Ok, I'm not a total 1911 noob. I have owned three 1911s (all government models) before. Being an idiot, I sold them off to fund other purchases in an attempt to find "the ultimate (for me) carry gun". After a solid year of daily concealed carry of smaller autos I've come to realize that concealing and carrying a full size 1911 government may not the impossible task that I thought it was. After all, I'm 6'3". I've gotten over my irrational fears about concealed carry (spontaneous combustion, discovery, etc), I've adjusted my wardrobe to ccw and now it's back to basics. So, I decided to get a basic government model and some nice leather (a selection of milt sparks iwb + a paddle and another iwb) try the 1911 for a year. If it works out, I'll invest in a high-end model.
So now I own a Springfield Milspec, Parkerized, full-size. I took it to the Bluegrass Range today in Lexington to break it in with a 250 rds assortment of UMC hardball 230 gr, Winchester White Box FMJ (flat nose, 185 gr) and some Federal Hydroshocks. I used the stock metal form 7 rd magazine.
I really like the way the gun shot. Out of 250 rds I had two failures to eject (edited for clarity). Both were on the next to last round of the magazine. The slide was forward but not in battery and the empty case was hung in the ejection port and the live round was half out of the mag, nudging up below the spent case. The spent case wasn't 'stove piped' out - it was inline with the live round below it.
I was willing to chalk these malfunctions up to the stock metal form magazine. Does that sound right? I seem to remember having this problem before with my Colt 70 series (I know, I can't believe I sold it) and that changing to Wilson combat mags cured the problem.
Other than the FTEs it shot really well! I am pretty much in love with this gun right now. But naturally (for me), there is one other minor problem.
The rear sight blade fell off. I noticed that it was a little loose and at the end of the session I was packing up and noticed that it had drifted right out. A staff member at the range gave me a small bottle of red loctite. I went home I dissassembled and then swabbed some gun scrubber in the blade channel and on the bottom of the blade. When that dried I then brushed the red loctite onto the bottom of the sight blade and into the sight channel with a cuetip and then pushed the site in from the right. Do you think this will hold it on? I'd hate to have to return for warranty repair if the fix is this easy. I plan on keeping the gun stock. If I want bells and whistles later I'll buy a tricked out 1911 and take this one camping.
Finally, about cleaning. Maybe I've been cleaning my hand guns the wrong way all of my life. I think I have been over lubricating. Before heading to the range I cleaned the gun as I would normally: a bath in warm water with some simple green, a scrubbing with a tooth brush and a nylon brush for the chamber and bore, followed by warming up to 120F in an oven, air drying (with a little help from some canned air) and then liberal amounts of Break Free CLP and wipe off the excess. That works great with glocks but maybe I left too much oil on the 1911. I thought I had wiped it all off but the first few rounds that I shot I could see the oil spraying up when the hammer fell! LOL. Then I read on THR about CLP containing solvent and possibly deadening primers. So I bought a small container of rem oil. I also have a tube of Tetra grease.
How do you clean your hard working 1911? I mean, this thing is milspec, right? I envision this winding up as my beater. What should I do to keep my 1911 beater up and running without babying it? Thanks for entertaining my questions! Best, Dominic
So now I own a Springfield Milspec, Parkerized, full-size. I took it to the Bluegrass Range today in Lexington to break it in with a 250 rds assortment of UMC hardball 230 gr, Winchester White Box FMJ (flat nose, 185 gr) and some Federal Hydroshocks. I used the stock metal form 7 rd magazine.
I really like the way the gun shot. Out of 250 rds I had two failures to eject (edited for clarity). Both were on the next to last round of the magazine. The slide was forward but not in battery and the empty case was hung in the ejection port and the live round was half out of the mag, nudging up below the spent case. The spent case wasn't 'stove piped' out - it was inline with the live round below it.
I was willing to chalk these malfunctions up to the stock metal form magazine. Does that sound right? I seem to remember having this problem before with my Colt 70 series (I know, I can't believe I sold it) and that changing to Wilson combat mags cured the problem.
Other than the FTEs it shot really well! I am pretty much in love with this gun right now. But naturally (for me), there is one other minor problem.
The rear sight blade fell off. I noticed that it was a little loose and at the end of the session I was packing up and noticed that it had drifted right out. A staff member at the range gave me a small bottle of red loctite. I went home I dissassembled and then swabbed some gun scrubber in the blade channel and on the bottom of the blade. When that dried I then brushed the red loctite onto the bottom of the sight blade and into the sight channel with a cuetip and then pushed the site in from the right. Do you think this will hold it on? I'd hate to have to return for warranty repair if the fix is this easy. I plan on keeping the gun stock. If I want bells and whistles later I'll buy a tricked out 1911 and take this one camping.
Finally, about cleaning. Maybe I've been cleaning my hand guns the wrong way all of my life. I think I have been over lubricating. Before heading to the range I cleaned the gun as I would normally: a bath in warm water with some simple green, a scrubbing with a tooth brush and a nylon brush for the chamber and bore, followed by warming up to 120F in an oven, air drying (with a little help from some canned air) and then liberal amounts of Break Free CLP and wipe off the excess. That works great with glocks but maybe I left too much oil on the 1911. I thought I had wiped it all off but the first few rounds that I shot I could see the oil spraying up when the hammer fell! LOL. Then I read on THR about CLP containing solvent and possibly deadening primers. So I bought a small container of rem oil. I also have a tube of Tetra grease.
How do you clean your hard working 1911? I mean, this thing is milspec, right? I envision this winding up as my beater. What should I do to keep my 1911 beater up and running without babying it? Thanks for entertaining my questions! Best, Dominic
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