The Art and Science of Keeping Your 1911 Running

[03RN]

Does anyone have recommendations for a long trigger that doesn’t have a hole in the front of it for the over travel screw? Switching to full power .45 loads has made that a finger-blistering issue for me.

I’m only aware of the 10-8 offering, which I’m absolutely sure is excellent, but it’s currently only available as a flat face. I’ll try it if it’s the way to go, but I’d rather stick with long curved if possible since it’s what I’m used to. That and I know if I get a flat face for the .45 I’ll want (need?) another one for the 9 for consistency, since the point of those two is to be as similar to each other as possible.

https://shop.harrisoncustom.com/triggers-for-1911s

[Elwin]

Thanks to both of you, that’s exactly what I was looking for! I knew of the Harrisons but don’t know they were basically the same design as the 10-8.

[SW CQB 45]

here is the long no hole in the front Harrison DLC trigger in my DW Valkyrie.

I had to remove almost all the DLC off the trigger bow for free movement.

[David S.]

I'm not sure if this is the right thread for this. Seems as good as any.

Nerd Alert:

Joe Chambers (Chambers Custom) has a Patreon channel. He's been doing "mathematical reviews" of different 1911s. Basically, he compares tolerances and fitment of factory, semi-custom and full house guns to his standards. There's no shooting evaluation, you can find that anywhere. It's just a look at the numbers.

It's interesting because many of the multi-thousand dollar custom guns don't seem all that impressive.

A couple examples that he made public:




To be clear, I'm not a 1911 guy, so I don't know what any of this means, or how important it is. I find it casually interesting nonetheless.

[SW CQB 45]

Mother Fudger

Nov will be 32 years and my inner belt to hold up the weight a 5" MCOP with a X300 light and 5 total mags seems to be getting tighter.

a few other older LEOs complaining of pain related to the duty belt a few years ago.

Fricking hit me a few weeks ago. Odd internal pain from right butt cheek down to my knee. I can be standing with no gun on and have to transfer weight to my left leg due to the pain.

I could easily switch to a G19, ahhhh nope.

Gonna carry this lwt jobber w/147 GD for a spell to see if the pain goes away.

[KevH]

Mother Fudger

Nov will be 32 years and my inner belt to hold up the weight a 5" MCOP with a X300 light and 5 total mags seems to be getting tighter.

a few other older LEOs complaining of pain related to the duty belt a few years ago.

Fricking hit me a few weeks ago. Odd internal pain from right butt cheek down to my knee. I can be standing with no gun on and have to transfer weight to my left leg due to the pain.

I could easily switch to a G19, ahhhh nope.

Gonna carry this lwt jobber w/147 GD for a spell to see if the pain goes away.

I'm done trying to cart around a steel 1911 with a 5 full mags of 230gr 45 ACP.

I did it for years and my reward was sciatica. It's extremely painful and that's exactly what it sounds like you're describing. My best treatment is to cycle a large ice pack and heat right on the spot for a few days until it goes away.

I can't carry anything (literally anything) behind 3 o'clock on my right side as a result. If I try to I know I'll pay for it dearly a few hours later.

[CSW]

I'm done trying to cart around a steel 1911 with a 5 full mags of 230gr 45 ACP.

I did it for years and my reward was sciatica. It's extremely painful and that's exactly what it sounds like you're describing. My best treatment is to cycle a large ice pack and heat right on the spot for a few days until it goes away.

I can't carry anything (literally anything) behind 3 o'clock on my right side as a result. If I try to I know I'll pay for it dearly a few hours later.

Same thing here.
If I try to IWB, I'll limp around for 3 days. It really sucks.
The only way I have found that works is appendix for IWB, and paddle holsters seem to work for OWB.
I have that Galco Speed Paddle for my EDC Springfield Champion[commander], 9mm. I believe that the paddle works because I can shift it around before tightening my belt, and position it right in the sweet spot.

I had started a thread asking about hi ride holsters for the same reason: Nothing past 3 [well I'm lefty, so 9] o'clock. Figured if I found a holster that rode high, it would conceal better at that position.

[gato naranja]

Same thing here.
If I try to IWB, I'll limp around for 3 days. It really sucks.
The only way I have found that works is appendix for IWB, and paddle holsters seem to work for OWB.
I have that Galco Speed Paddle for my EDC Springfield Champion[commander], 9mm. I believe that the paddle works because I can shift it around before tightening my belt, and position it right in the sweet spot.

I had started a thread asking about hi ride holsters for the same reason: Nothing past 3 [well I'm lefty, so 9] o'clock. Figured if I found a holster that rode high, it would conceal better at that position.

Once I became a FOG (f-ing old guy), I was able to see why the codgers who packed pistols (back when Iowa was "spotty" vis-a-vis CCW... and you had to have political connections to carry) were so unimaginative. Sciatica, arthritis, various joint issues, dunlop disease ("my belly done lops over my belt"), etc made it painful to play the contortionist. I have developed a range-of-motion problem in my shoulders that definitely keeps holsters in the front half of my waistline.

One of the graybeards here carries a 5" all steel 1911 in a high-riding OWB holster, but he has to dress around it; luckily, he is one of the skinny seniors who is in mostly good condition and can pull the trick off. In his case, tobacco and liquor have apparently acted as a weight control and anti-aging compound. Even so, his options are also limited by shoulders with too many hours on the clock.

[SW CQB 45]

my arm length (38"-39" sleeve length) prevents me from even attempting high rise.

there is a video of me reholstering a 5" 1911 in a duty holster (I guess we can call it mid ride) and I did not know I did this, but it shows me tweaking the muzzle toward my body to get the muzzle back in the holster (EEK).

I have tried 1.5 drop UBL and it make sitting in the car uncomfortable. I am a hot mess.

I do recall yesterday's qual with my 4.25 DW being effortless to reholster in a duty rig.

[Rex G]

I could easily switch to a G19, ahhhh nope.

First of all, prayers up, for the back and leg pain.

I carried a G19, late in my career, while patrolling Houston’s mean streets at night, when riding on the passenger side, as was necessary when training/evaluating a rookie. Weight was not my reason, but the 1911’s grip catching on the right seat bolster, when I exited the newer Ford Explorer-based Police Interceptor vehicles. I did not get kilt on the streetz, on the nights I carried the G19.

I used a Safariland G34 holster body, so that I could simply tote a larger-gripped G17, on the nights I was driving, or, if riding shotgun with an officer driving a Tahoe or Crown Vic. If I felt like it, I could swap holster bodies, in minutes, and tote the 1911, but, by that point, it did not bother me. I did not love the Glocks, but I knew that they ran reliably, and, as none of my 1911 pistols, at the time, had ambi safety levers, the Glocks were less of a concern if I would have had to shoot lefty. I was qual’ed with 1911, G17, and G19 duty pistols, when I handed my badge to the girl behind the desk, in January 2018.

By now, the G45 is available, as is the G19x, with a full-duty-sized grip, and the shorter barrel and slide, for more-expedient clearing of the muzzle, for those of use with aging shoulders. (My aging hands now “demand” the full-sized grip; I traded away my G19 pistols, in 2020.)

I will never love any Glock, in the way I love good 1911 pistols. Simple as that. Ultimately, however, these Austrian polymer pistols are tools, that do a task well.

Please do heal that back and leg pain. Be safe and well!