The Art and Science of Keeping Your 1911 Running

[JohnK]

My oil of choice for the last few years has been militec. Maybe there was some pretty heavy influence by TLG on that. But it seems to sit in the gun, in my experience. Every once in awhile I will do what was described above to lube it but I am not fussy and it appears that my guns aren't either. It isn't unusual for me to have the gun in the holster for weeks and then hit the range for a hundred or two hundred rounds and there not be a hiccup. I won't always clean it after a session but I will apply a liberal amount of oil to hold it over until I have a chance. Not lubing before a range session is partly because I want to see if this thing will work "right now" for a few mags. If not, then it needs to be sorted or my routine needs changing. So far I haven't had any cause for concern.

[Elwin]

Having just switched to a 1911 for carry I’m trying to be more consistent about maintenance, the goal being to lubricate the carry gun every weekend whether I shoot it or not. I’m also using Hoppes No. 9 since it’s what I have a lot of. Once that’s finally gone I’ll probably switch to something more modern (Slip 2000? Other suggestions? I’m not a lube nerd so I’m open to advice). I’ve had good luck with synthetic ball bearing grease in the past but I’m currently just using oil and a more frequent maintenance schedule.

[JTQ]

You can probably lube with anything as long as you use it.

However, I'd stay away from grease if you are shooting 9mm out of your 1911.

[vcdgrips]

When I shooting/carrying a 1911 regularly, it got a wipedown/field strip re lube on most sun nights. I typically used Mobile 1 Synthetic Motor Oil and/or 3.00 a tube lithium bearing grease.

I am fairly agnostic re gun lubes, even 1911 lubes so long as it is lubed with a shade to the wet side on regular basis.

YMMV greatly

[Robinson]

Having just switched to a 1911 for carry I’m trying to be more consistent about maintenance, the goal being to lubricate the carry gun every weekend whether I shoot it or not. I’m also using Hoppes No. 9 since it’s what I have a lot of. Once that’s finally gone I’ll probably switch to something more modern (Slip 2000? Other suggestions? I’m not a lube nerd so I’m open to advice). I’ve had good luck with synthetic ball bearing grease in the past but I’m currently just using oil and a more frequent maintenance schedule.

I lube all my 1911s with Slip 2000 EWL and it works fine. The carry gun and bedside gun get a bit of lube every month or so regardless of whether I shoot them or not. The range guns get lube every few hundred rounds, cleaned every 500-700 rounds or so. They could easily go longer between cleanings, but I keep them well lubed.

[theJanitor]

I only keep one lube around. And I lube the rifles and pistols with slip2000

[Brian T]

Shot a 7-yard Dot torture the other day with my new Vbob Valor 9mm Commander, and shot the cleanest, prettiest target I've ever seen, EXCEPT on the weak hand only stage. That got me thinking it's time to do a lot more weak hand shooting with 1911s, and I suddenly realized why an ambidextrous safety might be useful. So, if I decide to go down the rabbit hole of running an ambi, what's the current thinking on a good part?

I don't want anything huge or gamer-ready. I do want something that's very positive - I've had ambis "wipe off" in the holster before without me knowing it, so I'm, pun intended, a little gun shy on taking this plunge.

Thanks in advance!

As a lefty, I have broken more than a few Swenson styled ambi safeties. I like the WC BP version, but I love the EGW HD ambi safety. The EGW HD ambi has huge paddles on both sides, but that is meant to allow the end user to file them down as they deem necessary.

[MGW]

Since we are talking about lubricants and 1911s...

I have a Springfield Operator with close to 5k rounds through it. The only lubricant I’ve used on it is from Liberty. I started with his CLP and then switched to HLP not long after it became available. In fact it’s the only firearms lubricant I use now. I love how well it stays put. The viscosity never changes no matter how hot or cold it is.

[NPV]

I’ve been pretty happy with the Wilson Combat Universal lube for frame rails and their oil for everything else. Lubriplate FMO-350-AW also works nicely. I found FP-10 to migrate too much.

Also TW-25 and Lubriplate SFL-0 are excellent choices for frame rails, sear noses, and hammer hooks.

[NPV]

So this is going to be a lengthy post/posts and I’m typing them up on my phone so forgive any grammatical errors or misspellings. I will also preface this by saying I am not a gunsmith and there are many people who have forgotten more about 1911s than I will ever know so take this post with a grain of salt.

In my experience with factory 1911s often times the extractors come from the factor with proper tension but the geometry isn’t optimal. This leads to a gun that will run great for a few thousand rounds but then all of a sudden doesn’t.

The most common issue I’ve run into is the extractor hook being too long. See here.


What does this mean or cause; every time a round is being fed from the magazine it will contact the extractor hook/nose. Over time this continual contact causes the extractor to lose tension as it is flexed outward to feed a round into the chamber. Below is a picture of two different extractors that clearly have been in contact with case bevels.


For one of these extractors the issue was easily rectified by shortening the distance between the extractor hook and the tensioning wall. This is a delicate procedure, if too much material is removed from the hook you will likely have FTE as the hook will begin slipping off the empty cases. The factory specs for a 1911 extractor call for a depth of .030 +.004. Pictured below is new unmodified EGW extractor you can clearly see that the extractor hook is too long and contacts the case. On a .45 auto the extractor should be set up so the tensioning wall is the only thing contacting the case.


Here is a picture of the same slide with a new extractor fitted so that the hook is no longer in contact with the case bevel. This extractor should not lose tension for many thousands of rounds.


To be continued.....