Base level 1911 upgrades

[longrangeshooter]

Afternoon everyone,

A while back I purchased a used but never carried or fired 1911, an American Classic made in the Phillipines. It's surprisingly well made and smooth with a good trigger and so far no issues. I'm wondering though what upgrades might be suitable for things like parts which are common failure points or things that might simply make a good gun better. Sights are pretty decent but there are better available. What I don't want to do is turn it into a $2500 gun. I'd like to make it into an even more reliable home defense gun or perhaps turn it into a good one for IDPA or other types of competition. I won't get terribly serious about competing but want to do well enough to have some fun. Practice practice practice of course but equipment failures are just annoying when one spends time doing proper maintenance. Ideas? Thanks.

LRS

[HiBC]

Opinions are like ....navels. Everybody's got one.
A pretty reliable rule is "If it ain't broke,don't fix it."

1911's and clones have been made by enough different manufacturers over 110years and are enough different stages of "broke in" that the aftermarket folks are in a tough spot.

If they had "the perfect blueprint" to make the precise part John Moses intended, odds are good 1) There is a reason someone is replacing the part
2) Due to wear or tolerance stack or a mongrel gun,a "perfect part" is not exactly what is needed. The Smith wants just a little extra steel for fitting.
Don't expect 1911 upgrade parts to be "drop in" Its often more than just replacing parts.
If you do buy parts,usually Cylinder and Slide,EGW, Harrison,Brown,Wilson,etc sell parts that are better than original.

While the 1911 LOOKS about as sophisticated as a Hi-lift jack,There is a finely choreographed dance that goes on with each cycle.There is an elegance there that must be understood.

Mere mortals can work on a 1911.But you have to understand there is some subtle stuff there that is not obvious.
"Fools rush in where Angels fear to tread"

OK,there is one part on a Philippine pistol likely to be substandard,that is critical to reliability,and you can't really screw up too bad. Magazines.
I suggest you go up to the tool bar and do a search on "1911 Magazines"
You will find some to read.Not every gun/ammo combination likes every magazine variant. Even among quality magazines. Wilson,Brown,McCormick,and several others have loyal following.Buy just one and test it. If your gun likes it,buy more.

I set my Son in Law up with an ATI Philippine 1911.He takes darn good care of my Daughter and Grandkids. I'm grateful.
Now,to start with,it worked. It didn't "Need fixin".

But,stripping it down,The barrel,frame,and slide were good. I lightly stoned the feed ramp with a polishing stone. They were fit together pretty darn good.
I did not much care for the small parts. They had a Harbor Freight look. "As cast" in places I figured needed to be better.

I put in a quality slide stop(Ed Brown or WilsonI forget),and a Cylinder and slide hammer,sear,disconnect,sear spring.(A "Duty and Carry" matched set.) And I replaced the thumb safety with a stock Colt thumb safety.This stuff requires some skill and experience. Not recommended for a first time kitchen table project.

I took three 1911's with various features over to see him. He got to select what sort of beavertail ,grips,and trigger length,and mainspring housing he preferred. I restaked the plunger tube.
I had proper tools to do all this.
I staked in a Trijicon Tritium front sight and fitted a NM Harrison U-notch rear sight. I really like that combination.

I burned a couple hundred rounds through it. It ran good and hit where it looked.

I gave it to him on Father's Day, and told him I was Grateful I had happy,healthy Daughter and Grandkids.

IF you have a good local 1911 Smith,you might let him massage and tune your extractor. And always feed your ammo out of the magazine. Do not put one round in the chamber and drop the slide.

Becoming a competent 1911 mechanic is possible but its a commitment. Kuhnhusen manuals,sear jig and stones,staking tools,proper screwdrives,etc.

Making it better,making it safe has to be done right, . You might buy a $45 grip safety more than once.

For one personal 1911,its probably not worth the investment. Find a GOOD 1911 smith. Pay the man (or Woman).

Or,if you are going to do it, maybe by the time you are done,that $1500 or $2000 gun MIGHT be a bargain.

If it ain't broke....

[RickB]

Having spent money on sights, safeties, etc., I'd say the the old, "Good trigger, and sights you can see" is as accurate as ever.
If you have G.I. sights, then bigger is better, but definitely no need to have the slide milled for sights.
Beavertails are a nice addition, but the whole, "beavertails are second only to a barrel" is way overplayed. A safety that doesn't wear a hole in your hand is all that's necessary.
Some people like a small thumb safety, while others like a lever that's extended in width and length; I like longer, but width is not a necessity.
I've been shooting this in IDPA for about fifteen years:

[Hawg]

If it ain't broke don't fix it. If you fix it you will probably break it.

[kenny53]

1911's from the Philippines, had a basic GI model I sold to a friend and I grieve the day I sold it. I made the grand total of zero upgrades/improvements to the gun. I bought a Ruger SR1911 and love it, made the same upgrades to this gun. I have also bought a commander size RIA bull barrel 1911, again same upgrades. The guns run well and hit to point of aim. I have no idea what I would do to make it better. The guns out shoot me.

[KyJim]

It was Lt. Col. Jeff Cooper, who helped usher in the "modern" use of 1911 pistols, who said the only thing the GI model 1911 needed was better sights and a better trigger.

Sounds like you have the trigger covered. You don't mention the sights, but I'm guessing they are better than the horrible, true GI sights. So, it seems like you have the basics.

I would suggest doing nothing for a while. Shoot it until you get a thousand rounds or more through the gun. Improperly made parts are likely to break or show improper wear by this time. You will also have the opportunity to see if you want to upgrade sights or something else.

All that said, you might look at a new slide stop since these are MIM parts in many lower cost 1911s. I'm not against any MIM, I just think this is a high stress part where a better part might be beneficial.

I agree with HiBC that you should stick with quality replacement parts from "Cylinder and Slide,EGW, Harrison,Brown,Wilson, etc." The Wilson Combat slide stop is "drop in" and shouldn't require fitting (or very little) and, as a bonus, has a detent to make insertion into the slide on reassembly easier. Not cheap, however.

[Crankylove]

Shoot it bunch.

Then shoot it some more.

And then shoot it some more.

If things break, replace them.

Figure out what you like, and don’t like about the gun, and fix those things.

[longrangeshooter]

Thanks for all the input. think for now I'll find a couple factory loads it likes and a couple reloads as well and put several hundred rounds through it.

[Polinese]

I've got the compact commander from them. It's been my carry gun for 5 or 6 years. I did put a wilson combat trigger in, though it was honestly more for aesthetic purposes. I also had it cerakoted cuz the blued finish rusted very easily. I did get some XS sights for it that I've yet to put on. Beyond that it's been very reliable and problem free.

[HighDesert]

Coming from a guy who’s modified just about everything, leave the 1911 alone unless you have good reason to mess with it. If it shoots straight and doesn’t hiccup, don’t touch it. Too many 1911s end up with problems. Sights, grips, etc. knock yourself out.

[Hawg]

I bought a RIA 1911 A1 FS tactical in 2011. All I've done is change the grips and get better magazines. The ACT mags they ship with do suck. I've not had one single problem with it in all that time. It feeds every type of ammo I've fed it. It even feeds empty cases. I've had three Colts and none of them fed empty cases.

[longrangeshooter]

One thing I will mention is that the mag that came with it feeds well but doesn't lock the slide open after the last round. I've purchased a couple of after market mags that seem to eliminate this problem but otherwise it runs very well. I wish it had a rail on it for a laser or light but not having that doesn't detract from the overall utility of it in my eyes. I like the overall classic layout of it and the build quality and have a few other pistols for adding bells and whistles.

[Kevin Rohrer]

I remember the saying about the sow's ear and silk purse...

[Polinese]

Can always get the TLR - 6 from streamlight if you really want a light or laser. I have a few of em.

[Blue Duck]

I have owned and shot 1911's for 40 years. Shot IPSC competition in the 80's, IDPA in later years, and also carried a Lightweight Commander for nearly as long.

Here's my take on it. For a competition gun, you might want more bells and whistles. For a carry gun, less is more to a degree. Regardless, the most important thing is reliability first and foremost. And you may need to shoot it some to figure out if you have some reliability issues. If you do start shooting some IDPA, with your stock gun, you will find out pretty quick if you have problems that need addressing.

To start with you need good magazines, and several of them. I like the Wilson mags, but there are others that are good too. Buy one mag, and see if your gun is 100% reliable with it, before buying several more.

Next thing is you need to by a good strong side holster and spare mag carrier.

Personal issues I have always had to deal with is being left handed. So, I always have to swap out to an ambi-safety. But if you are lucky enough to be right handed then don't waste money on an ambi-safety. But you do need a good safety that is not to small and not too big and works very positively with a good snick to the on and off positions.

The slide release is probably fine, don't go and add a big extended slide release even for competition, in my opinion. But it needs to work smoothly and be reliable.

Mag release button-don't go and add a big honking giant or extended mag release button. Once again mag release needs to work smoothly and reliability, and not be too difficult to push but not too easy either. Now, on some cheap guns, all of these parts may or may not be of acceptable quality. Start shooting a bunch and you will figure it out.

I would leave the sight alone for now, and replace only if you see a real need to.

One up grade you will want to do is file the sharp edges off of the mag well entrance. It may have already been beveled from the factory, but if square, a little work with a file can fix that. There are all kinds of add on and replace mag well extensions, etc. that can be installed but they are not really necessary, and add bulk and length to the grip. Add one only after looking at several options and determining a real need for it.

Mainspring housings, and also beavertail grip safeties can probably be left as is until you determine a real benefit to changing out if you every really need to. I personally don't like flat mainspring housing and always swap out to an arched mainspring housing but that is a personal thing, and most people like the flat one's these days.

Triggers, long, short, intermediate? Your gun probably has a long trigger, but could have a short one in it, depending on the model of gun you bought. Lots of people like the long trigger and it seems to be the most common on new guns. I kind of like the short trigger better but once again.it a personal thing. Shoot what you have until you really thing it needs changes.

Over all I would suggest not changing much until you see a real need for it. And yes, you can dump a lot of money in a cheap 1911, real quick, in just parts, and end with enough used parts to almost build another gun.

And of course grip panels are another upgrade point. And I must admit I almost always swap mine out for a nice set of sharp checkered wood grips.

[Jim Watson]

I have had very little actual breakage over nearly 50 years of competition with 1911 type guns.
I have replaced some parts for functionality. My SA MixMaster IDPA ESP is doing fine on its honed MIM lockwork at 3.75 lbs although the extractor wouldn't hold tension and had to be replaced.
The slide stop was engaging prematurely, I filed too much and it then wasn't engaging reliably, so bought a new one. Which I liked so much that I put one on my Colt even though the factory part worked well.