Standard improvements to my new (used) 1911?

Bound's hubby here:

Personally, if I were you, I would not invest any money in accessories for your 1911 until you go and work on the reliable functioning.

You say the slide hangs up... I'm not really certain what this involves. I am a bit concerned that a gunsmith took a dremel to the slide. When you say "hang up", I will presume that you mean the slide starts to close, but will not close completely. This would suggest to me one of two things. Either the barrel is not properly fitted to the slide, or the recoil spring is too weak. What I would do is pick up 3-4 boxes of hardball. (You could get 4 boxes of Remington-UMC 230 grain hardball for about $15 a box.) I would go to the range and shoot up the 200 rounds of ammo, noting the following:

1. how frequently it jams

2. when the pistol jams measure how far the slide is out of battery

3. if you have a camera, photograph the pistol, focusing on the ejection port, everytime it jams.

Then take all this information to your pistol/gunsmith. I am making the dangerous presumption that when you fire your pistol the slide cycles completely rearward, properly extracting and ejecting your empty.

What does disturb me is that someone took a dremel tool to the slide. This action alone may have damaged the accuracy your pistol may have had. A 1911 is really a very simple handgun that should be reliable. If the pistol functions properly, with FMJ roundnose bullets, you are on the road to a reliable pistol. If and when the slide hangs up, extract the cartridge that did not load completely. Inspect the bullet for any cuts or case deformity. It may be that the barrel or the throat were not properly fitted. But back to the slide... it bothers me that someone took a dremel to it.

You may find that all you need is a $10 recoil spring, but you may also find that you do not have accessable accuracy because someone ground down parts of the slide. A 1911 that does not function reliably and is not accurate will always make a great paperweight or conversation piece, but chances are very good you will not trust it to defend your life. Personally, if I were you, I would get my money back and get a new .45 such as a Springfield Armory, a Rock River, Kimber, etc. Often, when you are buying a used semi-auto, you are buyiung someone else's headaches. Too many times, people that don't know what they are doing "accurize" their pistols, making them candidates for the scrap heap.

Just a point to remember... Uncle Sam used the .45 and beyond the changes that made the M1911 the M1911A1, he never saw the need to add enhancement accessories.

Should you have any questions, feel free to e-mail.

Good luck.

I have owned many differnt Colts, Sprigfield Armory, Smith and Wesson, Lamma, and Para, an so on. The last was a Sig. And bay far and away the Springfield was the best weapaon. I love the Para, for the wife will shot it, due to it's smaller size. it is an older P13. But the SpringField Full size has never let me down. I changed the barrle to Lowbar special wadcutter. And I shoot Gold dot Hollow Point 20O grains down it. The gruoup awsome, like one a top of another at 15 yeard/ Mostother ammo will bring it in far belowed service call. 5 at 4. Even with the stock barrle it did well. But all I have changed are the barrel and the sights. My won custom set up. And I, and my wife can both use it. Which is what I wannted. But you can make a 1911 drive tacks it that is what you want. I just wanted something that would (may god help) cut someone down if the need be. 200 grains of gold ar 10 throught 25 yards, all stuck in them. And with me at the trigger, they will bw head shots/ I even use a factory Springfield Hammer, but it is off the commandors peice. A little something more too hold unto. But even my cheap Lamma willshoot fine. But only with FMJ, and nothing else. And I blame that on the barrerl. So good luck

To start with, I don't think much of the Charles Daly 1911. There is a reason it's a cheap gun.

The idea that a gunsmith would try to fix a jamming problem with a dremmel tool really bothers me.

If your gun's slide is failing to fully close (chamber a round) the problem may simply be a rough feed ramp and a simple polishing job might fix it.

I wouldn't invest any more money or time into this gun. Take him up on his trade in offer and see if you can get one of the better 1911 models. Some of the better ones are Smith & Wesson, Colt, Springfield, Kimber, Rock island, Taurus.

If you are comfortable shooting the .38 Super, stick with it. A good compromise for your partner and an idea which has further merit as well might be to put the pistol in Condition 3. This means the magazine is loaded, but the chamber is not. This does two things. The pistol isn't c0cked, which alarms some people, and it also forces to you be awake enough to cycle the slide before being lethal. You can c0ck the hammer even with the chamber empty as this makes it easier to cycle the slide to chamber the first round. Don't worry about losing a round of capacity, as the chances of needing to fire more than two rounds is much smaller than the chance of even needing to use the firearm. If you go with the 9mm, I suggest Hornady Critical Defense hollowpoints which will expand at those velocities and be more reliable than other hollowpoints in feeding. The .38 Super is also a loud gun with a lot of muzzleblast, as you know. Be prepared for that; it just won't be as bad as a .357 Magnum, though .38 Special is all you would really need for home defense anyway.

Did you take it to a gun smith or Pistol Smith there is a difference. There are many things on the 1911 model that will make the slide hang try a OEM mag and see if that helps. then there is the wrong slide stop, link pin, improperly fitted barrel bushing and the list can go on. I recommend finding a Pistol Smith and having them look at it.

I hate to burst your bubble but you need to sell that thing and learn to never by a philipino 1911 ever again. I purchased a Rock Island and neevr shot it. The slide was done horribly and it was made ISO (metric).

You would have actually been better off with a Llama (despite Llamas reputation in certain situations).

Dazed! Hollowpoints in a Gold Cup??!! These guns were not made to beat up with 230gr fmj or hot hollowpoints! These guns work best as wadcutter pistols or at least with reduced factory loads. This is why I never got one. Shooting hot with a Gold Cup is like driving a Bentley over a construction site or over a pothole that is a foot deep. I hope ypur adjustable sights are ok. Below is a good reference for how to handle a Gold Cup.

I hope you won't mind a bad reply. I bought a colt goldcup top of the line 45 and that thing jammed with hollowpoints and I was not happy. I talked to people and all I was told was it could be worked on but that model was supposed to be a fine quality handgun and I was so happy to sell it. I have other 45s like an HK and it shoots any round and any reload available. If you like your 1911 that is all that matters though but try some hollow points and see if it jams and maybe you can have it worked on if you like shooting hollow points

the list of drop in parts is quite extensive.....

replacement barrels ( ported and non ported )

springs ( heavy for 235 grain ball rounds, lighter for 185 semi wad cutters plus shock buffer pads ), skeleton trigger, skeleton hammer, beaver tail safety, extended saftey , flared magazine well,

gun jams ( failture to extract? ) are a results of a worn extractor, or cheap ammo with low cyclic rate, failure to feed up the barrel in chamber and you gun may need ramp work done on the magazine side of the barrel ( throating ), to better feed hollow points / semi wad cutters. Good magazine with properly tuned magazine feed lips also help.

my 45 Springfield Armory is heavily modifed for pin gun shootig ( even though most pin guns are chambered for 38 super ), but mine is port and compenmsated with shock buffers and the rails have been tightned to eliminate most of the side to side play common in 45s.

Go to m1911.org. Alot of people on that site are professional gun smiths and obsessed with 1911's so they will know alot more than anyone on yahoo.