cohland

Your statement about barrel dwell time corroborates my observation concerning the effect of a heavier bullet on point of impact, but my understanding was never as crisp and clear as your statement. Thanks for passing that along. Chris

Here you go (below). I've bought these for two guns, and have found that the two pieces (it's a two-piece part) can be a very tight fit, don't be surprised if that's the case. Superb EGW quality. Chris

What make and model is the pistol, and what are you going to do with it (USPSA?)? Knowing the answers would have an effect on suggestions for a cure. Chris

The price, at $899, makes it a little interesting, enough to draw in the unwary. Things it seems to be missing are: 1) front strap checkering, at least for the .45ACP version 2) ambidextrous thumb safety, handy for those weak-hand requirements in some stages 3) a magwell.... This is an 80-series gun, which would rule it out for me, because the firing pin safety adds about 1.5Lb to the trigger pull weight. Without spending more (on gunsmithing and parts) than the gun is worth to get that fixed, that's kind of painful. I've got two Colt 1911s in .45ACP: an XSE and a Gold Cup, and both needed to have their hammer, hammer strut, sear, and disconnector replaced, just because I didn't like the materials or fit in the originals. They were thrown together inside, with the hammer strut pin not even staked. So, I've convinced myself. No thanks. Pretty, but probably not what I'd call a competition pistol by a long shot. Chris

What model: 1911 or 2011? If 1911, look up Alumagrips. Chris

Thanks for that clarification. you're good! "8.1.2.5 When applicable, the grip safety may be disabled provided that the primary safety as described in 8.1.2.4 is operable.." Chris

Yes. The grip safety and thumb safety are enough for USPSA, that's where the gun will be used. If I sell it to someone else I will install the Series 80 parts. Chris

Removed the 80 series parts this AM, installed the shim, and voila...the trigger pull is now 3.25 pounds. Thanks to all. Chris

^^Exactly^^ Click below- TJ'S 1911 SERIES '80 TO SERIES '70 CONVERSION SHIMS That's what I was thinking. I've got the parts, I just need to make a note that the safety is out of the gun for the day that I sell it. Thanks to both of you. Chris

Working on my Colt XSE (Series 80), it sure looks like the firing pin plunger spring is the source of about 1.5 pounds of the trigger pull weight. Can anyone else corroborate that finding? I'm trying to get the trigger pull down to about 3.5 pounds with the Series 80 safety parts in place, but it doesn't look feasible. The best I can get is right about 4.25 pounds at this point. A Cylinder & Slide Ultra Light Pull trigger kit is installed, parts have been polished. The break is really nice, but I'd like a lighter pull. Your comments and thoughts will be appreciated. Thanks, Chris

Why did you leave the plain old 1911 (not "widebody", not 2011) out of the choices in the poll? I switched from Glocks in Production to a 1911 in Single Stack, and I'll never look back. Chris

PS: Bill Springfield charged $35 for the muzzle crown work, including return postage. Chris

I think that's just a shadow you're seeing. Correct. The bushing-to-slide and bushing-to-barrel fit are both excellent, straight from the Springfield factory. Chris

Recently I finished upgrading a Springfield 1911 Range Officer 9mm pistol, to be used for USPSA Single-Stack Division competition. Since previous models of this pistol that I have owned have had excellent accuracy out of the box, I was somewhat surprised to have accuracy problems with this one. Try as I might, I could not get a decent group at 15 yards, which is the distance at which I set sights for USPSA guns. Now, my definition of "good group" is probably sufficiently different from most that I need to explain myself. To test a pistol, I shoot it from a table using a modified pistol rest that mitigates the effect of my ability to jerk the trigger. I use my regular (corrected) shooting glasses, and my eyesight isn't the best (I have trouble with sight alignment), so what I can get out of a gun is usually less than it can deliver to a better shooter with better eyes. While I didn't measure the group, I'd say it was about 4" across. Not good. My previous attempt at the same type of pistol gave me about a 2" group immediately. Clearly, if I was planning to use this pistol in competition, some improvement was in order. What was different? I recall that the previous Range Officer I set up had a particularly sharp and uniform pattern of firing residue at the muzzle, like a little star pattern. Until now I had never connected that with accuracy, but with the new Range Officer I noticed a difference: it produced a somewhat raggedy residue pattern. Examining the muzzle crown closely with a 30x loupe, I could easily see that the ends of some of the lands in the barrel were uneven at the crown, as if they had been cut at a very slight angle. So, I figured I needed a muzzle crown job. A call to a local gunsmith got me an estimate of $125 and three weeks' wait. Pondering this for just a bit, I thought I'd go look on the web to see what I could find. What I found was Bill Springfield, whose website offers barrel crowning:Bill Springfield - www.TriggerWork.net, among other services. After a quick exchange of email messages (the man answers email, people!), I shipped my barrel off to Bill, expecting to see it a week later. Four days later it arrived, with a new 11° target crown. The following day I took it to the range, and shot a couple of 2" groups at fifteen yards, well before my morning coffee had kicked in. Delighted, I took a photo of the residue pattern, so that I could show it off, and here it is: Yes, that's oil all over the front of the gun. When I'm breaking in a 1911 I run them pretty wet, with lots of oil on the barrel and bushing. If you are having accuracy problems with a pistol, look at the powder residue pattern on the muzzle after you finish firing 50 or 100 rounds, enough to leave a pattern. If it's not uniform, you might think of having the muzzle re-crowned. Chris

Couple of things about that Sig to keep in mind. First, the external extractor is unique to Sig, it's not a 1911 part. Try to find a spare. Also, the ambi safety is tricky to get off, if you're going to do your own work. Check the manual carefully to see if the drawings show modified pins holding the right side of the ambi in place. In fact, check to see if the drawings show the ambi at all. If not, warn your gunsmith if it ever has to come apart. Been there, with a Sig 1911, done that. Chris