Rebarrel or Buy a Springfield RO?

[Detritus]

For the past few months I have been shooting the local USPSA matches using my wife's 1911 instead of my own because hers, due to a nice tight barrel-bushing fit, is the Much more accurate of the two. I have been feeling a little guilty about this and have decided that I need to either get my pistol rebarreled to bring it up to the level of hers or better, or buy a new pistol strictly for match use.

so these are the three options i'm currently leaning toward and debating. so I would like input from those more experienced than me.

1. have a new match grade barrel professionally fitted to my pistol, Most likely by Vanden burg Custom up in Webster. and get a few other upgrades done at the same time
2. try my hand at one of the DIY replacement barrels like the Kart Easy Fit kit
3. save a little and buy a Springfield Range Officer. this one is mitigated a little bit since SA doesn't seem to offer any guarantee of accuracy and the gun is pretty much a Mil-spec with target sights and a Beavertail.

well anyway those are my thoughts so far. would appreciate any feedback you folks can give.

thanks

Edited June 15, 2014 by Detritus

[HI5-O]

Buy the new gun for competition if you have the money. Then I would work the trigger to my liking.

There's more to accuracy than a tight barrel an bushing fit.

[EEH]

Do a test with sang bags,find out really what your gun is doing.If it is really bad at 10,15,and25, yards, I would call Springfield.Tell them what the problem is,send it back to them let them fix it..

Now if it's all you shoot the H out of it..

Not saying there's not a difference in the two guns,but sometime we get things in our mind and can't get over it..just saying

[Trent1k1]

Do you have any more information about your gun vs her gun? Are they comparable? (Same manufacturer, same barrel length, same sights). Many things could make a difference in the accuracy especially when comparing to another gun.

If you are just looking for an excuse to buy a new gun, that's fine too.

[ttolliver]

The RO may give the impression of being a milspec because of their decision to go with a parkerized finish, but as an RO shooter I can attest to their marketing not just being hype. This thing shoots exactly where you point it. When I'm in the zone I put 5 rounds of my standard 230gr LRN competition load into a less than 2 bullet diameter clover leaf. That's offhand at my normal practice distance of 25 feet.

All I've done to it is added a Dawson FO front sight, G10 grips, extended mag release, SA magwell, and lightened to a 16lb spring. I haven't had a trigger job on it because I bought it at the beginning of last season and it was in constant use.

I do have to admit I continue to kick around the thought of having it hard chromed. But to be fair, that's a solution without a problem. There's nothing wrong with the finish, it just isn't as sexy as my other guns.

Anyway, here's a vote to not discount the RO.

"The Range Officer® has the same quality forged national match frame and slide as the Trophy Match™ and TRP™ 1911s. It gets the same precision fit as these pistols, too."

[Steve RA]

Assuming you like everything about your present gun except the accuracy I'd go for the pro barrel refit.

[Detritus]

Apparently I don't have enough posts yet to use quotes. but to cover a few questions etc.

as far as model/configurations both guns are Identical, they're both Metro Arms American Classic IIs. they've both received the same parts upgrades/swap-outs, S&A magwells, wolf recoil springs, and Wilson slide stops because the factory stops were kind of grotesque looking. Mine was bought first with the intention of it being the subject of future projects/modification. then about two months after I bought it my wife shot it, turned to me said "I want one", sold her XD9 and used the proceeds to get #2.

The only thing that I don't like about my current pistol is it's accuracy. If its accuracy was reasonably close to that of my wife's gun this wouldn't have come up at all. as for shooting them off bags, I did that not too long after she bought hers. Didn't get any empirical measurement (inches etc) but her gun would/will chew the x-ring out of a B27 target, mine even off bags always pitches at least one out into the 9-ring.

[Ronnie j]

Metro Arms American Classic II , replacing the barrel is worth more than the gun. Just replace the gun.

[chirpy]

Might have someone check to see if there is a burr on/in the muzzle. This might account for the inaccuracy. Having that cleaned up or recrowned might work. Like was mentioned, there is more to accuracy than a tight bushing. Otherwise, a new RO would be my vote.

Richard

[Rimcrew]

How is the fit of your current bushing? If it is loose, I would try getting an EGW sized to your barrel. It's inexpensive, and may fix you right up, assuming there are no other major issues.

[Detritus]

will add the EGW bushing to the list of things to try.

I originally bought this pistol intending for it to be a frame and slide I could eventually gut and tinker/build on to my hearts content. But still be able to shoot it for awhile before I tore it down to bare slide and frame and started over, have done a few small things to it but nothing major yet. It may just be time.

Or it could be the EGW bushing makes it shoot like I want and leave me only wanting a shorter trigger and a refinish.

Edited June 16, 2014 by Detritus

[Sandbagger123]

will add the EGW bushing to the list of things to try.

I originally bought this pistol intending for it to be a frame and slide I could eventually gut and tinker/build on to my hearts content. But still be able to shoot it for awhile before I tore it down to bare slide and frame and started over, have done a few small things to it but nothing major yet. It may just be time.

Or it could be the EGW bushing makes it shoot like I want and leave me only wanting a shorter trigger and a refinish.

measure the ID and OD of the bushing and the opening in the slide and then go to Brownells and see if they have a drop in bushing that will work. they are only abut 15 -30 dollars so its cheap enough to experiment with a new bushing to see if it helps your issue

[Butterpuc]

Before buying anything, take your 1911 to your gunsmith and get their opinion. You may not need a barrel at all, re-crown, new match bushing, etc... Who knows.

I love my Range Officer, but I think you should get a gunsmiths opinion first hand.

Edited June 16, 2014 by Butterpuc

[steviesterno]

if you bought it to tinker with it, why not tinker with it? I haven't heard about Metro's holding up to the volume of rounds this sport demands, so I bet long term you'll be looking for a newer gun anyway. Might as well start saving for it while you tinker with the one you have now? or sell it and put the money right into a different 1911, like the RO, so you could have what you really want.

I bought a springer GI with the hopes of building it into a race gun. Well, I would have spent something like $1500 on parts and fitting since I couldn't do it myself, and then I would have had a $2000 1911 worth only $500. In the end, I was better off selling it to someone who wanted that style and buying the style I needed

[Detritus]

Took both pistols out to the range today before work.

I think I may re-evaluate the ideas I've posted here. seems that a great deal of the difference between Trisha's (my wife) gun and Mine was in my head instead of on paper. side by side there wasn't enough difference to amount ot anything Really.

Going to shoot my own 1911 in the September match (will be out of town at the time of the July match, and one of the three 3-gun matches is in august) and see how it goes