Post
by allendavis » Sun Oct 08, 2006 6:30 pm
I wish to reply to reply to both Greener and to Bullseye, but first things first: I will reply to the latter first since it is fresher and go back to Bullseye.
[q] The problem with all this is that I've fired 1911's (mostly from military arms racks) since the very early 70's. No matter who makes them, they are a fairly familiar hunks of iron. All I'm looking at is minor differences between the makes. Every time I look at a 9mm, I think about 1911's that feel better for about the same price.[/q]
Personally, I don't think you can go wrong with a quality-made 1911 (unless it's a homemade piece of crap or one that is clearly worn out).
I've been doing a little shopping for my oldest son who now has the hots for a 1911 in .45 ACP. All of a sudden I seem to be finding all manner of 1911s that are hybrids. Essex, Caspian, Colt, AMT (always crap), etc., all mixed up, and all obviously homemade. So far, they've all been junk. If I could gather up the 11 I've looked at, I could probably build six, maybe seven, really good guns with just existing parts among those guns I've examined.
I found one gun with a stainless Caspian frame/Caspian slide (blued) that I wanted to fall in love with. I squeezed the trigger firmly with the hammer cocked and the safety on. When I disengaged the safety, the hammer suddenly fell to half-cock 18 of 20 times. Definitely not good at all. I knew a new sear and probably new hammer were called for, especially since the trigger pull was only 3 pounds. The $375 price tag made it seem like a bargain until I field stripped it and found a huge crack in the frame underneath the slide release lever. The would've needed to give me $100 just to carry this piece of crap home with me.
I've given the following advice before, but it does bear repeating, whether you're buying a used OR a brand-spanking-new 1911 . . .
Cock the hammer and engage the safety. Give the trigger a very firm trigger squeeze. Next, disengage the safety. If the hammer stays cocked, you're half-way home. Next, place the gun close to a good ear (if you still have one) and gently pull the hammer back toward full-cock. If you hear ANY little click at that point, then pass on the gun unless you know a good gunsmith that works cheap. If you get a little click at that point means that that the safety isn't completely locking the hammer and sear. The sear definitely needs replacement; re-cutting it rarely works. Hammer replacement isn't always necessary, but 60-75% of the time, it does. The safety lever itself may also, but not always require replacement.
You're always better off in buying a 1911 with a gross trigger pull if it passes this safety test and fixing the trigger pull later in a proper manner.
TO BULLSEYE: (Reply to much earlier message)
[q] The collet style barrel busing was a good idea that never quite worked out well. They're prone to breaking, and when they do, it is usually a catastrophic failure. If you have one that works, they'll give you a slight increase in accuracy, but a properly fitted match bushing is far better. Colt realized that style of bushing was prone to failure and did away with them later on.[/q]
I owned and used a number of Series 70-type 1911s, and I actually always like the collet bushing. I never had one fail, even after firing about 100,000 rounds from one gun.
Furthermore, I never knew anyone who had a "catastropic" failure with a collet bushing. I read some anecdotal evidence in a gun rag somewhere, but I discount that. All the collet bushings I ever saw seemed to be well-made, well-tempered springs that worked well. The 1911 design itself is actually about 100 years old now. The extractors in the 1911 are springs themselves. I know they sometimes fail, but not often. Since 1974, I've only had one "catastropic" extractor failure, and even then, it was the beak that broke.
I agree that a well-fitted bushing is probably better. I just want to know where you heard about the collet bushings breaking.
Remember, too, that Colt Firearms is practically out-of-business with civilians and police agencies, due to them shooting themselves in the foot (pun intended). The UAW practically and literally owns the company now.
When S&W went public at $17/share, I bought almost $6,000. It's never failed to make money for me and I've increased my ownership in that company, even though I don't like any of their semi-auto pistols, especially their version of the 1911 (which has been subject to a recall).
The collet bushing was a good idea, I thought. I still do.
I don't like the external extractor on a 1911 because it wasn't what Browning designed. It's worked for a hundred years so far. The external extractor has problems of its own.
Hope you reply. That's my two cents' worth . . .
Allen
