Santa's "carry"

[toyfj40]

well, now I know what firearm Santa "carried",
because he left it behind at my place...

an Auto-Ordinance 1911a1 reproduction.

my first question (of many to follow...)
Why is there a hole drilled into the front of the recoil-spring "plug"... ?
is it to lube the spring without disassembly ?

-- toy

[bearandoldman]

well, now I know what firearm Santa "carried",
because he left it behind at my place...

an Auto-Ordinance 1911a1 reproduction.

my first question (of many to follow...)
Why is there a hole drilled into the front of the recoil-spring "plug"... ?
is it to lube the spring without disassembly ?

-- toy

Now you got an oldman gun, but mine are all Springfirld Armory but still 1911's, for full length guide rod?

[greener]

I'm sure you are going to write Santa and tell him he left it and can pick it up next time he is in town.

Nice looking shooter.

I think the hole is for the full length guide rod.

[bearandoldman]

Tex, sure am glad that Santa decided you should join the ranks of men who carry 1911's. The great Jeff Cooper was a firm believer in them. The design must be good as it is near a 100 years old and still being used by many manufacturers, even S&W makes a 1911. The Greener has a Taurus and I have SA'a including a full sized Parkerized similar to yours.

Rob, remember if you still have problems with that 9mm convertible send it to me and I will take care of the problem for good. Yes it came with both but you do not have to use them, how did it shoo 9mm fmj, that is what it was intended for and not reloads. Yes I know a convertible can be used both ways, I drove Ford rag tops in the mid 50'ss when I was a young man, BUT they ran equally well with the top up or down and they were CHICK MAGNETS.

[toyfj40]

the hole is for the full length guide rod.

D'oh... OK... but THIS hole is not 'precise', nor well-centered...
and maybe only an 8th-inch+ diameter hole...
with "checkering" clearly left around the hole.
It would seem to "scratch the crap" out of any full-length-rod... (?)
A normal (~1.5 inch?) rod is in it...
--note, I've had a Colt Cmdr for ages, so I have a comparison --

join the ranks of men who carry 1911's.

nah... it's just a "backup" for my Ruger-LCP

next question:

when the muzzle is pressed (about 5mm) it disengages (the sear?)
and it will not fire. since this does not appear to be a
"documented safety feature" (ie. prevent discharge when dropped on the muzzle),
I sought the wisdom of the "internet".
Found a reference to "holding it against the back of a prisoner,
if he moves away from the pressed muzzle, it fires..." (one less prisoner)
another claim that this is not a 'feature', but just an artifact of the
slide-design...

anyone have a more authoritative description than the "internet"... ?
(oh wait, this IS the internet... )

--toy

[bearandoldman]

the hole is for the full length guide rod.

D'oh... OK... but THIS hole is not 'precise', nor well-centered...
and maybe only an 8th-inch+ diameter hole...
with "checkering" clearly left around the hole.
It would seem to "scratch the crap" out of any full-length-rod... (?)
A normal (~1.5 inch?) rod is in it...
--note, I've had a Colt Cmdr for ages, so I have a comparison --

join the ranks of men who carry 1911's.

nah... it's just a "backup" for my Ruger-LCP

next question:

when the muzzle is pressed (about 5mm) it disengages (the sear?)
and it will not fire. since this does not appear to be a
"documented safety feature" (ie. prevent discharge when dropped on the muzzle),

--toy

1st question, you Texans seem to do things backwards at times, us Northern boys,especially carry the .45 SA Micro Compact or an SA V-10 as a primary and the smaller gun, mine a KelTec P3ATwhich looks like the parent to your Ruger LCP as a backup.
2nd question, yes this is normal and your commander should work the same. As far as the small hole, looks like some error, as the normal plug has no hole and a checkered face. My SA Loaded Parkerized has a full length guide rod ans the hole has a very slight rim around it.

[toyfj40]

2nd question, yes this is normal and your commander should work the same. As far as the small hole, looks like some error, as the normal plug has no hole and a checkered face. My SA Loaded Parkerized has a full length guide rod ans the hole has a very slight rim around it.

Yes, the Cmdr and the 1911a1 "behave" the same.

the recoil-plug-"hole" does appear to be an attempt at something...
it has plenty of metal left to hold the spring.
I'll order a replacement with my next "stuff".
Yes, I saw a couple Full-Length-Rods+plugs and the hole was
machined for the purpose. This one was likely not even done
with a drill press (sorry Greener... have you found yours yet? )


3rd:
why is the recoil spring NOT-symmetrical ?
one end is flat/closed and the other open,
with the flat-end going into the plug.
Why not make it closed on both-ends, then
it will always be "correct" ??

--toy

[bearandoldman]

As far as the hole, did some kitchen table gunsmith add this before it came into your hans, or maybe Rudolph did it for Santa.

As far as a full length guide rod I see no real advantage to it, if they were that good JMB would have on in his original design. The original design like yours is easier to take down without tools. I believe that the spring is open on one end and there something under the head of the plug that catches the spring so that the plug or spring will not rotate from vibration, can not swear to that, but think I can remember a little raised spot in the plug on my SA full size, the others use a different setup

[Bullseye]

Perhaps someone had a jury rigged laser pointer mounted on the spring cover.

R,
Bullseye

[bearandoldman]

Perhaps someone had a jury rigged laser pointer mounted on the spring cover.

R,
Bullseye

Makes sense to me. Bullseye, am I right on my spring explanation??????

[Bullseye]

Yes, pretty much. The 1911's recoil spring has very little room underneath the barrel to squirm around and kink, so a full length guide rod is a nice to have but not necessary item. Besides, having one usually makes disassembly more difficult.

R,
Bullseye

[greener]

The full length guide rod hole looks like this, which is not what Toy is describing.



And it is a bit more difficult for field stripping and assembly.

Para's, I think, have a full-length guide rod and an open recoil spring plug.

[toyfj40]

The full length guide rod hole looks like this,
which is not what Toy is describing.

YOU can look down the barrel of your pistol if you want...
but now you done went and made ME look, too !!

I'll see if I can get a clear photo of mine.
my old digital-camera is not the best for close-in shots...

However, the feed-ramp has a good polish-job
and the slide+rails are polished, too.
It has a nice "feel" to run the slide... smooth and steady.
I don't have a trigger-pull scale, but this one is "light and crisp".

...
a friend said he asked his wife to get him some ".22 ammo"
(before Xmas)... and when he got home, he saw the 'store sack'
on the coffee table... he opened it and there was a box of
.44-rem-Mag ammo... he looked up at her with a puzzled look
(he didn't have that caliber)... as she handed him a box and
said "the store owner said those bullets are supposed to fit this gun..."
He now has the SS-Ruger !!

when I see her later this week... I'm gonna ask if she has a sister!!!

[bearandoldman]

The full length guide rod hole looks like this, which is not what Toy is describing.



And it is a bit more difficult for field stripping and assembly.

Para's, I think, have a full-length guide rod and an open recoil spring plug.

You did make sure that it was not loaded didn't you. If not and you keep doing stuff like that you ain't never going to get to be my age. My SA l
loaded has the same setup but has a 2 piece guide rod so you can unscrew the end that goes through the plug and turn the busing and remove the plug to make it a little easier to take dom, that way it is just like a regular guide rod. Well, time to sit back and sip on my evening medication to help me sleep ZZZZZZZZZZZ.

[greener]

The full length guide rod hole looks like this, which is not what Toy is describing.



And it is a bit more difficult for field stripping and assembly.

Para's, I think, have a full-length guide rod and an open recoil spring plug.

You did make sure that it was not loaded didn't you. If not and you keep doing stuff like that you ain't never going to get to be my age. My SA l
loaded has the same setup but has a 2 piece guide rod so you can unscrew the end that goes through the plug and turn the busing and remove the plug to make it a little easier to take dom, that way it is just like a regular guide rod. Wel, time to sit back and sip on my eveinig medication to help me sleepZZZZZZZZZZZ.

Mag out, verified empty chamber 3 times, then I let the CAMERA look down the barrel. Head was way to the side.