Tag: 1911

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Finding the Best 1911 Grips

Choosing the best 1911 grips is a matter of personal preference, as it depends on factors such as comfort, aesthetics, material, and functionality. Here are some considerations to help you make an informed decision:

  1. Material: Grips can be made from various materials, including wood, polymer, rubber, and G10 (a composite material). Each material has its own characteristics. Wood grips offer a classic look and feel, while polymer and rubber grips provide better recoil absorption and a more ergonomic grip. G10 grips are durable and offer excellent texture and grip.
  2. Texture: Consider the grip texture that suits your shooting style and hand size. Grips can have smooth surfaces, checkering, stippling, or aggressive textures. Determine which texture provides the best grip for your needs and shooting conditions.
  3. Size and shape: Grips come in different sizes and shapes to accommodate various hand sizes and shooting preferences. Choose a grip size that allows you to comfortably reach and manipulate the controls of the 1911 while providing a secure hold.
  4. Ergonomics: Consider the ergonomics of the grip. Some grips have finger grooves or palm swells to enhance your grip and control over the firearm. Pay attention to how the grip feels in your hand and whether it aligns with your shooting technique.
  5. Aesthetics: Grips can significantly impact the overall appearance of your 1911. Choose a style and design that appeals to your taste, whether it’s a traditional wooden look, a tactical design, or a custom pattern.
  6. Fit: Ensure that the grips you select are compatible with your specific 1911 model. 1911 grips can have slight variations in size and screw hole placement, so double-check the compatibility to avoid any issues.
  7. Reviews and recommendations: Read reviews from other firearm enthusiasts and consult online forums to gather information about popular grip choices. Consider the experiences and opinions of others to help inform your decision-making process.

Ultimately, the best 1911 grips will be those that provide a comfortable, secure, and ergonomic hold on your firearm while meeting your aesthetic preferences. Take the time to handle different grips and consider your shooting needs to make an informed choice.

Check out 1911 grips at Hooper Gun Works!

Check out 1911 grips on Amazon.

Check out 1911 grips on eBay.

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links to external websites. If you click through and make a purchase, we may earn a commission at no additional cost to you.

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1911 – Changing Your Caliber

You’ve already got a great 1911 but you want to shoot a different caliber out of it. No worries, we’ve got the master list here of what you need to change out. For each caliber change you’ll need to swap out the barrel, recoil spring, magazine, and ammo. Outside of those core caliber specific parts, it depends on what you’re starting with.

Have .45 ACP – Switch to Anything else

.45 ACP doesn’t play well with others so changing from, or to, .45 ACP requires all the caliber specific changes.

  • Slide
  • Barrel
  • Recoil Spring
  • Firing Pin
  • Firing Pin Stop
  • Ejector
  • Extractor
  • Slide Stop
  • Magazine
  • Ammo

Have 9mm – Switch to .38 Super

This is an easy one. 9mm and .38 Super are sister calibers in this case. Your list is very short…

  • Barrel
  • Recoil Spring
  • Magazine
  • Ammo

Have 10mm – Switch to 40S&W

Again, sister calibers. 10mm and 40S&W have an equally short list.

  • Barrel
  • Recoil Spring
  • Magazine
  • Ammo

Have 9mm (or .38S) – Switch to 10mm (or 40S&W)

This is the medium list. These calibers all share a bit more parts but not quite as many as going between sister calibers.

  • Slide
  • Barrel
  • Recoil Spring
  • Magazine
  • Ammo
  • Extractor – this one is not true for all cases. Many extractors work with 9mm, .38S, 10mm and 40S&W while some manufacturers will have a 10mm/40S&W specific extractor.

As you can see, changing out your caliber isn’t such a daunting task. For most calibers, it’s a minor operation. If you really like to tinker around, there do exist universal ejectors that work with .45 and all others. Outside of that, for 9mm, .38S, 10mm, and 40S&W… you can easily create your top ends of choice and in a way, hot swap your upper. between the various calibers.

What to look out for…

Ramps

Barrels come in 3 varieties for their ramp.

  1. Non-ramped (unramped)
  2. Clark/Para/Lissner ramp – Rock Island Armory uses this type
  3. Wilson/Nowlan ramp

When changing out your caliber, make sure the the ramp type remains the same or it won’t work for your frame!

Bull vs. Bushed

Barrels also come in 2 varieties for their front end. They can be bull barrels or bushed barrels. Bull barrels use a reverse plug instead of a standard guide rod plug and barrel bushing. If you are swapping between bull and bushed, make sure that you also change out the reverse plug with the guide rod plug and barrel bushing.

Also note that if you’re using a bull barrel and a reverse plug, you should use a guide rod that either has a take-down hole in it, or is a 2 piece guide rod.

Shoot safe, shoot straight! – HGW

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Difficulty When Inserting 1911 Mags

Hooper Gun Works got a call recently from a customer who was having difficulty installing standard 1911 45 ACP Mags into the Rock Island Armory 1911.  There are a couple of things that can cause this, over-tightened grip screws being the most common.  Another cause lies within how the mag release button (or mag catch if you prefer) is cut from the factory.  Sometimes the fit may be so tight that the magazine cannot push aside the inner part of the catch to engage with the slot in the magazine body.  There is also a little bit of variance from magazine to magazine and between manufacturers that can make this inconsistent.  Here is a test to know if you are having this type of problem

  1. Ensure that the chamber is clear and that the magazine is unloaded.
  2. Insert your magazine into the frame until the until the point where the mag will insert no further.
  3. Push in the mag release button as if you were dropping a mag.
  4. At this point the magazine should be able to be inserted fully while holding the mag release button.
  5. Release the mag release button.
  6. The magazine should be fully seated and not able to be removed without pressing the mag release.
  7. Press the mag release button.  Since this issue has been confirmed, it will be difficult to press the button, but the mag will still drop.

How to fix:  There is too much metal on the part of the mag release button that engages the mag body.  A gunsmith can carefully remove the right amount of metal and create the desired shape to engage with your magazines.  It does not take very much removal.  It is also a good opportunity to change out to a machined tool steel mag release button, if you don’t already have one.  The gunsmith charge will be about the same minimum $50 either way, and you can provide the new part.

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The CheckMate 1911 Magazine That is Right for Your Shooting

CheckMate is a fine manufacturer of 1911, M1A, Desert Eagle, and Beretta magazines.  For their 1911 magazines, three type of feedlip designs are offered:  Wadcutter, Hybrid, and GI.  There is much history behind these designations.  The GI design dates back to the origins of the 1911.  The Wadcutter came later, followed by the Hybrid which is more of a modern creature.  Most mags these days employ a hybrid design.  Strong chances your OEM mag that came with your 1911 did as well.  Here is a detailed picture (courtesy of CheckMate) showing the three types.

Check-Mate FeedlipsCM45-8-B Magazines

Which feedlip type to use really comes down to total round length.  The original spec for a 230 grain “ball” ammo was 1.26 inches overall length.  This is what the GI feedlip was designed around.  If all you shoot is traditional ball ammo, this is the feedlip for you as you will experience the highest level of reliable feeding.  However there is a tradeoff.  Hollow point (and wadcutter) rounds may be as short as 1.20 inches, and that difference is notable.  Load a GI mag full of these shorter rounds, and the reliability level decreases.  The degree of which varies from gun to gun.  What happens is that in that 0.06 inch difference, the ball round had hit the feedramp, but the shorter round can get pushed upwards and cause a jam.  It doesn’t take much really.

The Wadcutter feedlip solves the problem for shorter rounds, like the wadcutter, which gained popularity in competitive shooting.  Use this feedlip style for the shorter rounds.  The tradeoff here is that the feeding is the best for shorter rounds, but traditional ball ammo loses a true controlled feed in this feedlip type.

The hybrid feedlip is a combination of both designs and generally works well for all.  If you find yourself shooting a mix of ammo and want the greatest selection of caliber options, and capacity, this is the preferred option.

For a 1911 there are many items that contribute to proper feeding. The above assumes a properly functioning 1911 of reputable make to begin with, and one that is shooting standard pressure ammo at bullet weight between 180 and 230 grains, with a recoil spring of standard rating to +1 strong as described by the extra power Wolff springs.  With this in mind, it is also necessary to have extra consideration when using the fantastic 10 mm caliber.  The loads vary greatly for this round, and a 10 mm 1911 needs to be designed as a system for handling the 10 mm cartridge.

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1911 Series 70 vs 80

While we already know that not all 1911s are the same, there are a few differences that stand out. The biggest questions come in the form of “What is the difference between series 70 and series 80?”

Barrel Bushing
Series 80 on left, Series 70 Collet on right

First a small bit of history. While the 1911 has been around for ages and was officially adopted by the US military in 1911, it stayed pretty much unchanged until the 70s. In the 70’s Colt got rid of the lanyard loop on the main spring housing and increased the size of the shelf for the thumb safety. The solid barrel bushing was changed to a collet bushing. Guns made before 1970 would be called Pre-Series 70.

Barrel Bushings Installed
Series 80 on left, Series 70 Collet on right

In 1983 Colt introduced the Series 80. The collet bushing was replaced with the solid bushing and the phase out was completed around 1988. The biggest change in the series 80 is the firing pin block. Some claim that this addition makes for a heavier trigger pull. Since trigger pull can be adjusted by any well trained gunsmith, this shouldn’t sway anyone’s decision between series 70 or 80. Not all manufactures of series 80 clones use the trigger to release the firing pin block. Some use the grip safety. When it’s the grip safety it is often called a Swartz Safety. Smith & Wesson as well as Kimber both use this Swartz Safety while Para Ordnance uses the Colt series 80 system with the trigger releasing the firing pin block. Colt did use a Swartz Safety in the 30’s but quickly changed away from it making it difficult to find Colts equipped with the Swartz Safety as few were made.Series 70 on left, Series 80 on right

Series 70 on left, Series 80 on right
Series 70 on left, Series 80 on right

One of the other changes was in the hammer. The series 70 hammer had a half cock notch or hook whereas the series 80 has a shelf. This change was to prevent the eventual wear and breakage of the hook allowing the hammer to fall. Here at HGW, we still believe that the series 70 style hammer is best as it captivates the sear rather than allowing it to possibly slide off.Flat Series 80 style on left, arched Series 70 style on right

Flat Series 80 style on left, arched Series 70 style on right
Flat Series 80 style on left, arched Series 70 style on right

The mainspring housing was also changed out. In the series 70 it was arched and in the series 80 it’s flat. Now, this change is really only relevant to the Colt manufactured 1911. Other manufacturers have their own styles of mainspring housing with varying arch and there are plenty of after market mainspring housings in many designs with features such as smooth, serrated, checkered… you get the idea.

In addition, there are other changes that Colt made when they changed from the series 70 to 80. These changes are much more minor and not reproduced across the clones as often. Below are a summary of some of the changes.

  • Sights changed from black to 3 dot
  • Trigger changed from short to long
  • Magazine well was beveled in series 80
  • GI style small ejection port changed to lowered ejection port
  • Barrel chamber hood changed from wide GI style to narrow Gold Cup style

Present day you can get reproduction series 70 (without the collet bushing) as well as series 80. Colt fans will argue that series 70 and 80 only apply to Colt and any other manufacture claiming series 80 are really just stating it has a firing pin block and mechanism, Colt clones retain many of the differences that are seen in a series 70 vs 80 Colt 1911. By describing non Colt 1911 handguns as series 70 or 80, it makes it easier to determine parts differences and solve problems.

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Why the 1911 Remains a Popular Choice

Year after year, there seems to be mounting pressure that the 1911 is an old antiquated design.  The arguments trend along the lines of magazine feed issues, low capacity mags, weight, or even finicky maintenance.  But yet, 1911 sales remain strong.  With that In mind, HGW has some simple rallying points behind why the 1911 is chosen by so many.

  1. If your requirement is for a gun with a grip safety, thumb safety, half cock notch, inertial firing pin, and perhaps a firing pin block, your solution is the 1911.  Really, we like safeties at Hooper Gun Works, and the 1911 has no shortage of them.  Carried in a thumb-break holster, cocked with thumb safety engaged has always worked for us
  2. You want the best feed reliability with ball ammo.  The 1911 was made for full length .45 ACP.  Our favorite here are the Check-Mate GI feedlip magazines, which allow for a fully controlled feeding of the round into the chamber.
  3. You want a accurate full size gun for $400.  Rock Island Armory (ARMSCOR) 1911 models are king here.  Their GI series gun keeps life simple, has a forged slide, CNC barrel, and a cast frame.  Nothing wrong with a cast frame.
  4. You want a lightweight carry gun of high performance for $800.  Our other favorite in the “keep life simple” category is the Kimber Pro Carry II.  Fantastic for carry duty, and drops some weight off of the Gun.  Also, like RIA their factory repair service is excellent should the need arise.  Night sights will run a little extra here.
  5. You want a “tuners” gun.  There is no shortage of 1911 goodies.  Its the same recipe that makes the AR-15 so great.  There are many companies that push each other to bring better parts to the table.  A 1911 can range from that excellent $400 RIA type to a $6000 Les Baer commemorative version or anything in between.  There is also great fun in collecting across the eras from 1970’s Colt competition 1911s, to WWII relics.

There are many fine pistols out there.  The 1911 is our favorite, but in the U.S. we have choices, and can certainly own more than one kind of gun.  Hopefully it always stays that way.

Fun facts:  The Beretta Tomcat 32 and Bobcat 25, with their flip barrels, are very fun to shoot.  Just like their claim, the 10mm Glock does have a lot of firepower.  S&W MP9’s handle very well.  Basically, there’s lots of options to try.  Of course, if you haven’t tried a 1911 yet, now’s the time.  Happy Shooting!

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Officer vs Commander vs Government

Have you been wondering what the difference is between the Officer, Commander and Government model 1911? Well wonder no more. This week I’ll dive into the big differences across the board, a small snipit of history, and give you some of the big manufacturers.

Officer

Officers 1911The officer model 1911 is generally 3.5″ (I say generally because any manufacturer can call their 3.5″ something else as well as call another length “officer”). This is considered a compact 1911. Most items on an officer’s model 1911 cannot be swapped with commander or government item. The frame size is different than the commander and government. Not only is the length shorter 3.5″, but the magazine capacity is shorter. You can use longer mags in a compact officer’s 1911 but it doesn’t go the other way around. Compact mags cannot be used in a full size 1911.

Commander

Commander 1911The commander model 1911 is generally 4.25″. The length, 4.25″ refers to the barrel length. Some guns may be marketed as commander length with a 4″ bushingless barrel. They really aren’t considered a true commander gun, more so the “mid-size”. For the purpose of grips and magazines, this is still considered a full size gun.

Government

Full Size 1911The government model 1911 is generally 5″ and considered full size. Other than the uppers (barrel, recoil springs, slide, guide rod…), parts for a government are usually interchangeable with a commander model 1911. The frames of government and commander versions are the same.

Other Variants

We already pointed out that a 4″ bushingless barrel gun is considered a mid-size more than a true Commander. Well, there are other variants of the 1911 and I’ll only briefly mention them here.

  • Longslide – usually a 6″ barrel on a government frame
  • CCO (Combat Carry Officer) – commander (4.25″) or mid-size (4″) barrel on officer’s frame
  • Commanding Officer – officer’s (3.5″) barrel on a government frame.

Also, different manufactures like to spiffy up their guns by giving them fancy names. Kimber is one of these manufacturers. While I love Kimber guns and how lightweight they can be for carry, the did go and name their guns all different just to be spiffy (16 different families of guns and many variations of each on their website as of this writing). For the full story visit Kimber’s website. For now, the Kimber guns are generally explained like this:

  • Government – Custom
  • Commander – Pro
  • Officers – Ultra
  • Kimber also has the compact which has a shorter grip then their Ultra.

History

The history of the 1911 begins with John Browning’s amazing design for the world’s most well known handgun. The US Army formally adopted the .45 model March 29, 1911 and that’s when it became known simply as the 1911. It was the standard issue for the US armed forces from 1911 to 1985. While it is no longer the standard issue, that doesn’t mean that military members are not still loyal to their old time favorite.

While the standard 1911 comes in .45 ACP, they are also offered in other calibers like .38 super, 9 mm, and 10 mm.

For a more in depth history of the 1911, check out this tribute to John Browning on Browning’s website or the simple Wikipedia article.

Manufacturers

There are to many manufacturers to list them all and the firearm’s industry is always changing but here are a few to give you a taste. I’ve included links to the manufactureres where possible.

If there is something you’ve been dying to know about the 1911, drop us a line and we’ll share our answer with everyone.