The Firing Line Forums - View Single Post

Auto426 · July 20, 2010, 11:50 PM

Colt has been using plastic mainspring housings since they introduced their 1991 line in, wait for it, 1991. That particular model came with a plastic mainspring housing and a plastic trigger in an attempt to cut costs and offer a competitively priced low end 1911.

The plastic trigger turned out to be a bad idea and most people ended up changing them out. Colt dropped it, but decided to stuck with the flat plastic mainspring housings on almost all of their guns. They aren't steel, but they are good quality polymer pieces and there's nothing wrong with them. Some people feel the need to change them out, others never even notice it's not steel. They are particularly nice on blued guns since you never have to worry about wearing the finish off of them.

I plan on getting a stainless Colt XSE Government for my next gun. It's going to have the plastic MSH, but I don't think I'm going to spend the money to change it out. It's also going to have a FLGR, but again, I'm not wasting money to change it out. These aren't parts I desire in a 1911, but they aren't worth the time and money to change them out IMO.

July 20, 2010, 11:50 PM	#10
Auto426 Senior Member Join Date: November 24, 2007 Location: South Louisiana Posts: 1,323	Colt has been using plastic mainspring housings since they introduced their 1991 line in, wait for it, 1991. That particular model came with a plastic mainspring housing and a plastic trigger in an attempt to cut costs and offer a competitively priced low end 1911. The plastic trigger turned out to be a bad idea and most people ended up changing them out. Colt dropped it, but decided to stuck with the flat plastic mainspring housings on almost all of their guns. They aren't steel, but they are good quality polymer pieces and there's nothing wrong with them. Some people feel the need to change them out, others never even notice it's not steel. They are particularly nice on blued guns since you never have to worry about wearing the finish off of them. I plan on getting a stainless Colt XSE Government for my next gun. It's going to have the plastic MSH, but I don't think I'm going to spend the money to change it out. It's also going to have a FLGR, but again, I'm not wasting money to change it out. These aren't parts I desire in a 1911, but they aren't worth the time and money to change them out IMO. __________________ *"Si vis pacem, para bellum"* - If you want peace, prepare for war.