What makes a semi-custom 1911 so special?

[Wilson Guy]

We have had several threads of late which have asked why some of us folks are so devoted to the 1911 platform. I am home today because of the hurricane and am bored so I thought I would put together a "photo essay" in an attempt to explain what makes hard-fit 1911s so special. In particular, I have taken some photographs of the internals of my Springfield Professional in .45 acp and my Les Baer in .38 Super. to highlight some of the specific fitting that was done to each pistol to make them "one hole" accurate. Just to put the accuracy in perspective, Les Baer warrants the .38 to shoot 1.5 inch groups at 50 yards. The FBI required the Pro to shoot a 1.5 inch groups at 25 yards using Golden Saber ammunition.

I know folks don't get to take these pistols apart at the gun store to see the internal work and fitting. Therefore, I thought these photos might help to display and explain what makes these guns tick.

[Wilson Guy]

I once had an opportunity to speak for an hour or so with a nationally known gunsmith about working on 1911s. He told me the secret to a good build was to make the gun do exactly the same thing every time. He told me that if tolerances are held very, very tight, the pistol must do the same thing each time because there are no variables in the lock-up. Let's start looking at lock-up with the fit of the barrel bushings and barrels. I cannot remove the Baer barrel bushing without a bushing wrench. The Springfield bushing will come loose without a wrench but it takes a lot of effort. Please note that there is essentially no daylight between either of the bushings and the barrels when the pistols are fully in battery:







Taking the pistols slightly out of battery reveals that the muzzle end of 1911 barrels are slightly thicker than the rest of the barrel. This extra thickness allows the barrels to have uniform and essentially complete contact with hand-sized bushings when fully in battery. The following photographs of the uniform wear in the finish at the end of the barrels evidences the uniform and essentially complete contact:





Please note that the Baer barrel tends to bear on the "inside" edge of the bushing while the Springer engages the "outside" lip of the bushing.

[Wilson Guy]

The next series of photographs highlight the fit of the barrel hoods into the slide. The first two show the wear on the finish on each side of the Springer barrel hood. The next two show the "zero" gap between the hood and the slide on the Baer. The barrel hoods on these pistols actually "click" into the slide. There is zero daylight between the hoods and the slides: thus there is no way for the pistol to go into battery without the barrel being aligned in the slide the same way every time. It can't be off by 2 or 3 1000s of an inch each time it goes into battery.









With the bushing fit and the barrel hood fit being this tight you are going to get fantastic accuracy. Unfortunately, the only way to get them this tight is for a craftsman to hand fit the parts. Craftsman deserve to get paid for their skills.

[Wilson Guy]

The barrels hoods are held tightly in the slide by the slide stop. The following pictures show the wear on the barrel feet. Notice the wear is complete and uniform. There is uniform contact between the slide stops and the barrel feet which pushes the barrel hood into the slide tightly each time. As hard as I may push on the barrel hoods while these guns are in battery I can't get them to budge at all.









You can also see in these photographs that the parts are individually numbered to the pistols. This is done because many of these parts will not fit and work properly in a different pistol. You can also see the hand-filing that was done to each slide to fit the slide to the frame.

[Wilson Guy]

Frame to slide fit is not nearly as important to accuracy as the barrel/bushing and slide fit. However, both of these pistols have very tight frame/slide fits. I tried to place the slides on the wrong frames and I couldn't even get them started onto the frames. You can see in the photographs the wear on the finish on the rails. This brings me to a point about the 1911 break-in period we hear so much about. It is my firm belief that much of the break-in is simply to wear off excessive finish on the pistols. The frames and slides are fitted "in the white". The finishes are then applied and the finish adds thickness to the parts. That extra thickness has to be worn off because these pistols are built with such tight tolerances.







The following picture is of a stainless Wesson. Talk about a zero tolerance, hand-fit frame and slide!

[Wilson Guy]

I will conclude by showing you the bushing and barrel fit of a Dan Wesson Specialist. Dan Wesson makes their pistols with EGW bushings and "semi drop-in" barrels. They are very well done for the price point and are very, very accurate. However, they are not as accurate as a "hard fit" pistol. There is very little play between the barrel hood/slide and the barrel/bushing. However, it is there and there is a quantifiable loss in accuracy. However, we are really talking about diminishing rates of return here. Many Wessons are sub two inch group pistols at 25 yards.



Hope you enjoy the thread and let's please keep the dialog polite and respectful.

Regards,

D.

[jerryg]

Thank you for taking the time to upload the pictures and explanations. I have a question, if the barrels are fitted that tight to the bushings what happens when you start shooting and the barrel heats up and expands?

[Wilson Guy]

Thank you for taking the time to upload the pictures and explanations. I have a question, if the barrels are fitted that tight to the bushings what happens when you start shooting and the barrel heats up and expands?

We are going to need someone else to come along and answer that one. I have no idea how all that works out. I know that some question the reliability of pistols built this tight. I have found both to run beautifully but: 1) I have only owned the Baer for 150 rounds so far; and 2) I have never fielded either of them. I have carried the Springer extensively and let it get a bit dry. She ran just fine dry. I suspect the Black-T helps with that.

[ar15jules]

Ordering my Les Baer tomorrow. I missed the chance to do it today.
Jules

[Shodan]

Thank you for taking the time to upload the pictures and explanations. I have a question, if the barrels are fitted that tight to the bushings what happens when you start shooting and the barrel heats up and expands?

Perhaps if the barrel is hot enough to expand there is also enough heat to expand the bushing, etc. also? Or more likely the barrel doesn't expand any.