Building a 9mm 1911 for USPSA

[rugerp89ipsc]

As I put together a parts list and look at weight, does anyone have suggestions? I know a 9mm barrel weighs more than the 45 and 40s, but does anyone have advice on what parts to use/stay away from to keep under weight.

Also, do the Caspian Race Ready frames have any issues fitting in the box? I have never seen one in person, but I have a Caspian slide I picked up off a prize table I would like to use for this build.

ETA - This will be fit and assembled by my smith, but I am going to be getting the parts together over the next few months to spread out the costs a bit.

Edited October 29, 2014 by rugerp89ipsc

[2MoreChains]

You can save weight by selecting a few parts made from aluminum/polymer instead of steel, such as MSH, magwells, and even FLGR. Light weight grips also can help. IIRC, wood grips are lighter than G-10, or hog out the back of the G-10 grips. But I would probaby have the gun built as you desired, then weigh. You may be alright as built. Swapping out a few parts (for not that much money) can get you within the 43 oz limit if you need to shed some.

I don't have the exact numbers handy, but when I was concerned that my steel S&A MSH/magwell was going to put me overweight I got one from S&A that was aluminum. I want to say the weight savings was about 1.5 oz. That alone might be enough.

[Aircooled6racer]

Hello: The Caspian Race Ready frame build I had would fit the box. If you need to make it lighter you can use a plastic mainspring housing and titanium parts. You can also turn down the barrel under the slide or flat side the barrel. You can also tri top the slide as well as cutting deeper grasping grooves. Light weight grips is the last way to lighten it. Hope this helps. Thanks, Eric

[cohland]

Here is one approach:

Springfield Range Officer 9mm:
Dawson fiber optic front sight:
Cylinder&Slide tactical II trigger kit:
EGW 1911 Silverline blue bolt-on mag well / flat checkered mainspring housing:
Dawson 9mm magazines 10-round with aluminum base pads:
Regular walnut grips (will have to research source and update this later):

Remove OEM sear, disconnector, hammer.
Remove OEM mainspring housing and internals.
Install EGW mainspring housing and magwell.
Install trigger kit.
Use OEM rear sight, recoil spring, guide, and plug.
Install Dawson front sight.

Result is 42.6 ounces with an empty magazine. Very accurate.

Chris

Edited October 29, 2014 by cohland

[rugerp89ipsc]

Hello: The Caspian Race Ready frame build I had would fit the box. If you need to make it lighter you can use a plastic mainspring housing and titanium parts. You can also turn down the barrel under the slide or flat side the barrel. You can also tri top the slide as well as cutting deeper grasping grooves. Light weight grips is the last way to lighten it. Hope this helps. Thanks, Eric

Thank you. Turning down the barrel was not something I had thought of. The slide is currently bare and rounded at the top, so tri cutting and making the serrations deeper and wider are also good ideas. I have a set of VZ Recons I bought off the Classifieds here on my Springfield 9mm RO that I like a lot. But they are noticeably heavier than the stock wood ones. I'll call up VZ and see if I can get a weight on both those and the wood ones they make also.

[rugerp89ipsc]

Here is one approach:

Springfield Range Officer 9mm:

Dawson fiber optic front sight:

Cylinder&Slide tactical II trigger kit:

EGW 1911 Silverline blue bolt-on mag well / flat checkered mainspring housing:

Dawson 9mm magazines 10-round with polymer baseplates:

Regular walnut grips (will have to research source and update this later):

Remove OEM sear, disconnector, hammer.

Remove OEM mainspring housing and internals.

Install EGW mainspring housing and magwell.

Install trigger kit.

Use OEM rear sight, recoil spring, guide, and plug.

Install Dawson front sight.

Result is 42.6 ounces with an empty magazine. Very accurate.

Chris

Thank you! That is very close to what I am running right now for a Springfield RO 9mm for Steel Challenge. Is there much of a difference between the Dawsons with the plastic base pad and the aluminum? I currently run 001018s.

[cohland]

Here is one approach:

Springfield Range Officer 9mm:

Dawson fiber optic front sight:

Cylinder&Slide tactical II trigger kit:

EGW 1911 Silverline blue bolt-on mag well / flat checkered mainspring housing:

Dawson 9mm magazines 10-round with polymer baseplates:

Regular walnut grips (will have to research source and update this later):

Remove OEM sear, disconnector, hammer.

Remove OEM mainspring housing and internals.

Install EGW mainspring housing and magwell.

Install trigger kit.

Use OEM rear sight, recoil spring, guide, and plug.

Install Dawson front sight.

Result is 42.6 ounces with an empty magazine. Very accurate.

Chris

Thank you! That is very close to what I am running right now for a Springfield RO 9mm for Steel Challenge. Is there much of a difference between the Dawsons with the plastic base pad and the aluminum? I currently run 001018s.

My mistake, the Dawson base pads I have are aluminum,001015. I was thinking of Tripps, but those magazines don't work for me in this gun.

Chris

Edited October 29, 2014 by cohland

[z40acp]

Remove material under the grips from the frame. I think the main spring housing comes with the frame, ask for the aluminum one.

Edited October 30, 2014 by z40acp

[rugerp89ipsc]

Remove material under the grips from the frame. I think the main spring housing comes with the frame, ask for the aluminum one.

Another excellent idea! Thank you. I was hesitant to start this post, but it's already been immensely helpful.

I assume a standard frame is lighter than a recon/railed frame?

[jcc7x7]

Go guide rod and wood grips made wgt. On mine. Alum ice mag well gives a magin of error by an oz.

[jcc7x7]

G I guide rod

[Aircooled6racer]

Hello: A Briley aluminum guide rod is about a third of the weight of a steel guide rod. Sean at Power Factor Shooting has them. Crap now you have me wanting to make a single stack 9mm for USPSA. Thanks, Eric

Edited October 30, 2014 by Aircooled6racer

[cohland]

Update: I believe that the grips on my gun are probably Hogue Fancy Hardwood grips from MidwayUSA. I tried Alumagrips Regular lightweight very aggressive, VZ, and Altamont regular, and found them all to be too heavy. My gun has an ambi safety, so that was a factor in getting grips.

In deciding what to put on the gun, I had to establish priorities because I knew I was going to have to make some compromises to meet the weight limit.

First priority was an ambidextrous thumb safety, because I'm left-handed. There is some weight added here.

Second priority was a trigger kit and front sight. No real weight consideration there.

Third priority was a magwell, a must for me. The EGW magwell I listed is steel, so it does add some weight but it will probably not wear out. Note that the Springfield Range Officer MSH contains non-standard parts to provide their safety lock. I discarded all of those parts, along with the OEM MSH, and replaced the internals with standard parts and the mainspring from the trigger kit.

Then I just swapped several sets of grips until found some that made weight, and called it good.

I would have liked to have a full length guide rod, but it's purely optional for me.

In my case I've now got a 42.6 ounce gun shooting PF 130 ammunition, so it's very easy to control. Additional checkering on the front strap would have been a waste of money for me.

I never considered using a gun more expensive than the Springfield Range Officer in 9mm, mainly because a new one cost about $800 locally. The Range Officer is a very good platform for my purposes and skill level.

Chris

Edited October 30, 2014 by cohland

[rugerp89ipsc]

Yall rock!! Thanks guys, this has been a huge help.

[Joe D]

My 9mm RO weighs 42.4 oz. steel FLGR, S&A magwell, square bottom wooden grips and Dawson FO front. It feeds flawlessly from Checkmate 10 rd 38 Super mags. I do load out to 1.200" with a 160 gr lead bullet. Replaced the SA sear with an EGW sear. I do that on all 1911s. Trigger pull is at 1 1/4 lbs. Had to make the pull the same weight as my Glock triggers.

[cohland]

My 9mm RO weighs 42.4 oz. steel FLGR, S&A magwell, square bottom wooden grips and Dawson FO front. It feeds flawlessly from Checkmate 10 rd 38 Super mags. I do load out to 1.200" with a 160 gr lead bullet. Replaced the SA sear with an EGW sear. I do that on all 1911s. Trigger pull is at 1 1/4 lbs. Had to make the pull the same weight as my Glock triggers.

It weighs 42.4 oz with an empty magazine installed? That's great, I wasn't able to get there using an FLGR with the other parts I chose.

Chris

Edited November 1, 2014 by cohland

[rugerp89ipsc]

Thanks again. Sold a scope this week and will be buying a frame to go with my slide shortly. Any suggestions on barrels to start pricing and watching for, or are barrels still in short supply?

[Nickb45]

Awesome thread! I just got a Citadel 9mm I plan to use for single stack.

[robertg5322]

Thanks again. Sold a scope this week and will be buying a frame to go with my slide shortly. Any suggestions on barrels to start pricing and watching for, or are barrels still in short supply?

I've had good luck with Kart Easy Fit barrel/bushing sets in two .40 S&W guns; one a Caspian High Cap and the other a Kimbrr I tur ned into a .40 from a .45.

[rugerp89ipsc]

Would a Bomar rear be any weight savings over a Novak?

[entropic]

My 9mm STI Sentry was about a half ounce heavy at a major match last year. I thought getting bumped for weight was only for people who put tungsten guide rods in their guns and didn't weigh them to check. I was wrong. I finished the year out with a Briley aluminum guide rod and will also tri-top it soon.

[robertg5322]

Not sure if a Bomar adds or subtracts weight. Kind of moot, gun comes with S/A's version of a Bomar, can't make a Novak work if I wanted to without some welding.

Ditching the FLGR and using a GI unit, and hollowed out wood grips with sandpaper gets me where I need to be. With EGW magwell, i have about 1 oz to spare.

[rugerp89ipsc]

I have a Caspian slide that isn't cut for sights yet I had planned on using is why I ask.

I have a Springfield RO in 9mm that is cut with a Bomar, but the Novak style replacement I have seen for it is so large I can't imagine it saves any. Idunno how much sights vs steel from slide weight though. Sights are pretty light.

[robertg5322]

I can't imagine saving more than a GRAIN or two between Novak and Bomar sights. You probably save as much going from the stock .120" width front sight to a .09" fiber optic unit. Worth it if you want a Novak (I dont) or .09" width fiber optic sight (I do), but not making any significant difference in weight.

Not worth the hassle of not being able to adjust them if you ask me (just one man's opinion).

Like I said, I think the FLGR is an anchor on these guns. Swap out for a GI model or the Briley aluminum version (no idea which of these is lighter, though the Briley will make your wallet slightly lighter than a $6.00 GI guiderod).

Wood grips are lighter than G10 or VZ from what I've read, especially since Hogue now appears to hollow them out for you. I used smooth grips with custom cut (by me) grip tape on them. Super tacky; the good definition of tacky, not gauche (especially when you put a strip on the front strap if it's not checkered), super cheap and don't look bad either.

I weighed mine with GI guide rod installed, Hogue smooth wood grips with skate tape installed, and Ed Brown magwell/MSH borrowed from my .40 1911. Came to 41.6 oz. with empty Metalform magazine with plastic base. I also believe Dawson's aluminum base pads probably add some weight over the plastic one available from Tripp or Metalform, though I don't have one to weigh.

Based on that, I ordered the EGW magwell (same design as Ed Brown but about $30.00 cheaper). When it gets here, I'll install it and see how it comes out, though I expect to be at about 41.6 oz.

Reason for not using Dawson aluminum MSH/Magwell; I like to keep the from of the mag well open so I can use the magazine I"m about to insert to strip a stuck magazine from the gun when they don't drop free (not too common, but when it happens, I seem to automatically swipe it free with the mag in my hand awaiting insertion). Can't do that with the Dawson. Pity, I like the Dawson unit.

[rugerp89ipsc]

Yeah, I think wood grips, GI guide rod and some slide work sounds like it will get me under weight. I always prefer adjustable sights so I can sight my pistol in to my ammo, but was curious if there was any weight difference.

I plan on using an Smith/Alexander Magwell vs a Dawson just so my mags I have right now will work and I don't have to get another set of mags. Plus being able to strip the mag like you mentioned is always important, especially when you don't have much real estate to grab onto like a single stack mag.