The 1911 and MIM

[dsb]

Tuner, etc:

Firstly, this is not a putdown of MIM parts: I simply have come to believe that all steel is the way for me to go.

Having heard a lot about MIM parts and potential for breakage (explored nicely again in wally's ongoing poll right now), I have a question for you. Is there a new 1911 that you would feel comfortable recommending that contains no MIM, or is that solely left to older guns and part replacers? I'd like to pick up a 1911 for a HD gun, but I don't want to spend a fortune in time and money replacing a load of MIM with steel.

Should I just be looking for a different style of gun?

 

[Delmar]

If you don't mind going to a cu$$tom made 1911, there's a few makers out there who will do an all steel pistol for you. It's gonna cost ya though.

From what I can tell, Colt seems to have the least amount of MIM from a major manufacturer. I'm with you on the distrust of MIM to a degree.

The only parts I don't mind being made out of the stuff are things which don't get beat on, such as a magazine release and things like that. The fire controls-hammer, sear, disconnector, slide stop, extractor and such I want made out of cast steel at the minimum.

Colt makes a plastic mainspring housing and they work fine. I changed them out on my 1911's because I like the balance a bit better, but the nylon ones are entirely functional.

 

[R.H. Lee]

Good discussion here:

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?s=&threadid=91178&highlight=mim

 

[Old Fuff]

I understand that the new Detonics will feature "real steel" lockwork parts. But the suggested retail is around $1,200.00.

If it is everything it's supposed to be it might be worth it, but the point is that these days an "old time, real steel" 1911 is going to be expensive.

The least expensive way is to buy a basic no-frills gun from Springfield Armory or Colt and then replace the not-up-to-original- specification parts. This is a shame, but it's the way things are. If this is going to overstrain your budget I'd look at something else. If your lucky and find a used Colt or Springfield at a resonable price it might provide the base for a good builder.

 

[mmike87]

Wait a little longer for the kinks to be worked out and get a SIG GSR. Mine had some issues, but it was an early unit and SIG is replacing it.

Aside from it's issues, it was an awesome shooter and built like a tank. So much so that the slide stop was shaving metal off the edge of the slide. No MIM in THAT slide stop.

I'm pretty confident that once all the kinks are worked out, the GSR will be a promising alternative.

I'll add, though that the good thing about 1911's is the degree of customization you can have. By a decent base gun and send it to a good gunsmith and get it fitted out exactly how you like it. In the end you'll probably spend no more than you would on a top end production gun that's full of MIM parts.

For the record, my MIM-enabled Kimber Team Match II is a great gun - smooth, flawless, accurate, and 100% reliable, so far. But given the choice I'd go "real steel" if for no other reason so as to not have to defend MIM ...

 

[rick_reno]

My Les Baer PII has no MIM in it. It's also been 100% reliable, feeding/firing and ejecting everything I've put in the magazine. I would recommend LB without any hesitation.