Love shooting my carry pistol but.

Status
Not open for further replies.
C

cw308

Member
Joined
Nov 2, 2015
Messages
186
Location
Long Island New York
Since I bought this pistil I can't stop shooting it 50 rounds of 230 gr FMJ every week . The pistol is a Colt New Agent in 45acp has a 3" SS barrel steel slide aluminum frame . I changed the dual spring assembly to a EGW single 21lb. recoil spring an full size guide rod , much stronger then the original. I reload using W231 4.6 gr. works the slide with no issues even though it's a mild load . Had the pistol for 2 years , doesn't show any real wear or the frame loosening up . What do you think the life span would be on the gun shooting it the way I do and what I'm feeding it . I give it a good cleaning every time I shoot it . Love the gun even carry it in a custom holster by R Grizzle . My other pistols are sleeping in the safe .
 
Lifespan? I'm guessing shooting 2600 rounds a year isn't going to wear it out anytime soon. Maybe change your recoil spring often though since it's your carry gun and stick to mild loads for practice.
 
Pay attention to where your gun throws the brass with a particular load. When the distance gets farther than it originally was, swap springs.

You likely never wear it out.

Clean it every time if it makes you feel good....I don't. I have a 1911 that has yet to be disassembled or cleaned in any way. It is still running great.
 
I had the same question after I bought my Sig P365. I work at a range and shot that gun nearly every shift and it is my primary carry gun. I wound up buying a second P365 just for carry. Between the two, I think I have all my bases covered.
 
ATLDave said:
Why did you change the recoil spring assembly to a different configuration?
Click to expand...
Same question I have, why? I would think the engineers at Colt have a pretty good idea of what they are doing.

50 rounds a week isn't a lot of shooting and will not stress the gun in the least, 500 a week might. lol
 
Far be it from me to criticize someone for tinkering with their guns to suit their own needs/wants, but short 1911's are finicky little things with narrow operating windows. That double-spring might have been just the ticket for keeping excess loads off some part... or maybe not. Maybe it is too stiff for the kinds of loads the OP likes. He may have very good reasons for having made the change... but I do wonder what they are.
 
cw308 said:
Since I bought this pistil I can't stop shooting it 50 rounds of 230 gr FMJ every week . The pistol is a Colt New Agent in 45acp has a 3" SS barrel steel slide aluminum frame . I changed the dual spring assembly to a EGW single 21lb. recoil spring an full size guide rod , much stronger then the original. I reload using W231 4.6 gr. works the slide with no issues even though it's a mild load . Had the pistol for 2 years , doesn't show any real wear or the frame loosening up . What do you think the life span would be on the gun shooting it the way I do and what I'm feeding it . I give it a good cleaning every time I shoot it . Love the gun even carry it in a custom holster by R Grizzle . My other pistols are sleeping in the safe .
Click to expand...

Convert pistol (s) in safe into 1911 target model and the concern will go away.
 
cw308

I doubt 50 rounds a week of 230 gr. FMJ is going to cause that much undue stress on the aluminum frame of your Colt New Agent. I have a stock steel frame Colt Officer's Model ACP that's over 30 years old and has seen a pretty steady diet of 185 gr. and 200 gr. handloads run through it over the years with the occasional 230 gr. FMJ ammo when I run out of the reloaded stuff. Still going strong without any problems or excessive wear and tear on any part of the gun.

Tdhg5mB.jpg
 
The reason I changed the recoil assembly . Colt awhile back had problems with the assembly where the guide rods were flying down range , pretty flimsy unit , the rod is held together by a e-clip attached to a thin back stop. Was surprised Colt didn't come up with a stronger system , maybe a cost thing .
Did some reading on the assembly by EGW , the assembly is one solid piece using a reverse plunger an a flat wire coil spring . I have a spare EGW flat wire spring , two complete Colt assemblies , and two pare of Colt dual springs . The Colt units were bought when I first bought the pistol , will use the on and off but the quality bothered me , like the weakest link . Never had any issues with either system , the pistol is a pleasure to shoot , also came with CT Laser grips , which is another fun thing to use .
Never like to play with something that is working fine but if let's say the gun came with a plastic trigger and you could switch it out for steel or aluminum , this gun comes with a plastic main spring housing and some are changing to a steel or aluminum , I'm not sure which , that didn't bother me , Im leaving it as is unless it creates a problem down the road . Like I mentioned before I have carried other guns for work S&W snub 38 spl and a 3" HB 357 S&W but this 3" 1911 I just enjoy so much , don't want to beat it up too much.
 
cw308 said:
3" 1911 I just enjoy so much , don't want to beat it up too much.
Click to expand...

Buy another one and toss it in the safe, keep shooting your current one till it breaks... should give you many many more years at your current rate.
 
cw308 said:
I changed the dual spring assembly to a EGW single 21lb. recoil spring an full size guide rod , much stronger then the original.
Click to expand...
Stronger in spring weight, or just a unit that will hold up better?

Stronger in spring weight is not needed and will not be easier on the gun, but harder.
 
The guide rod assembly is much stronger , the 21 lb. Spring is what EGW recommended for my pistol , all I can say is the action is much smoother and is working flawlessly . Would recommend the assembly for Colt Defender or Kimber 3" 1911's.
 
50rds/week isn't going to put much wear on that gun unless you neglect changing out recoil springs or not using grease on the rails...since it's a Carry gun, I'd use grease during practice and lube with oil when carried.. In either case 50rds/week isn't very many rounds...now if you increase that to 200/week in practice, I might paid a bit more attention. You're likely to be causing more wear through cleaning it that often than shooting it at that rate

The trick to keeping a pistol with as narrow an operating window as a 3" 1911-platform running reliably is to set up a regular ritual of recoil spring changes. You could contact the manufacturer to see what they recommend, but I think it would be on the order of every 3k rounds
 
Like 9mmepiphany said, keep it clean, lubed, and replace springs as necessary.

There are 1911 pistols made in in the 1910s and 1920s that still work fine.

Shooting 2600 rounds of 230-grain FMJ a year, I would be shocked if you needed to replace the frame in your lifetime.
 
Unless you are a competitor, why would you want to practice with anything other than your carry gun? Of course, there is the pure fun of playing with your safe queens or not-queens, but you want to be the most proficient with the carry guns. I wouldn't worry about wearing anything out other than the occasional spring. Just pay attention to how it behaves at the range.
 
Thanks guys , I feel better . I know nothing lasts forever except RCBS warranty , but shoot the little guy every time with no interest in shooting my other pistols . Great little gun.
 
tarosean said:
Buy another one and toss it in the safe, keep shooting your current one till it breaks... should give you many many more years at your current rate.
Click to expand...
Yeah, this. Looks like you have found the perfect gun for you. All I have to add is: Congratulations! Enjoy.
 
I would change the recoil spring and lube it as needed, as others have said.

I would also clean it less often... maybe closer to every 200 rounds?

I am definitely not an expert, and someone may certainly correct me, but it's possible that if you give it a thorough cleaning every 50 rounds, the cleaning might cause some parts as much wear as the shooting does.
 
I don't see any good quality made firearm being worn out by a few rounds weekly practice. Sure you will have to replace some parts as they wear, like the recoil spring, but the frame and slide should last a lifetime, unless you are doing tens of thousands of rounds of competition shooting each year.

As far as changing the original goes... I'm curious why as well. I got my S&W 1911 used. The former owner put in a double spring that is very stiff to shoot +P rounds. It does that well, but now it doesn't lock open on an empty mag with standard rounds. I still shoot them for practice, but carry with +P, so it's no biggie. I could always buy a new spring. I'll have to one day anyhow.

My cleaning is I run a bore snake through it, and lube it... I only detail clean it once a year. Keep in mind, I'm not shooting thousands of rounds...
 
A heavier spring in a 1911 will likely accelerate wear. Particularly on an alloy frame.

The barrel is “locked” until pressure drops a little and then unlocks and the slide starts moving back.

A heavier recoil spring will slam the slide shut with more authority. That energy is absorbed by the slide stop pin and the holes in the frame.

A heavier spring is not necessarily bad, and if your gun runs, that’s great. But, it’s not always necessary or desirable.
 
Life span is measured in the high 10s of thousands of rounds. Shooting uspsa I put through 5k rounds a year, shot for six years with that gun; replaced an extractor and springs. I don't shoot uspsa now but the gun still shoots competition accurate...and smooth as silk. Check back in 20 years and tell us how the gun is still shooting.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

velocette
  • Locked
Back to my 1911 roots
Replies
20
Views
1K
Spats McGee
Spats McGee
D
  • Locked
Shooting the AMT Automag II
Replies
0
Views
520
Drakejake
D
Jamie B
  • Locked
Callin' Tuner! SA Micro recoil spring question.
Replies
15
Views
691
1911Tuner
1
P
  • Locked
semi auto pistol shoot
Replies
2
Views
457
pakmcc
P
CDW4ME
  • Locked
My favorite 45 pistols
Replies
15
Views
1K
ceadermtnboy
C
Back
Top