Commander bushing trouble...

[Catmman]

I'm having some trouble with a 1991 A1 Commander. The bushing is impacting the first locking lug area when the slide is in full recoil, causing the bushing lug to deform the mortise on the slide. This makes the bushing stand off the front of the slide by about 1/16". It's getting worse and I'm pretty sure it'll destroy the slide if I continue to shoot it. I've tried 3 different commander length bushings without any luck but the barrel is stock.

I guess my question is; do I buy an aftermarket barrel with a new bushing and hope they don't impact, or get a bull barrel from Storm Lake?
Any advice will be appreciated.

 

[Jim Watson]

I'd get it to a real gunsmith.
That sounds to me like somebody is selling GM bushings as Commander or put a sawn off GM barrel in a Commander.

 

[Catmman]

Well, the barrel came with the pistol from Colt as did the first bushing that gave me trouble. The next two bushings are definitely commander length.

Absolutely no gunsmiths in my area, I have to fix it myself.

 

[kaferhaus]

Your problem has nothing to do with the barrel. At some point the pistol has had the wrong bushing in it which has allowed it to move back and forth thus "peening" the recess in the slide.

You'll need a oversized bushing fitted to the slide to correct the problem IF there hasn't already been too much damage done to the slide. You've already changed the bushing with a drop in fit one..... so that tells me the slide has been damaged.

You're best bet is to ship the slide, barrel and bushing to a gunsmith and let him fix it.

 

[GURU1911]

Contact brownell's & request a copy of their free 1911 brochure. Look for an over-size commander barrel bushing. The od of the bushing will have to be turned down to fit the id of the slide. The id of the new bushing will have to be reamed to fit the od of the barrel. This will solve your problem with the sloppy bushing. Contact me for further info if you cannot do the install yourself.

 

[Jolly Rogers]

Sounds like Colt should get a shot at fixing it.
Joe