DIY or Gunsmith

[Crazy Scientist]

I have a nice (for me) Colt 1991A1 that is working very well for me (no malfunctions). I'm still a beginner but I have picked up a few things I'd like to do based on experience and research.

(1) New Sights--narrower front post or wider back. Was going to go 3-dot or FO, but after some search here I think I just need to clean up the pictures. Needless to say for indoor shooting, it stock is not working.

(2) Extended Beavertail Safety+Hammer -OR- Bob hammer to remove hammer bite.

I have a bad case of hammer bite while shooting, it doesn't effect me much but bleeding during matches is not cool these days.

Can these be improvements be done in a DIY manner for someone who is proficient with tools, but may not have a genuine machine shop or should I locate a gunsmith to have them done.

Keep in mind this is not a 2k firearm, this is a stock 1991A1, but it works--I'm not too concerned with trashing it (although I would prefer not too).

[lumpygravy]

Sights:

If you have an adjustable rear sight, hacking your sights (within reason) will be more forgiving. You should still take care to keep your adjustments symetrical but if, for example, you whack off more of the front sight on the left, you can adjust your windage with the rear.

I'm running a .080 front blade but soon changing to an FO. The slide already has the dovetail.

If had a fixed rear, I'd let a 'smith do it.

Grip safety / hammer bob:

There are drop in grip safeties (ok) and there are also jigs that help you make the radius cut for a high grip safety (better). Keep in mind that replacing the grip safety may also require fitting for proper trigger function and may also introduce some hotspots in the grip area that may need to be blended into/with the frame.

As for bobbing the hammer, I'd do the grip safety first and see if it was still necessary.

All of this is somewhat dependent upon the tooling you have available and your skill using what you have. I've heard it said "Files and dremels in the hands of a customer are a gunsmith's best friends." Be sure to read up on these procedures before you bust out the tools.

Good luck...

[Kyle O]

I'm a DIY kinda guy, most of my work aint too pretty, but I bet It'd feel good to a blind man.

[818-DVC]

You don't need machine tools to fit parts. You can hand polish, or file to fit parts or remove metal. A needle file will open your rear sight right up.

[Loves2Shoot]

As a gunsmith, I would say it totally depends on if you care how it looks and what your time is worth. I have some gawd awful self fit parts come into the shop and some superbly fit by hand parts.

[lrf]

If brute force doesn't work, use more:)

[Team Amish 1]

Unless you have the jigs, great tools, and know what you're doing - DON'T DO IT YOURSELF!

Chances are, you mess something up, have to buy new parts and THEN take it to a gunsmith anyways.

Save yourself some money.

[amaziah]

It's not rocket science on a 1911. If you are good with tools and it sounds like you are this sounds like a fun project. If in doubt, get a video on gunsmithing the 1911. I think wilson or clark has a video on this model.

[CSEMARTIN]

I think you should go for it.

The Wilson Combat videos do a good job of walking you through a bevertail fitting. Just go slow.

For the sights, a dovetail file would be helpful. File the sights and not the slide. If you goof, a new sight is a lot easier to remedy than the slide.

Good luck.

[Gregory_k]

If you don't try, you will never know.

[Turboprop]

AGI has a great step by step video on building a custom 1911 and a troubleshooting video that covers many of the same items the build video does. If your handy, like tinkering with guns and are willing to buy the right tools for the job you should have no trouble. I bought the AGI videos and built a very nice limited gun out of a frame I won at a match. I did send the slide out for the cuts I wanted then fit the slide, barrel and other components. Its a great shooting/looking gun.

Edited January 31, 2011 by Turboprop