Wilson Combat 1911 Beavertail Fitting Jig

+ Files, emery cloth, etc.

The jig is nice, but I have done a few with just a file and sandpaper.  This one had mods, including the fitted barrel bushing, extended ejector, lowered and flared ejection port, ramp job, etc.  Colts were not reliable out of the box.  I like the Ed Brown Beavertail as you can see:





Both of these have Mueschke ambi safeties.

My old gunsmith did one with lipstick and files.  I guess the lipstick was for when he got near finished to mark the too tight spots.
Came out ok for a beater para.

Get the jig Dangus linked to.

A couple of tips from fitting them.

- Tape off the rest of the back side of your frame when filing.  It's very thin and you can easily put some bad scars in it with your file.

- Wilson's are fit by marking, tapping the safety down, file, repeat.  Be gentle with this or you can mess up the top of the beavertail.  Sometimes the arm of the grip safety can hit the frame giving you a false sense that you need to file more on the tangs.  That's why you see a lot of guns with a great fit on the left tang and a gap on the right.

- Measure the diameter of the thumb safety you intend to use and buy a little gauge pin off Amazon in the same size to use while fitting.  It's just nice not to have the TS in the way.

easy with hand tools

you also have to fit the tail to the back of the trigger bow

This.  The 'notch' in the tail is deep enough to let the trigger depress fully when the grip safety is depressed, the height of the notch/tail is high enough to clear the trigger bow when the grip safety is depressed, and the length of the tail is short/long enough to fit behind the trigger bow in the safe position, but not allow the trigger bow to move more than a couple microns.