Tactical 1911

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mustangLX92

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I have a SA G.I. model 1911. This is a great gun, but there are a few things I want to change. I want to make this gun a little more tactical. The first thing I want to do is put larger sights on it. How much does this cost? Should I do it myself (I am familiar with how the sights are attached, and I am pretty mechanical inclined). What has been you experience with this? What else do you guys recommend I do to this gun?
 
"Tatical" huh? Paint it black, hang some lights and lasers on it, and install at least one titanium part. That's about as "tatical" as it gets!
str1
 
My U.S. Army parts bin 1911 is tactical. King's Hardball sights, checkered walnut stocks, beveled mag well, slightly lowered ejection port and painted black. Does a pistol really need anything more in order to be tactical?
 
Can you do sumpthin to make that page easier to read George? There's almost NO contrast..........or mebbe my monitor's about to crap out.
 
Some years ago I watched a couple of Force Recon Marines shoot arms room issue .45s (about the same as yours, but about 40 years older) pretty damn "tactically" down at Gunsite. At the same time my spare 1911 was the exact same thing--but the primary ran just fine all week and I didn't need it...

If you want more visible sights put on someone's high fixed sights. I just had a dovetail milled to put a higher front on my stainless mil-spec. Your trigger is probably good enough as is, so that will make you good to go. Do anything more and you're throwing money away that you should be spending on ammo.
 
Get some kings sights,and your good to go.I spent 25 bucks for the sights and 40 bucks to have em installed.If you wanna get tacticool go to surefires website and they have a lite system that mounts on a 1911 without having to have frame rails.That should do ya!!!!!!
 
I put a stripe of blaze orange paint on the back of my front sight. It makes a world of difference with those wee GI sights and is easily removable.
 
Get whatever you want on it. These goofballs that are saying that you don't "need" anything else are right in general but they're also speaking only from their own POV. If you WANT more, get more. Some guys are rabidly pro-custom while some are just as rabidly anti-custom.

Remember that some of these "tactical" features ARE improvements upon the original design. While I love JMB's designs, I have no illusions that 100 years of tinkering can't make some sort of improvements. If my mind worked any other way, I'd be letting my doctor bleed me with leaches...:banghead:
 
Ok, mustang. Assuming you're serious about having a "tricked out" (not tactical please)1911. The cheapest most efficient way to go about it is to buy a "Springfield Loaded", Dan Wesson. Sig, S&W, or Kimber 1911. All of these come with usable sights/mag well bevel/extended slide & mag releases, even front slide serations. These even have a decent to very good trigger. You'd be money and time ahead to go this route. I currently have a 1911 that I'm building from parts into a full size 10mm 1911. By the time I'm done I'll have $1200 in a $800 gun, and I get the discounted prices from Brownells. Good luck whatever you decide to do!
str1
 
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The attached picture shows my current (I continue to allow my experience to help define my wants and needs) belief in how a 1911 should be configured for me. YMMV.

It is basically a stainless Series '70 with the spur hammer replaced with a rowel hammer, a recontoured grip safety, higher profile sights, a serrated flat mainspring housing, a serrated front strap, new fire control components and action work to deliver a 4.5# trigger, the ejection port opened, a new bushing and barrel crown, a carry bevel, and Colt ivory grips.

The fitted bushing is tight enough for accuracy yet has been fitted to allow turning without a bushing wrench. The barrel crown was needed after test shooting showed groups larger than three inches at twenty-five yards even with the new bushing. The sights are plain black with no dots or tritium inserts. The rear sight is a Ted Yost interpretation of the Robar rear that reminds me very much of the factory rear on steroids.

It is the first one done of a pair. All work was done by John Harrison of Precision Gunworks.
 
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