Properly caring for the 1911?

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KodeFore

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Hi guys

So I just brought home my 1st ever mil spec 1911, ( I chose the Colt rail gun, stainless ) and I would like tips and recomendations for how to properly break in and care for it.

Right offthe bat I have ordered up a couple of cmc 8 rnd mags, ( the black ones they have on sale for 23.95 ) I want at least 4 quality mags for the gun. I plan on picking up a few GI mags for practice. I have a fobusevolution paddle holster on the way.


The gun came covered in a fine gritty stuff ( Like sandblasting? ) like some one else mentioned in post on thier rail gun. That wiped off pretty easily.

The safety was stiff as all get out, the dealer recommended that I just work it which I have started and seems to be helping. The mags were initially very stiff to push past the catch, but after a couple dozen times of working that seems to have cleared up. I had one old gi 45 on hand, and that seems to work fine also.

The dealer recomended something called "Tetra lube" but they were out it.

This gun is a major purchase for me and I want to take good care of it so I appreciate any good advice in that regard.
 
Breaking a gun in means shooting it a bunch and working all the moving parts.

Just clean and lube every time you shoot. Brand of lube is a personal preference kind of thing. There's no universally recommended one.
Otherwise, 1911s pretty much take care of themselves.
 
Clean it, lube it, shoot it. People much smarter than me say that "if it rotates,oil it; if it slides, grease it". In my experience with 1911's, I run it pretty well oiled/greased until it shoots in, and back off as I shoot/clean/shoot/clean, etc.
 
I agree with the above post but there are many ways to start out breaking a 1911 in.

I tend to go lite on lube or grease because I want the metal to actually mate and wear in. Also it depends on the finish of the pistol. If the lube is to lite you will start getting some problems with FTE or feed on a new weapon. After a few mags and cleaning you will know when everything is smoothed out and functioning properly by just racking the slide at home with chamber empty ( I am not talking dry just lite on contact points).

I did not do this procedure with the last 1911 (GSG yes I know but they call it a 1911) I purchased because I thought the slide was a little tight so I lubed and greased it.....Darn thing is still not the way it should be so I may dump it in some solvent and start over or end up with some rubbing compound on the slide and rails. The pistol functions just fine but I prefer a really smooth slide!!

The other 1911 I purchased I broke in as mention above and it always get comments from those who handle it about how smooth the slide is when racking or firing. That 1911 has only seen Breakfree CLP since new. When you clean your 1911 look for bright places and lube those for they are contact points which are wearing before other places. If you look at the pistol when cleaning you will be able to figure what and where to lube besides the obvious.

Congrats on your new purchase and hope it gives you mucho enjoyment.
 
Just a fyi on racking the slide with no round in the chamber (or mags), do not sling shot the slide on an empty 1911. It will pound the frame, linkage and slide. Easy the slide down on an empty chamber. The action of the slide stripping a round off the magazine and chambering the round slows the slide down and buffers the slide going into battery.

For day to day use, wiping down and light lube of CLP or something similar is fine. If the pistol has been sitting up for a legnth of time, then before I shoot I will give the rails, link, and barrel / hood a drop or tow and light wipe of CLP. For longer term service, I like a very light amount of a moderate grease on the rails and barrel. That way there is some lube there if I pick it up and shoot it.

Some say run them wet, others run them pretty dry. If your pistol will tolerate being on the dry side (the more broken in, in my experience, the dryer they can run) that's somewhat better as there's less dirt, dust, etc to get attracted. At least that's my preference.

PS this ^^ "When you clean your 1911 look for bright places and lube those for they are contact points which are wearing before other places. If you look at the pistol when cleaning you will be able to figure what and where to lube besides the obvious."
 
The other posters have done a really good job summing up important things. Don't drop the slide on an empty chamber, it puts undue stress on the extractor. Don't load a round into the chamber and then drop the slide either; the extractor was never meant to do that.

Another tip is that if your bushing fit is tight, like need-a-bushing-wrench tight, like my Les Baer is, then take the gun out of battery before you rotate the bushing. You can stick an empty brass in the slide to hold it open and back slightly. This will keep the bushing to barrel fit tight.

If your gun has shock-buffers, change them every 1000 rounds or so. They are not necessary, but if you do run them, make sure to change them out on schedule.

Otherwise fire the gun, work the controls, work all your mags, clean and lube after each session or every other session if you only shoot say 100 rounds a session.

Don't go crazy trying to mod the gun yet or anything like that. Keep the files and stones away until you are ready!
 
Congratulations, you are going to love it.

I'm surprised others haven't jumped on this yet.
mil spec 1911, ( I chose the Colt rail gun, stainless
Click to expand...
So I will.
To me.. Mil Spec means what the Military specified back in the day, generally WWI and WWII 1911, which means, NO Rail, parker or blue finish (generally parker), no beaver tail grip safety, etc
I mean this as only informational. I had to think a moment as to what you meant.
 
Clean it real good and lube it, before using it, even the first time.
New guns can be quite dirty, from the manufacturing and assembly process.
 
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