zdog

I am not being a smart a$$ here but is there a chance the die you were using was not adjusted correctly? zdog

If it ain't broken, don't fix it! I guess my question is: Why use the FCD. What are its advantages. I see where so many people use it but why? I use a FCD for my .223 rounds because I think it gives a more positive crimp and lessens the possibility of the bullet still in the magazine from moving back in the case. zdog Rifle FCD is just a crimp die. It's not a sizer at all. Pistol Carbide FCD are also a sizer. The round passes through a sizer that is .003" smaller then the largest size allowed under SAAMI specs. It is also a crimp die. But the big difference is that is post sizes your round to make sure the final product meets SAAMI specs. It is nothing like a rifle FCD. Very different animal. Very informative. Thanks, zdog

No sense getting testy. I found that putting a little Kroil on during the last couple of days has done the trick. Even now that the bushings are no longer frozen the metal of the bushing is of such poor quality that the slots are peeling off. I have learned that using a little finesse is often better than going for the big hammer to start with. zdog

If it ain't broken, don't fix it! I guess my question is: Why use the FCD. What are its advantages. I see where so many people use it but why? I use a FCD for my .223 rounds because I think it gives a more positive crimp and lessens the possibility of the bullet still in the magazine from moving back in the case. zdog

I believe you're thinking of the Lee Bulge Buster not the FCD. Trust me the Lee Bulge Buster uses the Factory Crimp die minus the crimp ring, I know I bought one. Can always go to the Lee website to check it out. Since I am using a square deal press, what am I missing by not being able to use the FCD? As far as I can tell the press and its dies are doing a fine job on my 9mm ammo. zdog

I have a friend that shoots lead in his 9mm para that was having problems with key-hole-ing who had to go up to a .357 bullet to stop the key-hole-ing. He uses a lee factory crimp die. I know I was having problem with leading in my 625 that slowed down after I stopped using the lee factory crimp die. zdog

Thanks, As I mentioned in a previous post, I have one of those from Brownells and all I managed to do was enlarge the slots in the grip bushing...... Thanks zdog ah, sorry, you didnt specify that it was the one thats made specifically for the thin bushings, so I figured is might have been a standard bushing bit. In that case a screw extractor will work.; youll mess up the screw threads, but it sounds like theyre toast anyway, Thanks, They are not toast yet. That is the purpose of seeking some help on this subject before proceeding. Thanks, zdog

Is there any truth to the speculation that the Lee Factory crimp die undersizes the bullets? zdog

Thanks, As I mentioned in a previous post, I have one of those from Brownells and all I managed to do was enlarge the slots in the grip bushing...... Thanks zdog

Huh! If they are Loctited they aren't coming out in one piece without some heat. Leverage without heat will only succeed in the bushings being torn up and coming out in pieces and very possibly scarring the gun. If they are staked it should be easy to see the stake marks on the inside of the grip after removing the grip panels. If you do see the stake marks I would still use heat as the bushings might still have had Loctite put on them. A good pinpoint heat source such as the small butane torch sold at Harbor Freight will work very well. Right Eric? CYa, Pat OK folks, thanks for all the replies and speculation. Like I said in my original post, has any one dealt with this model 1911 and what was the solution. Thanks, zdog

Thanks for the idea but before I beat the crap out this nice 1911 I would like to hear from someone who has had success with this model 1911. zdog

So do you know if this model Colt was manufactured with staking or loctiting? I have the Brownells grip bushing tool and was very careful and applied maximum force without distorting the bushings too much without luck. I will try the freezer trick to see if that helps although I would be inclined to try a little heat first. zdog

I have a Colt Gunsite model 1911 that came with thin grips and a short trigger. It is the full sized government model. I have tried to remove the thin bushing in order to install standard grips with no luck. These bushing are in there till the end of time it looks like. They don't appear to be staked. I haven't tried heat yet in case they are loctited in. Has anyone ever removed the grip bushings from this model Colt and if so, how did you do it? Thanks, zdog

Thanks zdog

Thanks. I am not sure what moleskin is but it sounds like what I am after. Pinning the safety sounds a little bit like cheating. zdog

Thanks but what I kinda had in mind was putting a couple of layers of tape or maybe a glob of JB weld on the part that sticks up and contacts my hand first. zdog

I am looking into changing the grip safety on my Colt Gunsite 1911 and have been asking around. What I hear most is that the Ed Brown grip safety sometimes has a hole that is not in alignment which causes problems. zdog

I have the same old story of not being able to sometimes get the grip safety depressed enough to allow the gun to go bang. Is it possible to build up the contact point with something to make it stick out a little bit more to ensure positive engagement? I use the over thumb safety grip and have a mid rise thumb safety otw which will help. Is it time to get the JB weld out? Thanks, zdog

I finally found what I was after and have one otw. This is a link to the mid height 1911 thumb safety. http://forums.1911forum.com/showthread.php?t=326799 zdog

Me too

That's what my folks kept telling me when I wanted to get a bike when I was 12. They said: Your brother's bike will be fine, just wait, you will grow into it. Well, I have stopped growing and I want something that fits now. zdog

Thanks for checking zdog

Ooops....I see that this is a second response Sorry For me that makes an awkward grip which makes it even harder to get the grip safety depressed. Still no luck on finding a mid height thumb safety yet. Thanks zdog

I talked to Wilson about their low thumb safety and the response was that is was about the same as the Gunsite model. zdog

Thanks Richard. You don't happen to have an extra one laying around do you? zdog