"Best" 45 ACP maker?

[BigBill]

Wasted money on features......

Ok with the full length guide rod kit with the 18# recoil spring.

Fact;

I installed the 18# recoil spring in my norinco with no full length guide rod.
As I pulled back the slide I could hear the stronger recoil spring binding and
and making a spring jumping noise as its coiling up. I installed the full length guide rod and the noise is gone.

Now with the full length rod(FLGR) kit with the 18# recoil spring I notice my norinco has under 2" of straight up recoil. No movement of side to side at all. Plus it cycles smoother and faster because of the less over travel of the slide. The stronger recoil spring cuts down on the cycle timing because of the over travel. She cycles so fast now she's like a low budget race gun.
Let's say I can out two shots in the same place in mili-seconds. It cycles that fast.

Now every used 1911 has more frame rail wear in the front section of the frame rails over the rear section. This excessive horizontal wear raises a question as to what causes it on every used 1911 I looked at? Now remember the recoil spring binding noise I heard without the FLGR? Since its wear that seems to be more in the horizontal side to side plane I'm thinking the recoil spring binding is loading the horizontal forces even more when it's fired. Maybe the shorter guide rod acts as a lever putting more horizontal forces than we realize as its cycling. There is no other explanation why this wear is occurring nor what causes it.

Experiment,
I wanted to prove this. With my brand new Auto-Ordnance Army WW 2 1911 I cleaned it, installed the FLGR W/18# recoil spring and lubed every moving part with moly. We hammered it non stop for two range outings of 250 rounds. A total of 500 rounds and feeling no wear or looseness at the front rails. After disassembly no wear is visible too. I believe the front frame horizontal wear is caused by the recoil spring binding as it coils plus its also seeing more force as it cycles from firing.

I install the FLGR KIT in all my 1911a1 pistols and there clones(llama).

If you can explain to me what's causing more wear at the front frame rails horizontally over the rear section please do so. I been a lead engineering tech for 20 years we did r&d, development of new products, life testing, find the root causes why things break and wear out. I can only say what I'm seeing where the wear is coming from. Funny I ask this question on most of the gun forums and the 1911 forums and no one answers. Every used 1911 has this front frame rail wear so it's no fluke.

 

[Bat Guano]

My Colt 1911, built in 1913. If it was good enough for Pike Bishop, it's good enough for me. It's been all downhill ever since.

Those teeny little sights ARE getting a little hard to see, though. Might have to get new glasses.

 

[george minze]

If I had the money, or if the cost were not a hindrance, or I won the lotto I would buy one of Wayne Novak's Colt Commanders in 38 super...Of course with all of the combat enhancements that I thought I needed..Notice I said "thought I needed"......Perfection is hard to beat at any price.....The end use should dictate the end results.....Every thing (I),need and nothing I don't need....Sometimes that is a very difficult determination......I'll know it when I see it.....Maybe in the next life......

 

[johngalt]

Wasted money on features......

If you can explain to me what's causing more wear at the front frame rails horizontally over the rear section please do so. I been a lead engineering tech for 20 years we did r&d, development of new products, life testing, find the root causes why things break and wear out. I can only say what I'm seeing where the wear is coming from. Funny I ask this question on most of the gun forums and the 1911 forums and no one answers. Every used 1911 has this front frame rail wear so it's no fluke.

I'm not at home to examine mine, but I don't remember seeing any unusual/excessive wear on the front of the rails vs the back. I also don't have any spring binding that you described.

I'm a bit skeptical of heavy recoil springs. They aren't needed for standard pressure loads, which is all I shoot. Heavy springs also cause more battering when the slide closes.

If you have tight match bushings (I do), a FLGR is a real pain when stripping/reassembling for cleaning. My Kimber had a FLGR, it didn't take me long to replace it with the standard short GI style.

 

[Waywatcher]

Heavy springs do not make it easier to recover from recoil. In fact, the opposite is true, and 'race guns' invariably have very very light recoil springs, even for normal power loads.

The people winning matches where speed and accuracy are paramount (e.g. USPSA) are not using heavier springs; they are using lighter. If something could make those competitors a fraction of a second faster, they will use it. And they don't use heavy springs.

 

[federali]

A Right to Assume

Retired LTC did say he was looking for a "high end" .45 ACP. Only the 1911 comes in very low, low, middle, high-middle, high-end, and really-high-end flavors.

All the remaining plastic wonders are just that. There's no wide price differential on a Glock or a Smith unless there's something uniquely collectable about a specific gun or perhaps the gun has provenance linking it to a famous or infamous person or moment in history.

 

[oldRoger]

Assuming that "want" means sometime soon, say within a year, you can likely forget the better known custom makers many/most of whom are booked way beyond 2 years.

I was able to find a spot in SV-I's (Infinity) book and get my single stack in about 18 months, but that was damn fool luck and special pleading. I wanted it for my 78th birthday and claimed that I was unlikely to survive 3 or 4 years on the wait list.

A 1911 made by most any of the custom makers is a thing of joy to look at a shoot.

I have a Colt 1911 A1 which was extensively worked over by Jim Clark in the 60's and has been back a couple of times for refreshment. It is a great bullseye gun.

My S&W PC 1911 is a first rate all around pistol.

If I was looking for an out-of-the- box .45 acp target gun I would seriously consider a Pardini---it is not a 1911.

 

[G.T. Smith]

I don't know about the "best", but I actually broke down and bought a brand new Colt Government .45. I field stripped it and lubed it up a little and took it out and shot several rounds of 230 grain ball and a few 230 grain JHP's and had no malfunctions at all. Shoots where I point it. I like it. $937 OTD W/ a box of shells. I like the ease of disassembly and availability of parts. It's in the family now. I always shoot my S&W 65 and 37 after shooting it so they don't feel left out.
Peace,
Gordon

 

[BigBill]

I do notice my norinco with the heavier 18# recoil spring, the FLGR, plus the disconnector ramp to me it cycles faster because of less over travel.
That decreases the cycle timing. The FLGR does two purposes it adds weight up front to keep the recoil down. Plus it keeps the recoil spring operating at its full potential by keeping it straight not coiling or binding.

The disconnected ramp. If you assemble a empty slide and work the slide on the frame every time it functions over the disconnector there is a well felt "bump" as the slide goes over the disconnector plunger. The ramp begins under the bottom of the slide below the firing pin hole. Do not go too deep with this angled ramp. You must stay well below where the round feeds out of the magazine. The top of the ramp should be equal in height to the disconnector to eliminate the bump as the slide goes over it when it cycles.

Even a no frills low budget 1911 with a few adjustments can be accurate.

 

[fdw]

I like my RI 1911A.

1. It's reliable

2. I shoot it better than any other gun I own

3. It costs $419

I've handled much more expensive 1911s and would not pay much more for one, although I could certainly afford it.

So, does that mean it's the best? Well for me it is...

(nothing would damper my spirits more than to bring home a finicky $1,800 gun)

 

[gm272gs]

If Colt would just go back to making the Gold Cup National Match in 70 series, they would get me to buy another one.

That said, a 70-series Gold Cup National Match from 1970-1980 is pretty ideal. Mine hails from 1978 and it is perfect (at least for me). It's getting awfully hard to find one used nowadays for less than $1,600.00, however.

If you go pricing new "high end" custom stuff, you'll get into that price range rather quickly !

 

[george minze]

While in the Marines I qualified with a government 1911, Who remembers the original make..It seemed as I remember sloppy compared to even off the shelf 1911s. My first Gold Cup was a super pistol to me until I shot one of the top notch rebuilds of the day....As I went up the ladder from sharpshooter to expert I wanted more. After finally reaching master I found that no matter how good the pistol I was never going to be competitive in the Master class...I was a happy and somewhat successful expert....Time, training and dedication to the sport was found to be more important than equipment. In my case at least. By then I was a working cop with a cops wages and ability to train.....Also Maybe I had reached my potential....I ended up shooting combat courses and had a reasonable amount of success...The one time my life depended on it I survived.....The ultimate success...