Here's a little tip many of you may not be aware of. What do you do if you should have to field strip your 1911 in the field and you lose the recoil spring plug. Insert the spare, of course!

A piece of .45 ACP brass will fit your need. John Browning thought of everything!

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Ed

How did you figure that out? Personal experience in the field?
Pretty nifty fix.

Actually, I read it somewhere. It was new to me at the time so when I came across the picture today, I thought I'd pass it on.

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Ed

That thing can't be any good.. It's all steel and only holds 7 rounds... Yea Mr. Browning might have thought of a few things...

Very cool,learn something new everyday!

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Hue 68 noli me tangere

I have never heard of this but it makes sense.

You are still in trouble if you installed a full length guide rod.

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S&WHF 366

Mr. Browning would probably turn over in his grave at the thought of a full length guide rod.

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CSM, U S Army(Ret) 1963-1990

John Browning was a genius.

and a patriot, despite being from a despised minority group.

Geoff
Who notes JMB lived in very interesting times of small arms technology.

what. a white male.

this has been posted recently.. i think by paladin?... but yeah, i did not know about it either

Has anybody actually tried this out by shooting the gun like this???

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Forum consigliere

I carry two empty .45 casings in my range bag. Mr. Browning was a smart man.

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Mike
S&WCA #3065

After checking Paladin's post, yes, that's where I read it. Didn't mean to steal your thunder Paladin but maybe more guys are aware of this little trick now. As for the long spring guides, I don't believe they were around when Mr. Browning came up with this idea. Anyway, you all keep your attention on that front sight and enjoy your shooting.

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Ed

There's on of those plugs hiding in my basement somewhere! Wear your goggles!

Know fact of 1911's since 1911...

I lost one once, since then I have always carried a spare in my gun box. I have never tried a .45 case as a substitute, but have also read about it working in a pinch. When I lost mine, I thought about making my own but decided it was easier to buy another real one for $8.00 than spending an hour or two of my life.

It'll work, but the barrel bushing wouldn'y "lock" in place so it could end up rotating.

Never happened to ME, of course. That's why I carry a spare in my field kit . . ..

No, it has never happened to me either.

However, I was working a part time security job in a grocery store when something odd happened. I was scheduled to leave there and go directly to the PD for my 3-11 shift. As I was standing up front, next to the shopping buggies, I heard a loud "SPOROIIING" behind me. I turned and rolling around on the floor was eight .45 ACP rounds, as well as a magazine spring and the (formerly) welded on floorplate.

I gathered up my ammo and stepped out of sight long enough to drop the empty magazine and insert a loaded mag. I worked that shift with three extra mags instead of four.

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John 3:16
WAR EAGLE!

Have never lost the plug but I was putting together my bull barrel/reverse plug Springfield Armoury 1911 once when the recoil spring slid clear of the barrel lug. The standard length guide rod went sailing into the air, hit the man cave roof and landed I knew not where.

Searched all weekend without finding it then first thing Monday morning ordered a new guide rod. It arrived, was fitted to the pistol and all sweet.

Then about 3 months later I knocked something behind the gunsafe. I pulled out all of the boxes around the sides, lay down to reach behind the safe to pick up what had fallen and yes, you guessed it, picked up the "missing" guide rod.

I now have a spare in my spare parts box.

You gotta be careful with springs! A few years ago, I was cleaning a magazine, and when I was trying to put it back together, it came apart and the spring launched into outer space...or so I thought, since I couldn't find it anywhere. My wife had been wrapping Christmas presents in the adjacent living room, and was putting her supplies away. I gave up on finding it, and ordered a new one.

The next year, when my wife got out her Christmas wrapping supplies, she asked me "What the heck is this?" The errant spring had flown from the kitchen into the living room and landed unnoticed in her gift wrap box!

That will work in a pinch, but a real 1911 recoil spring plug has a tab punched into its body that will capture the open end of the recoil spring. This was to keep the plug and spring together so that the plug would not go flying to destinations unknown during cleaning.

That's what I'd rather do than to take a chance with the bushing rotating. Spare plug $4 at Sarco.

.45 1911 Recoil Spring Plug

It was designed with that solution in mind

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Expect the unexpected

A good way to ruin a barrel bushing