What accessories do you like on a 1911?

[schadenfreude]

Boring topic I guess but I figure it never hurts to ask.

I know a lot of guys like to keep their pistols stock and that is really cool. I like to customize things, be it a car, computer, pistol etc.....

Not to hang a bunch of useless crap on it so I have the newest best thing but I do have a genuine interest in making something more functional or comfortable. I was thinking about some things that might improve on my new Springfield loaded.

I want mags that have a larger base bumper so i get a more positive load so I want to order some and then I figured I want to get a really well made extractor. Anyone like those larger magwell additions tot he MSH?

What else is worth considering? I was thinking about getting a different MSH that looked a little different but hell I dunno.

There is so much out there that it all seems unnecessary and at the same time appealing.

What do you like?

 

[sm]

I'm not the one to ask. I'm boring and simple.
I prefer the simple Gov't /Mil-spec - Blue/Park'd .
I do have one "tricked out" 1911 style if you can call it that.

Kimber Series I Target in stainless. Which means it has adjustale Bomar type sights. This is tricked out to me. I removed the FLGR and put in a GI stubby type. I have some 8 rd mags ( 47 D and Powermags) with the standard bump pads.

Told ya, I was boring and simple...I even had to detrick a Stock gun, and put the GI plug in. Like to have never learned to count past 7 on a darn 1911 mag either...publik skool and all that.

I do put skateboard tape on all mine, I prefer this "feel" . Yes I admit even on a Mil- Spec I do it. That is all I do though.

 

[schadenfreude]

I am deffinetly replacing the FLGR on mine as well. I figure I'll go with the Ed Brown one listed at Brownells.

 

[m1911joe]

I have smaller hands so I like to put the extended controls on. ( Slide stop,
Safety,and Mag Release.) I have put on the Ed Brown MSH/magwell. The
Magwell is held on with one screw. Use some ten round mags and you
don't need any pads on the bottom.

 

[sm]

I just poked around in my gunsmith's box of 1911 stuff " Hey I'm stealing this - okay?".
"Yeah sure go ahead".

I get real technical and worked up about stuff - can you tell?

Actually I was digging around , found a GI mag body and started scrounging for a spring and a dimpled follower. It was cold and raining - something to do, while he finished up so we could go grab lunch. I entertain myself well, box of parts and like a kid , I'll piddle , play and put stuff together.

Mag works great btw...we use it all the time...just something to do. One of these days if left alone,digging and poking around I could probably build a gun with stuff from a parts box...been threatening to do that just for the heck of it. I got a slide, frame, bushing, and bbl spied in the "parts" box...I need to see what mischief I can get into. Hummm...

 

[jercamp45]

Well, I like a tiny bit more....

I like high visibility fixed sights, a narrow extended thumb safety, and a beavertail with a 'bump on the bottom. The FLGR is only on my LW Officer and ParaOrd Companion, the Government and Commander do not need such things. I have bumper pads on all my Wilson mags, just for solid insertion of the mag. No mag well guides, no extended slide releases.
Eventually I'll add two more 1911's to my small collection: a Government with the light rail and night sights(I carry a C&L Government every day in y employ as Security Officer). And a Officer framed, Commander slide length pistol(Colt CCO or Kimber Compact). I would LOVE to get a Colt WWI 1911 repro, just to have as a centerpiece, so to speak.
That is what I like/Want!
Jercamp45

 

[Tamara]

Assuming quality internals, I need:

1) Flat, checkered mainspring housing. (Prefer Ed Brown.)
2) Long trigger. (Prefer STI.)
3) Thumb safety long enough to park my thumb on. (Ambi is nice, but not necessary.)
4) Visible, no-snag sights.
5) Beavertail GS with some sort of memory bump gizmo.
6) A handy trash can to relocate the FLGR into.

 

[Dorrin79]

compared to a bone-stock GI, the only improvement I really like is improved sights.

Most of the other "improvement" don't really do it for me.

 

[El Tejon]

Trigger, sights (especially night sights). Everything else is feckless and a hinderance.

Think of it as the Stripper Rule: tis better to take off then put on.

 

[The Real Hawkeye]

Recently, I have thought seriously about getting some modification to the thumb safety, as I shoot with my thumb on top of it and occasionally (rare), my thumb comes in contact with the slide. Now, in the old days when I shot with my thumb under the safety, the problem was that occasionally recoil would cause my thumb to activate the safety while shooting. Both are equally problematic, so I thought of either getting one of those shields to prevent contact, or one of those Gunsite Custom Shop thumb safeties where the thumb rest is much lower, below where the thumb can make contact with the slide. Which one do you think is best? Anyone else have this problem? Other solutions? Thanks.

 

[Kaylee]

hrmm...

depends on whether it's a "shooter" piece or a "history" piece. If the latter -- as close to stock as possible. If the former...

pretty much what Tams said, but...

* By the time I got into guns forward slide serrations and full length guide rods were normal -- I could take 'em or leave 'em -- no strong preference either way.

* checkered front strap and horizontally serrated front of the trigger guard is nice but not necessay

* Pretty wood grips

* I DONT like the mag bumpers or big funneled magwells just 'cause they fatten up the grip so much. To me they feel funky, look funky, and don't conceal worth a darn. But if the pistol's for shooting games instead of a carry gun, it makes perfect sense I guess.

-K

 

[1911Tuner]

Accessories

Dunno if you could call'em accessories, but...

Flat MSH with long smooth trigger (Fairly large hands)
Stock recoil system on a carry gun...FLGR on a range gun. (Ask me why)
7-round mags...bumper on the spare...or not. Works either way.

Extractors aren't accessories. They're necessities. Tuned extractor and
Wolff 11-pound mag springs also fit that category.

Sights are sights. Muzzle reference sensors. Melted rear on my carry guns
that have rear sights.

m1911joe said:

I have smaller hands so I like to put the extended controls on. ( Slide stop,
Safety,and Mag Release.)

Practice engaging the mag catch and the slidestop/release with your left hand. Much faster and more positive. In case of a mag that doesn't drop free, your hand is already in position to rip it out, and sweep to the spare.

Slidestop is within touching distance of your thumb as you slam in a reload. Release it as you bring the gun back on target. Go ahead...Try it. Extended slidestops are more prone to premature slidelock due to inertial weight/mass.

Shooting to slidelock in a fight is a tactical error..a shooter induced
stoppage. Think reaction time to a surprise stop, and decide if you want a
surprise, or a conscious decision to reload with a round under the hammer.
Split seconds count!

The thumb safety is a matter of taste. I do well with the old abbreviated GI safety. Practice, practice, practice. I find that extended thumb safeties are prone to getting unknowingly wiped off in the course of the day.
YM..of course...MV.

Think! Think! Think!

Cheers!

Tuner

 

[schadenfreude]

Stock recoil system on a carry gun...FLGR on a range gun. (Ask me why)

Extractors aren't accessories. They're necessities. Tuned extractor and
Wolff 11-pound mag springs also fit that category.

Could you please elaborate?


and....
How far do the 10 round mags stick out at the bottom?

 

[Brass Balls]

For carry guns I like:

• Aluminum frame for weight reduction
• Front strap & MSH checkering
• Night sights
• Slim, checkered grips
• Ambidextrous safety
• A long wearing finish on the slide
• Rounded and smoothed edges
• Versa Max 2 holster (I know not a gun option but all of my carry guns have one)

For home protection guns I like:

• Full size steel frame
• Night sights
• Picatinny rail
• Weapon mounted light
• Front & MSH checkering
• Standard width checkered grips

 

[1911Tuner]

Elaborate

The guy with the German nic asked:


Could you please elaborate?
(Stock recoil system on a carry gun...FLGR on a range gun. (Ask me why)

Extractors aren't accessories. They're necessities. Tuned extractor and
Wolff 11-pound mag springs also fit ...)

Most certainly mein herr.

I use the FLGRs for range work because they're easy to chuck up in a lathe.
I thin the head from the backside of a two-piece rod, and face off an equal amount from the butt-end. Then I cut the front down to let the bushing swing past it for quick takedown. With the head cut down to .045 inch thick, and using a Hiett Technologies .090 shock buffer, I can regain
about half the slide travel that I lose by using a standard head thickness and a Wilson shock buff. I use shock buffers on my range guns because I
average between 60 and 75,000 rounds a year., and I don't have reliability
issues that are sometimes brought on with shock buffs. Frame and slide
battery is reduced without going to heavy recoil springs..which cause their
own particular set of problems. FWIW, I use this set-up with 14-pound
Wolff springs to reduce battering of the lower lug and slidestop pin.
Best of both worlds. (I also use J&B Weld on the threads to keep the rod from unscrewing)

I don't have FLGRs in my carry guns...period.

On the extractor question...buying a good extractor and tuning it for function can't be considered an accessory item any more than the magazine
is an accessory item. Good magazines...good extractors, and good ammo
make up the three-legged stool that reliability with the 1911 stands on.
Remove or weaken one leg, and the gun will puke sooner or later.

Wolff 11-pound springs, and 7-round magazines with dimpled followers
will absolutely solve 99.9% of magazine related feeding problems, assuming that the magazines aren't outright junk and are in good shape.

I don't trust any 8-round magazine, and don't even own one. They're fine
for range work or games, but the potential for problems outweighs the
need for one extra round, IMO...YMMV.

10-round magazines protrude below the grip frame about the diameter of
two cartridges, plus the thickness of the baseplate. Also fine for games,
but not when MY life may be at stake.

Cheers!

Tuner

 

[Andrew Wyatt]

thin grips. flat msh. short trigger. ambi safety.

 

[Omega_7]

*

Ambi safety, ramp and polish job, tritium sights, beveled magazine well, Chip McCormick higher cap mags, Wolff springs, poly recoil buffer, Crimson Trace lasergrips. Stuff that makes the 1911 a better combat arm IMO

 

[Omega_7]

1911 tuner

The Mag Pack 8 round conversion kits I have used for at least 10 years have been utterly reliable. I use the Sarco USGI mags and convert them

And the Chip McCormick 10 mags have been flawless as well. I like having an 11 shot 1911 instead of 8 rounds.

I also like having a few 11 round SS Mec Gar reloads on my belt at times...

 

[Shmackey]

Short, good trigger. Bullets.

 

[1911Tuner]

8-Round Mags

I once heard a wise fella describe 8-round magazines like this:

"8-round magazines in a 1911 (.45) are like using a .243 for huntin'
Whitetail deer. Sooner or later, it'll do less than you need for it to do when you least expect it."

I've known some guns that would run like a Singer sewin' machine with
Wilson 47Ds and Powermags...and I've seen other, completely reliable
pistols choke on'em..and nobody seems to know why except the pistols.
One that I had would go over 2500 rounds without cleaning and without a
single malfunction, but it wouldn't make it through two magazines in a row with 3 different Powermags. Go figger.

I guess that's what keeps us at it.

Cheers!

Tuner

 

[Tamara]

El Tejon,

Trigger, sights (especially night sights). Everything else is feckless and a hinderance.

Think of it as the Stripper Rule: tis better to take off then put on.

Sometimes the "Zen Monk" routine turns from "old" to "tired".

Must be nice to have those magic hands that morph to fit the gun the same no matter what trigger, thumb safety, MSH and GS are on it.

My hands are, unfortunately, Old Skul and are only trained to fit one pattern well. (IE: After many years of shooting a flat MSH, arched MSH's point up in the sky when I grip them.)

Which skul will give me the anamorphic paws like yours?

 

[schadenfreude]

I guess the thing I like most about my 1911 is the simplicity. After reading 1911tuner's walk through on detail stripping the 1911 I feel really confident with it and like the fact that it's such a classic and easy for me to maintain.

The loaded has a lot of the stuff I would want to add , like night sights, better trigger, skeletonized hammer, but a few things that came on it bug me.

The safety is getting in my way. It's too big and is right where I need to have a thumb. I'm thinking about getting a smaller safety because of that.

The FLGR requires a tool to disassemble when its tight and loosens up a lot when it's not so that is going out the door. The grips that came with it are too sharp so I got a cheap set of hogue runner grips which aren't my favorite either. I handled the Rob Leathem 1911 at a store today and it has really slim and completely smooth grips and that is EXACTLY what I want. Maybe I need to send Haken an email


I've been reading a lot about crappy parts and I can't help but wonder if I should replace the slide stop, trigger, mag release with stronger better made parts from some other company. They aren't giving me any problems but who wants a part to fail.

It's starting to sound like I should have bought the milspec since all of a sudden I want to replace everything.


First thing is the extractor. The last 3 trips to the range this week I have a failure to eject once, each trip. The shell is extracted from the chamber but it stays in the breech on top of the next round and locks it up so I have to clear it.

 

[pignock]

I appear to be bucking some of the trends here but I got a Kimber Custom (base model) when they first came out and here's what I've done to it and why:

1. FLGR replaced with a short one and a new recoil spring plug installed

I like to be able to field strip my guns without tools

2. Flat, checkered, plastic mainspring housing replaced w/ arched serrated steel MSH with lanyard loop.

I've got smallish hands and it points better for me with and arched MSH

3. Long (Carbon Fiber?) trigger replaced with short GI trigger for the same smallish hands reason.

I ordered the parts from Numerich and I think I spent about $25 to turn a $600 Kimber into a GI 1911 but it works for me.


Now I gotta question - How come folks with bigger hands prefer a skinnier pistol (flat MSH) and vice versa?

 

[Tamara]

How come folks with bigger hands prefer a skinnier pistol (flat MSH) and vice versa?

With wider hands and a high grip, the bulge of the arched MSH pokes right into the meaty part of the heel of my hand and nudges the muzzle skyward.

As my gunsmith's so fond of saying: "The two biggest components of fitting a pistol (by this he means "a 1911") to your hand are trigger length and MSH shape. Figure out which one works better for you, and configure all your pistols (read: 1911's) that way."

 

[New_comer]

Beavertail
Mag extension
Extended slide stop