Top 5 Modifications you should make to a 1911 - Bill Wilson & Massad Ayoob

[oldtexan]

Did I miss it or did they not mention dehorning the gun as being an important modification? The current-production Colt Series 70 Competition model I bought a few months back had lots of sharp edges that needed to be addressed. I don't know about the edges on a current production Classic because I've never been able to handle one. The Springfield Loaded and Ronin I bought new in '20 and '21 needed some dehorning, but significantly less than the Colt.

On the other hand, both Springfields had loose plunger tubes after a few hundred rds of ball and one also had a broken leg on the ejector, but the Colt had neither of those problems. I also believe the Springfields had far more MIM parts than the Colt.

[TiroFijo]

I really like the 1911 for its trigger and shootability, and competed for many years with double stack 1911s.

That being said, I'm 59 and these kind of articles/videos have been around (plentifully, to say the least) basically saying the same thing for 40 years or so...

[BWT]

I really like the 1911 for its trigger and shootability, and competed for many years with double stack 1911s.

That being said, I'm 59 and these kind of articles/videos have been around (plentifully, to say the least) basically saying the same thing for 40 years or so...

That was my thought as well.

I was a devout 1911 person 12-15 years ago, but in 2004-ish when my interest started until about 2008-9 when I went to Glock. This stuff was all well known.

I will say my one regret with 1911’s is mine are all chambered in .45 ACP thus the likelihood of them being shot is basically null. But I when I last bought one in 2016 - .45 ACP was about $17.99-19.99 a box of 50. It’s basically always been double what 9mm cost.

Reliable 9mm 1911’s are what I consider to be a modern development and reliable 2011 magazines in the STI’s.

[Archer1440]

I really like the 1911 for its trigger and shootability, and competed for many years with double stack 1911s.

That being said, I'm 59 and these kind of articles/videos have been around (plentifully, to say the least) basically saying the same thing for 40 years or so...

Absolutely true. Cooper summed it up rather well back in the early 80’s: “sights you can see, a trigger you can manage and a dehorning (a smoothing of sharp edges).”

[Bergeron]

Given the wide variety of guns out there, what work that might "need" to be done will depend on what kind of base gun is being used as the starting point.

GI beavertails look great, are a no go for me. The little tiny grip safety of guns like the Delta Elite hurt to hold in dry fire, never mind live fire. Yes, "sights you can see", a trigger you can manage", "breaking of the edges", and "total reliability" are necessary, but I like more.

I find the modern thumb safety to also be a very important part. Lastly, it's a single stack, reloading is a frequent occurrence, I want at least a beveled magwell, if not an add-on magwell.

Some grip treatment on the frontstrap is that nice-not-necessary realm for me. The other stuff above is a requirement. There's also plenty of factory guns that already have all of that done, as well as guns with none of it at all.

[45dotACP]

I really like the 1911 for its trigger and shootability, and competed for many years with double stack 1911s.

That being said, I'm 59 and these kind of articles/videos have been around (plentifully, to say the least) basically saying the same thing for 40 years or so...

Dude...for real.

I hate this type of article/video almost in equal measure to my dislike for the "1911s suck" articles/videos.

Firstly...who would buy a Springfield Mil-spec when a Garrison is like 50 bucks more, has better sights and a beavertail.

I don't need the "You should have better sights" or "You should get it cut for a beavertail" because to me, a lot of "base model guns" are already set up with good dovetails and beavertails. If you want to specifically buy a Mil-Spec style gun, you actually have to go out of your way to get one.

To me, these types of pontifications are more related to "What sort of modifications do I need to get someone else to do for me because I don't have a machine shop and can't do them myself?"

And that means almost no modifications are needed unless I want a different finish or checkering. And I don't need that.

Give me a Springfield Garrison or a Kimber Custom II or a Colt Competition pistol or a Ruger SR1911 and have the gun fitted with a match barrel...and that's all I want because I like accurate guns.

So uh...just buy a 1911 and learn to tune an extractor?

[BN]

Back in the early days of 1911 popularity when Cooper told us all to shoot 1911s, all we had were base model guns with poor sights, safety, trigger and the old style grip safety. We would buy a new series 70 Colt and throw away everything but the frame and slide and replace everything else and have parts custom built. Then Kimber came out with everything already on the gun and every body else had to play catch up.

This video would have been more pertinent in the early 1980s.

[MandoWookie]

I'm just still peeved Dan Wesson discontinued the A2 right before I had the money saved for one, causing the prices to jump above what I was willing to pay.

Now I'm stuck looking at maybe a Springfield Garrison, doing some part swaps to make it a poor man's A2, with what will wind up costing likely just at or more what I intended for the A2, but with a lot more time wasted on my part, with less confidence in the base gun.

Or I could just buy another 92.

[37th Mass]

[QUOTE=TiroFijo; That being said, I'm 59 and these kind of articles/videos have been around (plentifully, to say the least) basically saying the same thing for 40 years or so...[/QUOTE]

Very true, but this is timely for me. I bought a Colt 1911 Classic Government Model last Fall. https://www.colt.com/detail-page/1911-classic

This is a fun range gun for me. I won't rely on it for self defense.

So far, the only modification I have made was to swap out the flat plastic mainspring housing with an arched steel one from Ed Brown. I love the way my pistol looks now, sort of like a modern 1911A1.

I'm thinking of sending the slide off to Novak to get new sights; a gold dot front and wide-notch black rear. But, I'm afraid that the gun won't look right with aftermarket sights but no beavertail safety and commander's hammer. If I added those, then I would probably want an extended safety, a beveled mag well, some front strap stippling, and... In other words, this nice looking and fun range gun could turn into a real money pit if I start making more modifications.

By the way, if you sign up for the Wilson Combat email newsletter you can download a free copy of Bill Wilson's book, The Combat Auto. https://www.wilsoncombat.com/the-combat-auto/

[HCM]

Back in the early days of 1911 popularity when Cooper told us all to shoot 1911s, all we had were base model guns with poor sights, safety, trigger and the old style grip safety. We would buy a new series 70 Colt and throw away everything but the frame and slide and replace everything else and have parts custom built. Then Kimber came out with everything already on the gun and every body else had to play catch up.

This video would have been more pertinent in the early 1980s.

I agree.

This is another example of being a bit tone deaf / out of touch.

Guns with the modifications discussed in the video are now the standard and guns without them on the exception which must be actively sought out.