1911 question

[moooose102]

i do not own one, but have thought about it from time to time. my question is this, are all of the 1911's pretty much the same? what i mean, is do all the parts interchange, so that if you wanted to, or were in a jam, would the parts from a colt fit a kimber or taurus? is a 1911 magazine, a magazine, or do you have to have the correct part for your particular gun. the same for a slide, or sear, etc. the only reason that i think they might, is because the original design was government war issue for combat conditions. i know there are a lot of custom parts out there for the 1911. i just wonder if you have to order them for a certain make gun, or if they will all fit. thanks. any other model gun, if parts were interchangeable, it would be sheer coincidence. but i am not so sure on this one.

 

[bhhacker]

Mags are interchangeable, thats all im sure of

 

[rcmodel]

I'm not even too sure of that anymore!

No, not all 1911's have interchangable parts.

Everyone has been intent on changing things here & there because it was cheaper, or looked cooler, or something.

And everyone & his dog have made, or are making 1911's now. Many of those companies have come & gone because thier guns were so out of spec they didn't work.

No way are they all mil-spec 1911's any longer.
Not even close sometimes.

The only one I'd put all my money on anymore would be a real Colt 1911, with real Colt or old GI parts.

rcmodel

 

[MICHAEL T]

Just buy a Colt and be done with it

 

[BigO01]

All of the parts are suppose to fit any true 1911 copy but , I understand that due to manufacturing tolerance differences some of the parts makers turn out parts that are very slightly over sized .

When I put a extended slide release on one of my Charles Daly 1911's I found that it wouldn't quite go through the frame and barrel link .

I took a piece of 600 grit wet/dry and wrapped it around the pin section of the part and spent about 10 minutes spinning it around inside the sandpaper and it then went right in the gun , still a little tight but a little more time sanding solved that .

This was a Wilson part and I would rather it be a bit over sized than undersized and fall out of the gun or move around when firing and cause a jam .

 

[Zach S]

1911 parts are pretty much 1911 parts. There are some differences, for example Para ramped bbls and widebody triggers, but for the most part they're interchangable.

However, due to the number of 1911 and 1911 part manufacturers, a lot of parts are gunsmith fit, and not too many are drop in. Common drop in parts are MSHs and slide stops, and even they require fitting sometimes.

My dedicated rimfire 1911 is pretty much built with take-off parts.

 

[res1b3uq]

I bought a frame and a bag of parts recently. The only piece that required any modification was the mag release. The frame was brand new. The parts were old mil-spec. I had a complete pistol with no problems in 2 days.

 

[2nd 41]

Just buy a Colt and be done with it

You will not regret it

 

[Mad Magyar]

You notice in the Brownell & Midway catalog's on various 1911 parts:
"Some fitting may be required"....

 

[RobertFBurnett]

Way back in the day when I was reading Guns and Ammo in the early-mid 90's it seemed like there was always Some sort of 1911 customization guide or something. Then I ended up with a Kimer that had everything already done to it at the factory. Now in '08 the flgr being needed to reliability is being proven to be a fallacy and people are retro-fitting them with "GI" style guide rods. Oy!

Something I have not quite put my finger on yet makes me avoid Colts, of any type, SAA or 1911's. I'll tell ya though, for a real GI 1911 Tuners Remington-Rand has me thinking of making a non-Colt investment.

Like this one, but not necessarily this one: http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.asp?Item=95754293

Sweeeeet and the real deal it seems to me, imho,

RFB

 

[HisSoldier]

Gun makers are missing a good bet. Advertise that major components are within milspec tolerances, size and materials and processes. I think it would start a trend that would stop a lot of the complaints about 1911's.