Best polishing areas for 1911?

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Re: Best polishing areas for 1911?

Postby mmcnx2 on Sat Nov 25, 2017 7:24 am

You do realize that slide to frame fit is way way down the list on things that make a 1911 accurate - or most hand guns for that part. The frame basically is the handle, mag holder and firing method. Once the firing pin drops it has little impact on the mechanics afterwards. Some will say that if the firing process causes the slide to move on top of the handle it can impact accuracy but the movement needs to be sizable and inconsistent.

In terms of real accuracy the barrel is the first thing, next would be be barrel to slide fit - including lugs, link and bushing. Trigger really does not increase accuracy - it does however make shooting it accurately easier. And of course the sights. And if you want to go way over the top look at the breach face.

I shot bullseye with a 45 back in the 70's. Some of the most accurate guns of the time had enough gap on the frame to slide that you could slide paper in between.

The slide to frame fit can be impressive when you see the oil literally cut off the as the edges pass, but while it illustrates wonderful craftsmanship,within reason it does not have a significant impact on accuracy.

So polish away, best case it might feel better or you might think it looks better but seldom will it make a shooter out of slug.
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Re: Best polishing areas for 1911?

Postby hammAR on Sat Nov 25, 2017 8:31 am

Finally someone with the truth of 1911's................ :cheers:
All men are created equal....It's what they do from there that matters!.
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Re: Best polishing areas for 1911?

Postby Randygmn on Sat Nov 25, 2017 9:20 am

mmcnx2 wrote:You do realize that slide to frame fit is way way down the list on things that make a 1911 accurate - or most hand guns for that part. The frame basically is the handle, mag holder and firing method. Once the firing pin drops it has little impact on the mechanics afterwards. Some will say that if the firing process causes the slide to move on top of the handle it can impact accuracy but the movement needs to be sizable and inconsistent.

In terms of real accuracy the barrel is the first thing, next would be be barrel to slide fit - including lugs, link and bushing. Trigger really does not increase accuracy - it does however make shooting it accurately easier. And of course the sights. And if you want to go way over the top look at the breach face.

I shot bullseye with a 45 back in the 70's. Some of the most accurate guns of the time had enough gap on the frame to slide that you could slide paper in between.

The slide to frame fit can be impressive when you see the oil literally cut off the as the edges pass, but while it illustrates wonderful craftsmanship,within reason it does not have a significant impact on accuracy.

So polish away, best case it might feel better or you might think it looks better but seldom will it make a shooter out of slug.


Barrel/crown, lugs and trigger travel are the 3 most important factors in mechanical accuracy. Still, if the Indian can’t shoot, that arrow won’t fly.
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Best polishing areas for 1911?

Postby gun_fan111v2 on Sat Nov 25, 2017 9:58 am

I believe that you can take an $800 RO and make it shoot better than a $1400 off the shelf gun by investing $600. It will not look as pretty, but it will shoot! Without the right skills, that would mean sending the gun in to a good 1911 smith for the barrel fit check/fix plus a trigger job.

In this case, getting a better trigger on it should allow OP to see more of the accuracy potential on this gun. He can make his decisions from there.

OP, if your barrel/bushing have some wiggle - getting one of these custom sized bushings will be a very good investment http://www.egwguns.com/bushing-faq
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Re: Best polishing areas for 1911?

Postby hard h2o on Sat Nov 25, 2017 10:06 am

Read an interesting review in a recent American Rifleman about the Cabot Southpaw. I was surprised because they usually do not say anything detrimental in a review.

They seem to have very tight fitment of the slide to frame and the various other parts. It was actually detrimental to the operation and accuracy of the firearm. After cleaning it ran fine and accuracy was superb. It did not take a whole lot of rounds down the tube before operation and accuracy suffered. I believe they even wrote that the slide would not lock back on an empty chamber. I wonder if some break in might solve that but out of the box for that price I would not expect the issues they described. Probably the type of firearm that will not see much range time so for the target demographic probably not real serious issues.
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Best polishing areas for 1911?

Postby goosed on Tue Nov 28, 2017 11:31 pm

The frame of any RO should feel gritty compared to your other 1911. I wouldn't even be suprised if it takes 100+ rounds before the frame locks back regularly with target loads(roughly 800fps). Have you shot it yet?

The gritty slide may not feel good to you, but it is actually a good thing if accuracy is the goal. While a properly fitted barrel bushing (yours is hand fit) may be the single biggest contributor to accuracy. A tight frame/slide also plays a part in bullseye level accuracy. Does it help reliability... not a chance ... however once you raise your hand all is forgiven anyways so no worries. Bullseye ain't a game about reliability, it's about accuracy.

You could always hand lap the rails if it really bothers you, but as they self lap with use it might just be more fun to shoot?

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Re: Best polishing areas for 1911?

Postby Capttuna on Fri Dec 01, 2017 10:52 am

Agree with the posters saying go easy-be careful doing your own work on a 1911. It takes some experience/knowledge to get it right. When I shot AMU back when, the armors did all the tuning, we just shot them. Even they make mistakes. One day armour came to the range to test one. Went full auto. First shot on target, rest through the roof. My advise would be, save the one you have for carry and invest in an accurrized one from a good name custom shop. If you’re young, and interested in shooting accurate paper...you won’t go wrong. On a separate note, Bergie I see in an earlier post you had a Tikka in .223 with a cracked stock you were wondering what to do with. Like to talk with you about it. My e-mail is herb.goblirsch@gmail.com.
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Re: Best polishing areas for 1911?

Postby Capttuna on Fri Dec 01, 2017 10:59 am

Agree with the posters saying go easy-be careful doing your own work on a 1911. It takes some experience/knowledge to get it right. When I shot AMU back when, the armors did all the tuning, we just shot them. Even they make mistakes. One day armour came to the range to test one. Went full auto. First shot on target, rest through the roof. My advise would be, save the one you have for carry and invest in an accurrized one from a good name custom shop. If you’re young, and interested in shooting accurate paper...you won’t go wrong. On a separate note, Bergie I see in an earlier post you had a Tikka in .223 with a cracked stock you were wondering what to do with. Like to talk with you about it. My e-mail is herb.goblirsch@gmail.com.
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Re: Best polishing areas for 1911?

Postby Holland&Holland on Fri Dec 01, 2017 11:22 pm

Capttuna wrote:Agree with the posters saying go easy-be careful doing your own work on a 1911. It takes some experience/knowledge to get it right. When I shot AMU back when, the armors did all the tuning, we just shot them. Even they make mistakes. One day armour came to the range to test one. Went full auto. First shot on target, rest through the roof. My advise would be, save the one you have for carry and invest in an accurrized one from a good name custom shop. If you’re young, and interested in shooting accurate paper...you won’t go wrong. On a separate note, Bergie I see in an earlier post you had a Tikka in .223 with a cracked stock you were wondering what to do with. Like to talk with you about it. My e-mail is herb.goblirsch@gmail.com.

You do know you can send him a pm right?
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Re: Best polishing areas for 1911?

Postby Bergie on Tue Dec 05, 2017 10:24 pm

GREAT responses here- appreciate all the sage advice. Barrel/crown, lugs and trigger travel? Barrel- yep. Travel- yep. Lugs? Maybe I should start a new thread on "Why would lugs matter?"
Swap out triggers? Even after I polished the rails and sides on this one?
My plan IS to shoot bullseye with this one.
I've put about 60 rounds through so far and the whole thing seems a little smoother.
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Re: Best polishing areas for 1911?

Postby aprilian on Wed Dec 06, 2017 10:53 am

Since you mention Bullseye.... You may find some good info on what to do with your RO at the bullseye forum, like this one http://www.bullseyeforum.net/t2551-springfield-ro-230-fmj-accuracy
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Re: Best polishing areas for 1911?

Postby 870TC on Wed Dec 06, 2017 10:56 am

Bergie wrote:.
I've put about 60 rounds through so far and the whole thing seems a little smoother.


:roll: Explains everything to me now.
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Re: Best polishing areas for 1911?

Postby Holland&Holland on Wed Dec 06, 2017 9:07 pm

Best polishing areas? Slab sides. Make'em shiny :P
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Re: Best polishing areas for 1911?

Postby mmcnx2 on Thu Dec 07, 2017 7:34 am

You know if you polish all the 'right' spots on the trigger mechanism you can get yourself a great case of hammer follow - which will impress the heck out of all your friends on the range. If you really want to play gunsmith a few 'precise' bends in the main spring will give you some amazing results.
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