Got my first 1911 - Questions

[SullyVols]

I picked up a Remington r1 1911 from my local gun shop today. If no one has seen it, it's pretty much the basics. I for one really preferred the looks, it doesn't have anything flamboyant on it. Plus it was the 2nd cheapest 1911 my store had.

I haven't shot it yet, but everything seems to function right. The only auto-loader I have owned is a Glock 17, so I had quite a time dissembling and then reassembling it.

How much damage will dry firing do (over time)? I've been told different things by different people.

What kind of lubricant should I use on it? - I believe it's almost entirely 416 stainless steel.

It has some kind of softish-wood checkered grips. Any replacement grip ideas?

How much more (if any more) sensitive is a 1911 to wear and grime than a Glock or revolver?

 

[rduckwor]

Dry firing: occasional won't hurt, but get some snap caps if you plan on a lot of dry firing.

Lube: I like Weapon Shield and Enos Slide Glide for the rails, Midway should have both.

Lots of replacement grip panels, Hogue makes some decent ones. Others make fancy ones.

RMD

 

[buckhorn_cortez]

Dry firing - you can dry fire it all you want. You do not need to use snap caps. If you want to use snap caps, make sure you load it from a magazine. You can ruin the extractor on a 1911 by putting a round in the chamber and then closing the slide on it. The extractor is made so that the round slides under the extractor hook from below. If you close the slide on a round in the chamber, the hook has to be pushed out and snap over the rim.

Lubricant - everybody has their favorite lubricant & lubrication theories from synthetic motor oil to Frog Lube. I've tried at least 10-15 different lubes and keep going back to grease on things that slide and oil on everything else. I use SLiP 2000 Extreme Weapons Grease (EWG) and Extreme Weapons Lube (EWL) oil.

The reason being they have an extremely wide temperature range rating and will not thicken & get stiff in the cold. They also can't be overheated and cook onto the surface. I use a Q-Tip and wipe the rails on the slide and frame down with EWG in an extremely thin layer. Put the slide on the frame, rack it 2-3 times and wipe excess off the rear of the gun. Take the slide off, and reassemble the pistol oiling and greasing as required. I also put a small blob of EWG in the disconnector pocket in the slide, and a thin layer on the barrel, barrel bushing, and lugs. Everything else gets EWL.

I've also used Frog Lube - the application requirements are different & I don't like to have to get out a heat gun to heat up the metal prior to application. If you put it on according to the instructions - works fine. I've tried synthetic motor oil - works fine, but not as well as the EWG / EWL as the oil slings off the slide and onto your shirt if it's even slightly over oiled - the reason I like grease on the rails - it doesn't get thrown off the gun and all over you.

Basically, 1911's will run as long as they're properly lubricated - especially with stainless - don't run them dry. The best thing you can do for the gun is over lube it a bit, run it for about 500 rounds without cleaning making sure it's lubed slightly wet the entire time, then clean it and lube it as you want. What you're doing is letting the surfaces lap-fit to each other and the operation will smooth out.

Grips: Look at VZ Grips, Esmerelda Exotic Grips, and Sarge's Grips for custom grips. VZ will be synthetic materials while Esmerelda and Sarge make fine exotic wood grips. I've purchased from all three and they all make high quality products. Hogue will be "production grips" - nothing wrong with that if they are what you want.

 

[buckhorn_cortez]

The only auto-loader I have owned is a Glock 17, so I had quite a time dissembling and then reassembling it.

Yep - they're not flip the lever and remove the slide. However, what you will find is that you can completely disassemble the gun into every individual part without formal tools.

I would encourage you to go to YouTube and search for "1911 disassembly without tools" and you'll get a number of videos of a 1911 being totally disassembled and then reassembled using only the gun parts themselves as the tools needed to push out pins, unscrew the grip screws, etc.

It will give you a whole new appreciation for the genius of the design in being able to detail strip the gun in the field using no tools. While the design does have about 20 more "parts" than the Glock, some of the parts count is specious in my estimation like grip panels, grip screws, grip screw bushings, etc. - yes, they are parts but they aren't hard to remove & replace if you have a keen sense of the obvious - and how many times are you going to remove a grip screw bushing - and those count for four (4!) of the parts? So if you eliminate the grip panels (2), grip screws (4), and grip screw bushings (4) - you've reduced the parts count by 10 parts.

The other thing I like about the 1911 is the springs are relatively large, difficult to lose, and there are no tiny springs associated with the trigger mechanism.

 

[Derek Zeanah]

I haven't shot it yet, but everything seems to function right. The only auto-loader I have owned is a Glock 17, so I had quite a time dissembling and then reassembling it.

Beware the idiot mark!

How much damage will dry firing do (over time)? I've been told different things by different people.

It won't. Feel free.

What kind of lubricant should I use on it? - I believe it's almost entirely 416 stainless steel.

Nothing wrong with CLP. There might be better things out there, but CLP works fine.

Watch out if you carry - even though it's "stainless," sweat + a leather holster will require more maintenance out of you than your Glock does. It might be fine to leave your Glock in the holster for a year with daily carry and no maintenance. This is not OK with your 1911. Plus, well, they're fun to shoot.

It has some kind of softish-wood checkered grips. Any replacement grip ideas?

I really like thin grips on my 1911s, so I'd say check out the thin Alumagrips.

How much more (if any more) sensitive is a 1911 to wear and grime than a Glock or revolver?

Probably not much more sensitive than a revolver. I ran an inexpensive 1911 at Gunsite for 1,200 rounds without cleaning it and without a failure, so a well-built gun will run fine even when dirty.

But it's steel, not some kind of composite frame, which means it'll require more care than a Glock frame.

 

[JTQ]

A point of caution in regards to thin grips. You will need to change the grip bushings if you go with thin grips. That may be more involved than what you are planning, depending on your skill level.

Brownell's is a great source for 1911 "stuff".

http://www.brownells.com

There are lots and lots of grip makers. In addition to Hogue and Alumagrips, if you want micarta or G10 grips, Davidsons and VZ are two of the top makers.

Davidsons Monkey Grips. A little difficult to work their site, and you need to email to order, but you can get just about anything made.

http://davidsonknives.com

VZ Grips. A little easier to navigate their site, and order from, but not as customizable.

http://vzgrips.com

As already mentioned, beware the idiot mark. I sure wish the internet was around when I bought my first 1911.

 

[Series 70]

I second the recommendation for thin grips, but that will depend totally on how you like the feel vs. standard grips. Wood grips will also darken with exposure to sweat so if you're going to carry it, be ready for that.

I gave a Remington 1911 to my son as a graduation present. He loves it, but we discovered that the factory Remington mags tend to not lock the slide back when empty. Other mags do not seem to have this issue.

 

[JTQ]

Mags, that's right, I forgot to add this link from the late Mr. Camp's blog.

7 or 8 round mags for the 1911
http://hipowers-handguns.blogspot.com/2010/11/what-is-best-7-or-8-shot-1911-45-acp.html

There are lots and lots of guys coming to the 1911 from the modern hi-cap guns and can't believe such a big, heavy pistol can have a magazine capacity of only 7 rounds, so they are always looking for 8, 10, or "why don't the make a 15 round mag for the 1911, it will only stick out a little", mags. The 1911 was designed to work with 7 round mags. Lots of guys have good luck with 8 rounders, but for the most consistent operation, a good 7 rounder will generally work better.

 

[Derek Zeanah]

Re: G10 grips. They can look amazing, but if they're particularly textured they might really tear into your hands. Of course, I've got namby-pamby "can't tell if he's ever done a lick of hard work" computer guy hands, so this might not apply to everyone.