1911 Question

While I certainly don't want to disallow anyone their personal choice, I would like to list my reasons for not having a FLGR in a 5" 1911, especially one used as a defensive weapon.

1. First, and foremost, the FLGR interferes with racking the slide one-handed against a shoe, belt, or any other resistive object that presents itself during a gunfight. We don't envisage having an arm disabled in a fight, but it does happen, and having a way to recharge the gun might keep you alive.

2. The 1911 was designed to be fully disassembled with no tools except its own parts. The design of some FLGRs requires special tools just to field strip the gun.

3. The spring in a conventional 5" 1911 is unsupported over about a half inch of its length while at rest. For all practical purposes, it is fully supported during its recoil cycle. There have been no conclusive studies done that show FLGRs improve reliability. My own KISS principle is that the least mechanical complexity naturally gives more reliability, so FLGRs, right-side safeties, extended slide releases, shok-buffs, and the like are not on any of my carry 5" 1911's.


The best 5" 1911 I own is a Wilson CQB designed for the purpose its name suggests. It has a standard guide rod, no right-side safety, no extended slide release, and no shok-buff. It functions flawlessly, and the company guarantees that it will hold 1½" at 25 yards, far better than I can shoot.


Buck
 
Gunsmith? Not!!

Your gunsmith is full of crap. My rationale: He suggested a useless full-length guide rod, he suggested replacing the ejector (the extractor is in the slide, and is held in by the firing pin stop, not by pins), and he suggested "polishing" a nickle frame ramp, and missed COMPLETELY the major problem with where cases are thrown, your extractor. A tiny bit of polishing, not through the nickle, would be okay, and might help, but nickle is slicker than steel, anyway, and I've made lots of "rough" nickle 1911s feed hollowpoints slick as snot. Real gunsmiths know a full length guide rod does nothing for reliability. Unless your ejector is broken, it shouldn't need replacing, though reshaping it might help.

Where a 1911 throws empties is a function of ejector length and shape, extractor tension and shape of its contact surfaces (the biggest contributor), recoil spring strength and rate, and mainspring strength, along with the recoil impulse of whatever round you choose to shoot, and to some degree, how the shooter holds the gun. It is not too hard to set up properly, usually, for someone who knows what he's doing. A smith who tells you the kind of things you've heard is NOT that person!

BTW: Did you try hollowpoints, before going to the alleged gunsmith, or are you taking him at his word that it needs his tender ministrations to feed them? It might not. Sometimes, a good magazine, like a Wilson, Tripp or McCormick PowerMag will feed hollowpoint ammo when Colt mags won't. Replacing the barrel bushing might actually be a good thing, as most Commanders and Combat Commanders have pretty loose ones from the factory. However, too tight is not good, and a stock Commander barrel needs turning down by .002-.004" behind the front .375" of the barrel for a match bushing to be reliable. If you're not going to shoot Bullseye with it, the stock bushing is likely fine, too.

Also, if I understood your post, it sounds like he's planning on replacing the barrel link pin. (The barrel link is held onto the bottom of the chamber portion of the barrel, between the barrel feet, by the link pin. The link was all I could figure out that you might mean by "little ring.") Unless the pin is damaged, I can think of no reason to do that.
 
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Also, only to add to what 38/44 wrote.
Many so called "duty" rear sights are getting away from being fully "no snag" designs. In fact many now tout theirs having 90 degree (but dehorned) forward facing surfaces. These allow racking of the slide on an available object, if required to do so with a wounded wing.
 
Aussie,
The only trouble I've ever had with a shockbuff is one turned to little hard rubber pieces.
 
I would recommend Cylinder and Slide in Fremont Ne. Call for Bill.
Make a list of what you want and send it,asking for a quote.
Bill Laughridge does great work.
 
There is no doubt that your factory 1911 needs some work.

I would send it to a Gunsmith that specialized in 1911's.

I do not use a full length guide rod on a carry gun, except for on my Colt Officers model.

It is a complete system. The recoil spring plunger on the Officers Model has a small lump that holds the spring in place.
They are prone to break. The recoil spring system I use eleminates that weakness.
 
Combat Commander

I have had two over the years, a 9mm and a 45 ACP. Both excellent.

You can polish the feed ramp with some very fine, 400 grit paper your finger and patience.

Both weapons fed with out fail, carried well and I would not have been afraid to have to rely on the for defense.

At 15-20 yards, I could bounce beer cans with the 9mm.
 
If your gun shoots ball well, leave the whole gun alone.

I have more then one 1911 that the link pin falls out of, one of the beauties of JMBs design is everything is held in place by something else. The frame retains the link pin, if you want, have him stake the one that is there.

It sounds to me like you have a perfectly functioning 1911 on your hands (aside from not being designed to run hollowpoints).

I suggest you work with the gun for a while longer, do some research into the 1911 platform, decide what you want, and or need, and then make some decisions on where you want to go with the gun.


As far as throwin brass at your head....Have him tune the extractor and leave the rest alone for awhile.
 
I find it funny that people mention FLGR for self defence issues..You can't rack the slide back by pushing against something in case your shooting arm gets hit.When one of the most used Auto's for police, The Glock and many others -S&W,Sig,Ruger ect ect all have a FLGR.????.The Comments just don't make sense.:rolleyes:

Ken
 
ok, educate me. You are a proffessional gun smith, please explain to me the pros and cons of a FLGR in a 1911 pistol. Thanks, TonyR
 
FLGR Pros: 1. Adds a touch of weight, slightly reducing recoil.
2. Adds money to the pockets of those selling them.
3. May be necessary in guns with reverse recoil spring plugs,
or very short spring tunnels, like Detonics or Officer's ACP.

FLGR Cons: 1. Adds unnecessary weight.
2. Prevents proper pinch-check.
3. Prevents one-hand slide rack.
4. Makes disassembly more difficult.


I may have missed a pro or a con, but those are what jump to the front of my tired, old brain.
 
A well fitted FLGR will improve the consistency of the gun and the rigidity of the gun, and the frame to slide movement.
FLGR allows you to use a much heavier or much lighter recoil spring without worrying about a spring kinking.
Many other pistols (SIG, Glock, S&W, BHP etc..) have them,they are not unreliable
In any 1911 variant shorter than a Commander, they are a necessity to avoid spring binding with the heavier recoil springs
Competition guns where thousands of rounds will be fired through them with frame battering loads they have them
1911s chambered in 10mm or higher pressured rounds will batter the hell out the frame and can crack the frame of the gun
Bill Wilson, Les Baer, Ed Brown, STI, Strayer Voight, Para-Ordnance, S&W performance center, Springfield, and Kimber build almost all their guns with guide rods.
There isn't a single major USPSA competitor I know of who doesn't use a full length guide rod
Reliability and accuracy are critical to winning in these competitions

Negatives
John Moses Browning didn't design it that way
Arm chair experts say so.

Ken
 
I am not trying to convince anyone to go buy one and have it installed,That's your choice.But don't call them crap,They have their place.

Ken
 
1. Adds unnecessary weight. Not noticable
2. Prevents proper pinch-check. You can't use the cocking serrations
3. Prevents one-hand slide rack. See answer for Q2

Ken
 
Aussie44 said:
I am not trying to convince anyone to go buy one and have it installed,That's your choice.But don't call them crap,They have their place.

Ken
Click to expand...
I didn't call them crap. In fact, at present, the 9x23 converted Aegis on my hip has one. I believe I said the the OP's gunsmith was full of crap.

FWIW, a pinch check does not use cocking serrations, and the one-handed slide rack doesn't, either.
 
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