Need help fitting a bushing barrel!

[Conqueror]

Hi all,

I'm putting a threaded bushing barrel into my Springfield TRP operator, which came factory with a bull barrel. The EFK barrel came with a matched bushing and link.

At first, the barrel completely would not slide into the slide. The sides of the barrel lugs were hitting the channel between the spring guide and the barrel. I lightly polished the area with hand files and the barrel slid home nicely.

That's when I started having the true problem. In battery, with the bushing installed and the slide stop in place, the barrel locks up fairly well. However, I can't pull the slide all the way back. I can pull the slide about 3/4 of the way back, and then something jams. At the slide's maximum rearward travel, there's about 1/2" of the barrel hood still visible in the ejection port.

I tried forcing it, creating a couple rub marks on the barrel, and I polished those areas, but it's not helping. I've been polishing various spots for maybe a half hour now and I decided to stop and make a thread before I do something irreversible. Seems like, no matter what I polish, the slide won't go any further back when I pull on it. The gun always returns to battery fine when I push the slide forward, and the barrel always locks up properly.

Anyone encountered this before when fitting a 1911 barrel? Any help would be most appreciated, I'm really not anxious to spend $100 and 3 months to have my gunsmith fit the barrel.

Thanks,

CQ

[benny hill]

The barrel lugs are to high, do NOT cut them,instead lightly file down the 2 ridges where the barrel lays in the frame, keeping the correct angle for thw barrel to lay in. About 8-12 thou.'s should do it. Then the barrel will drop down out of the wat of the slide.

[Conqueror]

Benny - thanks for the reply, but if your diagnosis is correct I'd rather not alter the frame. I still plan on using the factory barrel in this gun; the new one is only for use with a suppressor. Can I correct this without cutting the frame or slide? Or will filing those ridges even affect the use of the previous (very-well-fitted) bull barrel?

Also, there are no - repeat, ZERO - rub marks on top of the locking lugs. Not sure if that affects your opinion...

Edited November 9, 2007 by Conqueror

[Conqueror]

Oh, one more thing: the barrel doesn't slide freely even with the top end OFF the frame. That suggests that no amount of frame alteration will fix the problem. Thoughts?

[TimBoettcher]

Oh, one more thing: the barrel doesn't slide freely even with the top end OFF the frame. That suggests that no amount of frame alteration will fix the problem. Thoughts?

Benny wasn't talking about altering your frame in any way. He was refering to the "top" part of your barrel where the two "big grooves" are at.

Tim

[open17]

Oh, one more thing: the barrel doesn't slide freely even with the top end OFF the frame. That suggests that no amount of frame alteration will fix the problem. Thoughts?

Bushing not allowing the barrel to tip down at the chamber end enough to

clear the locking lugs? Is it showing rub marks on the barrel on top at the

muzle end of the bushing, and on the bottom of the barrel at the chamber end

of the bushing?

[Conqueror]

I tried opening up the bushing a bit, it has helped some but I don't want to go too far. I have it now to the point where I can FORCE it to slide all the way back without too much effort, but it's still significantly rubbing somewhere. So far the barrel still seems to lock up tightly in the bushing, but I don't want to have to make it "loose" and sacrifice accuracy. But I'm fairly certain it's a bushing issue, which pisses me off because the barrel came with a "matched" bushing.

[HSMITH]

Get a sharpie marker and color EVERYTHING. It will show where it is contacting easily.

[Conqueror]

Did that already, and it didn't help. I polished every rub point it showed, and the barrel still isn't smooth.

[HSMITH]

You don't need to open the bushing up if the bushing is what is holding it up, you need to relieve it where the barrel is contacting when it drops. If you open it up you make it loose, of you relieve it where it needs to be to drop you won't make it loose. Go after it again with the marker or take it to a pistolsmith for a little help.