1911 Video

[1911Tuner]

The long-awaited demo, brought to you by our own Hunter Lee Elliot.

First, a little background on the pistol.

The slide and frame are castings from Essex Arms...the supplier of castings for Thompson Auto Ordnance, and...to my understanding...formerly for Dan Wesson.

The set was a gift to me some years ago, and I threw a pistol together from various new and used parts that I had layin' around. The problem was that the frame is made to GM-size specs, and the slide to Commander...which resulted in less slide travel than a Colt Commander has. Rather than drive the 70 miles to access a mill so I could cut the frame impact abutment and rails a tenth inch further back...I opted to thin the guide rod flange to .050 inch and regain half of the lost travel.

I may do the machining one day if I can ever find one of those increasingly rare Round Tuits.

I used a FLGR because I had one and didn't see a reason to pony up the bucks for a Commander guide rod and plug.

On a couple of the rounds not shown, I tried to hold the slide but was unable to keep it from moving due to old man Arthur Itis making it hard for me to get a tight enough grip to keep it from slipping. It didn't move much, though.

It's also apparent that Hunter looped a couple of the same shots. I'm sure he has his reasons, but I haven't talked to him since he posted this on Rangehot.com. Maybe he'll post here and shed some light on it. My guess is to let the video run longer so nobody would have to back it up or restart it to watch it over and over.

Ammunition used was Sellier & Bellot 230 ball.

Language alert. I said a bad word.

Anyhoo...Here 'tis. Let the discussions/arguments/flame wars begin.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xyis5h9MvUU

 

[Chuck 100 yd]

I think case obturation will hold the case in the chamber just long enough to allow pressures to drop to the point that the slide and frame do not get overly battered. Also the weight of the slide is a help in absorbing the recoil of the case.
That tells me the spring is more a function of feeding than to absorb recoil.

 

[1911Tuner]

I think case obturation will hold the case in the chamber just long enough to allow pressures to drop to the point that the slide and frame do not get overly battered.

If the case could do that, we wouldn't need to be concerned with excessive headspace.

The plain truth is that the slide just doesn't hit the frame all that hard. If you use explosive movement, you can hand cycle the slide as fast as it moves when the gun fires.

Also the weight of the slide is a help in absorbing the recoil of the case.

Sure it does. Everything means something...but the slide's mass isn't the largest resistive force during the time that the system is being accelerated.

Recoil...the backward acceleration of the slide...is only in play for a short time. At 1/10th inch of rearward slide travel, the bullet exits the muzzle, and all accelerating force is removed. After that, it's all momentum. The slide can only decelerate.

 

[dakota1911]

Well a lot of folk have said the recoil spring should really be called the return to battery spring. I see Wolff is now calling the mainspring the hammer spring which is another source of confusion with new 1911 users.