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The question of why magazine catches don't function smoothly and easily is not uncommon. So, I thought I'd put together a simple pictorial guide to help folks out. It's the little things that make a difference and elevate your pistol above the ordinary. The magazine catch consists of three...

This post is not meant to address all aspects of performing a full trigger job. It is focused on setting up the sear spring to function correctly and safely. I N T R O D U C T I O N The sear spring serves multiple roles in the functioning of the 1911. .The original JMB design of the sear...

This applies to 1911s that do not have an integral plunger tube cast into the frame. The original design of the 1911 specified that the left grip was to support the plunger tube to prevent it from dismounting due to a poor staking job. Manufacturers have long been known for not always doing a...

A year or two ago I fit a 9mm barrel to my 9x23 5" 1911. I needed a magazine to test my fitting job and wasn't interested in spending the big bucks to get a Wilson, Tripp, or McCormick so I picked up a Mec-Gar from Greg Cote. The pistol ran fine and accuracy was spot on even with the el cheapo...

This is a follow-up to my original post with the same name. It's time to stop ignoring the magazine catch as a potential factor for difficult magazine seating. Once again we're looking to be able to fully seat a magazine using no more than the strength of single thumb. The magazine has to...

I've been reloading for more than 30 years on a Dillon 550. I've been using Redding Type S resizing dies for .308 and 6.8 gas guns with great success. Today I began the process of setting up another Redding Type S sizing die for reloading for a new AR chambered in .223. Followed my tried and...

I've had this pistol for several years and never found a holster that would fit it until recently when I corresponded with the owner of 19 Charlie Tactical. As the business name implies, the head man is a former cavalry scout who ate sand in Iraq. He made a holster for me that was specially...

The normal operation of locking any fully loaded magazine into a 1911 pistol with the slide forward should require no more force than that which can be applied by pushing it into place using one thumb. If a ball peen hammer is needed to lock it into the pistol, you’re going to be at a serious...

It's not unusual for thumb safeties on out-of-the-box pistols to be less than optimally fit. The vast majority will actually block the sear correctly but may suffer from too small or too big a paddle, won't positively stop when pushed down into the fire position, or lack the preferred feel when...

Even though I've been handloading since 1986 it's all been straight wall cases. So, here I am - a babe in the woods when it comes to handloading for bottleneck cartridges. I've begun handloading for a FAL after shooting nothing but factory ammo through it for 20 yrs. What I discovered today is...

I owned and shot a benchrest 6mm-.284 for twenty years and always tumbled the cases twice; first after depriming to remove all the powder residue and again after resizing to remove the case lube. Recently someone told me there was no need to remove case lube as it doesn't have any adverse...

I wanted to run standard CMI Government length eight round magazines in Officer's size frames so I bought a couple of their SBP Extended Bumper Pads which are used on their 10 round magazines to experiment with. The next thing I did was disassemble a standard eight round mag, cover the bottom...

This subject has been addressed many times and solutions include such things as replacing the magazine spring, bending the engagement tab on the follower outward, replacing the slide stop, using hotter ammo, replacing the recoil spring with a lighter one, and others. Today I discovered a...

Folks who have studied 1911 extractors know that they are deceptively simple looking pieces of steel. Case in point. Today I was working on an extractor and was baffled by the fact that I was getting 0.012" of deflection one time and 0.0" the next time. The the light bulb went off and I...

I have put tens of thousands of rounds through McCormick 8 round magazines over the years with no issues. But they would contact the ejector on a couple of pistols and although I have relieved many ejectors to avoid contact with magazine bodies these two pistols had too much ejector contact for...

Since Uncle Sugar and I parted ways I can now pick and choose my gear rather than having it issued to me. I prefer DSA's fixed stock, 18" barrel FAL. Every rifle has its good and bad points. This rifle is no different. I have to admit to a relatively new love affair with Aimpoints. I was...