1911 Pickiness

[anapex]

Ok so I'm looking at what I want in a 1911 and what is currently available. Suffice to say I'm not finding anything that I want. I'm looking for something that comes with the following (or without).

Short trigger.
No front slide serrations.
Novak style sights.
No magazine well thingamabob.
flat main spring housing.
mil-spec style beaver tail (no huge thing I could paddle a canoe with).
non-ambi safety (only need it for a righty).
parked or blued but no stainless.

The springfield loaded comes close to this but not quite. So is there any manufacturer out there that has a base model like this? Or am I better off buying a mil-spec version of something and then building up?

Oh yeah forgot to add this too No rail!

Ok one more thing I also forgot to add, No external extractor.

 

[WJR]

In my opinion, you should buy the basic Blued Colt NRM 1991A1. Add a short trigger and get Novaks installed and you are in business.

WJR

 

[9x19]

With such odd tastes your best bet is to buy a standard model and add the parts you like (Novaks, etc.).

Springfield will get you in the basic gun for the least money, and do so without a firing pin safety, if such is your wont.

Colt also has a basic model, though it will cost a bit more, and have a firing pin safety.

 

[Sean Smith]

What you want is a Model NSG... "NSG" standing for No Such Gun.

Production guns tend to have either mil-spec-style features, or custom-style features, not a mix of the two.

Simplest way to get what you want would be to get a Colt 01991 series gun or a SA Milspec and add the Novaks and short trigger. Or get a new Series 70 Colt, which already has a short trigger, and replace the arched mainspring housing with a flat one & add the Novaks.

A somewhat more elaborate custom package in the same vein as what you are describing is Ted Yost's 1* custom package.

http://www.yost-bonitz.com/1asterisk.htm

 

[anapex]

Sean, yeah the 1* is pretty much what I want, except well it's $795 and you supply the gun!


But otherwise very nice very nice.

 

[1911Tuner]

The solution

Call Caspian. Buy a few good books. Go hang out with a couple of
local pistolsmiths that know the 1911. Take your time and build it yourself.

Caspian will make the sight cuts for the Novak Lo-Mounts. You can
have one with a unique serial number and/or your initials for less than a
grand, and it'll be one of a kind, built to suit your individual needs and
tastes.

Cheers!

Tuner

 

[Old Fuff]

Tuner is right if you want to build a gun (or have someone do it for you). Otherwise I would buy a used Series 70 or earlier Colt and have Novak sights installed. The pistol should come with a short trigger, and you can switch out the mainspring housing yourself without any special tools or skills. Otherwise the Colt matches your requirements, and none of the internal parts are made from questionable materials. Go for it!

 

[anapex]

After looking at a regular "combat sight" 1911 slide and one cut for novaks the novak cut seems a bit further up on the slide. Would this cause a problem if you wanted to have a slide with milspec sights cut for novaks?

 

[Old Fuff]

No, I don't think so. The slide is milled flat behind the dovetail that's cut for the Novak sight. The designer intended that it could be mounted on a modified Mil-Spec slide. You will also need a new front sight .

 

[anapex]

Ok what about going from milspec sights to novak low mounts? Cause I swear those ones look further away from the rear of the slide then combat sights do.

 

[Andrew Wyatt]

Short trigger. No front slide serrations. Novak style sights. No magazine well thingamabob. flat main spring housing. mil-spec style beaver tail (no huge thing I could paddle a canoe with). non-ambi safety (only need it for a righty). parked or blued but no stainless.

okay. You need to ask yourself why you want novak sights.

DO you shoot ammunition that shoots to a vastly different point of aim when you change types?

unless you regularly need to rezero your gun, you're better off with the fixed sights on the SA milspec (not the WWII milspec) than adjustables, as they don't unadjust themselves under conditions that would not kill you.

get an SA milspec. call up smith and alexander, and order a flat MSH with internals, and acquire a short trigger by some other means, install them both and be happy.

 

[Sean Smith]

okay. You need to ask yourself why you want novak sights.

DO you shoot ammunition that shoots to a vastly different point of aim when you change types?

unless you regularly need to rezero your gun, you're better off with the fixed sights on the SA milspec (not the WWII milspec) than adjustables, as they don't unadjust themselves under conditions that would not kill you.

get an SA milspec. call up smith and alexander, and order a flat MSH with internals, and acquire a short trigger by some other means, install them both and be happy.

HINT: Standard Novak sights aren't adjustable.

Both the LoMount Novaks and Dovetail Carry Novaks are fixed sights. The only adjusting you can do to them is the same adjusting you do to the standard SA Milspec sights, i.e. drift the whole rear sight left or right.

Novak does sell an adjustable sight now, the "Extreme Duty," but those aren't what most people are talking about when the refer to "Novaks."

 

[Old Fuff]

Since you are not sure if a Novak sight will go on a Mil-Spec slide I'd contact them and ask. I also believe that Brownells (www.brownells.com) carry Novak sights, and they could tell you. I think they also have the milling cutters to make the correct cuts.

Bottom line: I don't think Novak would make a sight that couldn't be mounted on a regular slide (after making necessary dovetail cuts) because doing so would cut them out of a major part of the potential market.

 

[Andrew Wyatt]

HINT: Standard Novak sights aren't adjustable.

okay, so what's the point of doing all that milling, then? the springfield sights are nice and big and they're fixed.

 

[BluesBear]

The purpose of the Novak sight is to present a clear, easy to aquire sight picture while being as snag proof as possible.

Sights do you no good whatsoever if your pistol is caught on your clothing.

 

[Slowhand]

I can see why people like the look of guns with standard grip sfaeties, but man, to me, the beavertail makes the gun much more comfortable to shoot.

 

[Brian Williams]

Get a Sistema 1927
It has

Short trigger.
No front slide serrations.
No magazine well thingamabob.
mil-spec style beaver tail (no huge thing I could paddle a canoe with).
non-ambi safety (only need it for a righty).
parked or blued but no stainless.


add a
flat main spring housing.


Novak style sights.
Replace the front sight with a true 1911A1 wide sight($25) and cut a square notch in the rear. or Get a Chip McCormick Drop-in rear sight
http://chipmccormickcorp.temppublis...reen=CTGY&Store_Code=CMC&Category_Code=N2LMRS

Oh yeah forgot to add this too No rail!
Sistema's were made in 1940's and 50's to colt GI specs

Ok one more thing I also forgot to add, No external extractor.
Nice Spring Steel one included.

 

[Sean Smith]

okay, so what's the point of doing all that milling, then? the springfield sights are nice and big and they're fixed.

Most people think Novaks give you a better sight picture. I like Yost-Bonitz sights for the standard Colt dovetail, myself. Or Heinie Slant-Pros if you don't mind milling the slide.

 

[Andrew Wyatt]

aye.

The springfield srmory milspec sights are the same dimensions as the sights dad has on his commmander (which were aftermarket high visibility ones) . if they're compatable with a normal height front blade, I don't really see them providing that much of a better sight picture.

as for the no snag, do other people pocket carry their 1911s?

 

[Sean Smith]

*Shrug*

People have different preferences for the sight picture on their gun. I'm not sure what else there is to say about it, pro or con. The FBI chose Novaks for their SWAT 1911s, and the Marines chose Novaks for their Kimber ICQB guns, so apparently they have SOMETHING going for them.