A question about buying a springfield .45 GI

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young hunter

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I am thinking about buying a springfield GI .45 and doing my own upgrades to it so that i have more knowledge about it than i would with just buying a gun with everthing already done to it for me . Also I like the idea of customizing it myself and would have more pride and satisfaction in it that it was something I did instead of just buying it that way . Anyway what i was wanting to know is what everyone thinks about this and any ideas or comments they have eather good or bad and any ideas about what i should do to it .The changes I am thinking i will do are putting hogue grips on it , possably changing out the trigger , I was also wondering if i should put an aftermarket barrel into it and if so what one ? Beond that I was just going to do changes as they came to my attention for personal prefrance . Any Ideas and or comments are apprecated and hoped for since i am more framiliar with rifles and am just getting into handguns so almost everyone has more experience and knowledge with them than myself . thank you for your time
 
I recently sold a GI.

It was a great pistol.

My only complaint with the pistol was the low-profile sights that come on the GI. It's a silly complaint, given they were plenty good enough for our men and women at war for decades. But I just didn't like them.

If I'm not mistaken (and I may well be), to put novaks or any other type of "upgraded" sight system on the GI would call for milling of the slide. I just didn't want to drop the money in it at this point, so I sold it.

It is a great gun, though, to use as a foundation for a custom piece.

Good luck,
John
 
A Springfield GI is a great platform for a Custom 1911. BUT, you might want to start with the Springfield Mil Spec. It already has better sights and a lowered ejection port.
Even with that before you start making changes put LOTS of ammo through it to decide what it needs vs what is already has. I currently carry a GI as my CCW and it has a smooth trigger and functions 100%.
You will get lots of advice on what to do and not to do. BUT as I like to say; Don't let other people spend your money.
And welcome to THR!
 
Spend the extra dollars and get the Mil Spec. The only mod I think you should consider immediately is to replace the arched backstrap with a flat one; but only if the gun handles and points better for you in that configuration. A rental range or buddies w/ 1911's in both configurations are handy for that.
After that, shoot the gun extensively as is. You may find that you don't need or want anything else in the way of modifications.
A Springfield Mil Spec has been one of my carry guns for years. I even used it as a duty pistol. Other than replacement of the arched backstrap (w/ goofy keylock) with a flat backstrap (w/o goofy keylock) and having a pistolsmith smooth the trigger pull a bit, I've done nothing to it. It shoots accurately and reliably and I've always followed the "if it ain't broke" axiom.
 
If you want to have a semi custom 1911 then go this route. If you want a true custom 1911, then build it up from the frame. Have a good smith fit the slide, barrel, do the milling. If you want to do some of the work then work on fitting the small parts.

A better idea may be to find a smith that will let you watch as he does the work.
 
If you want to do the work yourself, start with the Mil-Spec model. Unless you are a machinist with experience dovetailing new sights on the slide, you will not be able to change them at all (and the GI sights are just plain terrible).

If you get a GI-45 and decide to pay to have new sights put on later, you will have spent as much if not more than the price difference between the GI-45 to Mil-Spec . Everything else you can do yourself over time.
 
I have a 4" "champion", GI. Its been a great gun. As said before the sights are not that great. A milspec might be a better option if you are planning to make a BBQ gun. But I bought mine for nostalgia kind of reasons. I think they look best just left alone.
 
I have the stainless steel USGI, and the only mod was an ambi-safety cause I'm a lefty. Great gun just the way she is.
 
Skip the GI and get the mil-spec. The mil spec has sights I can see, a lowered and flared ejection port, and the magwell is beveled well enough to rivial my Kimbers.

I changed the trigger on mine for a long one, put Kimber rubber grips on it and swapped the arched MSH out for a flat one. I had I bunch stuff planned for it, but the more I shot it the less I wanted to do it.
 
I had a guy at a local gun shop say he sold the milspec in the low $500 range around $520 to $540 . Everywhere I look in catalogs or buyers guides the say msrp is around $750 but as we all know hardly anything sells for msrp . Anyway my question is is this a good price , about avarege , or a bad price to pay . Oh BTW it is for a new milspec not a used one .
 
+1 on the Mil-Spec. I have one that was used as part of a well known gunsmith's "Project Street Gun."
 
starting with a G.I. or Mil-Spec.

It really depends on how much you're willing to put into it. The Mil-Spec comes with some nice goodies, but it's only a bargain if you plan to keep those goodies. Examples, I don't like 3-dot sights and find modified ejection ports on a S.D. gun pointless. Advantage G.I. Maybe you just love those two things, advantage Mil-Spec.

Here's the bottom line. If the Mil-Spec has features you already like, get it and some of the work will already be done for you. If you plan to eplace everything anyway with top shelf parts and do heavy modifications, go with the G.I.

As for sights on a G.I., Yost makes a "retro" rear that fits the existing dovetail and Kings makes medium tennon sight to fit the front.
 
I bought a new Parkerized Mil-Spec several years ago, and made only a very few minor changes to it. If you get the GI, you may want to look at these as well. They're easy and take only minutes.

The firing pin indents in my primers were extremely light, so I replaced the titanium firing pin with one of Wilson Combat's steel 9mm firing pins, and replaced the heavier firing pin spring with a standard one. Resolved that issue instantly.

I also replaced the MIM extractor with an Ed Brown steel extractor and tuned it properly. Now all my brass falls where it should.

I'd like to replace the MSH just because I hate locks, but it has run like a champ for a few years now and I love it! If I don't change another thing that's just fine.
 
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