22/45 adding up to the weight of a 1911

mark II · Post by **mark II** » Sun Jan 23, 2011 11:03 am

I have a 22/45 RP that I use for bullseye shooting. It's a bull barrel with an UD on top. As most of you know it's a light gun. I've been wanting to add weight to the back of the gun for better balance, with the bull barrel it's nose heavy. A friend of mine came up with this idea and I wanted to share it with you guys.
He gave me a sheet of lead which is 1/32" thick. I traced the outline of my grips, then cut out two panels, drilled holes, primed and painted them black.
After drying I placed them on my gun and screwed the gun's panels on top of them. Very easy to do and it works great.
I need to figure out where to get longer screws so I can add more weight. With the screws that come with your gun you can only add one 1/32" sheet.
A plus to this is you get thickness to the grips.
Have fun,
Mark II

bigfatdave · Post by **bigfatdave** » Sun Jan 23, 2011 7:15 pm

An interesting idea.
You could hog out the inside of the grips and put lead in the hollowed-out areas, too.

Your best bet for screws would be to take the existing screws to the hardware store to match up thread pitch/diameter/etc. I'd get a size up and two sizes from what you have (screws are cheap, why not get two trys for the right size?)

Georgezilla · Post by **Georgezilla** » Mon Jan 24, 2011 12:11 am

Good idea! Balance is one of the many reasons I'd really love to see Ruger make a steel frame 22/45 MIII.

bigfatdave · Post by **bigfatdave** » Mon Jan 24, 2011 1:40 am

What about just making replacement grips from lead? An outer coating of epoxy paint should remove contamination concerns, after all it is a gun throwing out 1000fps+ lead pellets, the grips being made of lead would hardly make a difference in "lead danger" to the user.

Oh, I have an idea ... get them copper-washed like mini-mags! It would be pretty AND practical!

I don't know about the copper-wash, but the grips themselves should be trivial to someone with bullet-casting and a basic metal shop, I'd think.

mark II · Post by **mark II** » Mon Jan 24, 2011 10:26 am

Thats a good idea about carving out the back of the grips and melting lead into them, except with these grip panels you just don't have the material to work with.
I tried bring the screws to a hardware store but came up short, I think they are gun screws which you won't find in a True Value store, wish it was that easy.
I tried making wood grips and the pilot hole comes out fine but when I tried making the hole that the screw head sits on........couldn't do it with a power drill which is all I have.
Any ideas on how to make the hole the screw head would sit on? With a power drill.
In the meantime I would like to find some longer screws that will fit. Its so easy making the lead panels.
I have a shoot tonight so it will be interesting to see how it feels.
Mark II

Tony S45 · Post by **Tony S45** » Wed Jan 26, 2011 10:49 pm

I shoot 22/45s and also wish that they had a bit more weight in the grip frame.

How many ounces do you think that two lead panels of that thickness adds to the gun?

mark II · Post by **mark II** » Thu Jan 27, 2011 12:45 am

I weighed them and each panel comes in at 1.5 oz. So right now I have an extra 3 oz. on the back bottom of the gun and it feels good. I would like to add two more and see what that feels like, any idea where to get the gun screws that would be an 1/4 inch longer? The thickness of the grips is an added benefit. Like I said, they are so easy to make.

Medicine Hat · Post by **Medicine Hat** » Thu Jan 27, 2011 2:52 am

Have you tried Brownells? They have screws. Midway I think does too.
I got a package from Midway, I think (maybe Brownells) of left over parts and stuff that they sometimes have for about $5 or so. Springs, pins, screws, detent balls, some oddball internal parts, sights, a filler for the trigger guard and some other odds and ends. I didn't know what all to expect, but I've already used some of it, and have plans for other parts of it. Definitely worth the price for me at least. Kind of a grab bag of stuff.
Another thought - since you already need longer screw for your grips, you could maybe add 2 lead filler panels to each side instead of 1, and get the other 2-3 oz you want. Only adds another 1/16 inch total to width. Just thinkin'
ETA
re-read your post, and you already figured out the extra panels. Olde Pharte sydrome strikes again.
.

blue68f100 · Post by **blue68f100** » Thu Jan 27, 2011 8:59 am

Normally when I need small parts I hit my local Gunsmith up if my industrial supply house near me does not have them.

azkmd · Post by **azkmd** » Fri Jan 28, 2011 7:30 am

http://www.mcmaster.com/#socket-head-cap-screws/=asaffj

mark II · Post by **mark II** » Wed Feb 02, 2011 2:13 pm

Hi All,
Well not making out to good in my search for a few screws.
azkmd, thanks for the link to McMasters. I emailed them and they replied saying they didn't have any. Lets see, I've tried Midway, Brownells, Ruger and Hogues with no luck.
Just looking for a 1911 grip screw that's half inch long, I would have thought it wouldn't be so hard to find.
Going to try Colt and Springfield next.
Anybody have any ideas?
Thanks
Ps Also looking for a marvel trigger for a Mk II

blue68f100 · Post by **blue68f100** » Wed Feb 02, 2011 3:16 pm

Do you know the tread size? I have a local I can check on, he has a had a bunch of odd ball sizes. I was thinking Brownell's and Midway had screw kits.

bigfatdave · Post by **bigfatdave** » Wed Feb 02, 2011 6:31 pm

blue68f100 wrote:I was thinking Brownell's and Midway had screw kits.

I'm sure they do ... in standard and thin sizes.

mark II, have you even been able to find the right screw with the wrong head on it? Because if you're making the grip fatter you might be able to recess an incorrect head, or ghetto grind it down and mill in a slot, it wouldn't be pretty, and it wouldn't be as strong as a factory one, but how much stress is on those screws anyway?

Post by **Bullseye** » Wed Feb 02, 2011 8:59 pm

Thread size is 6-40 tpi by 1/4" for the standard grip screws.

R,
Bullseye

blue68f100 · Post by **blue68f100** » Wed Feb 02, 2011 10:30 pm

I will call a local supply house that normally has a large selection and see if they have it. Any preference as to screw head. Phillips, allen head, torx... I have no idea what he has if any in stock.

This winter storm as pretty much shut north Texas down. We have been having rolling blackouts by the power company, so a lot of business have closed.