isleman75

Our shop has used Metaloy for years, with nothing but exceptional results. Chromoly steel is always bead-blasted or polished with sandpaper before hard-chroming, which removes the bluing...

More degradation in accuracy is caused by "cleaning" than by anything you could fire down the barrel. There is a good article on this by one of the best pistol barrel makers out there- Schuemann. Go to their web site and find out what the owner/CEO says.. He shoots...rarely cleans barrels... I've followed the same principal in almost all cases unless firing corrosive ammo in old military arms.

I agree with Wide45 and TMC. I just fit a nice Schuemann to my latest 2011 build and they are beautiful barrels that require the minimum of fitting. The hood required only slight material removal and the lower lugs required the same as most other barrels I've fitted. Most makers of slides have extra material on the back for removal (to make it even with the frame) at final fitting. When removing material from the lugs, which is tedious but extremely important, you will eventually get to the rounded/vertical part of the lug. At this point, see if you can determine if the link is just past vertical when the barrel is locked after you assemble with the frame, slide, and slide stop. Install your thumb safety and see if it is going into the cutout in the slide. I have always had luck with cutting lugs just until slightly past vertical (which is almost zero cutting on Schuemann barrels) and the safety engaging solidly in the slide area. This process almost always results in material needing to be removed from the back of the slide, which is no big deal if you are knowledgable enough to be fitting barrels. One important aspect of cutting barrel lugs is just cutting enough to get very strong contact with the slide stop on those lugs. The more even contact over the entire surface area of the lugs where it comes into contact with the slide stop, the better. Many smiths set the guns up tight and will require a "break in" period of 500-1000 rounds before 100%. I use files, followed by fine sandpaper over a file, then finally valve lapping material or polish...Like I said, it's tedious, but the rewards in accuracy are worth it.

Yes, you will see contact there, but not hard contact. The top of the barrel makes slight contact as the upper lugs disengage and the slide begins to move rearward when a shot is fired. Same as with the barrel hood/breech- ever so slight contact, just not hard contact.. Keep it all oiled very well. I keep mine and guns I work on very wet with oil in this area, especially for our game.. When fitting a barrel, and with gun partially assembled with frame, slide, barrel, link, and slide stop, there should be something like .006 (very small, but clearance nonetheless) between the top of the barrel and the lowest part and rear of the lugs in the slide. There are special tools to measure this just inside of the open port with slide pulled back slightly as if ejecting a round, and barrel at link-down, but you can make do with very narrow shim stock and careful work with dial calipers. Clearance is made for this by cutting the frame bed (where the barrel rests at link-down) down, little by little and very carefully. I wouldn't recommend this work unless you have experience with working on 1911s and know exactly how timing works in relation to this, the link length, vertical impact area, horizontal impact area, and frame bed. Your gun will most likely not need attention in the areas described above since it functioned reliably for so long before acting up. Again, good luck.

So are you saying the hood on the breech side of the lugs should not be contacting the slide in any way? mine seems to. And yes the gun is running well now that I polished the old bushing(still waiting on ups today for the new one) but the groups are not pretty..............it seems like sometimes it groups other times not. Actually, there are a few different schools of thought on the breech contact issue. Thoughts on it have also evolved over the years to what seems to now be the general consensus among respected smiths. That generally accepted view would be that you should see a tiny amount of daylight between the two short sides of the hood (hold the slide/barrel up to the light and look at it from above and below) and very light contact at the long end, right up against the breech face. That contact should be very even, with the hood being very very straight. This is also a very tedious process since all three sides generally have to have at least a small amount removed with a file and/or sandpaper. I lapped mine in with rubbing compound/simicrome and the Schuemann barrel I used didn't require very much removal of material for excellent fit. Higher quality components are held to tighter tolerance and usually require a little less work than cheaper components. Jack Weigand is from the old school of 1911 smiths and does it right. He's got some really nice videos showing his mill fixture for fitting barrels. Very cool..

Something else that really opened my eyes to the difference between custom 1911/2011s and run of the mill factory assembled guns is this; Next time you have access to any new or even slightly used factory built 1911, pick one up, rack the slide and check for empty. Now, take your thumb and press on the top of the barrel near the breech. Many factory guns, especially early Colts will allow the barrel to actually shift down a few thousandths of an inch, some very visibly with the naked eye. Granted, many makers are getting better at this. In a custom build, lower lugs are fit precisely the way they should be, very snugly to the slide stop at full lock up, and this is apparent when looking at a well-fit gun's slide stop. There will be two very light, but usually square shaped (sometimes slightly rounded edges) spots on the slide stop shaft where the lugs ramp up on it at every shot. Obviously, this is a very tedious process than can take hours, so is cost-prohibitive in all mass-produced guns. Hope this helps a bit..

Mr. Kunhausencan explain it much better, but you would be very surprised at how much the hood fitment can affect accuracy. I personally have witnessed guns firing in a Ransom Rest that printed 2-3" groups at 15 yards, and then were reduced to 1" after discovering and filing down a rub mark on the hood where it meets the slide. I am no scientist, but pressures like this can and obviously do cause inaccuracy, mostly because of repeatability. The goal in every semi-automatic firearm is for every single part to re-align perfectly in the exact same position as before a shot, each and every time. If it doesn't do this, obviously a bullet can be placed in a different spot, however so slight..

Do this quick test for bushing/barrel binding just before lock up; Put your barrel and bushing in your slide without anything else. Slide the barrel all the way back to the breech, but not up into firing position. When holding the top of the slide in the bottom of your hand, you will look at the open underside of the slide and see the barrel. Grab the lower locking lugs (ones that ride up on your slide stop) with your fingers, holding the barrel straight and evenly like it would be in the gun, and slowly move the barrel hood along the breech face into full lock up in the slide. The barrel should just drop into this position with no pushing required. If you have to push down on the lugs to get it to be in the fully locked position, the bushing is imparting pressure on the end of the barrel. When you fit the new Brown bushing, you will actually remove more material (carefully and slowly with very fine cratex) from the front lower ring of the bushing, and rear upper portion. What this does is allow the barrel to tilt up at the rear into lockup in the slide. If a bushing fit is too tight and causing binding, it will indeed cause the problems you describe. Good Luck!

Did you change the Briley bushing for a Brown standard bushing?

A poorly fit bushing can sometimes put pressure on one side of the end of the barrel, pushing the breech end in odd ways Hmmm...post #7 It's amazing how important each and every part for the 1911/2011 can be. The barrel/bushing proper set up is huge. I almost went with a Briley in my 2011 Limited build but decided against it in favor of the Brown bushing that was the closest fit to my Schuemann barrel. I'm glad I went with it. The Briley is good in theory, but as you've discovered, just adds another component to a design that has no "problems" and is open to possible failure. You will still have to "fit" the Brown bushing, though. A slight relief in two areas to allow for complete, up and down, friction-free movement during action cycling. This, and barrel hood fitment to the breech are the heart of any 1911/2011's accuracy potential. Good luck with the new bushing!

Since you've eliminated a few variables but still feel the catch, look at what you have left. Frame, slide, bushing, barrel. One other place to look at a possible hangup is the lower lugs/ramp where it is supposed to fit neatly into the groove cut into the frame. Look at that area in the frame, see if there is anything out of the ordinary. Look at both sides and rear vertical impact area of the lower lugs of the barrel. Check to see if wear is normal. If that area is not fit well to the barrel, it can cause misalignment and problems you describe. Barrel should fit easily and sit in that "bed" when everything is unlocked, but it has to move freely when the lugs impact the slide stop and then force the barrel into the upper lugs in the slide. You may also look at your slide stop and lower lugs on the barrel where the two meet. You should have uniform contact on both sides of the lugs and two square rubbed areas on your slide stop if the barrel and slide stop are mated well together. If one side hits before the other or is the only side hitting, accuracy and alignment of the barrel suffer, and could also be severe enough to cause problems. If all else fails, take it to a good smith familiar with the 1911 platform.

If you have access to a different bushing, try that and see if the problem persists. A poorly fit bushing can sometimes put pressure on one side of the end of the barrel, pushing the breech end in odd ways. The barrel shouldn't have marks near the lugs only on one side. I'm assuming you are referring to the upper lugs that lock the barrel into the slide?

You'll likely have to ream the throat of the barrel with a throating reamer. Fairly common with loading long with any bullets other than FMJ or exactly .400... I throated mine with a Manson reamer and it's been flawless since.

Also, bullets can vary from lot to lot. Poppa is on the button in that your throat is not letting the bullet in when loaded long. I know my Schuemann barrel in the 2011 I built has a very long throat (area after shoulder but before rifling begins) since the 40s are commonly loaded long in the 1911/2011 platform. I cut mine a little more with a throating reamer from Mansonreamers.com in order to shoot lead bullets. Many lead bullets and plated bullets actually size out right at .401 or .4015 outside diameter. That tiny bit of extra size sometimes prevents chambering, but you can shoot a bagillion lead bullets before you'll see any degradation in accuracy. The last batch of lead bullets I used actually had a failure rate of almost 10%, so obviously I won't use them much anymore. This was a failure to chamber because the OD on the bullets was .4015 or even .402 sometimes. Sloppy sizing during casting of the bullet is the culprit. Local caster...bah...Will likely go to Missouri or another comparable caster. The best advice is to chamber check every single round before a match and you will likely have no issues due to anything related to the aforementioned..

Hahahaha!! My point exactly. And what led you to Grams? Everyone else had good results? Word of mouth and majority is powerful.. Yep factory STI gives me 17 rounds, Grams and Dawson give me 20. Other shooters I know run them and they work for them. If most shooters I know ran Bolen, or Arredondo I would have probably installed them. Yep, all true.. I run Dawson bases (not SNL) with STI springs and Dawson followers. Half give me 19 and half 20...Go figure

Hahahaha!! My point exactly. And what led you to Grams? Everyone else had good results? Word of mouth and majority is powerful..

Yes, yes, and yes...Agree on all counts. I was just agreeing with Seth, and that I see many 2011 and 1911 game gun problems first (and incorrectly) attributed to the magazines. If everything isn't properly fitted to the gun during the mating of myriad parts during the build of a game gun, mags won't usually help. One can actually "tune" a mag to make it appear that an improperly tuned gun is then "fixed"... For example, in the STI 2011 platform, it would be interesting to see someone post an informal poll on bases, springs, tubes, and followers that are used in the assembly of mags for an STI 2011. I would bet money that there is a majority for Grams springs and followers...Maybe because of word of mouth, or maybe because of good function on the part of many users. Who knows...

Well, sort of. The round is never actually "aligned with the chamber"...It is close. If you cycle your 2011 very slowly, without a recoil spring, and with a dummy round obviously, you will notice that the nose of the bullet actually dives down when struck by the breech face of the slide. This is because the round is actually pointing up (toward the chamber) because of the angle in which the magazine holds the bullets, and is hit on the top edge of the case. When this happens quickly and properly, it won't dive enough to get hung up on a properly-shaped feed ramp. It will smash into the feed ramp (should be named a deflector, really), which then deflects it upward into the top of the chamber. The round is still moving forward all this time because the slide is forcing it forward, and after it bangs the top of the chamber, it finally gets "aligned" and wiggles into the chamber for it's final seated position before firing. The reason for "long" rounds in 40 S&W is because early in development of our game guns in this caliber, it was realized that since the 1911 platform was built around 38 Super, the .40 was much shorter in OAL and wouldn't function well since the barrels were also of the non-ramped variety. Seating bullets "long" in the .40 S&W gets it closer to the OAL of 38 Super and 45ACP, thus solving that (short) problem and making those guns more reliable. As the years went along in the development of 1911s chambered for 40 S&W, several things were changed (ramp barrels by Clark/Para and Wilson/Nowlin, for example) along the way that contributed greatly to functioning reliability in said platform. This also includes magazines, especially by SV, then STI, where everything was kind of an experiment until they settled on a general acceptable range of mag size, angles, feed lip shape and spacing, etc.. As Seth said, a gun properly built should run on nearly everything, and obviously there are limits. The gun I built will also eat everything with aplomb. Some guns will not, and that is sometimes the fault of magazines, but usually is something else entirely. The 1911 and 2011 can be a fickle beast, and there are several things involved in firing and scraping a loaded round off of the magazine and into the chamber, which happens to be a very violent, but contained process.. Get the measurement numbers from a friend that has the Dawson videos for "tuning" the magazines and make sure yours are in the neighborhood and you should be fine... For the record, I use STI tubes, Dawson bases, STI factory springs, and Dawson followers in my mags with nary a hitch..

If the lower lugs and hood on the barrel are fit improperly, you will have to start from scratch and fit a new barrel. Check to see that the lower lugs ramp up on the slide stop when going into battery. If they do not, you will likely have to begin anew because standing on a longer link is not the right way to fit a barrel. It is a band-aid fix. Have a good 1911 smith check it out.

Ahhh, some sanity in the lot... Attention to detail in the build of the gun is paramount. Mags should be close to Dawson's measurements, but I agree with Seth, don't let "mag problems" always be your first guess at a culprit..

There are several good points above, but none are 100% correct without looking at the gun. Schuemann's wen site is awesome for seekers of knowledge and will describe perfectly what you seek in the timing of the 1911/2011 platform. The timing is absolutely critical, and it does seem like your gun's builder (or re-barreler) didn't properly take into account everything that needs to be checked in the proper setup of that weapon. I have been a gunsmith with and without a shop to call home, so I know a bit, and mostly know enough to say that you should definitely have the gun checked by a qualified 'smith versed particularly in the workings of Mr. Browning's finest work.

The direction of the grain should follow the direction of the stock. Say you see a band (not verticle figure) of light and dark wood, this should generally begin at the buttstock and flow forward toward the fore end of the stock. This is maximum strength for the stock to absorb recoil. Avoid knots at critical points like grip or where an action would sit for inletting. Keep the crazy good figure in the butt stock area and fore ends..

You are heading in the right direction. You will definitely have to cut it into blanks a few inches larger for every dimension, wax seal it, then store it for a few years. Good walnut takes at LEAST two years to rid itself of most of its moisture. Cracking can sometimes occur with no rhyme or reason, but the wax will help that. I'm not sure exactly what sort of wax is used, and I'm not sure of any makers that will tell you, but you can ask around. Check out macongunstocks.com Look at how they have TONS of stocks being stored...Good wood takes years to cure, especially when some AAA blanks can fetch nearly $1000 before they're even touched by a 'smith...

It's funny you mention that. I was talking to a buddy at lunch (he just had a gun built by Brazos) and he said the same thing. "check out the Schuemann web site"..lol. I have, and will read more tonight, but it looks like this problem is solved thanks to you guys here on the foruam. Again, I can't tell you how much I appreciate the help. I've been building rifles for a few years and am just now getting back into the pistols..Need to freshen up! CZ

Yes, and thanks for the fast reply, I meant to get in here and correct my initial post. I am building a .40 S&W for Limited/L10. I've been shooting Production, but will make the switch to get back to my beloved 1911 platform. I have been gunsmithing for about ten years now and can do the work myself, and I really like the results with a properly fitted standard barrel. Thanks a ton for the forum newbie help, guys.. Look here for Briley barrels trigger groups etc..... use 2alpha code at checkout and receive 10% discount.http://www.powercustomusa.com/ Thanks for the smokin' deal tips!! Can't get enough of 'em. I can get most of the parts to build the gun @ Brownell's cost, but some stuff they don't have, and I'll have to order elsewhere. Thanks again, and I think I've decided on a ramped/bushing barrel. It's funny I was looking at the Briley spherical bushing already...Haven't messed with one yet, but it seems perfect in theory. It does take a while to set up a good bushing/barrel fit and the nominal price increase for the Briley setup is appealing in this build. Any opinions on which ramp cut to go with? Word around the campfire that I'm hearing is that STI seems to prefer the WN, whereas many others prefer the CP?? Opinions? CZ