What could be wrong with a used 1911?

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Fat Boy

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The local shop has a Colt 1911 with Bomar adjustable rear sights, after-market safety, hammer, custom wood grips, etc. I would like to buy this and the price is right in my opinion. But I am curious as to what all could be wrong with the gun. I can do the basic check but are there other things I should look for that the after-market additions and customization would involve?

This would be a shooter, possibly a defensive gun

Thank you
 
Diagnosing any gun for proper functionality is hard, particularly if you can't shoot it. Trying to learn all the things you should look for BEFORE you buy is tough.

If you're buying from a local gunshop, just be sure you can take it back if its not right.

They are implicitly selling a gun that is 100% (or as 100% a used gun can be); if it's not able to function properly, you should be able to take it back.

They can either get it fixed or give you your money back.

.
 
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Thank you- the you-tube video was helpful. The seller is a pawn shop- I would have to ask if they would take it back in the event of problems
 
The price would have to be REALLY good. A 1911 can be a reliable accurate handgun if they are worked on by someone who knows what they are doing. You don't know who did the work or what else may have been done.
 
I always check that the safeties work. If possible, i'll check that the magazine will lock the side open. If I can disassemble, i'll look at the locking lugs. also for peening at the slide stop. I'll peek at the triple spring as much as I can. I'll run a finger under the front sight which will tell me about the bushing and barrel fit.


But, that's from having been around 1911 for four decades, a real gun plumber would actually know how to quantify this.
 
The first thing I would check is the feed ramp angle and its relationship to the barrel. If someone polished the feed ramp, that is one thing. But if they changed the angle, well that’s another thing altogether. Its fixable but expensive. (don't ask)

The only other thing I have been stuck with is a loose barrel bushing. The bushing wasn't the problem it ended up being the slide. The bushing was loose front to back, not just side to side. Getting that repaired would have cost to much, so I traded the gun.


If the frame and slide are good, the rest is just parts.
 
jmr40 said:
.... A 1911 can be a reliable accurate handgun if they are worked on by someone who knows what they are doing. You don't know who did the work or what else may have been done.
Click to expand...

This is my biggest concern with a used 1911, since there may never have been a pistol that people are compelled to screw with as much as a 1911, starting with the ever-popular, "polishing (i.e. grinding) the feed ramp".
 
I started watching the vid posted above. More than 1 minute into it he had not said anything yet.

Over 2 minutes into it and he has not described how to check over a used 1911 nor begun to.

tipoc
 
tipoc said:
I started watching the vid posted above. More than 1 minute into it he had not said anything yet.

Over 2 minutes into it and he has not described how to check over a used 1911 nor begun to.

tipoc
Click to expand...
FINALLY, at 5:30 into the video the fellow first mentions something to look for / at in a used 1911! Almost 1/2 way through with NOTHING to say, other than "get good magazines", then the first nugget - check the barrel bushing fit.

I quit watching. Unless he radically changes direction, it seems like nothing more than a 'look at my guns' video.
 
I'm in no way in a position to say "what could be wrong" (but the more I learn, the more things I know to worry about), but I do have a question.

Rather than getting all that "custom" work that might have been done incorrectly, why not check out websites similar to this one:
https://www.usconcealedcarry.com/inexpensive-1911-handguns/
How much more expensive would a new "basic" gun be, compared to the highly modified gun you're thinking about?

If you can afford it, maybe a less expensive new gun would be better for you in the long run than some modified gun being sold by a pawn shop?

Sorry if I'm taking this off topic, as the topic is what might be wrong on a used gun, but maybe it's better to buy an inexpensive new gun if you can afford it?
 
I'm always amazed by ads on line that start naming all of the custom work that's been done to the gun, with obscure name-dropping and bragging. Then the seller wants you to pay for all of the custom work, and doesn't offer you the original parts, which you should get with the purchase IF you pay for the custom parts. Right?

I never buy a modified handgun, unless it's only the grips that have been changed. I don't care of Bob Munden or Jerry Miculek did the work, I just buy stock firearms, at stock prices.

BTW--I saw a "polished feed ramp" on a 1911 once, and the ramp had been ground down all the way into the chamber! It was over 1/4" inside the chamber area.
 
^^^ In those rare cases where I am considering a modified or a custom gun, the negotiations usually do not work out. The seller usually starts from the premise that the modifications are value added that enhances the price. And I usually start from the premise that work has been done that will need to be restored to original condition or corrected, and devalue the price from there.
 
Normandy said:
I'm always amazed by ads on line that start naming all of the custom work that's been done to the gun, with obscure name-dropping and bragging. Then the seller wants you to pay for all of the custom work, and doesn't offer you the original parts, which you should get with the purchase IF you pay for the custom parts. Right?
Click to expand...

You don't always get the upgraded parts back, and if they're modified, you've got them.

Normandy said:
I never buy a modified handgun, unless it's only the grips that have been changed. I don't care of Bob Munden or Jerry Miculek did the work, I just buy stock firearms, at stock prices.
Click to expand...

Your money, your choice... but stock firearms aren't always great, and some gunsmith-tuned, or some custom or semi-custom pistols are simply exceptional (in the best sense of the word.)

But I agree that buying a gun modified by someone who isn't a true expert can be a crapshoot. (I've shot guns that have been modified by "name" gunsmith shops, and they were superb, and have a Gray Guns-modified SIG P228r that is a much, much better gun by any standard stock P228, P229, or M11A1.

It's all a matter of what you want and what you'll pay for. But if you're saying that modifications can be badly done and are hard to identify until after you've bought the gun, I'd agree.
 
The problem is that of a Tinker was the owner. The other problem is the buyers ineptitude concerning functionality testing. The two together equal problematic at best.
 
What could be wrong?

Shade tree gunsmith bubba'd a trigger job, thumb safety or beaver tail install and the pistol is unsafe, and Bub is passing the problems off onto someone else.

Make sure you know how to do function checks, and especially make sure you know how to do the "click" test. If the gun has any sear movement with the thumb safety or grip safety engaged, pass on it.
 
Worst case scenario is that none of the aftermarket parts are fitted or fitted correctly. Including the barrel.
The issue with pawn shops is the total lack of warrantee. Stuff is usually sold 'as is'.
 
I would think that the worst case scenario is that the rest of the gun was damaged to the point of no return, while fitting the aftermarket parts. I think that's already been mentioned once or twice.

Does the pawn shop owner know anything about guns, or just how to look up their value in some kind of book?
 
What could be wrong with a used 1911?
Click to expand...

Typically, a lot. :rolleyes: That's why someone's trying to unload it at your LGS or at the regional funshow.

Some call it: "pushin' the problem down the road."

I call it: playin' the sucker. :scrutiny:

Just sayin' ... :cool:
 
+1 to what has been said. I'm hesitant because the history is speculative. If the base seems worthwhile in the chance you have to dump $$ into it, then becomes a project piece and that low price is gone. Internals can be changed but once the frame or slide has been altered, there is no going back. I would say buy new and progress from there. No guarantee on new ones either but as the original owner, you'll have warranty.

One of the gun shops that existed for me a spell back had a case filled with used guns. They would test the buy-in's to verify function but for customers that was not allowed. After they came to know me, they relayed that any I was interested in I could meet them at the range to test the gun in mind. That was pretty cool. :cool:
 
New 1911 and !911A1 clones i.e. Ruger, Rock Island etc owners are well thought of by their owners. If you aren't familiar with the 1911 platform already you should checkout new 1911 guns first. You didn't say what the price was of this used gun, or what the roll marks indicate who the manufacture of the original gun was.
 
Another take on this is ...

... there's nothing wrong with the OP buying a "used 1911" if he got it for a "fire sale" price, provided he's got some additional cash laid aside for paying a 1911-savvy 'smith to work it over if it ever gives him problems.

Or, if the OP himself has gunsmithing skills and can workout any problems on the gun, then he's money ahead.
 
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