Got a Colt 45 1911. Now what.

[jeff9366]

kOua is correct about the magazine follower spring, or it may be the magazine follower (plate) itself. However, springs usually last a very, very long time even in pistols fired regularly. My expectation is that after liberal lubrication the slide will lock back as it is supposed to. The heavier loads you fired first overcame the slide friction from lack of lube. Now that you have lubed it lighter loads should lock back the slide.

I have posted this to you before: It takes 500 rounds through a Colt Govt Model before you can consider it reliable, in terms of feed, in terms of jams and in terms of slide lock back. You are within the 'normal' break in period when these faults occur.

I have fired my Colt Govt Model to the point where slide/recoil spring needed replacement and I buy Wolff gun springs, though I am sure Wilson are top notch too. The "standard" recoil spring in a Colt Govt Model with 5" barrel is 16 pounds. Stay with this weight. John Browning new what he was up to when he designed the Govt Model and the .45ACP cartridge.

You probably did shoot better groups with the heavy loads which functioned the pistol well. There is nothing like a malfunction of any sort to introduce flinch and lack of confidence, which opens groups.

Have you replaced standard plastic grips with Hogue hard rubber grips?

An un-modified Colt Govt Model is best with FMJ loads. You my have difficulty getting an un-modified barrel to feel hollow points. Not really an issue to me, because when a bullet starts out at .452 inch it has a lot of slap without a hollow point. With a .357 magnum revolver round you HOPE it will open up to .452 or larger on contacting the target. I keep .45 ACP FMJ rounds in the magazine of my home defense Govt Model.

I once killed a large boar with my Govt Model and hollow points. It took six shots, the last shot a 6-8 feet. Scared the be-Jesus out of me. The CCI Lawman 200 grain hollow points only penetrated 1-2" each, until shot #6 which went through the neck, breaking the spine. (Great expansion, though worthless, on the CCI Lawman rounds.) I should have been using 230 grain FMJ........

After this exciting experience, I went back to hog hunting with .44 magnum 'Keith' hard lead semi-wadcutters in a 4" S&W revolver.

 

[N80]

Thanks guys for all the assistance. I contend that TBN is one of the greatest sources of practical info on the internet.

Have not got new grips yet. Will do soon.

I don't think the bullets I was shooting were hollow points.....they did not have 'hollow points' .....but as you can tell, I'm not a pistol guy....so I don't know for sure.

There is another problem with my pistol shooting....my eyes. Close vision gone in both eyes, right worse than left and I'm right eyed. Far vision starting to slip too. Tried to shoot right handed but with my left eye....no go. Not sure bifocal glasses will work. Hoping progressive or bifocal contacts will.

 

[TripleR]

Very good advice by some very knowledgeable people on the .45 GM. I haven't shot mine in some time and have about decided to go with a Sig 220 Elite if I get another .45, I have a Gold Cup and Sig 220 now, but when I was shooting the 1911 variations, I ran into all the issues mentioned and they can generally be dealt with by swapping/replacing springs, mags, a bit of polishing here and there by someone who knows what they are doing and as mentioned, putting a bunch of rounds through it.

I usually wind up getting flamed when discussing the 1911, so I will stop while I am ahead.

 

[dmccarty]

..
There is another problem with my pistol shooting....my eyes. Close vision gone in both eyes, right worse than left and I'm right eyed. Far vision starting to slip too. Tried to shoot right handed but with my left eye....no go. Not sure bifocal glasses will work. Hoping progressive or bifocal contacts will.

My eyes have gotten worse, ain't they were not good to begin with.

My night vision has decrease as well and this year I went out and bought some Truglo Brite Sights. The sights are fiber optic and use Tritium in a variety of colors. The sights really help in low/no light, but even in the daytime, the sights are much easier to see. They don't completely solve the lack of close vision but it helps. I did not see the company listing a 1911 Government model but they have Kimber listed.

Amazon.com: TRUGLO BRITE-SITE TFO KIMBER [Misc.]: Sports & Outdoors

I did not buy from Amazon since I found a cheaper price from another company. I can't remember their name but I think they might have been in GA. Truglo also has coupons on the Internet that can reduce the price. I think these sights were going for around $100 retail near me and I got mine for $75ish? Another guy was smarter than me and found a coupon which helped reduce the price further.

Besides price, the only issue with the sights is cleaning. Don't get cleaning fluid on the sights other wise they might get ruined. I used duct tape, of course, :laughing:, to protect the sights the first time I cleaned the pistol. Not a great idea since you then have to clean the tape glue off the slide.

These sights might not help you since you are using a Colt 45, but for others with close vision issues, and one of the supported pistols, these sights help.

Later,
Dan

 

[RoyJackson]

Boy, I'm late to this party!!

I'd love to have an older 1911 (50's or 60's vintage). I have had a few over the years and still have a Series 70 parkerized Colt.
I read a few comments about recoil being comparable to a .357 Magnum. I never thought the 1911's (I'm writing of the full sized models) were near as snappy as a .357 Magnum...not when that big .45 round moves as slow as it does (800-900 FPS). Also, the 1911's are heavy guns.
Frankly, I think N80's best option is to shoot it and adjust to the recoil.
As far as the vision..well, we all get older and those sights just aren't so easy to see. Bifocals didn't help me much, I hope they work better for N80.

As far as self defense...I don't think anyone will deny a rifle or shotgun is a better choice when defending one's home. However, an attack or assault is as, or more, likely when one is out and about. That's when that carry gun is valuable. But, since N80 has no desire to carry or obtain a permit...moot point.

N80, there's been a lot of good advice on this thread, as far as ammo and shooting methods. The only thing I'll add is, if the recoils is tough on you, wear a good shooting glove to aid in absorbing some of that recoil. Your hands will tougthen up pretty quickly as you break the pistol in...

 

[TripleR]

I have Tru glo sights on one of my G23's and really like them.

I have tactical lights with laser sights on some also.

 

[N80]

I usually wind up getting flamed when discussing the 1911, so I will stop while I am ahead.

I've got friends who are real into handguns. Lots of strong opinions about what's the best. None of them has ever fired a shot in anger or self defense. Lots of time, money and angst over situations that are likely never going to happen to any of them....or any of us for that matter. The truth is that they like to shoot and play with guns. Being prepared for a self defense situation or the communist hoards is pretty much a pretense (and they know it).:laughing:

For me, the few handguns I have are just for fun and to carry in the truck. And my primary attraction to this 45 is that it was free. But, the reason it isn't stuffed in a drawer somewhere and is that I think it is cool. It's old. And I like the way it looks. And it is relatively fun to shoot. And with all the good help I've gotten here it is clear that it isn't going to be worth the money for me to turn it into a high performance pistol. So other than some more comfortable grips it is probably going to remain its cool retro self....and I've even thought of replacing the ugly plastic grips on it with some nice classic wooden grips...which would do nothing for performance but it sure would look even cooler.

And Roy, it wasn't so much that I don't like the recoil....it was just that it is so different from the .357. Its just going to take some time getting used to.

 

[k0ua]

Here are my thoughts on recoil management on the Masterpiece of Mr. Browning. Before I learned how to effectively control the recoil I always held the 1911 with a low grip, and the recoil of course torqued the pistol up with some authority, and I would have to settle the pistol in my grip again. This was fine for single shots in a simple target shooting setting. But it made for very slow recovery for the next shot. Then I learned a better way, (with a lot of help from others) I took a high of a grip as possible with 2 hands. (One handed shooting is for when your other arm is broken or injured and you cannot use it) with both thumbs on the left side of the pistol near the slide but not touching, and the right thumb riding the safety with downward pressure. That is when I discovered hammer bite..What is hammer bite you ask? Well that is what happens when you shoot a standard 1911 with a standard hammer and with a standard grip safety. The hammer now chews out a chunk of the web of your hand between the end of the hammer and the grip safety. There is blood and it really hurts every time the web of your hand sneaks up over the tang of the standard grip safety and gets caught by the hammer. So you can take a low grip to mitigate hammer bite and never really become able to fully control recoil, or you can modify the pistol. A nice beavertail grip safety, and a Commander rowel style hammer or at least a bobbed standard hammer will solve the hammer bite problem and allow a very high grip and allow second shot follow up times somewhere from .10 to .20 seconds. If your double tap splits show .18 on the timer you are doing OK. There is no way I can really control recoil with full house loads on a .45 with a stock pistol. As always YMMV, and you are free to to disagree with me.

James K0UA

 

[N80]

Nothing for me to disagree with.....except it is becoming more clear why the simplicity of a revolver has always appealed to me....:laughing:

So, the beavertail and hammer mods are DIY?

 

[N80]

A little research and it looks like Wilson Combat makes a drop-in beavertail that requires only minor fitting which I can do. It requires a commander style hammer and the same company makes a hammer/sear combo which requires no fitting but some polishing of the sear angle (?) can make it a little crisper. I've had the gun with the slide and barrel off but not sure what is required to change the hammer.