1911 barrel replacment.

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  • Rating - 100%
    8   0   0
    Jan 18, 2009
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    SE Indy
    I recently purchased a 1978 Colt Gold cup that I absolutely love. Question though. The lands and grooves seem shallow and it has the old bushing with the 3 fingers. When I fire it it doesn't seem as accurate as I would have expected. It looks wonderful and functional its fine. The question is should I replace the barrel with a Cart or similar?
    Or keep it all original unmolested and just accept its older and probably fired a great many rounds..... Or can you even wear out a 1911 barrel?
    Just looking for opinions
     

    AllenM

    Diamond Collision Inc. Avon.
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    I think it is pretty hard to wear out a barrel.
    I would be tempted to fit a different barrel bushing and maybe remove the barrel link and recoil spring to see how tight it locks up in battery.
    That is mostly just to satisfy curiosity though. :)
    Replacing a factory barrel with Kart, BAR Sto, KKM etc almost certainly will improve accuracy
     

    mhs

    Plinker
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    May 25, 2009
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    How accurate is it? Have you shot it from a Ransom rest? How does it compare to you shooting a good .22?
     

    planedriver

    Sharpshooter
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    Those old gold cups aren’t as forgiving as the government model. If you are going to shoot it in original configuration, some of the following may help before you start buying parts.

    Clean it again, inside and out, paying extra attention to the bushing and barrel. Dust the barrel with graphite and reassemble. Get a box of what it was intended to shoot (185gr swc) and see what happens before you get your checkbook out.
     

    Leo

    Grandmaster
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    Mar 3, 2011
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    I caught the tail end of competitive conventional bullseye. A .22, a .38spl revolver and a 1911 was the full kit. ( A High Standard Supermatic Citation, a Python and a Gold Cup in a Pachmayr range case was the top shelf) I never remember anyone who shot a .45 that had not been worked on. Even when a Gold Cup was considered state of the art, the first place you took it was to someone who would go over it to make it accurate. Only collectors kept them untouched. Playing with link length and fitting a tight tolerance bushing may get you there without a barrel. Mine needed a barrel also. The adjustable sight was the best feature.

    Once you get it ironed out you will really enjoy it, Good luck
     
    Last edited:

    planedriver

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    I caught the tail end of competitive conventional bullseye. A .22, a .38spl revolver and a 1911 was the full kit. I never remember anyone who shot a .45 that had not been worked on. Even when a Gold Cup was considered state of the art, the first place you took it was to someone who would go over it to make it accurate. Only collectors kept them untouched. Playing with link length and fitting a tight tolerance bushing may get you there without a barrel. Mine needed a barrel also. The adjustable sight was the best feature.
    Don’t forget the s&w model 52
     

    Wabatuckian

    Smith-Sights.com
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    May 9, 2008
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    The lands aren't going to be too tall. As long as they're sharp, they're fine.

    Check the muzzle crown for any damage.

    I would replace the three-fingered bushing with a hand-fit oversized bushing. You should need a bushing wrench to take it off.

    Also check the locking lugs. Are the bottom lugs resting on the cross pin while in battery, or is there some space there? Optimally you'll have the top lugs all engaged equally with the lower lugs resting on the cross pin. Without the recoil spring in place, press the back of the slide to close the pistol into battery. It should feel like a vault locking.

    For maximum precision, you need that barrel returning to the exact same place at the exact same time with every cycle of the action. That means tight tolerances.
     

    tinmansinoz

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    Feb 27, 2023
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    Brownsburg, IN
    I have a 1911 that was stolen and recovered so the GBI for sure finger printed the barrel. Also I would like to add a barrel with threads. Anyways I didn't notice anywhere in this thread a 1911 gunsmith nearby that could do a barrel swap. I live on the west side of indy, anyone know a gunsmith that can do this and give it that "max accuracy" I read about a few threads up? I know 1911 gunsmiths are a breed of there own usually.
     

    AllenM

    Diamond Collision Inc. Avon.
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    I have a 1911 that was stolen and recovered so the GBI for sure finger printed the barrel. Also I would like to add a barrel with threads. Anyways I didn't notice anywhere in this thread a 1911 gunsmith nearby that could do a barrel swap. I live on the west side of indy, anyone know a gunsmith that can do this and give it that "max accuracy" I read about a few threads up? I know 1911 gunsmiths are a breed of there own usually.
    This is right up my alley
     
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