Posted: 3/24/2005 9:39:30 PM EDT
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I just recently bought a Spring .45 mil spec stainless. I love the gun, but I was thinking of modyfying it some. Mainly I would like to change out the Sights and trigger, and possibly put a commander version hammer on it. I was wondering if yall could give some suggestions as to what the best modifications for this 1911 would be or what some of yall would personally do to it. thanks lazer |
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It really depends on what you will use the gun for and money. Unless you are going to a beavertail, don't bother with a commander hammer. As far as sights, you can spend big bucks on Heinies, Novaks, etc., since they require milling of the slide, or you can get some quality drop in sights, such as Kings, MGW, or Millett. All three will give a sight picture similar to the Heinie. A new trigger is not necessary unless you intend to get a trigger job. If you want to spend a minimal amount of money, get a new Greider solid aluminum trigger, leave your front sight alone, get a Kings or MGW rear sight, get a trigger job, a reliability job if needed, and call it a day. You will have a very seviceable 1911 and probably spend less than $200. Also, if you want to go to a commander hammer just because you like the looks, remember that you will need either a modified grip safety to clear the hammer (the commander hammer sits lower when cocked), a beavertail, or a grip safety made to accomodate a commander hammer. You can find the latter from Colt Springfield, and Kings, to name a few. |
McCormick stuff is good for the most part, but I would spend a little extra for a hammer. I just got a gun form a friend witha broken MIM hammer (Kimber, same hammer as McCormick), and I also got a broken ambi safety from another guy (which makes it the third I've seen). I've been using their beavertails for some time now, and am quite happy with them. |
Who makes a good hammer?? |
| hobbs, I would like to change out the rear sight myself on my milspec. I think I got the right tools but I don't know. I got a vice. and a brass punch. What else would I need? Or is the brass punch bad? The only reason I want to change it out is because all the ammo I've shot in it all shoots low. Some more than others but so far that is the case. Which rear sight should I get? Or how High? Advice please. |
You have the right stuff. Make sure you pad the jaws of your vise. Also, make sure you use a little masking tape between the punch and the sight, and check often to make sure you don't dmamage the sight with the punch. If you get a little brass on the sight, rub gently with an eraser. As far as rear sights, i have never heard of varying rear sight heights when it comes to GI type sights. I'm sure they exist, but I have never had a need to find any as I would replase the front, myself. The Millet MKII low profile is about .012" higher than standard, and, assuming you have a standard .185" front, will bring your shots up about 4" - 5" at 25 yards. Here's a link to this rear sight on Brownells: www.brownells.com/aspx/NS/store/ProductDetail.aspx?p=9117&title=MILLETT+FIXED+1911+AUTO+SIGHTS |
| Thank you for the advice. I don't know what I have. It's a stock, Sprinfield Mil-spec. The rear sight is pretty low. I saw the mccormick one in midway that says you don't need a special cut but it's also a 2 piece. This millet might be the trick but I'd like to be sure that'll actually bring up my poi. |
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Kings Hardball sights - about $40 for a set higher profile than what you got - available with dots or bars. Front sight will have to be staked in , rear should drift in ( ask them about fit though ) www.kingsgunworks.com/newcatalog/page02.html |
Your POI will be brought up if you go with a taller rear, or a shorter front, as you know. The Millet MKII is definitely taller, so it should work with your existing front. As AKsRULE suggests, the Kings hardball sights are a good choice. However, I measured a set of mine against some Springfield Mil_Spec sights, and they were the same. You would still need a shorter front. Try the Milletts. IM me, and I'll see if I can mail you an extra one. It would be pretty worn, but at least you will get an idea of where your gun hits. DrFrige, there are a lot of good hammers out there. The McCormick is fine, but I would not want to trust my life to an MIM hammer. Some would disagree, but I figure going to a cast hammer is cheap insurance. There are MIM (metal injection molded), cast, and barstock. Barstock will be the most expensive, and will give you a loonger lasting trigger job. I don't recommend barstock to anyone unless they will shoot the gun tens of thousands of rounds, or just want to throw money at their gun. Cast hammers are fine. Most hammers (some of the best and most popular) out there are cast. Anything from Ed Brown, Wilson (excluding the value line), Cylinder and Slide, Nowlin (excluding their MIM hammer), Dlask, Kings, Caspian, MGW, etc. are good. I'm sure I'm missing some, but these are the brands I've used. Check Brownells for a good selection of hammers. |
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If your going to change the hammer, plan on the sear and disconnector as well. Brownells sells a Nowlin drop Pro kit for around $125 with extra's. A trigger will put you back around $30, and unless you plan on cutting a take-up tab in the old trigger, it's work the money. Out of the package, and with the trigger fitted correctly, your looking at a 3.5 LB trigger. The key to the trigger is just make sure that it has a creep take-up tab. Also, get a unit that needs to be fitted, down in units often have too much taken off the shoe, which causes slop in the movement. Using a light weight trigger (transfer bar) and final fitting the PRO FCG, getting the trigger break below 2lb is a walk in the park (have a 16-40 using this set up). As for MIM parts, no smith will do a trigger job this type of FCG since the sears will not hold shape for very long, and would require the parts to be reworked due to wear (read free rework). |
On my way to Brownells right now... Thank you for the input... I learned a lot here. |
Kings, Wilson, and Colt all make a drop in, but most need to be fitted. Personally, the Wilson is the only drop in I like, and it's very similar to their fitted beavertail. You will have a small gap between the frame and the beavertail if you go with the drop in. Regardless of whether the outside is drop in or not, the internal arm may need fitting to your gun. |
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A bit late in the game I guess but I'll throw in my 2 cents anyhow. I'd suggest the Ed Brown Hammer and beavertail. I'd get the one without the goofy bump, I HATE that damned thing. A long trigger and flat mainspring housing. The Heine rear sight is cheap and very good. If you can afford it get a nice set of low profile Novak's. I have the old Ed Brown extended thumb safety trimmed to stock width. Toss in a Wilson bulletproof extractor and slide stop and you're in business for the next 150,000 rounds without a hiccup. I DO NOT reccomend the full length guide rods, they just make it harder to disassemble. Run a shock buffer when playing and take it out for carry use. Checkering the frontstrap and relieving under the trigger guard will make the gun more comfortable but it's damned expensive. I had mine done 13 years ago and it was over $150 then, I imagine it's much more expensive nowadays. Btw, my SA GI will be staying as-is, its up over 800 rounds now hiccup free. If I ever get an accurate listing of the MIM parts I'll swap those, but otherwise it's a good shooter out of the box. |
When installing a Beaver tail grip safety, you need to adjust the arm to block/release off the trigger bar. Since this is usually added when a new commander style hammer is going to replace a standard 1911 hammer, The FCG should not be different/ later date stepped. Start off with a new trigger that has a take up tab, a new hammer/sear/disconnector, and the BT safety. Fit the new trigger to the frame, then install/adjust the hammer/sear angles /spring tension to get the desired break weight. From there, you will pull the parts, and remove the trigger take up creep by bending the tab forward the needed amount. Once the trigger/hammer/sear/spring are adjusted, and then the Frame rear safety tabs are milled/ground using a jig to allow the BT to fit onto the frame. From that point, the BT arm is adjusted to block the trigger bar at rest, and cam away when the pistol is gripped. The last step is to blend the BT into the frame for a flush fit to the frame. Also, the thumb safety may need to be adjusted, since the trigger bar at rest likely will be father back in the frame after the take-up creep has been removed. Bottom line is doing this completely as a single step, and you will only have to adjust the parts the single time, and not replace/peen parts if you multi step/install the parts. |
Depends on how you are tooled up. Chances are the sear will need to be re-shaped to the new contact angle on the new hammer sear (read sear jig and stone). Also, the old disconnector may need to be adjusted for sear contact/release height on the sear engagement pads (or replaced is the engagement tab is lowered too far for the new hammer/sear combo). Also, keep in mind that you may also have to adjust the safeties as well since any part will change the contact points throughout the FCG. As in the above post, I recommend that the FCG be serviced/upgraded as a single step process, and not be multi stepped as you buy the parts over the long haul. Also, because of this, often is it cheaper to be a FCG that is pre-prep'd. With a pre-fitted parts, this leave only light stoning for final tuning the FCG to the frame, and not having to set the sear contact angles from scratch. Also, don't forget that the safeties will need to be checked, and adjusted as well to complete the install. Added: Often when installing a new FCG, I will replace the hammer/sear pins in the pistol at the same time. If the frame hole sizes are oversized, I will use over sized pins that require that frame and the parts to be reamed as well. A complete pin kit runs $16, and if over size hammer/sear pins are needed, then add $4. to that price. The last thing you want to do is drop in several hundred dollars of parts into a pistol, only to find that install is less than ideal since you have slop in the pins causing creep that you can not tune away by adjusting other parts. My rule of thumb is if I can start the pin in the hole, then release the pin and it drops all the way into the frame by gravity alone, then the pin need to be replaced. Ideally, you want the pin to be tight in the frame to the point that it need to be pushed to seat(.0005, with the pin to hammer/sear fit .001 new). |