Not Good
As far as I can figure, I must not have fully seated the bushing when I reassembled the 1911 after the last cleaning. A few magazines through it were enough to rotate the bushing enough to launch the recoil plug downrange (we found it after only a couple minutes' searching about 30 feet away!) I took a quick look at all the pieces after brushing the dirt off and they looked fine, so I reassembled the gun and fired a test shot with no ill effects. We then proceeded to put another 40-50 rounds through it with no problems.
Yesterday during my cleaning frenzy, I took a good long look at everything and couldn't find anything wrong with any of the key players:
Everything's Fine
No cracks, chips, missing pieces, or anything to indicate that it was anything other than a fluke accident. Right after it happened, my first thought was that the bushing had broken - I've seen bushings crack; it stands to reason that under the right circumstances a bushing might fail explosively and fall completely apart, but that was not the case. Bushing, plug, and spring were all intact and otherwise unscathed; I even scrubbed 'em all shiny just in case I overlooked something hidden by dirt...
I had never heard of this happening - of a bushing working it's way loose - but here it is...
It did get me to thinking, though - if it had in fact been a broken bushing, I'd be out a 1911 until I could get a replacement part. I figure it can't hurt to have replacement parts on hand (or, more likely, I'll replace everything now and keep the original Colt parts while they're still in one piece. With that said, I would imagine that all of the major parts are both readily available and "drop-in" type replacements - bushing, recoil spring, guide rod, and recoil plug. Are there any replacements that are not simple "drop-in" parts? Any that should be avoided?
I've shot a 1911 for over 20 years now, and this is the first time I've seen anything like this happen, so I want to be prepared for anything. I figure it can't hurt to replace the internals now, before something does break; if I'm going to get spares I might as well upgrade while I'm doing it. I would much rather have stuff that goes together like the original without any cutting/sanding/dremel work needed; I'd also like replacements that work as well as if not better than the originals.
With that in mind, what brands should I be looking for to replace my beloved Colt 1911 inner workings?
That is all.
8 comments:
I'm debating to buy a pair of Wilson Bullet-proof slide-stops to replace the MIM S&W ones in my guns. Haven't really thought much about bushings.
That being said, we both have multiple 1911s so really what's the hurry if a component breaks?
Did anyone shooting the gun rack the slide by putting a finger on the bushing and pulling?
"I'm debating to buy a pair of Wilson Bullet-proof slide-stops to replace the MIM S&W ones in my guns."
First thing I do, if a gun has a MIM or cast slide stop.
Weerd,
I'm pretty sure the slide stop is real metal, but that's another part to toss on the pile...
As for having extra components, why not? I priced out everything at MidwayUSA last night and all four parts - recoil plug, spring, bushing, and guide rode - were under $50 all totalled.
Jonathan,
That's a possibility. The Gold Cup saw a fair amount of shooting in several different hands, and it's possible that at some point it was charged in a non traditional manner...
Tam,
Is there a significant difference in any of the higher end manufacturers like Wilson, Les Bauer, Ed Brown, etc.? I'm curious who you would recommend for replacement parts.
"Are there any replacements that are not simple "drop-in" parts? "
Plugs and recoil springs usually don't require fitting. The barrel bushing might. Some are deliberately oversized so a smith can fit it just perfectly. If you buy a drop-in part, you probably won't have to do much more than the little file work typical of any 1911.
Most of the major parts houses (Wilson, Brown, etc.) are decent (or at least equally hit or miss). I know some people who have put Fusion Firearms parts in their guns and been very happy. The only place I've noticed a general lack of quality is the discount stuff like J Masen. Even there you can probably make it work with a lot of fitting.
"Are there any replacements that are not simple "drop-in" parts?"
Ejector.
The method of retention varries between models. Some use a spring pin though the frame, others use an RTV-like epoxy. For the spring=pin style ejectors the ejector itself has to be filed to make a retention groove for the pin to hold it in. You can do it yourself, but only if you have some gunsmithing or metalworking experience. For epoxy ones, that's just a mess (tear down frame, heat up, so on).
The rest are all pretty easy to replace, especially if you get drop-in.
I am almost positive that all 1911slide stops are cast. (well, aside from the MIM ones.)
Discovered one day that 45 brass can double as a 1911 spring cap in a pinch. If you want to get fancy, tap the spent primer out with a finishing nail and put a short sheet metal screw in to prevent the bushing from rotating far enough to allow the improvised spring cap to fly out.
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