Just bought a 1991a1, 45 auto, Government model. Took it to the range and fired about 20 rounds through it. No problems. However, the trigger pull is excessive. Without measuring it I would guess 6 lb at least. I need to have this reduced to 3 1/2 to 4 lbs. Anyone on here from the Tacoma/Lakewood/Lacey/Olympia area that can recommend a good gunsmith? I really don't want to do this DIY.

Sorry for putting this on a S&W forum but I have always gotten good advice from the members here.

Congrats on the 1911, they're sweet pistols!!!



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MSP - Retired

in 1965 after Coast Guard Boot Camp, I worked in the District armory for about six moths until I went off to school. They trained the recruits and had about 500 1911s. I had to clean and maintain all the weapons. I fell in love with the 1911. They just seem to fit my hand like a glove. I bought one in 1980, a Combat Commander. Unfortunately in 1984 I got transfered to Washington DC (before Heller) so I sold it to a cop. I decided it was time to get another. I got it through the military exchange for 10% off list and no tax so it was a bargain. But I still have my S&W combat masterpiece and will probably shoot it a lot more than the colt. The ammo is far less expensive.

Hi Coastie! No, you're not in the wrong forum: you posted correctly in "Other Brands." You say .45ACP ammo is more expensive than .38 Spl. Can be, but I see a lot of ACP ammo in Walmart in 50 and 100 round packs for not a lot of $. My LGS carries W-W generic hardball for about $13 a box of 50. That's not that bad. Gotta shop around!

Kaaskop49
Shield #5103

I bought my first GM back in 1986, during a Colt strike.The trigger was so bad I couldn't get it on paper.
It was returned to a factory authorized smith named Campbell Irvin. He called and told me it was the worst trigger he'd ever seen on any 1911.
A week later it was returned with a sweet as sugar trigger. I still have it today.

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Sure you did

Thanks for the tip Kaaskop. Problem tho. My range doesn't allow copper jacketed ammo, so no FMJ. I had to shop around for target ammo with a plastic jacketing. That stuff really fouls the bore. No problem finding hardball.

I bought a Combat Commander back in 1980. Everything was perfect right out of the box. Too bad that isn't the case now. I have gotten a few leads on a gunsmith here so I should have it worked on soon.

Peter, thanks for your service. shoot it a couple hundred rounds and it should get better. you need to find a place out n the country where you can shoot ball ammo. I've had a 1991A1 since 91 and it took a while to "marry" all the internal parts and it shoots like a dream. lee

Thanks Lee, you too. Outdoors it is. Up until now the weather here has been rain, rain, rain, ad infinitum...... Rainiest Spring on record. So shooting outdoors hasn't been an option, unless you don't mind getting everything wet. BUT, now that the sun has finally graced us with it's presence I'll get to use the army range at Fort Lewis. They don't care what kind of ammo you shoot.

Ron Soderquist of Cherokee Firearms is really good. He is retired AF. I'll see if I have his contact info if you want. He is located in Spanaway.

Cory

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Cory
SWCA #3015 SWHF #465

That would be great. Thanks. If you don't have it, I imagine I can find him.

You need to find another range. I've never heard such nonsense, and I've been at the wrong end of some ridiculous range BS.

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Release the Kraken

Yep, sounds really odd not to allow FMJ.

Try just shooting more. It should smooth out and become cleaner and a little lighter

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If you just convert it to a 70 series firing system, very easy to do, it will reduce the weight by about two pounds and be a lot cheaper than having a trigger job done. All it takes is removing the levers and replacing with a spacer and taking out the plunger in the slide. If you can completely strip the gun down, you can do this job, Brownell's sells the spacer, you just need to figure out the thickness needed with a mic. The spacer runs a few bucks and your done, very easy.

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Dave Ramsey Cultist

Went to a new range closer to home to check the place out. Didn't stay long. Just shot 3 magazines, 21 rds. But trigger is getting better. Winchester FMJ 230 gr at 50 feet. Shot my S&W K-22 as well. Didn't photo target.

Peter, the 1911 is about the easiest semi on the planet to work on. It's so simple that you can do a full detail strip of the frame with nothing more than a small nail pried out of a boot heal and a rock picked up from a muddy trench. Putting them back together is just about as easy if they are the "series 70" variant but with a "series 80" you will want a bit of cold vaseline to act as a "glue" while you get the trigger lever for the firing pin block back in place along side the hammer and sear. I'll also note that for a detail strip you do not have to remove the grip panels, thus the reason you only need a small nail and a rock to act as a hammer.

Trigger tuning is also quite simple but without any experience I would advise simply purchasing a leaf spring that is already tuned for a lighter trigger pull. Because in theory if you don't have the leaves bent correctly it's possible you may encounter a disconnector failure that on rare occasions could result in a "chain fire". I believe that both Ed Brown and Wilson Combat offer pre-tuned leaf springs for the 1911. You can also purchase EDM machined trigger and hammer combination sets that are pre-tuned to provide a really crisp and smooth trigger. What I am saying is that you can purchase drop in tuning kits for the 1911 and they are quite easy to install.

I flat out do not understand any range banning jacketed ammunition. One range I shoot at spends 10,000 dollars per month on HEPA filters for their air handling system and to reduce costs they have now banned lead bullets for all center fire calibers because the lube produces too much "smoke".

To cut down on the costs for you ammo I would suggest that you consider loading your own. Currently a 230 grain plated RN from Extreme Bullets runs about 12.5 cents. Figure on about 3 cents for a primer and another 3 cents for powder and you have a total component cost of 18.5 cents per round. As for the cost of a case, the 45 ACP is a low pressure caliber and as a result you can expect about 30-40 reload cycles on a case that costs about a dime for a once fired case. End result is that you can load the 45 ACP for under 20 cents per round or about 10 dollars for a box of 50 rounds.

Peter,

I have an early version of the 1991-A1 and it is the best of about 5 Colt's I have owned. My trigger is about 4+ lbs with only a tiny bit of creep but very satisfactory for a sport/range gun and it was almost free to get it this way. Do a complete strip and clean the trigger parts completely and when you go to reassemble it and liberally apply Gunslick to the trigger, sear and spring. Put it back together and go shoot the snot outta it but DO NOT clean the gunslick out for about 6 + months (providing you shoot it regularly) and you will notice an improvement very quickly. Gunslick is a nasty, black substance with graphite but WILL polish the mating surfaces after some time. I have done this with many guns and got pretty nice 'poormans' trigger improvement on all of them.

Thanks for the advice. This new range allows everything but aluminum casings. Interesting. Of course, they collect the brass. Anyhow, I will wait until I have shot a few hundred rounds through this before I start messing with it. I was detail stripping 1911's back in the 60's when I was right out of bootcamp, but I just don't want to mess with it. I'll do the field strip (no tools required) and keep it clean until I'm ready and then if the trigger pull is still bad I'll take it to a gunsmith. I'll also have him put some decent sights on it. Other than that it is a great shooter. Not as light weight as the Combat Commander I had back in the 80's but still, it's hard to beat a 1911. But I still enjoy my S&W.