Semi Drop In Barrels

dustinm · Nov 11, 2016

I've got my ATF form in the que for a suppressor. While waiting I thought I might start purchasing threaded barrels for my pistols. I'm in the market for a 1911 barrel and all the ones I have found say they are "semi drop in". Which was a little bit of a surprises since my glocks have all been drop ins. I'm not much of a gunsmith, does anyone have experience with this? How much, or what type of slide alterations should I expect to encounter?

Thanks

jbett98 · Nov 11, 2016

What part of the state do you reside in?

dustinm · Nov 11, 2016

jbett98 said:
What part of the state do you reside in?

The best part

Central

Stomper · Nov 11, 2016

Almost all 1911's have their parts slightly "custom fitted", and no two are EXACTLY alike. You may have to "custom fit" the barrel to your specimen for fit and function, but DO NOT fit the specimen to the barrel... all the other original bits will be off.

bolus · Nov 11, 2016

the more mass-produced the 1911 the more looseness that will be built into the parts so they go together without fitting (cheaper to make). The better quality 1911's will have slight larger parts that are then hand filled or sanded to fit together with other parts for a better fit.

When you buy a replacement barrel they do not know what 1911 its going in and how closely the parts will fit. They could just make the parts extra small so they will fit in every gun, but then you have a loose barrel with reduced accuracy or may not even function.

Here is a pic from one of my 1911 builds with match parts (parts larger than spec so they can be matched to other parts). You can see on the top the barrel hood is a little too big to fit into the slide and I had to file this off

Here are the common places where a barrel may need to be fit.
-Front on the barrel bushing
-top on the barrel lugs
-back on the hood
-bottom on the link to the frame.

If the barrel does not fit a gunsmith can file these areas with special tools to make it match up

dustinm · Nov 13, 2016

Thanks everyone for the help!

dustinm · Nov 14, 2016

Well, I'm back to square one. The first option I had really hoped for was to have the barrel lengthened and threaded, however the company informed me they don't do .45 1911's. So, I contacted a local gunsmith whom I've done business with before. Basically he told me I should buy a new 1911 with a threaded barrel fit from the factory...........not what I was looking for.

Any other ideas out there? I really like the idea of lengthening my current barrel, but I understand that's a pretty delicate art.

Velzey · Nov 19, 2016

A new 6" barrel can be fitted, threaded and installed.

Alexx1401 · Nov 20, 2016

dustinm said:
Well, I'm back to square one. The first option I had really hoped for was to have the barrel lengthened and threaded, however the company informed me they don't do .45 1911's. So, I contacted a local gunsmith whom I've done business with before. Basically he told me I should buy a new 1911 with a threaded barrel fit from the factory...........not what I was looking for.

Any other ideas out there? I really like the idea of lengthening my current barrel, but I understand that's a pretty delicate art.

Unless there was a miscommunication I have some real reservations about your Smith. While adding to the existing is a bit of work there is no reason to not just order a 6 inch and have it fit to the pistol. What kind of "Smith" tells someone to just buy a new pistol for this?

dustinm · Nov 20, 2016

His point was, the cost of a new match barrel, bushing, and the labor to fit it to the slide is nearly the cost of a Rock Island GI threaded model, that comes from the factory tuned and ready to go.

Certaindeaf · Nov 20, 2016

dustinm said:
His point was, the cost of a new match barrel, bushing, and the labor to fit it to the slide is nearly the cost of a Rock Island GI threaded model, that comes from the factory tuned and ready to go.

And then your sights probably would need to be higher too.
I hears ya

Alexx1401 · Nov 20, 2016

dustinm said:
His point was, the cost of a new match barrel, bushing, and the labor to fit it to the slide is nearly the cost of a Rock Island GI threaded model, that comes from the factory tuned and ready to go.

I have not done this for a while but threading a barrel is a very simple job for a tradesman. Now the fitting takes a little time but again I have seen people who are not even a machinist much less a Smith do it and it was fine. As long as you are not trying to turn it into a National Match grade pistol it's not rocket science. I had not looked for a while so took a VERY quick look. Midway, who is I doubt the cheapest, has the barrel you need for $70. I don't want to be crude here but if you can pick your nose and not make it bleed you could fit it to your 1911. Some simple youtube would show you how. I first did it before the days of the net with a book. You may even enjoy the project. If you want a Smith to fit it I would try another Smith and ask how much. It's easy to fit it well enough to make feeding 100%. With a can on the end I doubt you are looking for tight groups at 25 yards right? Once fit well enough to make the pistol feed it's ready to go at any time. Just swap the barrel when you want to shoot with the Can. I'm not trying to bad mouth your Smith as I don't know him but his advice sounds VERY strange to me. Now that does not mean there is anything wrong with just buying another 1911. I am one of those people who if I had 20 of then would still stop and look at every one I ever saw for sale. Thinking, Hmmm, should I buy one more?

bolus · Nov 20, 2016

Alexx1401 said:
I have not done this for a while but threading a barrel is a very simple job for a tradesman. Now the fitting takes a little time but again I have seen people who are not even a machinist much less a Smith do it and it was fine. As long as you are not trying to turn it into a National Match grade pistol it's not rocket science. I had not looked for a while so took a VERY quick look. Midway, who is I doubt the cheapest, has the barrel you need for $70. I don't want to be crude here but if you can pick your nose and not make it bleed you could fit it to your 1911. Some simple youtube would show you how. I first did it before the days of the net with a book. You may even enjoy the project. If you want a Smith to fit it I would try another Smith and ask how much. It's easy to fit it well enough to make feeding 100%. With a can on the end I doubt you are looking for tight groups at 25 yards right? Once fit well enough to make the pistol feed it's ready to go at any time. Just swap the barrel when you want to shoot with the Can. I'm not trying to bad mouth your Smith as I don't know him but his advice sounds VERY strange to me. Now that does not mean there is anything wrong with just buying another 1911. I am one of those people who if I had 20 of then would still stop and look at every one I ever saw for sale. Thinking, Hmmm, should I buy one more?

I've build 3 80% 1911 just using youtube and they all shoot and I still have all my fingers. So even a novice can do the fitting

There are special tools that are either helpful or needed. A barrel Alignment block seems pretty crucial to keep the barrel lugs perpendicular to the slide when fitting the hood.