1911 Help please

[RugerNut9]

I have a Para Ordnance GI Expert and its an excellent gun right now, no problems really but I just got done modding my Glock (another awesome out of the box gun) and now I feel the need to mod my other favorite gun to shoot... any suggestions? Let's say the price range is less than $100 at a time per purchase. Any help is appreciated.
Thanks Guys....and girls

 

[mattlove444]

First thing i would do is upgrade the grips and put on an ambi safety. Oh and buy a lot of high quality mags such as Chip McCormick mags. They have a sale on their blued powermags right now

 

[RugerNut9]

Oh I've got some pretty bad@$$ grips on the way haha, their black and tan with a raised Punisher skull on them

thanks by the way

 

[Mags]

VZ grips, Nighthawk or Tripp mags, night sights and maybe a mag well. Forget the ambi safety or any other internal tuning.

 

[rduckwor]

Buy good mags and ammunition. Learn to shoot it. The best mod you can make is training. Don't touch the internals UNLESS you are certain of your actions. A 1911 IS NOT a Glock.

RMD

 

[RugerNut9]

Well it shoots pretty much dead on now, so Im goin for prettying it up more than performance right now, I mean the only internal thing I was considering was a new recoil spring, but it may not be necessary I guess, I mean I dont shoot 45acp reloads
thanks for the input

 

[Winkman822]

I'd say the best thing you can do is get some good combat magazines from Wilson Combat, perhaps a trigger job down the line IF and ONLY IF the trigger pull is gritty, excessively heavy, has unreasonable overtravel, or take up, or breaks inconsistently. Aside from that, throw on some night sights and call it a day.

As a super cheap tweak that will immensely help, throw a piece of skateboard tape on the frontstrap to give you a better hold of the gun, and if you end up liking that, you may consider checkering down the line, but that will require refinishing the frame.

 

[9mmepiphany]

well, for pretty, how about a custom rear sight or serrations on the top of the slide

maybe a blended magwell and fitted beavertail

 

[RancidSumo]

How many rounds have you fired through this pistol?

 

[RugerNut9]

about 500 or so

 

[The Lone Haranguer]

If it is reliable, don't even think about any "mods" that will compromise that. That means no "reliability packages," guide rods, different recoil springs, feed ramp polishing, trigger jobs or anything of that sort. Night sights (and you can get by with just a front one) are beneficial, and personalized grips are OK. You will want more magazines than the one or two the gun came with.

 

[RugerNut9]

Thanks for the help

 

[Caliper_Mi]

I recently picked up a GI Expert as well and will second what The Lone Haranguer said. I liked the GI because it does NOT have the beavertail or extended safeties that IMO detract from the aesthetics of the gun. I might consider trigger work in the future however - I read some people talking about 4-5# triggers on these guns, but mine is heavier. Not bothering me right now though, the sights stay dead on when dry firing.

I have picked up a flush fit 7 round mag for the gun and will probably get a few more mags. I have also thought about filing the notch on the rear sight deeper as it obscures the front sight dot when the three dots are lined up.

Oh, one more "accessory" I bought - a reloading press!

 

[Damon555]

I'm in the "don't change a thing camp".....If it's functioning perfectly why mess with it? A few cosmetic changes won't hurt anything but if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

People on the internet will tell you that this part is junk or that part will break after 50,000 rounds. Don't pay attention to that.....These guns come from the factory with the parts that they need to function properly...Granted there might be a lemon every now and then, but in general the various manufacturers have this 1911 thing figured out.

 

[Magnumite]

Having owned and dealt with PO I could list five things right now pending inspecting and shooting you pistol. However, that's not important. what is important is:

After shooting it, what would you like to change concerning it's performance and shootability. Getting others' opinions don't help if those mods don't help you shoot the gun more efficiently. This was said is with aesthetics aside, that's a personal taste issue.