1911 Guide Rod Guidance

Not to hijack your post Eddie, but why? Is there something wrong with your Tisas?

I have (1) 1911 with a full length guide rod (Kimber) and (2) 1911's (Colt, Dan Wesson) without full length guide rods. I can't see where either is any better than the other. I can see the possibly going to a flat wire spring set up because from what I have read the flat wire springs last longer the conventional springs. The conventional springs are relatively cheap and flat wire kind of pricey so it has always seemed like kind of a wash with me and I have stayed with the conventional spring and guide rod set up.

eddiememphis said:

NOTE: This kit is not compatible with any Colt or Springfield Armory firearm

Why is that?

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I don't know, exactly. However, I don't see a "Commander" length spring and guide rod on the Wilson site.

https://shopwilsoncombat.com/Flat-Wire-Recoil-Springs_Kits/products/442/

A Commander has a 4.25" barrel. Wilson, and actually Springfield, didn't make a 4.25" barreled gun until fairly recently. Their short barreled, full grip guns were like the Kimber Pro models with a 4" barrel.

Wilson only shows that spring/guide rod option for a 5" gun or a 4" gun, and not a 4.25" Commander size gun.

Colt, and now Springfield (unless you count the EMP), doesn't make a 4" gun, only 4.25" barreled guns.

None of the 2700 Bullseye Pistol shooters I know use a guide rod. If a guide rod made an infinitesimal improvement in accuracy, everyone would be using them.

I came to the conclusion that guide rods create more problems than they solve.

This is relevant:

Slamfire said:

None of the 2700 Bullseye Pistol shooters I know use a guide rod. .

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They probably all use a guide rod, they probably just don't use full length guide rods.

Pure preference. A heavy guide rod may make a fractional difference in the feel of the recoil, and a full-length one does allow you to remove the slide with the recoil spring captive, which is nice. However, the full-length guide rods aren't all created equal. The two-piece ones are the absolute worst.

eddiememphis said:

I asked why the Wilson kit is incompatible with Colt and Springfield. Both manufacturers make or have made 4" 9mm 1911s.

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Colt has never made a 4" 1911.

Wilson makes good stuff. Parts for 1911's are pretty much interchangeable (don't confuse with plug and play). Fitting may be required.

Wilson makes good stuff. Parts for 1911's are pretty much interchangeable (don't confuse with plug and play). Fitting may be required.

Slamfire said:

None of the 2700 Bullseye Pistol shooters I know use a guide rod. If a guide rod made an infinitesimal improvement in accuracy, everyone would be using them.

I came to the conclusion that guide rods create more problems than they solve.

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Strongly agree. I dislike them very much. Any gun that requires a tool to feild strip is a fail, in my book.

eddiememphis said:

I asked why the Wilson kit is incompatible with Colt and Springfield. Is it just the 4 inch vs. "commander" 4.25 inch barrel? That makes sense, although Springfield makes 4" 1911s.

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Yes.
Springfield no longer makes 4" 1911s. I don't know if the EMP takes standard 1911 spring sets.
If you want a flat wire recoil spring for your 4.25" gun you can get the rod and spring from EGW.
https://www.egwguns.com/1-pc-ss-commander-1-4-guide-rod-w-ss-spring-plug

If you need something other than a 14 or 22 lb spring (at the bottom of the page showing the rod), you can get it direct from ISMI.
https://www.ismi-gunsprings.com/?product=1911-commander-flatwire-recoil-springs

eddiememphis said:

I am curious why Wilson claims that particular parts kit won't work with Colt or Springfield. What the design differences are that make them incompatible.

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Will give you even odds the recoil plug diameter is just enough different to spoil the fit of the Wilson parts.

Recall that the recoil plug needs a hole for the FLGR to fit through, so you need a certain amount of "meat" so the plug retains material strength, as it's a load-bearing part.

Full length commander size guide rod @ WC.

Here's a few 1911 Commanders from my armory. All have WC 2-piece guide rods and utilize a reverse plug. A Colt Officer 1911 3-5/8" barrel with 2 piece Wilson guide rod and reverse plug; slide modified to fit the reverse plug which gives 240 degrees of plug support versus the usual single tab guide rod bushing.

For the 1911 guide rods that use a free spring that can be captured by a pin, I fabricated a simple tool to compress the spring onto the guide rod for easy one-handed pin insertion.

For guide rods that don't have a pin spring-retention option, I fabricated a simple compression tool that allows one to install guide rod springs with just one hand avoiding the struggle of trying to fit a guide rod thru a spring that wants to bend and coil every which way but on to the rod. It's also much safer as the spring tension is always controlled.
The block is delrin; various diameter and length brass / aluminum guiding rods.

a5werkes said:

A Colt Officer 1911 3-5/8" barrel with 2 piece Wilson guide rod and reverse plug; slide modified to fit the reverse plug which gives 240 degrees of plug support versus the usual single tab guide rod bushing.

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I've had a LW Officer's Model since 1982. I replaced the Colt recoil spring bushing which was known to fail with a Clark early on. Recoil spring life was short but it was a carry piece not a competition pistol so I wasn't concerned with spring life until a few months ago when I finally gave in and decided to convert it over to flat wire for the much greater spring life. I used the EGW spring kit and had to modify the recoil spring tunnel again to accommodate the wider flange of the EGW recoil spring bushing.

a5werkes said:

For the 1911 guide rods that use a free spring that can be captured by a pin, I fabricated a simple tool to compress the spring onto the guide rod for easy one-handed pin insertion.

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Pretty clever. EGW uses the same design of a free spring captured by a pin. I just use the slide to accomplish this task. It's not nearly as elegant as your solution.

One last hijacking thought on guide rods & springs. For me compressing the 20+ pound springs forward to drop the barrel link in place is hard! I modified a simple
Harbor Freight polymer tool (sold in 4 piece kits for removing / installing auto interior panels). Shortened the angled wedge end which is used to compress forward the installed
spring-guide rod assembly which can be held one hand easily due to its long purchase surface; the barrel link is easily dropped down into position. Done. Photos show the ease of the now one-handed installation. Also use the non-marring tool to remove some 1911 grips from the inside.