DIY GUNSMITHING: GSG 1911-22 (Deburr/Polish/Trigger Job)

[backfire]

Picked up a new GSG 1911-22 from 21st. Century Firearms last Saturday, brought it home and stripped it down to the frame for a D&P/Trigger Job before I shot it, as I wanted it to function slick right out of the box, which a job like this typically provides.

I'm also upgrading the factory, crack-prone guide rod with a HD polished stainless steel Full Length Guide Rod from ZR Tactical Solutions GSG 1911-22 & Sig Sauer 1911-22 Full Length Guide Rod « ZR Tactical Solutions, LLC and also adding their improved Slide Alignment Cone they offer to more accuratly index the slide to the barrel when it locks closed for the next shot. For $38 bux, you can't beat it and their customer service has been fantastic thus far.

*I won't have those parts here until next week, so I'm re-assembling the gun tonight with the stock parts for now, then swapping them out when the upgraded parts come in. I'll chime back in with a report on those when they arrive, for anyone else that may want a review of how they worked.

Factory-stock, unfired trigger pull weight was approx. 5.74 lbs. which is pretty good considering this is a mid-priced gun. It didn't have too much creep, was only slightly rough through the pull and the break was predictable. I don't plan to get crazy with this thing, but rather do just a light polish job on all the mating surfaces, etc. to enhance the function of the gun overall- which inverably lightens the trigger by about 3-5 ozs. on it's own. I also deburred the mag and the follower for smooth cartridge feeding.

This gun is advertised as 80% 1911 internally, so if you're proficient with a trigger job for a 1911-45, you'll likely be already familiar with this gun's guts. They are VERY 1911 in numerous ways, where many "real" 1911 parts drop right in!

I wanted to add a little tasteful, "bling" to the gun's appearance, so I polished the trigger, the hammer and the chamber shroud to contrast with the tactical black-matte finish of the rest of the gun. I LOVE the classic, timeless looks of polish over black...

Here's how the gun looked before~ (except for the wood grips)

Here's how it will look aferward~

Ohh, by the way... If any of you are on the fence about the choice between the Chiappa 1911-22 or the GSG 1911-22, do yourself a **HUGE** favor and spend the extra dough for the GSG, as it wins hands-down in overall fit, finish, quality, workmanship and materials...PERIOD!! I've had both and the "Cheeeeapaaa" is a junk, pot metal cap gun next to the GSG.

 

[45fan]

I just brought a used one home today. I didnt get as involved in the striping, but gave it a quick once over and punched the bore before taking it outside and giving it a try. I looked at the cheaper one, but was put off by the cheesyness of it. When I found a used GSG for a little less than the Chiappa, it was a no-brainer.

 

[backfire]

I just brought a used one home today. I didnt get as involved in the striping, but gave it a quick once over and punched the bore before taking it outside and giving it a try. I looked at the cheaper one, but was put off by the cheesyness of it. When I found a used GSG for a little less than the Chiappa, it was a no-brainer.

Good choice. They are pretty nicely manufactured guns.

 

[Fordtough25]

I've got close to 2000 rounds through my stock GSG, it's one of the most fun guns I have! I did just put the stainless guide rod in for good measure btw. And it's cheap to shoot!!!

 

[jbrooks19]

I just picked up a GSG 1911 .22 as well... From a fellow INGO'er.. never taken apart a 1911 before... That being said, 4 hours later FINALLY got it back together. But now that i know how it comes apart, it wont be so bad the next time. Great gun, even ate the bulk CCI Blazers with no problems!

 

[backfire]

I just picked up a GSG 1911 .22 as well... From a fellow INGO'er.. never taken apart a 1911 before... That being said, 4 hours later FINALLY got it back together. But now that i know how it comes apart, it wont be so bad the next time. Great gun, even ate the bulk CCI Blazers with no problems!

Yeah, the re-installation of the sear and disconnector back into the frame was the most challenging for me. Just gotta' hold your tongue just right I guess and they drop right in...!

 

[backfire]

Range Report

I took my wife to the range this afternoon so we could both test and shoot our new gun I've been working on. After about 125 rounds or so, all I can say is.....MAN, is this thing FUN to plink with and it was flawless in operation! It shoots like a dream and it's pretty accurate right out of the box, needing only an elevation change to bring it inline to dead-on at 25'-30'.

My wife especially likes it; as she can, for the first time, focus on her trigger control with this gun more than with my other guns, since recoil is negligable.

We tested 5 different types of ammo to see how low of pressure it could shoot until it didn't work right, cause' the manufacturer strongly suggests to use high performance ammo. It ate CCI Stingers, CCI SBR's, Remington Yellow Jackets and CCI Mini-Mag's without a hitch. Most of these were high pressure/high velocity ammo, so they bumped the slide easily. We then tested our fifth type of the day; Federal American Eagle standard pressure/velocity rounds and the gun didn't like them at all. Multiple FTF's, FTE's and stove piping. Swapped ammo the the previous type and all was well again.

Overall, an excellent gun for the money. It's accurate, well machined and nicely manufactured, where it can use most aftermarket performance 1911 parts on the market if someone were so inclined. I'm very pleased with the gun and I look forward to spending a LOT more quality time with it!

 

[Principal Skinr]

I've got one, too, and LOVE it! I also put a ZR guide rod into mine after the original chipped. You are also right about how much fun it is with nearly zero recoil.

 

[bergonzi]

I put 250 rounds of the cheap federal through my GSG yesterday and had zero failures! I did do a little work to the slide but it wasn't hard to do. Tons of fun. :-)

 

[backfire]

Update: Parts Installed

They are a lot of fun...and accurate too!

I just received my order today, so I took some photos, installed the parts and it's off to the range tomorrow for some testing. Can't wait.


I ordered the stainless steel guide rod and the slide alignment cone, which is of aluminum.

The alignment cone had a few machining burrs that needed smoothed out.

Installed the cleaned-up alignment cone on the barrel and then lightly deburred the mating "lip" between the barrel/cone to provide a smooth, seemless transition between the new parts.

New parts installed.

 

[backfire]

All ready to go, with a newly polished hammer, trigger, chamber shroud and slide alignment cone.

Shameless plug..

 

[bergonzi]

That looks great! I like the end of that barrel.

 

[backfire]

Update: Guide rod failure...

Update: After approx. 120 rounds or so, I found the aftermarket steel guide rod beginning to get loose and separate from the aluminum base. I have removed the rod from my gun and won't be using it any longer, as I don't want to gun to fail me if/when I ever really need it.

I'll likely re-design and machine my own parts of better quality using SAE engineering standards and principles to take care of the issue once and for all. I'd advise past customers of this product like myself to remove/inspect yours to be sure it isn't doing what mine has.

Good luck.

 

[M67]

Can't beleive the guide rod started to fail.

I've shot a couple of them, they were pretty fun and accurate close range.

I did have to give a trigger job to one once and that was a nightmare. The sear pin hole wasn't drilled perfecty and the sear pin was bent. So the parts never went together the same twice. Sometimes the pull would be 3.5lbs, other times it would be 6lbs.

 

[backfire]

Can't beleive the guide rod started to fail.

I've shot a couple of them, they were pretty fun and accurate close range.

I did have to give a trigger job to one once and that was a nightmare. The sear pin hole wasn't drilled perfecty and the sear pin was bent. So the parts never went together the same twice. Sometimes the pull would be 3.5lbs, other times it would be 6lbs.

My thoughts exactly... Premature component failure within 120 rds. that was marketed/supposed to be "better" than stock, followed up with poor customer service. Never again....

No worries however; as I drew up a new one-piece design on SolidWorks to completely eliminate the possibility of component separation and the use of dissimilar metals for this application. Had it machined from 7075-T6 aluminum for rigidity and had it hard anodized to resist spring galling. Fit like a glove and having it anodized black makes it appear stock looking, without that gaudy light colored rod sticking out of the slide like the ZR part is...

Problem solved and I guess sometimes you just gotta do things yourself to get it done right.


I did also install a Clark 4-finger sear spring along with the new rod and WOW, did that make a nice difference in trigger feel! Al 1911's should come stock with that thing!

 

[Fordtough25]

I put close to a thousand rounds through my bone stock GSG before I changed out the guide rod for a ZR piece. I bought the ZR guide rod because it was cheap and not a bad idea. I'm close to 2000 rounds through it now, even put some Federal Match .22 through it today! I continue to enjoy this pistol more than most, it's just good honest fun!

 

[backfire]

Agreed, the gun is a nice, fun shooter and the stock parts seem to actually be better than the updated aftermarket stuff... IIRC, I've probably got about 400-500 rds, through mine I think so far.

Taking my gun to a family get-together this afternoon so we can all have a turn shooting with it, as it's become the "go-to" plinker that everyone likes to practice with- even the women in the family that "don't like guns"

 

[Hookfish]

"poor customer service"

"...without that gaudy light colored rod sticking out of the slide like the ZR part is..."

I could not disagree with you more on these statements. I have actually met the guys at ZRTS, and they are great guys. I bet if you would of sent them a picture of your rod coming apart, then they would of sent you a new one the next day. Also, I have the polished guide rod from them, or as you call it, "that gaudy light colored rod ", and I believe it is an excellent product. It isn't "gaudy" at all and is a great choice for upgrading the GSG 1911-22 guide rod.

 

[backfire]

I could not disagree with you more on these statements. I have actually met the guys at ZRTS, and they are great guys. I bet if you would of sent them a picture of your rod coming apart, then they would of sent you a new one the next day. Also, I have the polished guide rod from them, or as you call it, "that gaudy light colored rod ", and I believe it is an excellent product. It isn't "gaudy" at all and is a great choice for upgrading the GSG 1911-22 guide rod.

Good for you...

I never stated the concept wasn't sound, however, their execution of design, engineering, validation and producing of the product was exceptionally poor- especially in light of how they reacted when I brought it to their attention. Opinions vary on the guide rod being gaudy in appearance and in my opinion, it's very gaudy- especially when the barrel right above it, as well as the rest of the damn gun is black!

Furthermore, their customer service is indeed poor, as they wanted to send me the very same part that prematurely failed in the first place- in only 120 rds. mind you- AND they wanted me to take my time to send them pictures and details of the failed product FOR FREE on top of that!

You know what...as much as they tout how well made their product is and how well it's "engineered" compared to the stock parts, THEY should have have properly designed, engineered and validated their the product BEFORE they released it to the public, instead of letting the public be their "testing grounds".

I don't want the same POS part they originally "manufactured" in my gun all over again and as evidenced by the smug, contradictory PM's Zach has sent me, they have absolutely NO intention at looking into the issue any further, nor re-designing the part to better standards that clearly are a problem now. If it's failed on my gun in this short of time span, the simple Laws of Probability state, given nothing has changed, that it's likely it will ultimately prematurely fail on someone else- hopefully when they don't need the gun the most in the defense of their life or likely they'll get sued for selling a known inferior product that has the probability of premature failure.


As a design engineer myself by trade, I KNOW what it takes to properly engineer/validate a product to be used in a critical environment where it MUST work right...and work right everytime, so given those SAE standards, ZRT has failed miserably in this department...

I even privately offered them sound engineering advice, materials to alternatively use to correct the issue and improved machining methods that would 100% eliminate all of these problems with one fell swoop, but instead, I was met with contempt, my advice was marginalized and I was ignored.

So.....that response and their failed product; forced me to view their product, their customer service and general smug attitude about a known issue staring them in the face, as a total failure. To get what I wanted, (which was simply a quality part) I re-designed it myself, produced a better product and now that part resides in my gun- oh, by the way, it's black too!

Had they not been such as azz about it all, I would have said nothing, but their response of smacking me in the face after I tried to help them was the trigger for the effect. In fact, I now carry this part in my range bag to show others when they ask about my gun, (folk's seem to like the .22 GSG 1911) because a picture, or in this case, the part itself, is worth a thousand words.

Caveat Emptor and to each his own. Good luck!

 

[sgreen3]

Nice write up OP!!! I have been wanting one of these GSG's ever since a fella at the range let me shoot his a while back. One question the polished trigger and hammer are those the factory pieces that you took the black finish off of or are they aftermarket parts?