Upgrade hammer for Remington 1911R1?

[ACC]

I own a Remington 1911R1. Wanted to upgrade the hammer & beavertail. Found the R1 enhanced beavertail on eBay for $32. Figured I could call Remington and order the R1 enhanced hammer (to ensure proper fit), but was told that it is a factory restricted part and cannot be ordered, even by dealers.

So...I need to find an upgrade skeletonized hammer that will fit my R1. I've seen the Wilson Combat hammer suggested, but supposedly it takes some fitting and filing

since ce this my first shot at upgrading a 1911, I was hoping for a drop in option. Any suggestions?

 

[88E30M50]

The beavertail will take some work to fit. You'll need to get a jig to cut the tangs down to rough size and then work slowly to get a final fit. Then, when done, you'll need to check the fit to make sure it engages the trigger bar correctly. The hammer is something I'd probably replace as part of an entire ignition kit. EGW sells an excellent ignition kit for around $135 and this will provide an upgraded sear, main spring, hammer and disconnector IIRC. When you replace the sear, you might need to replace the thumb safety to guarantee proper function. That will need to be fit to your pistol as well.

The 1911 is largely a hand fit gun and there are not too many parts that will be a guarnteed drop in fit. Most will require some degree of fitting to work. The beaver tail grip safety is a fairly major change and involves a large amount of cutting to get it to fit. You'll be cutting on the frame and once cut too much, it can be difficult to repair, so go slowly and make sure you know exactly what you are about to do before cutting. A bottle of layout dye is a must have for this type of work. You'll apply the dye and then move teh part to see what's making contact. Then you remove a bit of metal and do it over again. and again. and again....

 

[KokomoDave]

The new Cammer Hammer is a really nice dealio for any 1911 & actually works!

 

[Robert Richardson]

There are really no drop in parts for a 1911.

 

[maansmit]

My drop-in threaded barrel required some significant fitting by churchmouse.

 

[Nam1911]

Imagine if 45 companies made the glock 19. Now try and find a drop in part that works without fitting. Same idea with the 1911. There are a lot of stacking tolerances and there is no drop in good fit. There are a lot of drop in terrible fits out there and I have seen them.

 

[worddoer]

There are really no drop in parts for a 1911.

What he said! ^^^^^^

This year I have needed to have work done on 3 different items on my 1911 and each time it involved a gunsmith. It is such a pain. This will be the last 1911 I purchase.

Good luck. Just make sure you find a true 1911 gunsmith that really does know what the heck they are doing. Someone who does not know what they are doing can cause more damage and harm than help. reference thread below.....

https://www.indianagunowners.com/forums/gunsmithing/410583-good-gunsmith-bad.html

I prefer my Glock's and Beretta's that are user repairable and customizable.

 

[88E30M50]

The truth is, there are drop in parts available for a 1911. Anyone that would need a gunsmith to install a FLGR, flat wire spring or grips should probably not be allowed near guns. If you have a bit of talent, patience are willing to go slowly while learning, there are lots of things you can do without going to a gunsmith. I am not a gunsmith, yet was able to fit a beaver tail grip safety, complete ignition set, ambi-thumb safety, FLGR and trigger to a Springfield Mil-Spec and it turned out really well. I did send the pistol off to AllenM for sight cuts and Cerakote because I cannot do sight cuts and Allen has the talent, tooling and patience that allow him to do factory level work in areas like that. The Cerakote was the same thing. I can duracoat a pistol, but when the finish really counts, I send it off to a professional.

There ARE things that can be done with a 1911 that don't require a gunsmith and unless you are willing to make the commitment to learn exactly what you are doing, you should engage a gunsmith. But, they are simple machines that have some critical areas that demand attention and patience and can be worked on. If you can rebuild an engine, you can probably work on a 1911. In either, there are things you'll send them out to a professional to have done, but there are lots of things that can be done by someone that is good with their hands.

 

[halfmileharry]

ALL 1911s are NOT created equal.
Some companies shouldn't even use the 1911 connotation.
I've changed hammer/sear, triggers, slide stops that need trimmed, complete ignition groups etc. So many guns these days aren't even close to spec or "DROP IN" capabilities.
People have gotten into the customizing a base pistol instead of just buying a good pistol with all the features you actually want. Let the experts do the detail work.
AND...MIL SPEC doesn't seem to mean much when it comes to a 1911 from so many companies.
Buy what you want or find a qualified person to do your upgrades.
IF you don't know what you're doing then don't mess with it. "I have a guy" is one of the best thoughts to keep in your head.

 

[NHT3]

Why do you want to change the hammer? If it's because it's biting you that can be fixed without changing the hammer.

 

[MrNobody]

NHT3 is the man, was getting hammer bite with my R1s. He bobbed the hammer 1/8" and reshaped it a little and it took care of problem. Also had him adjust and add a Wilson long trigger to it and it is wonderful. My 1st 1911 and I love it. Talk to NHT3 before you do anything.

 

[ArmyADub]

There are really no drop in parts for a 1911.

If you're really into 1911's, you need to remove "drop-in" from your vocabulary

 

[ACC]

I'm still new to 1911s and learning quickly that everything take fitting.

 

[churchmouse]

Tools. If you are diving into the 1911 with any real interest then there are a few tools you should have to do quality work.
Drop in and 1911 are not synonomouse. So many different companys getting on the 1911 band wagon. Spec is all over the place especially with the island offerings.
Not a fair comparison to Beretta/Glock as they are made in house by the Brand name. Not a lot of subs making complete guns.

Mil-Specs can be fun to upgrade and are great for practice and honing your skill sets but please listen when I say there are some real turds out there at this level.

The EGW parts have become my go to as they seem to need a bit less prep to get the desired results. I still check all the fit up/angles etc. All contact surfaces get polished.

 

[LCSOSgt11]

Cammer hammer.