First 1911

[spinmove_]

Just a note: Springfield no longer equips their 1911s with the ILS. I think starting in 2018 they use a standard main spring housing and internals. I think they also pin their ejectors now instead of gluing them.

Interesting. I’ll have to check on what vintage mine is to see what it should have. Good heads up.

[Robinson]

Interesting. I’ll have to check on what vintage mine is to see what it should have. Good heads up.

It's pretty easy to tell whether your gun has the ILS or not. If the gun has the ILS there will be an extra round recessed disk on the left side of the main spring housing when you are looking at the rear of the gun. If you just have the retaining pin and no extra holes then you don't have the ILS.

If your gun does have the ILS it's not that big a deal, but if it were my gun I would probably replace it. If you do, make sure you get a regular main spring housing AND the regular internals to go with it. The internals can be purchased as a kit if desired.

[JohnO]

1911 User's Guide

http://www.10-8performance.com/pages...27s-Guide.html

10-8 Performance 1911 Extractor Test
https://modernserviceweapons.com/?p=131

Considered by many as the only 1911 Ambi Safety to use due to superior design and contruction:
https://shopwilsoncombat.com/Ambidex...ctinfo/192BBP/

[Borderland]

There are some pretty easy enhancements to improve 1911 accuracy if you ever get to that point. A fitted barrel bushing and a trigger job will go a long way in that direction. That's the nice thing about a 1911, it isn't difficult or expensive to improve the accuracy of a production pistol. Tight slide to frame fit doesn't seem to be a huge issue with some production guns but that is also a feature on a semi-custom gun. I have a Colt 01991 production pistol that somehow was assembled with an exceptionally tight bushing and slide/frame fit. The accuracy is an eye popper.

Everyone should own at least one 1911. I wasn't so fortunate to be able to stop with just one. Enjoy.

[JTQ]

SA uses a non-standard 9mm-size firing pin to reduce primer flow, so be sure to purchase the correct firing pin. .

So I need a spare 9mm sized firing pin for my SA or I should replace mine with a properly sized .45Auto firing pin?

The hole in the breech face is too small to allow the .45 ACP pin to fit, so use the proper firing pin. It should be marketed for SA pistols.

For clarity, Springfield uses a proprietary size firing pin. It is neither the common 9mm size or the common .45 Auto size. The EGW pin at Brownell's shows the sizes...

https://www.brownells.com/handgun-pa...%7cMake_3=1911

.068 normally fits Colt and Caspian 9mm/.38 Super/.40/10mm.

.075 fits Springfield Armory 9mm/.38 Super/10mm/current-production .45 ACP.

.093 fits most .45 ACP,

[JTQ]

Elsewhere, I believe I recall the WilsonCombatRep posting 50% of their returns for service are a result of either insufficient or improper lubrication. I wouldn't think this would be such a big deal, but I guess in this era of "you only need 5 drops..."

Here are a couple of lube videos that may be helpful.

Dave Anderson with FMGPubs. Note how he lubes without field stripping.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9eUacqOIAaU

Wilson Combat

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4D2mRlDo48

[JonInWA]

You've really gotten some great feedback, advice and links so far. Regarding recoil springs, some experimentation might be in order once you get the feel of the gun. Unless you're shooting +P ammunition, I suspect many 1911s that come with seeming industry default 18.5' springs (except Colt, which I believe still pretty much is standardized on 16' recoil springs) are a bit oversprung; try experimenting in the 14' to 16' range is my suggestion.

For lubing, I use a grease (Lucas Red "N" Tacky #2) for all metal-on-metal surfaces where there's reciprocation, such as on the slide and receiver rails, the barrel lugs and the corresponding match-up points in the slide, the barrel's exterior and the inside of the barrel bushing, and on the slide stop axle and barrel link pin's hole.

There's a boatload of excellent general lubricant oils out there-the 2 I'm currently running are Weapon Shield and Lucas Extreme Gun Oil; I've used the former happily for years and Ernest Langdon has recommended the latter, so I've obtained some of it.

I'm a big fan of G10 grips, as the G10 material has an inherently chalky grippiness, particularly useful if you're running a 1911 with a bald frontstrap. Hogue and VZ have excellent products, and fairly regularly have "Seconds," which seem to be either discontinued patters/colors or current selections with minor cosmetic blems; they're decently discounted. P-f member VCD makes exceptionally stippled grips, but unless you sand down the ridges a bit, they'll eat your cover garment-check VCD grips's site on line. Challis has some really good 1911-specific rubber O-rings that'll nicely anchor grip screws/bushings (preventing recoil vibration from loosening 'em) without having to resort to Locktite; another dirt-cheap alternative is to use red electronic fiber washers available from Amazon.

For magazines, I'm sponsored by Check-Mate Industries, but I would freely choose their 1911 magazines regardless. In a welded baseplate magazine, I'd stick with 7 rounders, especially for carry; for 8 rounders, I recommend an extended tube magazine to facilitate good operational reliability.

You can easily go into the weeds with all the available 1911 esoterica and mods, and the proliferation of the 1911 cottage aftermarket industry. I've found Wilson Combat and EGW to consistently provide quality components.

I'd just shoot it as you've currently got it for awhile to determine what specific need areas for upgrading/component swaps would best benefit you.

Best, Jon

[RevolverRob]

@JonInWA hit most of the points I would make.

Here is the most critical point:

Don't mess with it, until you've shot the gun for awhile (a couple of thousand rounds).

Get the following things: Spare spings from ISMI or Wolff, good magazines (Brownells is running their deals on 3-packs of Wilson ETMs $84.99), and ammo.

The only other thing you may need is a bushing wrench.

[TCB]

I snagged the same pistol as a backup to my CQB, slapped the cheap Wilson magwell on, one of their ambi safety’s, oversized magazine release, my preferred sights, grips and had the trigger done up a bit. It’s a solid blaster...I think it’s got 2-3000 rounds on it and hasn’t given me any problems. Even with all the work and parts I’m in it well under $900. Grip tape on the front strap works in lieu of checkering and it runs great on my Wilson ETM & CMC power 10+ magazines.

ETA: I use 14lb recoil springs and a 20lb mainspring.

[TheRoland]

1. Aggressive grips.
2. Maybe better sights. Maybe.
3. Wilson ETMs and Tripp Cobra Mags