30Aug05

Armorer tips to keep your 1911 running, from a good friend and armorer. Nearly all bobbles will be traced to one or more of these issues:

CLEANLINESS. Do not believe the old wife's tale "Guns shoot better dirty." They don't!

LUBRICATION. Follow recommendations in the owner's manual for guidance on lube points. Get them all! Keep oil and grease away from places the manua l advises to leave dry.

RECOIL SPRINGS. Treat them like an oil change! They need to be replaced a t least once every two years, depending on how much the gun is used. Don =99t use wimpy springs designed for weak, target ammunition. Serious, high-performance ammunition calls for robust recoil springs.

BARREL LINK. The link must move, by gravity alone, when you invert the barrel. Stickiness in barrel links is usually caused by burrs and/or lack of lubrication. Easily fixed.

MAGAZINE CATCH. The catch must be free from stickiness and grit.

MAGAZINES. Magazines must drop free from the frame when the magazine release button is depressed. Empty magazines must lock the slide to the re ar. Weak magazine springs are common culprits. The interior of the magazine bo dy must be clean. Traditional, seven-round magazines are best. There are a number of "extra-capacity" magazines available. None are r ecommended.

TRIGGER. The trigger must drop free from frame when the frame is moved from horizontal to vertical. Once again, sticky triggers are easily fixed.

HAMMER AND SEAR. Both hammer and sear must rotate fully and freely on thei r respective pins.

MAINSPRING. The mainspring must not bind in its housing.

SLIDE AND FRAME. Remove all parts from the slide and frame. The slide mus t freely fall from the frame. Tight slide-to-frame fit is unsuitable for serious guns.

EXTRACTOR (internal). Extractor tension must be sufficient to hold a live round while the slide is rotating. The extractor tunnel must be clean.

FIRING PIN. The firing pin must protrude from breech face and return without binding. To function check, drop a pencil, eraser end first, down th e barrel from the muzzle (unloaded pistol). Point the pistol upward. Press t he trigger. The pencil should launch from the barrel at least a foot into the air.

AMMUNITION. Even factory ammunition needs to be inspected before using it to charge magazines.

Comment: Adherence to the foregoing may well keep you out of a body bag. Take care of your equipment!

/John