1911’s in general, 9mm versions specifically

[Dave0317]

What aftermarket sights with fiber optic front and blacked out rear are preferred? Lots of options out there. Current setup is tritium front with a huge dot, wanting something with a smaller fiber optic.

Another vote for Dawson Precision. Lots have a similar design, and I’ve tried a few, but I think Dawson executes very well, great sight picture. I think they are about the best sight you can get if you are not going with RDS.

 

[Formidilosus]

So at that point, I was left wondering: if that's what it would take to get to a point of better handling, but still a loose frame, even if assuming accuracy was good, and I was then in for about US$100 all up, is that worth it?

I know this is not a fair comparison, as the retail prices will be far different in the US, and we don't have as much access to other 1911s here (mostly just Bul, Ruger, Tisas, and Tanfog).

Also aware that this is a bit of a 'value is in the eye of the beholder' situation. But I guess I'm wondering overall - if it takes a lot of effort to get to an 'okay' outcome for, say, half the cost, is there any value in that compared to just going with something known to work out of the box but for double the cost? I know above you said you'd be happy to carry the modified Girsan - but I'm guessing that, given the choice, you'd go with something higher-end and more proven?

If someone has the money, it is generally better to just get the “right” thing from the start.

Of course, in my specific case, I already have the Bul, so the Tanfog would be more an exercise in learning what it takes to get something up to speed, and the outcome would be something I think I'd still regard as a 'beater' gun, whereas the Bul, while clearly not a Nighthawk, Wilson, etc, is perfectly serviceable for my needs.

That would be a good use too. Learning what makes them tick is a good thing.


Also- have you tried different grips on your Bul? That is the only thing I can think of that would make it feel bulky.

 

[Fatcamp]

Paging @mxgsfmdpx ... you been badgering Aimpoint to make this?

View attachment 905739

I want that.

 

[wysongdog]

I got my hands on a staccato 2011 this weekend I know it’s not technically the 1911 but what a sweet ass pistol.

 

[Dobermann]

If someone has the money, it is generally better to just get the “right” thing from the start.




That would be a good use too. Learning what makes them tick is a good thing.


Also- have you tried different grips on your Bul? That is the only thing I can think of that would make it feel bulky.

Thanks so much Form. For my budget and initial application, I think the 'right' thing from the start in this case was the Bul - which, to clarify, I'm happy with overall. Will try some thin grips to see what difference that makes.

As for a 'project' platform, I grabbed a Tisas, as I just couldn't get past how bad the Tanfoglio felt, and had a use case for another gun.

So ... next question: for something like a Tisas:

1. What would you replace immediately to ensure good basic functionality?

2. What would you add to that to take it from 'not zero, but to hero' - aiming to improve both accuracy and reliability from the get go?

While I'm guessing that you personally would do 1, shoot it a bit, before assessing 2. But as someone new to 1911s, as I 'don't know what I don't know', I'm thinking there's a case for just replacing the most important parts to get it up to speed out the gate.

In that case, I'm assuming 1 is the Wilson Bulletproof Extractor, and mags that work. Anything else for you - or anything worth asking the dealer's resident gunsmith to look at?

And for 2, I'm seeing wildly diverse opinions on forums, but the list seems to commonly be:

• extractor
• trigger
• plunger safety spring (if safety not great)
• quality recoil spring
• possibly a firing pin.

Thoughts?

And thanks for sending me down this rabbit hole ... I'm enjoying shooting the Bul, and really like the 1911 platform a lot.

 

[RockAndSage]

1. What would you replace immediately to ensure good basic functionality?

2. What would you add to that to take it from 'not zero, but to hero' - aiming to improve both accuracy and reliability from the get go?

Generally speaking...in improving basic functionality in 1911s, the two most important things you can do for an otherwise functioning example are good magazines, and good lubrication. That's literally about 90% of what you need to know to keep most 1911s running, until you start wearing out your recoil spring at around 3k-5k rounds.

Always number your magazines, and keep note of which mag you were using when a malfunction occurs - it sneaks up on you, and quite often mystery malfunctions can be traced to an individual mag. And more often than not, that mag will not look like there's anything wrong with it at all. Try to keep at least 5 mags in rotation for practice, and a couple that you've proven and reserve only for carry/defense, including proving them with your chosen defensive ammo. It matters.

With lubrication, be sure to hit all the bearing/friction surfaces - rails, locking lugs, exterior of the barrel, barrel link area, and the cocking radius at the bottom of the firing pin stop being the primary ones. Friction is cumulative in semi-autos, and every gun has its friction tipping-point where the moving parts just get slowed down enough for a malfunction to occur. Once you get a few hundred rounds on a gun, the rule is to lubricate any bit of rub-wear you find, as each little spot of it adds up. One of Gaston Glock's genius insights was to minimize the total amount of friction surface area in his designs. But with any design, as you add friction contaminants like dust, unburned powder, brass shavings, etc, you get closer to that tipping point - the less friction surface there is, the further out that tipping point typically is. 1911s have a lot, and need good lubrication to minimize the friction those contaminants can cause. "Good lubrication" meaning sufficient quantity, quality, and placement. The better you do all of this, the higher the round-count can go before you need to clean - and the more obvious it will be when an actual bit of gunsmithing or tuning is needed.

 

[Bowfinn]

Thanks so much Form. For my budget and initial application, I think the 'right' thing from the start in this case was the Bul - which, to clarify, I'm happy with overall. Will try some thin grips to see what difference that makes.

As for a 'project' platform, I grabbed a Tisas, as I just couldn't get past how bad the Tanfoglio felt, and had a use case for another gun.

So ... next question: for something like a Tisas:

1. What would you replace immediately to ensure good basic functionality?

2. What would you add to that to take it from 'not zero, but to hero' - aiming to improve both accuracy and reliability from the get go?

While I'm guessing that you personally would do 1, shoot it a bit, before assessing 2. But as someone new to 1911s, as I 'don't know what I don't know', I'm thinking there's a case for just replacing the most important parts to get it up to speed out the gate.

In that case, I'm assuming 1 is the Wilson Bulletproof Extractor, and mags that work. Anything else for you - or anything worth asking the dealer's resident gunsmith to look at?

And for 2, I'm seeing wildly diverse opinions on forums, but the list seems to commonly be:

• extractor
• trigger
• plunger safety spring (if safety not great)
• quality recoil spring
• possibly a firing pin.

Thoughts?

And thanks for sending me down this rabbit hole ... I'm enjoying shooting the Bul, and really like the 1911 platform a lot.

I got a Tisas DS9. I replaced the extractor(form had recommended this in another thread) with a Wilson combat bullet proof extractor. After I tuned the extractor, I now have 500 rounds through it without failure. I’ve done a couple other things to it but the extractor was the only thing for reliability.

Edit: screen shot is Forms take on Tisas from the thread- Most reliable and shoot able 9mm semi auto pistols- post 371

 

[kad11]

What aftermarket sights with fiber optic front and blacked out rear are preferred? Lots of options out there. Current setup is tritium front with a huge dot, wanting something with a smaller fiber optic.

Dawson Precision

 

[RockAndSage]

I got a Tisas DS9. I replaced the extractor(form had recommended this in another thread) with a Wilson combat bullet proof extractor. After I tuned the extractor, I now have 500 rounds through it without failure. I’ve done a couple other things to it but the extractor was the only thing for reliability.

Edit: screen shot is Forms take on Tisas from the thread- Most reliable and shoot able 9mm semi auto pistols- post 371

I'd add the Cylinder & Slide Ultimate Extractor as one of the best alternatives to the Wilson, if you can find one - proper spring steel, twice heat-treated. As for mags, one additional option has, surprisingly, been the MecGar mags. They OEM for a lot of gun companies at this point, and all the ones I've had the last few years have been as flawless as the best of any other brand.

 

[Bowfinn]

I'd add the Cylinder & Slide Ultimate Extractor as one of the best alternatives to the Wilson, if you can find one - proper spring steel, twice heat-treated. As for mags, one additional option has, surprisingly, been the MecGar mags. They OEM for a lot of gun companies at this point, and all the ones I've had the last few years have been as flawless as the best of any other brand.

Thanks! This is my first 2011 so everything is new to me.

 

[Formidilosus]

Thanks so much Form. For my budget and initial application, I think the 'right' thing from the start in this case was the Bul - which, to clarify, I'm happy with overall. Will try some thin grips to see what difference that makes.

As for a 'project' platform, I grabbed a Tisas, as I just couldn't get past how bad the Tanfoglio felt, and had a use case for another gun.

So ... next question: for something like a Tisas:

1. What would you replace immediately to ensure good basic functionality?

2. What would you add to that to take it from 'not zero, but to hero' - aiming to improve both accuracy and reliability from the get go?

While I'm guessing that you personally would do 1, shoot it a bit, before assessing 2. But as someone new to 1911s, as I 'don't know what I don't know', I'm thinking there's a case for just replacing the most important parts to get it up to speed out the gate.

In that case, I'm assuming 1 is the Wilson Bulletproof Extractor, and mags that work. Anything else for you - or anything worth asking the dealer's resident gunsmith to look at?

And for 2, I'm seeing wildly diverse opinions on forums, but the list seems to commonly be:

• extractor
• trigger
• plunger safety spring (if safety not great)
• quality recoil spring
• possibly a firing pin.

Thoughts?

And thanks for sending me down this rabbit hole ... I'm enjoying shooting the Bul, and really like the 1911 platform a lot.

I wouldn’t do anything but order a Wilson Bullet proof 9mm extractor and 2-3 of these mags-

https://gunmagwarehouse.com/mec-gar-1911-9mm-10-round-anti-friction-magazine.html

The other mags I would look at are the Ed Brown ones, and Tripp Research. With those mags the gun may (probably will) work just fine. If it needs an extractor tweaked, there are videos of how to do so- takes 10 minutes in the range. Tune the Wilson BP extractor when it comes in and save the factory for a backup. Then shoot it. Everything else is user preference. For me they all get a GI A1 short trigger and a magwell.

 

[Steve300xcw]

What aftermarket sights with fiber optic front and blacked out rear are preferred? Lots of options out there. Current setup is tritium front with a huge dot, wanting something with a smaller fiber optic.

These are the sights on a prodigy. Took a lil bit for me to warm up to them. But that big sloppy u notch rear and a midsized dot up front have turned into my favorite pistol sights.

I have made the mistake of going too small on the front sight before. Even have a colt with paper sights on it and they just ruin that gun.....Gimme a big sumbitch that I dont have to look for. Sight in so POI right on top the dot so nothing is ever covered up... least thats how I like it.

 

[NDGuy]

@Formidilosus just need a Wilson Combat extractor?

 

[zdc1775]

These are the sights on a prodigy. Took a lil bit for me to warm up to them. But that big sloppy u notch rear and a midsized dot up front have turned into my favorite pistol sights.

I have made the mistake of going too small on the front sight before. Even have a colt with paper sights on it and they just ruin that gun.....Gimme a big sumbitch that I dont have to look for. Sight in so POI right on top the dot so nothing is ever covered up... least thats how I like it.

View attachment 906619

I've been a big fan of Heinie Straight Eight sights, especially the gold dot models, since I started shooting IDPA. A big ass front dot that you just stack on top of the rear dot makes for extremely fast acquisition while shooting rapidly, at the slight cost of precision during slow fire.

Not my picture but you get the point.

 

[Steve300xcw]

I've been a big fan of Heinie Straight Eight sights, especially the gold dot models, since I started shooting IDPA. A big ass front dot that you just stack on top of the rear dot makes for extremely fast acquisition while shooting rapidly, at the slight cost of precision during slow fire.

Not my picture but you get the point.

I can see how that would work nicely! I dont generally like dots or anything on the rear sight these days. Also prefer the rear sight to be a bit more opened up than most. But I'd give those a go for sure.

 

[zdc1775]

I can see how that would work nicely! I dont generally like dots or anything on the rear sight these days. Also prefer the rear sight to be a bit more opened up than most. But I'd give those a go for sure.

Since I started running optics on pistols, I tend to stick to blacked out rears as well, but for irons these were the best comprise of speed and precision I ever found.

One thing I have been tempted to try again are the Ashley/XS Express sights. They were by far the fastest irons I ever tried, but they sucked for precision of any sort beyond about 7 yards for me.

The ones I used looked sort of like this.

 

[Steve300xcw]

The ones I used looked sort of like this.

View attachment 906660

Yea thats a bit loose for me lol. Bet it was fast though

 

[Fatcamp]

Would anyone like to touch on the series 70 vs 80 internals?

Any reason one is preferred over the other? From what I understand 80 is theoretically safer while the 70 has a better trigger? That's what I got from a bit on Youtube, but didn't spend a lot of time there.

 

[rileybassman]

Would anyone like to touch on the series 70 vs 80 internals?

Any reason one is preferred over the other? From what I understand 80 is theoretically safer while the 70 has a better trigger? That's what I got from a bit on Youtube, but didn't spend a lot of time there.

Generally speaking that's true. I'm not an expert but have worked on a maybe a dozen 1911s, some with series 70 and some with series 80 triggers. I do prefer series 70 most of the time, but proper tuned 80s are just fine. Only issue is more parts to fail, wear, and require tuning.

Some series 80s are actuated from the grip safety (Kimber, for example) as opposed to the trigger and while not perfect, if had well tuned ones that are drop safe yet retain a clean and crisp trigger. Pretty much every series 80 I have taken apart has wear on the fireing pin block from the firing pin dragging (being out of tune) which, to me, indicates a susceptibility to wear and failure. That said, I haven't taken down any of the new staccato series 80s... I have had several of their 70s and they are fantastic.

1911s have always had the risk of inertia nd from a muzzle down drop. There are other ways to mitigate such as Ti firing pin and increased spring.

At the end of the day, if drop safety is a top concern or priority, IMO other platforms mitigate that better. But for myself, I'm comfortable enough to happily carry 70s like the staccato C.

Sent from my SM-S916U using Tapatalk

 

[Fatcamp]

Generally speaking that's true. I'm not an expert but have worked on a maybe a dozen 1911s, some with series 70 and some with series 80 triggers. I do prefer series 70 most of the time, but proper tuned 80s are just fine. Only issue is more parts to fail, wear, and require tuning.

Some series 80s are actuated from the grip safety (Kimber, for example) as opposed to the trigger and while not perfect, if had well tuned ones that are drop safe yet retain a clean and crisp trigger. Pretty much every series 80 I have taken apart has wear on the fireing pin block from the firing pin dragging (being out of tune) which, to me, indicates a susceptibility to wear and failure. That said, I haven't taken down any of the new staccato series 80s... I have had several of their 70s and they are fantastic.

1911s have always had the risk of inertia nd from a muzzle down drop. There are other ways to mitigate such as Ti firing pin and increased spring.

At the end of the day, if drop safety is a top concern or priority, IMO other platforms mitigate that better. But for myself, I'm comfortable enough to happily carry 70s like the staccato C.

Sent from my SM-S916U using Tapatalk

Gotcha. Thank you.

This thread has worked its magic. Think I need a 1911. I've shot a bunch of them but never owned one to really put through its paces and get comfortable with. It's time.