Model 1911 Guide Rod

[chief38]

I've been shooting 1911's for 46 years and have always used the Factory (regular standard length) Guide Rods. I have had ZERO problems. I believe some guys just "buy into" the concept of benefits they are told a full length offers, however in the real world don't mean much. IMHO don't waste your money. If a full length GR does anything a regular one doesn't - I am unaware of what!

 

[stansdds]

Guess I can confess now that I exited USPSA competition about 20 years ago. I built up a 1911 purely for competition. Having shot my first classification courses and immediately classed myself into the middle of the C-class pack, I felt I needed every little bit of advantage I could get. Got myself a nice Ernie Hill belt system, holster and mag carriers, had a BoMar rear sight installed, chamber reamed a Bar-Sto barrel for better feeding, and practiced a lot. Also played with spring rates and bullet weights, trying to get the muzzle back on target as fast as possible because I wanted to win and move up.



One of my last efforts was to mess with the recoil spring guide. I had a Wilson Group Gripper, full length rod with the back hollowed out and a cross pin that held a leaf spring. Interesting contraption. I removed the spring, melted some lead, and filled the rod with lead, the cross spring did a great job of retaining the lead. It added a little more weight ahead of the trigger area and no one bothered to weigh my customized 1911. In addition to becoming an IPSC/USPSA certified range officer, I made B-class and was eyeing the relatively new (at the time) Para-Ordnance receivers and an A-class card when an injury ended my competition semi-career.


So there may be, or at least once upon a time there was, an advantage to the full length guide rod.

 

[chief38]

I find that MANY sports Competitions are not only reliant on a skill level, equipment level, but they are also a confidence and mental game as well. Believing something will help might trick someone into believing it - who knows!

Back when I was a high school swimmer, some of the top swimmers on my team shaved their heads, arms, legs and chest. I never did but my times and performance never suffered. I just didn't buy into leg and arm hair at 16 years old was going to slow me down any measurable amount. IMHO - a mental game.

 

[LVSteve]

I’ve never found a benefit in flgr. I suspect that their desirability is primarily a cool look rather than anything functional.

They do screw up a proper press check.

As a non-owner of a true 1911 (FLGR or not), how does it affect a press check, unless what you call a press check is different to my understanding.

 

[stansdds]

As a non-owner of a true 1911 (FLGR or not), how does it affect a press check, unless what you call a press check is different to my understanding.

1911's have not always come with forward slide serrations, so those who liked to do a press check to see if the chamber was loaded would place a finger over the recoil spring plug area and press the slide far enough to unlock the breech and expose the cartridge case head. With a full length guide rod, the slide will not move far enough to the rear to unlock the breech before the guide rod is pressed hard into the finger. Personally, I never did a press check, sticking a finger under the muzzle of a loaded firearm never struck me as a really good idea.

 

[Greyman50]

Tried them in one of my Series 70 and LW Commander years ago, no improvements at all, if anything more “ issues”. Consider, John Browning didn’t use one in the design.

 

[rosewood]

Old JMB knew what he was doing. If they needed flgr he would have used one.

I agree, but he built it as a military work horse and it is perfect for that.

I like the full length because it makes the action so much smoother. I have a 24lb recoil spring in my P16-10 and it doesn't feel no where near that heavy to rack. I swear the 45 1911 with the standard guide rod and a 16 lb spring is just as hard to rack.

The rod in my p16-10 is a 2 piece which I found I like the one piece better, but have never had it come loose even in the hot loads. In fact, it seems to tighten up.

A FLGR may be a bit more of a chore to disassemble, but I don't find it a big deal.

Rosewood

 

[surfgun]

Tried em’ ditched em.’ Never looked back.