FUSELIER PLATING AND FIREARMS SHOP Livingston, Texas
TEN STEPS TO A GOOD M1911 STYLE PISTOL
The first consideration, of course, is appearance. If you are buying
this gun as a collector, this is paramount. Most of the suggestions that
follow will not be applicable. If you are looking for a "bullseye" or
target grade pistol, here are some important things to consider. For a
range or target weapon, do not rule out any of the numerous M1911 style
copies of foreign and domestic manufacture.
ALL GOOD GUNS ARE NOT MADE BY COLT
Some of these are fully equal to Colt in quality and many Colt repair
parts may fit, such as the sears, disconnectors and springs. Even hammers,
slide latches and barrels may be interchangable. This makes them easy and
practical to both accurize and repair. There is certainly a pride in owning
a genuine Colt but the Colt Mystique does not help downrange and an equally
accurate pistol may be found in other makes for half the price.
STUDY ALL MAKES FOR STYLE AND FEEL
I suggest looking at Colt pistols along with others even if you have
decided a genuine Colt is not necessary for you. There is a certain feel
and balance to the genuine article that is not always duplicated by other
manufacturers.
DON'T WASTE YOUR TIME ON A "PIG IN A POKE"
If you are ready now, let's start with the first nice looking pistol you
find. Ask the seller if he will dismantle it for your inspection. If you
are seriously considering spending several hundred dollars he should not
mind letting you inspect the interior. If not, move on and look for another.
CHECK FOR A LOOSE BARREL
If he agrees, first pull the slide back slightly from the locked-up "in
battery" position. In a 1911-A1 or Series 80 pull the slide back a very
small amount, just enough to clear the barrel hood from the boltface guides.
Grasp the barrel with your fingers and try to turn it. If it turns only
slightly or not at all, this is good. If it is loose, and floppy, this is
probably bad news. Very likely the under-barrel lug fits loosely in the
slot in the frame, and there is a lot of link and pin wear. This will not
help in guiding a precise and repeatable lock up into battery. This repeat-
able lock-up is the very essence of accuracy in any semi-auto with a tilt-
ing barrel Browning type lockup. Unless you are able to afford the cost of
having a new Match barrel and bushing fitted this alone may be enough to
disqualify this gun immediately. This test is not usually applicable to a
Series 70 unless the barrel bushing has been replaced with one of the
1911A1/Series 80 type. The Series 70 bushing will hold the barrel too tight
to allow it to be moved easily with the fingers for this test but it does
not invalidate the need to check barrel and frame measurements.
CHECK BARREL AND FRAME MEASUREMENTS
Now is when you let the seller dismantle the gun. You should have a dial
caliper to measure the barrel lug slot in the frame. The design width is
.365 inch just over the Latch pin hole. Measure the barrel lug at the link
pin. The design width is .360 inch, leaving no more than .005 inch clear-
ance as desirable. This clearance plus the link and link-pin wear is what
you felt in the earlier test, when you tried to rotate the barrel. The
fit here is very important, as this guides the barrel into the boltface at
lockup. This measurement will tell you where the problem is if the barrel
was loose in the previous test. A new Match barrel can be fitted for some
additional expense but a loose frame is harder and more expensive to fix.
LOOK FOR A MATCH BARREL AND BUSHING
If you are checking out a Colt Gold Cup or other "accurized" gun it may
have a "National Match barrel", marked N.M. This type barrel will also be
slightly smaller in diameter from a point one half to three quarters of an
inch behind the muzzle back towards the breech. This barrel allows using a
tightly fitted National Match bushing, marked N.M. Any Gold Cup without a
N. M. barrel and fitted N. M. bushing is a "Gold Cup" in engraving only.
It is possible to fit a Match barrel to a Government model, as the slides
are essentially the same. There are other types and schemes for barrels and
bushings or "bull" barrels, most are of doubtful merit. The standard types
will serve well enough.
LOOK FOR A WELL FITTED BARREL
For the rest of your examination the gun should be reassembled WITHOUT
the recoil spring and spring guides. Be sure the bushing is in and rotated
correctly. Now work the action slowly and observe the barrel closely as the
hood slides into the guides. It should slide in very smoothly without any
rotating or clashing with either side. The tighter it fits and still goes
in smoothly, the better. Any rotary or sideways movement is definitely
undesirable. While holding the action shut try to estimate the wear on the
barrel bushing by pushing the end of the barrel around with your thumb. Any
movement there should be barely detectable. If you have not yet ruled out
this particular pistol try to determine whether the barrel is being pushed
up by the link when fully closed or whether it is properly cammed up by the
bottom lug and the latchpin. While holding the action shut press down on
the barrel in the slide opening to see if it gives any. There should be no
movement. If the slide moves back, this may indicate that the barrel is
being lifted and held in lockup by the link. The operating idea here is
that the link should only serve to lift the barrel high enough to slide up
onto the latchpin when going into battery and the link should never be
under a severe strain, either while opening or locked up in battery.
CHECK THE LINK LENGTH AND BARREL STOP IN RECOIL
Move the slide to takedown position and pop the latchpin out slightly
from the detent and swing it down towards the trigger. Now pull the slide
all the way open, hold it in this position and see if the latchpin is free
and loose while pushing hard against the muzzle. It should be loose. If
it isn't, perhaps the link is too short for the rear of the underbarrel lug
to come up against the stop in the frame. If the barrel does not hit the
stop before the link is taken up the barrel will swing on the link and slam
down on the frame. This may stretch and possibly even break the link with
"hot"or +P ammo. A broken link could be a disaster on the very next round.
The bottom edge of the barrel should stop just short of the loading ramp in
the magazine well and not obstruct cartridges moving up the loading ramp.
Move the slide back to takedown position and replace the slide latch.
BARREL LUGS TO BOLTFACE CLEARANCE IS FELT AS ENDPLAY
Now is when we test for barrel lug fit as endplay. Pull the slide back
from lock-up VERY SLIGHTLY so that pressure is off the barrel to check for
endplay. What we need to know about here is the slack in the locking lugs
with the hood against the boltface. It may be necessary to wedge something
into the muzzle to grasp, like a thick plastic pen, since the barrel will
not protrude enough to grasp and move in and out. There should be no or
almost no endplay in a Match barrel and a mimimum, not more than .010" in
a standard barrel. This is not an easy check to learn at first, it will be
necessary to try several pistols to develop a "feel" for slack and wear in
the locking lugs. Excess endplay is highly undesirable since not only will
it increase the headspace, it will also allow a takeup "slap" which is very
hard on the locking lugs with hot or +p loads. Excess headspace might also
cause erratic ignition by firing cartridges held by the extractor instead
of being properly seated. "Firing on the extractor" is definitely not
desirable in a target pistol. This end play test will not be easily applied
to a Series 70 pistol unless the finger bushing has been replaced by the
1911-A1 type.
A CENTERED STRIKE ON THE PRIMER IS MOST DESIRABLE
Another contributor to inconsistent and erratic ignition is off-center
firing pin strikes. Unless you can fire the gun yourself or the seller has
fired cases to show his is not easy to determine. If the gun has had a lot
of work on the rails the strike may be considerably off center.
THE SLIDE TO FRAME FIT MUST BE VERY TIGHT
While we have the the gun assembled without the recoil spring check the
fitting of the slide to the frame IN BATTERY. Looseness when the action is
open is not particularly important, it is in firing position that matters.
Check for side to side and up and down motion while in battery. National
Match standards call for only a very few thousandths clearance. This check
should be made with ALL GREASE wiped from the rails, because even a small
amount of grease will hide a poorly fitting slide. Now reassemble the gun
with the recoil spring installed.
CHECK ALL SAFETY MECHANISMS
Cock the hammer and pull the trigger without depressing the grip safety.
Try holding a pressure on the trigger and then depressing the grip safety.
The grip safety blocks the trigger when it is adjusted right. The hammer
should only fall when both are depressed. Cock the hammer again and push
up the thumb safety. The sear should be locked and the hammer should not
fall no matter how hard you pull the trigger. Release the trigger. Flip
the thumb safety off and the hammer should not fall until the trigger is
pulled again. Pull the slide back and let it go while holding a steady pull
on the trigger. The hammer should not fall. Release the trigger slowly and
listen and feel for the click as the disconnector re-engages the sear. Pull
the trigger now and the hammer should fall. Cock the hammer again and pull
the slide back about one eighth(1/8)of an inch. Hold it there and pull the
trigger. The hammer should not drop. Hold pressure on the trigger and let
the slide go back into battery. While listening and feeling for the click
of the disconnector, let the trigger out slowly. Pulling the trigger now
should drop the hammer.
BEWARE OF MULTIPLE FIRING
Finally, cock the hammer and pull the slide back all the way. Hold the
trigger down and let the slide slam shut violently. Do this more than once.
The hammer should not follow the slide down. Try to push the hammer to make
it fall. It should not fall even with a very hard push. If this happens
with either of these tests you may be looking at a dangerous gun that could
take off when fired and unload in full auto mode. This DOES happen and such
an exciting experience could result in an embarassing personal unload.
GOOD SHOOTERS AGREE THE TRIGGER IS MOST IMPORTANT
Cock the hammer again and pull the trigger slowly, feeling for
take-up slack before exerting pressure on the sear. Carefully feel for sear
"creep" before the release. Note overtravel after the sear is released.
Overtravel may be even worse than excess takeup and "creep". It can cause
wild shots by movement after the sear release. Check for trigger drag with
a magazine installed. Any of these problems will make the gun very difficult
to shoot accurately. A good "trigger job" can fix these problems but the
additional cost must be considered in the price.
UNDERSTAND HOW "ACCURACY" IS DERIVED
Trigger and sight work is the most productive in terms of
human accuracy. Ergonomics of the grip, weight and balance contribute to the
human accuracy.
Slide/barrel/frame/lockup work is productive of better accuracy in the pistol
itself. All three of these factors developed to maximum advantage make an
unbeatable team.
To recap, let's go through the steps again:
First, check the barrel to frame fit on the fully assembled pistol.
Second, check the barrel and frame measurements on the dismantled gun.
Third, check the barrel fit in the gun assembled WITHOUT the recoil spring.
Fourth, check for the proper barrel stop in opened position.
Fifth, check for barrel end play in closed position.
Sixth, check firing pin center strike, if possible examine fired cases.
Seventh, check the slide to frame fit at battery, then replace the recoil
spring.
Eighth, check all the safeties and the disconnector action.
Ninth, check trigger for excess takeup, creep and overtravel with a
magazine installed.
Tenth, check that the empty magazine hold the slide open and drops freely
when released.
Be familiar with the problems and the cost to fix them.
After you go through this procedure on several guns you will be familiar
with most of the common problems. Do not rule out any particular brand or
manufacture, they've all made some fine guns and all have made some not so
good, including Colt. Some Spanish and Brazilian guns are very good, every
bit as good as Colts although not completely compatible partswise. Some of
the Chinese copies are quite good and are completely compatible with Colt.
There are some "Made in USA" brands that are fully compatible with Colt.
This makes them easier to accurize. If you learn to recognize quality in
any make you will be able to select a superior pistol at a bargain price.
You will probably not find a perfect pistol and will have to compromise, but
you should know what the additional costs will be to correct the problems.
Acquaint yourself beforehand with the costs to install a Match barrel and
bushing, tighten the slide rails or do a good trigger job. These are major
costs and must be added to the initial price if you want a good target pistol.
Above all, do not let a seller scoff at your examination. Remember that
it's your money and it's portable. Don't waste your time on an ego problem.
Most sellers are friendly and helpful, we are all gun enthusiasts together.
This list does not cover everything that could be wrong with a 1911 type
pistol but these are the most common problems you will find. You will find
many pistols less than optimum in some or even all of these checks. They
may be completely adequate and reliable for just "shooting" but THESE ARE
THE BASIC PROBLEMS AND IF YOU WANT REAL ACCURACY YOU MUST CONSIDER THEM.
A pistol with optimum fitting on every point described here will likely be
a very good shooter and capable of truly astonishing accuracy. For example,
"Bullseye" competition shooters expect hits within a 3 inch circle at 50
yards. Can you imagine trying this with "just any old .45"?
Now for my disclaimer, these suggestions are developed from my very own
experience and interpretation of the design and intent of John M. Browning
and are not necessarily the opinions of anyone else.