New home defense pistol

[rjmt]

as I have aged, I find I don't wake up to noises in the night, such as the watch Geese or the Coon Hound
my son now does, so he has requested a new home defense pistol
for almost 30 years, our go to pistol has been my old Ruger Service Six loaded with semi wadcutter +P loads

my son prefers our SA 1911 .45
so this week we received a box of Buffalo Bore 230 gn JHP +P ammo
our 1911 has been tuned for standard 230 gn target loads, so I acquired a Wilson Combat tuning pack of springs for our 1911 which covers 11# to 18# springs
this covers both our 9mm 1911 and our .45
our SA .45 is set up with a standard main spring system with a 21# main spring, a Les Baur Custom firing pin stop with a modified radius and a 15# recoil spring for target 230 gn hardball
but for the Buffalo Bore +P, I installed a 17# spring
with my spring kit with a spring tool, I can change spring on the fly for what ever loads I'm firing

and for those who say their 1911 fires everything from Hardball to +P, I'm cautioning you your beating up your frame if you using the same main spring for all ammo

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[Certaindeaf]

as I have aged, I find I don't wake up to noises in the night, such as the watch Geese or the Coon Hound
my son now does, so he has requested a new home defense pistol
for almost 30 years, our go to pistol has been my old Ruger Service Six loaded with semi wadcutter +P loads

my son prefers our SA 1911 .45
so this week we received a box of Buffalo Bore 230 gn JHP +P ammo
our 1911 has been tuned for standard 230 gn target loads, so I acquired a Wilson Combat tuning pack of springs for our 1911 which covers 11# to 18# springs
this covers both our 9mm 1911 and our .45
our SA .45 is set up with a standard main spring system with a 21# main spring, a Les Baur Custom firing pin stop with a modified radius and a 15# recoil spring for target 230 gn hardball
but for the Buffalo Bore +P, I installed a 17# spring
with my spring kit with a spring tool, I can change spring on the fly for what ever loads I'm firing

and for those who say their 1911 fires everything from Hardball to +P, I'm cautioning you your beating up your frame if you using the same main spring for all ammo

Can't your son buy his own guns?
Also, I think you're confusing mainspring with recoil spring.

 

[VinnieBoomBah]

You do you and all that, but I don't see any reason to run +p in almost any gun, least of all a 45acp 1911. More recoil, more flash and muzzle blast and as you point out, harder on the gun. These days I load up whatever 185 JHP I can find

 

[TTSX]

You do you and all that, but I don't see any reason to run +p in almost any gun, least of all a 45acp 1911. More recoil, more flash and muzzle blast and as you point out, harder on the gun. These days I load up whatever 185 JHP I can find

Paul Harrell had a section on his .45 video where he used Remington Golden saber 230 grain +p designated for "full size" guns on the box and got substantially more velocity than you'd expect. Otherwise, I mostly agree with you that .45 hollow points should be 185.

 

[rjmt]

Can't your son buy his own guns?
Also, I think you're confusing mainspring with recoil spring.

why would he buy his own guns, when I have such a large collection, which will someday be his?
so what do you consider the 1911 main spring and recoils spring to be?
I consider the main spring to be in the grip and the recoil spring to be in the slide, as does Sprinco and Wilson combat

 

[rjmt]

You do you and all that, but I don't see any reason to run +p in almost any gun, least of all a 45acp 1911. More recoil, more flash and muzzle blast and as you point out, harder on the gun. These days I load up whatever 185 JHP I can find

if you hand load, you develop any load you want
my wife does not allow me to reload in the house, but does not object purchase of factory ammo
Buffalo Bore uses low flash powder
their .45 +P does not blind you when fired in the dark - outside or in an enclosed room
90% of our home defense situations would be in the dark

 

[Alexx1401]

why would he buy his own guns, when I have such a large collection, which will someday be his?
so what do you consider the 1911 main spring and recoils spring to be?
I consider the main spring to be in the grip and the recoil spring to be in the slide, as does Sprinco and Wilson combat

Damn good choice in pistols, have LONG loved the 1911. It is wise to use recoil springs for the ammo choice as its easier on the guts of the pistol. I keep a light (16) spring for mine for Wife. Load up some really light loads she loves for playing with. Very tame and she loves them for playing.

 

[rjmt]

Paul Harrell had a section on his .45 video where he used Remington Golden saber 230 grain +p designated for "full size" guns on the box and got substantially more velocity than you'd expect. Otherwise, I mostly agree with you that .45 hollow points should be 185.

I have a box of golden saber 185 +P, never fired it out of ether of my .45 ( SA 1911/Smith 4506)
I still have several boxes of 30 year old .45 Hydra Shok, that has been my go to home defense .45 since I bought my first .45 in 1989

 

[rjmt]

Damn good choice in pistols, have LONG loved the 1911. It is wise to use recoil springs for the ammo choice as its easier on the guts of the pistol. I keep a light (16) spring for mine for Wife. Load up some really light loads she loves for playing with. Very tame and she loves them for playing.

guys, how long does it take to change out a recoil spring on a 1911? 10 sec on a slow day?

 

[Alexx1401]

guys, how long does it take to change out a recoil spring on a 1911? 10 sec on a slow day?

In the original build its of course super simple. I have one 1911 with the stupid FLGR that is a bit of a pain. I have for a long time kept meaning to just convert it over but since I have another made the original way I just never bother. When the Wife shoots the light loads I make we of course just use the one that it takes seconds to change.
My carry ammo is Speer GD that I bought a case of LONG ago. So stuff will last me a long time. For my play time the 230 ball always works with the heavier spring so I don't have to bother. For me if I was to go with some +P stuff I would probably not bother to go even heavier since I would be shooting so little of it.

 

[rjmt]

Can't your son buy his own guns?
Also, I think you're confusing mainspring with recoil spring.

my son has purchased sever fire arms since he was 18, but we trade back and forth
he still has his first firearm, a 336 30-30
his first pistol was a Ruger Redhawk in .44 Mag
he traded me that pistol for a ruger GP100 in .357 Mag
I bought the SA 1911 for him when he was 17, but we still consider it his
we have 8 AR15 variants, don't discuss which one is whose, since we built them together

when I retired, I bought him a SA NM M1A for staying home and taking care of his disabled mother while I worked up in Tacoma for a year

 

[rjmt]

You do you and all that, but I don't see any reason to run +p in almost any gun, least of all a 45acp 1911. More recoil, more flash and muzzle blast and as you point out, harder on the gun. These days I load up whatever 185 JHP I can find

where we live, home defense is more against Cougar, black bear and coyotes
I would rather have +P in my 1911 if I'm confronting a hungry young cougar
so far, the closest I've come to a cougar is 50 yrds
I was out on the front porch drinking coffee early one morning and noticed a cougar walking across our neighbors field
I looked at it, and the cougar stopped and looked at me, wagged it's tail and kept on walking

 

[Alexx1401]

my son has purchased sever fire arms since he was 18, but we trade back and forth
he still has his first firearm, a 336 30-30
his first pistol was a Ruger Redhawk in .44 Mag
he traded me that pistol for a ruger GP100 in .357 Mag
I bought the SA 1911 for him when he was 17, but we still consider it his
we have 8 AR15 variants, don't discuss which one is whose, since we built them together

when I retired, I bought him a SA NM M1A for staying home and taking care of his disabled mother while I worked up in Tacoma for a year

Want to adopt another?
It is GREAT to see offspring who jump in to take care of those who took care of them. Its sadly too often not done anymore. Wife came from a large brood. When her Mom, got too ill to take care of herself her Father was a full time care giver at 90. Of her siblings only one other seemed to have any time to help. Shortly after her Mom left her Dad was next. Again only one other sibling seemed to have any time to help until he was gone. The rest sure as hell had time then to show up and ask how much they were going to get.

 

[rjmt]

Want to adopt another?
It is GREAT to see offspring who jump in to take care of those who took care of them. Its sadly too often not done anymore. Wife came from a large brood. When her Mom, got too ill to take care of herself her Father was a full time care giver at 90. Of her siblings only one other seemed to have any time to help. Shortly after her Mom left her Dad was next. Again only one other sibling seemed to have any time to help until he was gone. The rest sure as hell had time then to show up and ask how much they were going to get.

my son tells people he lives at home - but it's his home
we signed the 5 acres over to him once it was paid off
so now we live in his house

 

[rjmt]

In the original build its of course super simple. I have one 1911 with the stupid FLGR that is a bit of a pain. I have for a long time kept meaning to just convert it over but since I have another made the original way I just never bother. When the Wife shoots the light loads I make we of course just use the one that it takes seconds to change.
My carry ammo is Speer GD that I bought a case of LONG ago. So stuff will last me a long time. For my play time the 230 ball always works with the heavier spring so I don't have to bother. For me if I was to go with some +P stuff I would probably not bother to go even heavier since I would be shooting so little of it.

my springfield .45 1911 has a one piece FLGR with flat wire spring now
my Rock Island 9mm 1911 has the shorter Government guide rod
no special tool required on ether

 

[Alexx1401]

my springfield .45 1911 has a one piece FLGR with flat wire spring now
my Rock Island 9mm 1911 has the shorter Government guide rod
no special tool required on ether

The one with the FLGR is an SA, one of the first of the "Loaded" line they made. Just need an Allen to take it apart. Since I have never been able to see any difference in how these run with the FLGR vs the way they were made? I never thought they were worth bothering with. It just never bothers me enough to finally put the parts in it to just make it like its match that is from the same Co but many years older. If I had to use that newer one for the Wife I would have LONG ago had swapped out for the original design.

 

[EUGENE the REALTOR]

my son tells people he lives at home - but it's his home
we signed the 5 acres over to him once it was paid off
so now we live in his house

Who gets the master bedroom though? lol

 

[rjmt]

Who gets the master bedroom though? lol

us for now
at some point it will all be his, all 1800 squ ft
the two other kids have shown no interest in the place, both live in cities and seldom come out here
there was no pushback when we signed the property over to our youngest son

 

[Nosferatu]

I used to use 45 Super and 450 SMC back when I only had 2 handguns. (Sig P220SAO and Para Ordnance 1911). A 24lb recoil spring ran them as well as my defensive ammo just fine in the PO.

 

[EUGENE the REALTOR]

us for now
at some point it will all be his, all 1800 squ ft
the two other kids have shown no interest in the place, both live in cities and seldom come out here
there was no pushback when we signed the property over to our youngest son

At least the other two didn't fight over just so they could sell it.