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

[Caballoflaco]

@RJ Here’s a video by our own @Jason Burton on fitting a thumb safety to a 1911. I’ve fitted a thumb safety, installed a fitted beaver tail grip safety on a 1911 before. The thumb safety took two tries due to youth and inexeperience. As long as you go slow and aren’t afraid to throw away a mistake if you screw things up and something doesn’t pass a function test then think it’s a reasonable and fun task to learn learn on your own.



Also Hilton Yam at 10-8 performance is offering reasonably priced 1911 armorer classes online/over zoom (they’ll resume in the fall) now which you might be interested in if you get a 1911 since you enjoyed the Glock armorer class.

https://www.10-8performance.com/training/

[Elwin]

In the past couple years I’ve been working on learning to maintain and modify my 1911s. If it’s a rabbit hole you want to go down, it’s a ton of fun for those of us with tinkerer tendencies and a lot of it is very doable. That said, fitting a safety is the one thing I’ve tried so far that I flubbed, and I’m going to watch Yam’s full Duty Tune series for some more pointers before I try it again (good ambi safeties are not cheap). I still feel comfortable trying again, but I probably wouldn’t have been back when I started before doing some other things I’ve learned since.

For context, so far I have:

Replaced and staked a plunger tube;
Replaced a grip bushing;
Tuned grip safeties;
Tuned Kimber Swartz drop safeties to match grip safety tuning (biggest PITA on this list);
Tuned an extractor;
Installed a new rear sight;
Fit new triggers;
Fit a mag catch (that really did require fitting);
And futzed around with spring weight combinations and done a good deal of ammo and mag vetting, etc.

After all that, I did go for installing a safety and took too much off so it failed function tests.

If it were me starting out, I may look around for a deal on a used gun with a good ambi safety (the King’s style like the higher end Wilson’s, Ed Browns, EGWs, etc. that retains on a modified hammer pin, as opposed to the support leg Swenson style). I’d consider whether I was better off learning to fit a safety off the bat or learning the ins and outs of the pistol as part of the process of obtaining and vetting a used gun.

[Borderland]

I've had a bunch of 1911 Colts. I now have only two. One I don't shoot because it's a relic and the other is a stainless Gold Cup which I shoot a lot.

If I were to buy another 1911 it would probably be a Wilson or one of those other semi-customs. The money is lost if there isn't a well known custom builders name on it. And that still doesn't make one appreciate in value.

I enjoyed the video.

[fatdog]

10-15 years ago, the Rock Island/Armscore guys hired a gunsmith well known at the time in USPSA circles, Fred Craig, to come over to the Phillipines and help them improve their processes and "get the 1911 right". Based on what I have seen of those pistols, I think he must have had an impact because the ones with owners I know have been reliable guns.