as everything slams forward consistently enough to return the muzzle to the same location relative to the sights, you may not have anything to lose sleep over.
The easiest fix will be to seek out a black replacement rod for the fiber optic insert and just melt it in like one would a fiber optic replacement.
Many of Springfields front sights are centered up with a roll pin driven through them. Knock that out, pull the Allen screw from the rear, then drift out the sights to the shooters left. If you have a pusher, great, if not, brass rod.
Dawson Precision has replacement front and rear in both different heights and blade/notch widths. Their website's sight calculator has come in very handy for me on several occasions.
Pretty Cerakote inside the dovetail? Kiss it goodbye. My SOP is to measure the height/thickness of the dovetail on the sight that came out then CAREFULLY stone the bottom of the new one until it's bigger than the original by a few thousandths. You want it tight enough that it takes a decent whack to move it, but not needing a sledge hammer either.
Loose bushing? With the slide locked into battery, can you move either the muzzle end of the barrel within the bushing or the bushing within the slide? If so, by how much? If you push downward on the chamber when the gun's in battery, are you getting any movement? So long as everything slams forward consistently enough to return the muzzle to the same location relative to the sights, you may not have anything to lose sleep over.
WWJMBD?
I believe we should stand on Ceremony. . . while our friends handcuff the sanctimonious little prick and take him away.
I believe we should stand on Ceremony. . . while our friends handcuff the sanctimonious little prick and take him away.
Re: 1911 Overhaul
This morning I just removed the fiber rod. I have several pieces of replacement both red and green so I can put them back. That is also an improvement as I can clearly see the top of the front sight. I may leave it out. The front sight width is .125 the rear notch is .115Bigslug wrote: ↑Sat Dec 21, 2024 3:58 am A Range Officer should be pretty easy - those should have dovetails for the front sight in place of the GI tenon.
The easiest fix will be to seek out a black replacement rod for the fiber optic insert and just melt it in like one would a fiber optic replacement.
Loose bushing? With the slide locked into battery, can you move either the muzzle end of the barrel within the bushing or the bushing within the slide? If so, by how much? If you push downward on the chamber when the gun's in battery, are you getting any movement? So long as everything slams forward consistently enough to return the muzzle to the same location relative to the sights, you may not have anything to lose sleep over.
In battery there is some rotation with thumb pressure. I made a thin pencil mark .5mm on the muzzle and can see the movement.
It is difficult to measure but its more than a few 1/1000s. The bottom lug / slide stop should prevent that movement? I am not sure of the fix?
Re: 1911 Overhaul
“a rest the 1911 is not even close to the Ruger MKII at 25 yds”
And it will never be, and was never designed as such.
And it will never be, and was never designed as such.
“The shepherd slaughters more of the flock than the wolf ever will.”
Re: 1911 Overhaul
Yep. I have never benched my Range Officer or shot it at 25 yards. I have shot it at 50 feet and it's as accurate as any 1911 I've shot including a Les Baer.
My MKII Competition will easily third that at 25 yards
Re: 1911 Overhaul
Comes down to what you want this gun to do. Odds are it already shoots better than most of us can shoot it - even a lot of the rattling, corroded bore warhorses do. The gun was DESIGNED to have a little play in it.Japhy wrote: ↑Sat Dec 21, 2024 6:03 pm In battery there is some rotation with thumb pressure. I made a thin pencil mark .5mm on the muzzle and can see the movement.
It is difficult to measure but its more than a few 1/1000s. The bottom lug / slide stop should prevent that movement? I am not sure of the fix?
Assuming it actually 'needs" something, I'd contact the mothership and see what they'll charge for a good going-through over and above warranty work.
If the trigger is under six pounds, personally, I wouldn't mess with it. If it's close to 4.5 pounds, I would actively recommend against messing with it.
WWJMBD?
I believe we should stand on Ceremony. . . while our friends handcuff the sanctimonious little prick and take him away.
I believe we should stand on Ceremony. . . while our friends handcuff the sanctimonious little prick and take him away.
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Wambli Ska
- Posts: 4105
- Joined: Tue Jun 20, 2023 3:09 pm
Re: 1911 Overhaul
You most probably have a worn out link. That rotation would drive me to drink. Take the barrel out and jiggle the link, any lateral movement is bad. It should ONLY move straight up and down freely but snugly. Same if you insert the slide stop into the bottom hole and it feels “loose”.Japhy wrote: ↑Sat Dec 21, 2024 6:03 pm
In battery there is some rotation with thumb pressure. I made a thin pencil mark .5mm on the muzzle and can see the movement.
It is difficult to measure but its more than a few 1/1000s. The bottom lug / slide stop should prevent that movement? I am not sure of the fix?
Brownells sells them in sets so you can pick the one that is the closest to what you need and then a little stone or fine file work will get you back to rock solid locking. You might want to check the link pin too for wear and replace if needed. These parts are cheap but essential to a solid lockup.
Re: 1911 Overhaul
Wambli you are likely correct,
Went through a couple tests to verify the bottom lugs are not riding the slide stop all good.
The link to link pin has no vertical movement but there is lateral movement. I measured the gap between the link and bottom barrel lugs with an automotive feeler gauge it is .005. That’s loose in my book but may be ok?
Slide stop shaft to barrel link is very loose. I don’t have pin gauges to measure the top link hole diameter. The slide stop to the barrel link fit is the root problem.
After New Year I will call Springfield and see what they can do with it. If they can and will fix it great, if not I will look at replacing the link, link pin, and slide stop.
Went through a couple tests to verify the bottom lugs are not riding the slide stop all good.
The link to link pin has no vertical movement but there is lateral movement. I measured the gap between the link and bottom barrel lugs with an automotive feeler gauge it is .005. That’s loose in my book but may be ok?
Slide stop shaft to barrel link is very loose. I don’t have pin gauges to measure the top link hole diameter. The slide stop to the barrel link fit is the root problem.
After New Year I will call Springfield and see what they can do with it. If they can and will fix it great, if not I will look at replacing the link, link pin, and slide stop.