Old topic, same story: GI or full-length guide rod (1911)

[j_tour]

Judas fricking priest.....probably the second day I'd had my first ever 1911 (RIA TAC Ultra FS HC chambered for 9mm) ....

I was cleaning it and just getting used to field stripping the pistol....you know....practice til you can't get it wrong.

What a fricking PITA it has been to find a recoil spring plug for the full size guide rod.

WTF? Has every gun shop in the Portland Metro area gone out of their gd minds? Only one cat was knowing about this, Don over at Shooters Service right on N Lombard just by the St John's Bridge....but not his fault he didn't have this little cap in stock.

At least he knew exactly what I was talking about and there weren't a bunch of teenagers roaming the aisles doing whatever kids do. Top marks to Don for having a great place for incidentals and there were a few used handguns plus some really wild looking revolvers that I wouldn't even know how to carry.

Didn't want to mingle with the masses at JB out on Canyon Rd, which is right nearby my place....plus, they wouldn't have anything useful in the way of small parts.

So, obviously, I do the sensible thing and order like a bunch from online and ebay.

Including a new GI style guide rod so I won't need the "special fancy" recoil spring cap....for in the future. Yeah, I'll likely test out the full length vs the GI rod at home, just with dummy rounds or snap caps and I doubt there's any difference that I could tell, but at least I can get a new cap if I put in the GI guide rod.

Because there's no alternate universe in which I won't launch the recoil spring and the cap during cleaning.

Bright side?

I can see the floor of my little home office for the first time in a long time. Found the spring....not the cap, though.

Still have my Coast floodlamp trained in the general quadrant where I found the spring....but it's just ridiculous.

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[DLS]

If you can't keep your thumb over the spring assembly, use a bushing wrench and nothing will fly.

Since there is no standard on full lenght guide rod assemblies, and the recoil spring plug needs to match the particular guide rod, it's highly doubtful you will ever find a brick-and-mortar shop stocking such a low demand part.

 

[Koda]

Ive owned various 1911s all my life and all I use is the GI guide rod. Theres no performance improvement thats noticeable . If you must, Wilson Combat sells plugs for their FLGRs that are "just" the right length they dont require a tool to field strip, but still no performance improvement....

 

[Stomper]

Judas fricking priest.....probably the second day I'd had my first ever 1911 (RIA TAC Ultra FS HC chambered for 9mm) ....

I was cleaning it and just getting used to field stripping the pistol....you know....practice til you can't get it wrong.

What a fricking PITA it has been to find a recoil spring plug for the full size guide rod.

WTF? Has every gun shop in the Portland Metro area gone out of their gd minds? Only one cat was knowing about this, Don over at Shooters Service right on N Lombard just by the St John's Bridge....but not his fault he didn't have this little cap in stock.

At least he knew exactly what I was talking about and there weren't a bunch of teenagers roaming the aisles doing whatever kids do. Top marks to Don for having a great place for incidentals and there were a few used handguns plus some really wild looking revolvers that I wouldn't even know how to carry.

Didn't want to mingle with the masses at JB out on Canyon Rd, which is right nearby my place....plus, they wouldn't have anything useful in the way of small parts.

So, obviously, I do the sensible thing and order like a bunch from online and ebay.

Including a new GI style guide rod so I won't need the "special fancy" recoil spring cap....for in the future. Yeah, I'll likely test out the full length vs the GI rod at home, just with dummy rounds or snap caps and I doubt there's any difference that I could tell, but at least I can get a new cap if I put in the GI guide rod.

Because there's no alternate universe in which I won't launch the recoil spring and the cap during cleaning.

Bright side?

I can see the floor of my little home office for the first time in a long time. Found the spring....not the cap, though.

Still have my Coast floodlamp trained in the general quadrant where I found the spring....but it's just ridiculous.

Sounds like you bought the artillery officer's 1911 version....

 

[DLS]

... but still no performance improvement....

Agreed, with perhaps the exception being a highly fitted, hand lapped slide and bushing with a correspondingly high quality barrel.

And that is just a "perhaps".

 

[NeoBlackdog]

Because there's no alternate universe in which I won't launch the recoil spring and the cap during cleaning.

Get some of the Hefty Jumbo slider bags and work on the gun inside the bag. When parts get launched they'll be trapped.

If you can't keep your thumb over the spring assembly, use a bushing wrench and nothing will fly.

Or just buy a Glock and save yourself the potential frustration...

 

[roseburger]

Get some of the Hefty Jumbo slider bags and work on the gun inside the bag. When parts get launched they'll be trapped.


Or just buy a Glock and save yourself the potential frustration...

He said it was an RIA, not a Kimber with a poor reputation of reliability.


Discuss....

 

[orygun]

Looking back I've had at least a dozen 1911s. None of them had a full length guide rod. I don't think I missed out on anything.

 

[roseburger]

Looking back I've had at least a dozen 1911s. None of them had a full length guide rod. I don't think I missed out on anything.

My WC 4" officer came with one.

 

[Quirt Evans]

Some of the first full length guides were not used to address a mechanical problem, they were used by bullseye shooters to increase muzzle weight for faster sight acquisition on the rapid fire stages, (less muzzle jump).
They started making them out of tungsten to gain weight.
In the real world they serve no useful purpose, and they take away the ability to press check or cock the hammer using your thumb/forefinger, (like John Wick,) or in a situation where you only have the use of one hand, where you can simply place the recoil spring plug against something and push.
IMO, they're not worth it.

 

[RVTECH]

So, obviously, I do the sensible thing and order like a bunch from online and ebay.

Did you ever consider contacting RIA? Heck they might have sent you one N/C - or maybe sold you some cheaply.

40+ years of owning 1911s and I have NEVER lost a spring plug. Sent one flying once but I found it. I am sure you will find yours as well.

With regard to FL guide rods it is MY experience they do serve a purpose. For one thing they control the alignment of the recoil spring and operating the action and recoil is much smoother with one.

My experience with my FIRST FL guide rod (home made) was positive from the start as I noticed an improvement in accuracy from the first shot with my Colt 1991 A1. I liked it so much I eventually bought a two piece Wilson version and it now 'lives' in my 'new' RIA. The one peice that came with the RIA is now in the Colt.

Also the extra ounce or two they add to the muzzle ain't a bad thing but probably not enough to make a huge difference.

But hey, everyone is entitled to their own opinions, likes, dislikes etc!

Hint on 1911 plug removal. Get a plastic tip ball point pen and press down on the plug and carefully rotate the bushing until the 'flange' rests on the 'shoulder' of the plug. Take a second or two break. Turn it AWAY from your face and using the pen tip push down on the plug and rotate the bushing until it clears the plug and add your thumb and index finger to the plug and 'gently' guide it up with the spring until all spring tension ceases.

My first 'home made' FL guide rod and plug.

 

[roseburger]

Did you ever consider contacting RIA? Heck they might have sent you one N/C - or maybe sold you some cheaply.

40+ years of owning 1911s and I have NEVER lost a spring plug. Sent one flying once but I found it. I am sure you will find yours as well.

With regard to FL guide rods it is MY experience they do serve a purpose. For one thing they control the alignment of the recoil spring and operating the action and recoil is much smoother with one.

My experience with my FIRST FL guide rod (home made) was positive from the start as I noticed an improvement in accuracy from the first shot with my Colt 1991 A1. I liked it so much I eventually bought a two piece Wilson version and it now 'lives' in my 'new' RIA. The one peice that came with the RIA is now in the Colt.

Also the extra ounce or two they add to the muzzle ain't a bad thing but probably not enough to make a huge difference.

But hey, everyone is entitled to their own opinions, likes, dislikes etc!

Hint on 1911 plug removal. Get a plastic tip ball point pen and press down on the plug and carefully rotate the bushing until the 'flange' rests on the 'shoulder' of the plug. Take a second or two break. Then using the pen push down on the plug Turn it AWAY from your face and using the pen tip push down on the plug and rotate the bushing until it clears the plug and add your thumb and middle finger to the plug and 'gently' guide it up with the spring until all spring tension ceases.
View attachment 2231728View attachment 2231731

TLDR; sent my plug into orbit.

 

[j_tour]

Did you ever consider contacting RIA? Heck they might have sent you one N/C - or maybe sold you some cheaply.

Sure, but they were not helpful at all. Their official seller of parts/accessories seems to exist in a state of confusion, but they do seem to have hi-cap magazines (and even a 10-round one in the double stack format....the only way to know if it's compatible with the TAC is by trying it, though...not sure why I'm bothering with that, but it's just....I dunno....).

Anyway, stuff's already coming to me in the mail.

Should just suck it up and try to remember not to be cleaning firearms while drinking....probably good advice in general, but I blame my idiocy.

And now I've learned more about guide rods and different recoil spring weights....so something to screw around with for fun.

TLDR; sent my plug into orbit.

See?

It happens *all the time*!

Should have used the ballpoint pen assist! (@RVTECH....not a bad method at all....much easier than this fantasy I had involving pulleys and levers and a large vice and a robotic hand).

 

[RVTECH]

Should just suck it up and try to remember not to be cleaning firearms while drinking

Hey nothing necessarily wrong with this - been there a 'time or two' myself!....

Just REMEMBER to CHECK AND CLEAR IT before cleaning!

Should have used the ballpoint pen assist!

I discovered years ago it works as a 'convenient' tool for this.

Just make sure to keep a couple in your cleaning kit!

 

[Nosferatu]

FLGR looks better with the slide locked back while the gun is smoking from a mag-dump at the bad guy, diving out of a window in slow motion, which is the only thing that matters.

 

[spookshack]

Any 1911 that comes into my possession with a FLGR, gets promptly replaced with a proper GI set-up.

 

[RVTECH]

Any 1911 that comes into my possession with a FLGR, gets promptly replaced with a proper GI set-up.

So, do all 1911s that come into your possession have a standard (non Beavertail) grip safety as well?

Those seem to have avoided the 'scourge' of blaspheming that FLGRs get.

 

[spookshack]

No beavertail = no bueno.

 

[jordanvraptor]

Eons ago I tried every combination under the sun including the Wilson Combat group gripper barrel link and guide rod combo. Other than looking cool in slide lock, no difference. I also had decent vision back then, now It's just Minute of Man for me….

If you don't like spring catapults you can attempt removing the bushing in a clear plastic bag or remove the slide assembly as a unit but keep the spring under your grip or it will catapult sideways.

Best of luck…

 

[monks]

I saw this the other day. I think it's relevant. I have pistols with and without so I don't really have a dog in the fight. I wouldn't buy one to replace the GI guide rod though. It's not worth my money.

View: https://youtube.com/shorts/TGghZYeyboA?si=X7lNuWr85ikAAbT4