Range Report On Colt 1911 11 ( Walther)

[AzShooter]

I've been looking for a replacement 22 for the GSG 1911 22 I gave him a few years ago. He enjoyed shooting mine so much I let him have it. It took me 2 years to find a replacement, a Colt 1911 22 from Walther.

This gun has the looks and feel of a Standard Colt. I ordered a Government version from Sportsman's Warehouse. When it came in I was pleased to find a Gold Cup Trophy instead.

Main differences are the Gold Cup comes with fully adjustable sights. Pachmeyer grips and a better trigger although mine tested out at 9 pounds on my Lyman Digital Scale. I also ordered a fiber optic front sight. Indoors I was having trouble seeing the Shoot & See targets.

I ordered a Cylinder & Slide trigger kit and the poundage went down to 4.5 pounds. I couldn't replace the mainspring because I didn't have the right mini micro metric wrench to pull out the Main Spring.

I tested it with 200 rounds of Aguila SE followed by the 38 grain CCI Blazers and didn't have one FTF or FTF out of the 300 shots.

Wouldn't you know it, when I got home from the range the C&S enhancements showed up so I spent the better part of 1/2 hour installing the parts. Everything was set up correctly and required no fitting at this point. Trigger is now 4 pounds 5 ounces and breaks nice and clean.

While putting the thumb safety back on I lost the retention pin and had to order one. I had a guess I would lose it so I bout 3 extras and 2 extra springs. Good thing because tonight I lost the plunger. It will be here Friday.

Shooting was fun. I spent an hour and it feels just like one of my old Colt 1911 45s. 80% of the parts are interchangeable so I'm in luck. It was easier then I thought it would be. A lot simpler than the Kit for my Ruger Mark IVs but a lot quicker to install.

I ordered a better thumb safety and a checkered mainspring housing to get the trigger pull down even further. I should have everything completed before my next range trip, this following Wednesday which happens to be my 70th birthday.

I'll test it for function and reliability Wednesday and If I can hit well at 25 yards I'll shoot it as a backup gun at Steel Challenge Matches. I think this will be one of my best investments. Either way I'm going to keep it. My new thoughts are to keep my guns instead of selling them off. I retired and don't need to replace the money.

 

[KSDeputy]

You can't go wrong with a Walther. I collect them, the smaller series that has been fired once at the factory. I love the feel of them in my hand.

 

[stansdds]

For anyone with a Hi-Power or 1911 and wants upgraded fire control parts, Cylinder and Slide is hard to beat.

 

[Greyman50]

An old armorers trick on slide lock and safety Retention spring is to put Slight Bend in the spring close to middle of spring. Sort of “ sticks spring in tube and prevents spring from “ launching” itself and safety plunger pin into parts unknown.

 

[AzShooter]

An old armorers trick on slide lock and safety Retention spring is to put Slight Bend in the spring close to middle of spring. Sort of “ sticks spring in tube and prevents spring from “ launching” itself and safety plunger pin into parts unknown.

Thank you very much for that idea.

 

[824tsv]

Should have heeded my warning of removing the thumb safety with the pistol in a plastic bag or pillow case.........What are you replacing the OEM mainspring with? a different weight?

 

[AzShooter]

I tried the plastic bag and it works great. Unfortunately there was a hole in the bottom of the bag and the plunger fell out. I now have a new, bigger bag.

I am replacing he mainspring with one from Taylor. He also has the plunger spring and post and I ordered two extra of each.