My first .45 ACP

[Drylok]

Sweet! Aside from how much fun they are to shoot, the other great thing about the 1911 is that there are soooooo many parts that you can upgrade to. I put a magazine well, extended slide stop, barrel bushing compensator, 18 lb recoil spring and a Pachmayr grip with finger grooves on my brother's 1911 for him. Definitely get an extended slide stop if nothing else though. Unless you have giant hands in which case, you probably don't need it. Check out MidwayUSA.com if you're looking for 1911 parts. I order something from them about once a week and they always get it to me in three or four days.

What is a barrel bushing compensator? I'm fairly new to handguns and their mechanics and don't own a 1911 anyway.

[bacher2741]

Drylok
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Re: My first .45 ACP
Quote:
Originally Posted by KDE870
Sweet! Aside from how much fun they are to shoot, the other great thing about the 1911 is that there are soooooo many parts that you can upgrade to. I put a magazine well, extended slide stop, barrel bushing compensator, 18 lb recoil spring and a Pachmayr grip with finger grooves on my brother's 1911 for him. Definitely get an extended slide stop if nothing else though. Unless you have giant hands in which case, you probably don't need it. Check out MidwayUSA.com if you're looking for 1911 parts. I order something from them about once a week and they always get it to me in three or four days.
What is a barrel bushing compensator? I'm fairly new to handguns and their mechanics and don't own a 1911 anyway.

My explanation of a barrel bushing is.
A barrel bushing on a 1911 is mounted on the business end of the slide and helps keep the barrel centered during cycling of the action. This piece can be exchanged for a barrel bushing compensator which will help with recoil and muzzle flip and also do the job of a barrel bushing when firing takes place. I don't claim to be an expert but I think this should give you an idea of what one is and does.

Bacher2741

[Beretta Bob]

I've wanted to try a 1911 but since this was my first, I didn't want to spend much. I learned a lot about the Philipino companies Armscor and S.A.M. in the process. I decided on the ATI FX45 GI built by SAM. So far, I'm very happy with the purchase. $387 shipped from Buds.

Nice looking 1911, and for under $400. Wow!!!

I am just wondering how comfortable those grips will be shooting it.

[Pector55]

I got out to the range today. Here is a quick report.

1. There is a problem when I load 8rds into the mag with Remington 185 JHP ammo. The first round does not feed.

2. When using the Winchester White box FMJ ammo, it is not a problem.

3. If I drop down to only 7rds in the mag, I have zero issues with the JHP ammo.

4. At 10yds, she shoots just a hair low. I thought this was just me but I checked it out at home with the boresighter. Typically, at a distance of 25ft, you want the boresighter to be about 2" high. Instead, mine is right on. At the range I was typically around 2" to 2.5" low consistantly. The windage appears to be right on according to the boresighter but I tend to shoot around 2" to 2.5" left as well.

5. In the picture below I put 5rds of my JHP ammo in the mag. After my first 3rds I tried to compensate for the elevation and sure enough, I was a little closer to the red. Overall, for this being my first .45 ACP, I'm happy with how it shoots. The grips feel great. There isn't too much recoil. It's not an obnoxious gun at all. I think I need to determine what I am doing to push things to the left but for the most part, just standing and squeezing them off at 30ft, I felt confident that I could take center-mass shots reliably with this firearm.

[Misery Loves Shotguns]

I think I need to determine what I am doing to push things to the left but for the most part, just standing and squeezing them off at 30ft, I felt confident that I could take center-mass shots reliably with this firearm.

If you're shooting off center it may be either that you're trigger pull is jerking the gun off to one side or that you're gripping it too tightly. I had the same trouble with my handguns for a while (.45 ACP and 9x19). I was shooting low and right over and over no matter what ammo I used or how long I took looking down the sights. Keep a firm grip but don't strain yourself. Hold it comfortably. As for the trigger pull, keep it smooth. Buy some snapcaps and dry fire the gun over and over. Load the snapcap, hold it on a target and try to keep your point of aim the same throughout the squeeze. If there's no live round and therefor no recoil taking you off target then you'll know exactly how your trigger pull is affecting the shot. I didn't realize it for a while but I was pretty much pulling the trigger with my whole hand. Once I trained my other fingers to stay still, my pistol shooting got a lot better. Hope it helps!

[GrumpyBear]

Nice pistol,I like "the Punisher Grips".KDE870 has offered great advice,with the dry firing and training your other fingers not to pull you off target.

[Nic]

That's actually a very nice looking 1911... especially for the price. The grip safety has a nice speedbump, and the beavertail lets you grip it nice and high without worrying about hammer bite. Enjoy your first 1911.

[gold cup abuser]

When you get the chance try and get some Chip McCormic mags and see if that helps in feeding the Remington HP's you have. That and Checkmate mags are what I use and they work.

Others recommend the Wilson 47 mags.

Good outing you had with it

[Pector55]

When you get the chance try and get some Chip McCormic mags and see if that helps in feeding the Remington HP's you have. That and Checkmate mags are what I use and they work.

Others recommend the Wilson 47 mags.

Good outing you had with it

Thanks for the tips on the mags. After I cleaned it, I experimented with the feed issue on the JHPs. The issue completely goes away, no matter what type of ammo or how many rounds, if I set the gun down on the base of the mag. This pushes the mag up inside perhaps an extra 1/8". That isn't measured, it's just eyeballed but I can say that once I do that, everything feeds as expected. I was going to order a couple mags so I'm glad to hear a recommendation.

Rep to you and rep to my man with the shooting tips. I actually don't shoot badly but I'm always listening to tips.

[BionicMan]

When you get the chance try and get some Chip McCormic mags and see if that helps in feeding the Remington HP's you have. That and Checkmate mags are what I use and they work.

Others recommend the Wilson 47 mags.

I have the EXACT same feeding issue as the OP with my PT1911. I bought Chip mags when I bought the gun on a suggestion from a friend, but they turned out to be a COMPLETE waste of money as they were total jam-o-matics with hollowpoints for the first 3 rounds of a mag. The front of Chip followers are totally unsupported and allow the round to nose dive and jam into the bottom of the feed ramp.
I then polished the feed ramp and the Chip's still jammed every first round whereas the stock Taurus mags were loading the first of an 8 round mag every time reliably.
Then just for kicks I tried using an older GI style 7 round mag with a bent-leg dimpled follower and it functioned flawlessly 100% of the time with 4 types of hollowpoints. So after inspecting this bent-leg dimpled follower design and reading this highly educational writeup*, I decided to order a checkmate 8rd mag and one of their bent-leg followers to try dropping into the chip mags.
Much to my disappointment, the Check-Mate 8rd mag still jammed the first round approximately 75% of the time with HP's, and swapping the Check-Mate follower into the Chip mags brought their first round efficiency up from 0% to about 50%.

At this point I just stick to what works and use my 7rd GI mag or Taurus 8rd mags when I carry it, although when I get some time I plan on having the gun looked at by a reputable 1911 smith. Good luck figuring it out Pector, I've spent well over $100 trying different mags, followers, and ammo to find the perfect combination.

*Great read on magazines: http://how-i-did-it.org/magazines/index.html