New 1911 What Should I do?

[jhirsh5280]

Just purchased a Rock Island 1911 Full Size. The fit on this gun seems to be very tight with nothing feeling loose. I plan on putting a few hundred rounds through it over the next week but have a general question on what I can do to it on my own without taking it to a gunsmith.

Ive read about polishing the feed ramp and the rails on the slide for smoother performance. Ill probably change out the stock sights as well to something with some glow or color to it.

Any tips? suggestions?

[BPTactical]

Put a quality grease on the slide rails and go shoot it.
Contrary to popular belief there is not much an inexperienced 1911 mechanic SHOULD do although many feel they can.
Ramp angles are critical, barrel lock up, trigger/action work are all precise work that really should be worked by a practiced, knowledgeable hand.
I have worked on enough 1911's to realize there is no such thing as "No Gunsmithing Required" drop in parts.
The old addage of, if it ain't broke don't fix it holds true.

I know it's not what you want to hear but many a 1911 has been munged up by a well intentioned owner not understanding the system.

[DenverGP]

My RIA required no polishing (other than polishing itself by firing lots of rounds).

It did come covered with NASTY sticky thick grease, I guess because they are shipping from overseas, they need the corrosion protection. Strip it off, and lube it up well...

As for sights, I've got a fiber optic front sight from Dawson Precision. Mine is a RIA Tactical, and the Dawson precision front sight fit in perfectly. Not sure if it'll fit the government model front sight slot. The one I got was .180 tall x .100 wide. You might need a different height depending on your gun / preferred distance / preferred ammo.
https://dawsonprecision.com/rock-island-1911-fiber-optic-front-sights/

[Little Dutch]

Clean it, give it some oil, and go shoot it. I wouldn't recommend fixing anything until you know it's actually a problem.
I've only had to polish two 1911 feed ramps to get semi-wadcutters and defense ammunition to feed reliably. Most of the 1911's I've had would eat whatever was in the magazine without complaint. I've never seen one that needed its rails polished to work reliably.

I appreciate a good set of sights, though I have nothing in particular to recommend. Let us know what you settle on.

[buffalobo]

Put a quality grease on the slide rails and go shoot it.
Contrary to popular belief there is not much an inexperienced 1911 mechanic SHOULD do although many feel they can.
Ramp angles are critical, barrel lock up, trigger/action work are all precise work that really should be worked by a practiced, knowledgeable hand.
I have worked on enough 1911's to realize there is no such thing as "No Gunsmithing Required" drop in parts.
The old addage of, if it ain't broke don't fix it holds true.

I know it's not what you want to hear but many a 1911 has been munged up by a well intentioned owner not understanding the system.^^This. Shoot it til parts fall off then take it to smiff for flufferizing.

[waffles]

Just shoot it and keep it lubed up. If you have any issues call RIA instead of doing home smithing, their warranty and turn around time is great. Enjoy, they're fantastic pistols at the price.

[Marine24]

Put a quality grease on the slide rails and go shoot it.
Contrary to popular belief there is not much an inexperienced 1911 mechanic SHOULD do although many feel they can.
Ramp angles are critical, barrel lock up, trigger/action work are all precise work that really should be worked by a practiced, knowledgeable hand.
I have worked on enough 1911's to realize there is no such thing as "No Gunsmithing Required" drop in parts.
The old addage of, if it ain't broke don't fix it holds true.

I know it's not what you want to hear but many a 1911 has been munged up by a well intentioned owner not understanding the system.

Ditto. I've been shooting 1911s for nearly 40 years and still rely on an experienced 1911 gunsmith to work on it. As stated previously, just keep it lubed up and shoot it. This process will break the pistol in and give you a better idea of what you'd like to upgrade.

[Great-Kazoo]

Anyone mention just clean, lube and shoot? Find and ammo it likes, buy in bulk, get some extra mags and a holster then shoot away. I have a few and been shooting the shit out of them lately. But that's probably cause they're suppressed ;)

[ray1970]

As previously mentioned, the gunk that came on it from the factory is likely more of a preservative than a lubricant. Clean it, lube it, and start shooting it. Once you’ve got several hundred rounds through it you can decide what, if anything, you want to “upgrade”.

[10x]

Do not polish the feedramp. That has messed up more 1911s than anything. Shoot the gun and enjoy it.

[ray1970]

Do not polish the feedramp. That has messed up more 1911s than anything. Shoot the gun and enjoy it.

I don’t know if I’ve ever owned a handgun that didn’t have the feed ramp polished. If done properly I don’t see an issue. Where people screw up is when they get aggressive and change the angles. Polishing the surface (lightly) on existing angles shouldn’t cause an issue.

[10x]

Ray1970 you are right. Most get too aggressive i.e. using dremels etc. If the gun works without polishing, I say leave it alone. Polish only if FTF occur caused by a ramp issue using very fine sand paper (1500 grit) and light finger pressure. And yes do not change angles.

[DOC]

Look up AGI 308 and 309 - Building the Ultimate 1911. If you can't buy it let me know and I will loan you my copies. It just goes over every inch of a 1911 from multiple places. Yours might be just fine functionally out of the box.

[Great-Kazoo]

I don’t know if I’ve ever owned a handgun that didn’t have the feed ramp polished. If done properly I don’t see an issue. Where people screw up is when they get aggressive and change the angles. Polishing the surface (lightly) on existing angles shouldn’t cause an issue.

Not all 1911's have a ramped barrel. Some, if not most, have the feed ramp as part of the frame.

[jhirsh5280]

Thanks for the input.

Put 200 rounds through it yesterday and ran into a few issues outside my noise induced hearing loss in my left ear.

- Had a couple feed issues early but seemed to clear up the more I shot it.
- Did have 3 instances where the slide stayed open after firing a round but still had 2 rounds in the magazine.
- Also had 3 instances where the firing pin stop (maybe the wrong name for the part) hung down after firing a round and the slide wouldnt close and rechamber a round. Simple fix was to push it back up and everything slide back in nicely.
- Didnt like the hard angles on the trigger. Would probably want to round the edges.

500 rounds is a recommended break in so Ive some work still to be done. Overall really pleased with how it shot and felt.

[ray1970]

Leave it to a 1911 owner to describe multiple problems and issues in a single range visit and end his thoughts by saying how he is pleased with how it shot and felt.

[hurley842002]

Leave it to a 1911 owner to describe multiple problems and issues in a single range visit and end his thoughts by saying how he is pleased with how it shot and felt.Haaaa, yet they talk crap about us Glock owners.

[crays]

Thanks for the input.

- Also had 3 instances where the firing pin stop (maybe the wrong name for the part) hung down after firing a round and the slide wouldnt close and rechamber a round. Simple fix was to push it back up and everything slide back in nicely.

This is not uncommon for a new pistol. Many folks overlook removing the firing pin stop plate, firing pin and spring to clean and lube those parts and the firing pin channel.
After a little gunk build up, the firing pin will hang up before it retracts all the way, and the stop plate will slide out of position.
The base of the firing pin is what holds the fp stop plate in place.

ETA: Good time time to give your extractor a looking at too.

Sent from somewhere

[jhirsh5280]

This is not uncommon for a new pistol. Many folks overlook removing the firing pin stop plate, firing pin and spring to clean and lube those parts and the firing pin channel.
After a little gunk build up, the firing pin will hang up before it retracts all the way, and the stop plate will slide out of position.
The base of the firing pin is what holds the fp stop plate in place.

ETA: Good time time to give your extractor a looking at too.

Sent from somewhere

Ill spend some time breaking that down and greasing it up. Thanks.

[BPTactical]

Ill spend some time breaking that down and greasing it up. Thanks.

Do not grease the firing pin, spring or channel!
Clean the channel out with a q-tip.
Put a drop of oil on another q-tip and put a LIGHT coat of oil in the channel.
A light wipe on the spring and pin is all you need..

Debris will get into the channel and you want to minimize any chance of it building up in there.

Perfect time to remind folks a bit on firearm lubrication - most waaaaaaay over lube as opposed to the opposite.
Over lubrication usually causes more issues than under lubrication.
Grease and oil attract dirt, dust Bunnies and any other debris, don't give it any more opportunities to build up than you have to.
You want just enough oil to see it where it needs be but not enough to drip or run.
A light dab of grease on slide rails and that's it.


When the slide was failing to close was the slide stop engaged? Mind your grip and technique, a high thumb can bump a slide stop up and a limp wrist can cause a short cycle.

[izzy]

When the slide was failing to close was the slide stop engaged? Mind your grip and technique, a high thumb can bump a slide stop up and a limp wrist can cause a short cycle.

I was doing this one day it was driving me crazy and especially crazy once I realized what I was doing. I'm in the under oil camp, with some of my stuff I don't oil at all.

[Ace777]

Anyone mention just clean, lube and shoot? Find and ammo it likes, buy in bulk, get some extra mags and a holster then shoot away. I have a few and been shooting the shit out of them lately. But that's probably cause they're suppressed ;)

100% agree with Kazoo