1911 barrel bushing.

[Rebel2345]

I noticed it felt a little loose when the slide was back, I could see a gap between the barrel and the bushing.

Took my calipers and got a barrel measurement of .575 thousandths of an inch.
The bushing measures .610 thousandths of an inch.



Time for a barrel bushing?

 

[Bullseye57]

The barrel bushing is supposed to be loose around the barrel of a locked open slide. The gap is there to reduce friction and make locking and unlocking the barrel easier. The bushing is only tight around the end of the barrel when the slide is closed. The end of the barrel is actually flared wider than the rest of the barrel for a tight lock up. Remove the barrel and bushing and manually slide the bushing up and down the length of the barrel. You'll see the change in the barrel's diameter better.

Hope this helps.

R,
Bullseye

 

[The Lone Haranguer]

I noticed it felt a little loose when the slide was back, I could see a gap between the barrel and the bushing.

Irrelevant. The bushing only needs to fit the barrel when the slide is forward ("in battery").

 

[Rebel2345]

I tore it down and took those measurements from the business end of the barrel, exactly where the bushing seats when closed. I guess I should have mentioned that before. It tapers down to about .572 near the chamber.

So, with around .035 thousandths of free space, isnt that considered to be a little loose?

 

[The Lone Haranguer]

I don't know what the spec is (if there is any) for play or clearance between the muzzle and bushing. But remember that there has to be enough to allow the barrel to tilt downward as the slide moves back under recoil.

The bushing also has to fit snugly (but not too tightly if you still want to remove it with your fingers and not with a bushing wrench) in the slide as well.

 

[mtngunr]

The only question that needs answering is "has accuracy deteriorated?"....."average" barrel/bushing clearance according to Jerry K. is .005"....

 

[loop]

For optimum accuracy combined with reliability you want one one-thousandth clearance between the bushing and the slide and the barrel and the bushing.

If memory serves me correctly, five one-thousandths total is the max on US government specs.

Check out Evolution Gun Works. They'll make you a custom bushing for under $25. Tolerances will probably be so tight you'll have to take some 400 grit sandpaper to it to make it fit.

While you are at it, order an EGW oversized slide stop. Normal wear will reduce the quality of the lockup between slide stop, slide and barrel. The oversized slide stop will take up as much as .004 of that slop.

Yeah, get a bushing. Costs $25 shipped. It makes your gun more accurate. Cheapest way there is to reduce groups from five inches to two.

Just be prepared to spend two to four hours making it fit with sandpaper in one hand and a finger jammed up a bushing in the other.

DO NOT RESORT TO SHORTCUTS IN SIZING THE BUSHING.

Do it right and it will pay off. Take a shortcut, like attach it to a drill and you threw away $25.

 

[Rebel2345]

Thanks for clearing that up for me Loop, I'll look into getting a bushing from EGW.

And being the "I'll be P.O.'d if I mess this up" kind of guy that I am, I'll probably take the barrel and bushing to a gunsmith and have it fitted.