What custom work might be needed for the SR1911

What improvements to the Sr1911 would take it to the next level? I am new to 1911s but not to the customization of 22/45s and 10/22s. I am guessing,

Night sight
Polished ramp
What is the deal with a better bushing?
?
?
?

thanks

Unless you want to spend a ton of money on it ... I'd get a good trigger job and call it a day. The bushing should be about as good as it gets ... since it's 'made out of the same piece of barstock and is never seperated from it's barrel-mate'. Night sights and a ramp polishing won't do anything for it's shootability unless you have problems now. If you want to polish the ramp, get some Flitz and go at it !

Not really sure what your 'next level' refers to.

REV

Well, you could spend a few hundred dollars replacing everying on it and have a 1911 that shoots no better than it originally did.

ronnielc said:

What improvements to the Sr1911 would take it to the next level? I am new to 1911s but not to the customization of 22/45s and 10/22s. I am guessing,

Night sight
Polished ramp
What is the deal with a better bushing?
?
?
?

thanks

Click to expand...

What ramp??? The barrel has a sort of radiused (for lack of a better word) cut at the chamber end, but otherwise the round pretty much feeds directly from mag to chamber without any need of a ramp.

Rev suggested a good trigger job. I can go along with that, although mine is good enough for me. It breaks clean with no take up. Break it in good before you decide on a trigger job.

I don't need nite sites, but if one feels they do I understand.

The only customization I have done to mine is a set of semi-custom grip panels.

Thinking of having forward sererations cut into the slide... not because I particularly like 'em, but because I have a weak hand due to some nerve damage and the serrations would help me get a better grip on the slide.

I'd put my spare money towards extra mags and ammo.

I was just curious as I am new to 1911s. I expect my only purchased will be the black grips, holster, 7 and 10 round bags and fiber Optic sight.

Iowegan on other Ruger forum really likes lighter recoil spring. I will determine that far down the road. I do like a stronger recoil spring in my LCP.

Will just keep adding quarters to the jar and buy another when Little Crow gets them back in stock............. 8) The gun is fine just the way it is built. :wink:

Custom work? None I can think of on most guns.

Buy 'em, shoot 'em, enjoy 'em and save your "custom money" for grips, ammo, holster and other accessories.

hittman said:

Custom work? None I can think of on most guns.

Buy 'em, shoot 'em, enjoy 'em and save your "custom money" for grips, ammo, holster and other accessories.

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Agreed ... I don't do 'custom' on guns. If a gun is that needy that I would need 'custom' work ... I don't buy it. I have a bunch of 'factory custom' guns like Pythons and Gold Cups, but I would never pay to have that work done by a private gunsmith on a lesser model. I've seen way too many butchered guns come out of so-called 'gunsmith' shops. In my opinion ... it's a rare 'gunsmith' that can be trusted to not steal your money and keep your gun for 6 months. It's just ridiculous that they can't put you on a list and let you keep your gun until a week or so before they get to it, but few will.

I finally found a great 1911 guy, but I've only had him do my Springfield trigger work. All my Colts are just fine as they came from the factory. When I needed a little work on a very well-used Python that I bought used ... it went back to Colt to be fixed preoperly .... and it was. Cost me $85 including shipping and Colt went through the whole gun, replaced any parts that were needed, tuned it, and shipped it directly back to me. Colt service is outstanding.


REV

"What ramp??? The barrel has a sort of radiused (for lack of a better word) cut at the chamber end, but otherwise the round pretty much feeds directly from mag to chamber without any need of a ramp."

The ramp isn't part of the barrel, it's the part of the frame that leads the bullet nose up into the chamber. Without it, the round almost assuredly wouldn't feed.

As mentioned, some ramps need attention and some don't. In my experience, most guns will feed jacketed roundnose "hardball" with no problem, but some of the more radical hollowpoints or semi-wadcutters may require a little massaging of the ramp along with some matching polishing to the chamber mouth.

Both are discussed here http://www.sightm1911.com/lib/tech/reliability_secrets.htm

JMHO

YMMV

My opinion is that Ruger has its bases covered pretty well as far as customizing the SR1911 is concerned. For the casual shooter, or even as a self defense weapon, this handgun seems pretty up to par as is. I like to reload my own ammo, so a adjustable Bomar sight might be of some consideration, to help compensate for the different bullet point of impact. Other than that, the only other changes I would care to make would be purely aesthetic. Maybe some nice after market hardwood grips, or perhaps a more subdued finish like beadblast.

A.W.

The question was "...might be needed..."

And the answer is "none" From all accounts and IMOE, they work reliably and are accurate.

On the other hand, the 1911 and the 10/22 are probably the most-customized consumer firearms in the country. Aftermarket parts are like fleas on a hound.

Ruger Packer said:

It breaks clean with no take up. Break it in good before you decide on a trigger job.

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Just an FYI ... if your 1911 'has no takeup' ... it needs work (most likely on the front tabs of the trigger itself). There should DEFINITELY be a certain amount of takeup before the trigger firms, and then breaks. If your 1911's trigger is firm immediately, you need to change that because it's on the verge of not resetting.

http://www.brazoscustom.com/magart/0407.htm

Agreed on the break-in.

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Ale-8(1) said:

Both are discussed here http://www.sightm1911.com/lib/tech/reliability_secrets.htm

Click to expand...

That's a great article. Read it a few years ago from what I remember.

Good find.

REV

A Magwell and a bit of melt on the edges would give you something a bit different than a stock gun. But mine needs nothing internally, happy with it as is.

Ditto on the melt job on the edges, particularly if the gun is going to be a carry piece.

A.W.

Thanks for the education and links. I expect beyond additional grips and night sight I will be fine.

Regarding not customizing good guns, as Ruger folks it seems clear that the Mk series, 10/22 and others set the standard for quality out of the box guns that have basically created a cottage industry around custom and accurizing work. New to the 1911 world, I have found that many magazine articles, companies and websites spend a great deal of time talking about esthetic and accuracy enhancing custom work. It will be interesting in a year or so to see the picture threads/range threads characterizing all the money, time and thought that many will invest in personalizing this already fine firearm.

revhigh said:

Ruger Packer said:

It breaks clean with no take up. Break it in good before you decide on a trigger job.

Click to expand...

Just an FYI ... if your 1911 'has no takeup' ... it needs work (most likely on the front tabs of the trigger itself). There should DEFINITELY be a certain amount of takeup before the trigger firms, and then breaks. If your 1911's trigger is firm immediately, you need to change that because it's on the verge of not resetting.

http://www.brazoscustom.com/magart/0407.htm

Agreed on the break-in.

REV

Click to expand...

My SR1911 was bought from a shop in Minnesota and shipped to my FFL, who also is my gunsmith. After we checked it over for cosmetic flaws, the smithy checked it for function flaws.

He proclaimed the trigger to be a good one. There is perhaps 1/32" of take up, but when shooting it, I don't notice it. It breaks nice and clean. 8)

I will also checker the front strap to some degree.

ronnielc said:

I will also checker the front strap to some degree.

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When you find out what that will cost from a reputable gunsmith ... I'm betting you'll be just fine with it the way it is now. If you can't find a local smith you TRUST, you'll have to send it away, and then shipping a gun is involved. Figure about $100 total for shipping and then another $175-250 for the work.

Adding that cost (about $350) to the cost of the original gun (about $700), if you had spent that much in the beginning .... you could have had a much better gun with a lot more refinements and enhancements done to it.

Try some skateboard tape first .... I'm serious.

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Ruger Packer said:

There is perhaps 1/32" of take up, but when shooting it, I don't notice it.

Click to expand...

That is .03125" take up ...I'd bet it's more than that ... close to double that if actually measured ... which is fine, and also very different from 'no takeup' in your original comment ... I'm sure it's fine.

REV