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Post by ron on Mar 15, 2007 21:13:11 GMT -5
I liked the way my Springfield GI (the one with the U.S. on the grips) resembled the classic, wartime 1911. But, there were problems with it. The combat sights were much too small for my 60 year old eyes. I painted the ramp of the front sight with yellow-green sight paint, but it hardly made a difference. The barrel had too much play in the bushing. I could jiggle that barrel back and forth, unlike tighter, more expensive 1911's I've used. The trigger was gritty and had more than a 6 lb pull. So, the gunsmith smoothened the trigger and brought it down to just below 4 lbs, replaced the sights with larger ones, and fit a bushing that really tightened up barrel (but not too much). What a difference! Accuracy at 15 m and 25 m has improved dramatically. Now, I can SEE the sights. I am very pleased. My decision to build on this inexpensive platform has turned out well. Even with the cost of the gunsmith work, I now have a shooter that is as least as good as the Kimber Custom I that I had, and is still less expensive. Please ignore my banjo pick case that I used to prop up the gun. Ron    |
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Post by TMan on Mar 16, 2007 2:12:49 GMT -5
"Banjo Pick Case"!!!! Does that mean that you play the banjo Ron? I heard it said once that the banjo was the only instrument ever invented in the US. "We were the only country that had the nerve".
I have the same problem with my GI model and the sights, but I wanted to retain it's original (less the ILS) look. I've only shot it a couple of times, and I did hit the target, in fact I got my monies worth out of that target - there were holes all over it. ;D
I guess I should check my barrel for fit, maybe it wasn't my eyesight that was at fault. Well, we all get old - at least I can remember my 60th birthday. Now where did I leave that...
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Post by MLB on Mar 16, 2007 9:48:31 GMT -5
Anyone clever enough to photo edit out a background on a picture gets a lot of credit in my book. Still clutching on to my thirties, I think I'm on the top end of folks who can make a fair go at it. Most of the time I botch it.
If I ever go down the 1911 path, I'll probably end up with a Springfield. Yours is a looker with those grips.
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Post by TA on Mar 16, 2007 20:42:46 GMT -5
I think you chose the best improvements you can make on a 1911. A tighter barrel bushing is one thing that will improve accuracy to a noticeable degree. And of course you do have to be able to see, so good sights do help. Then a nice crisp trigger helps eliminate some trigger control issues. Besides, once you have felt the break of a well groomed ignition system, it is hard to be happy with anything else.
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Post by TMan on Mar 17, 2007 9:07:46 GMT -5
...If I ever go down the 1911 path, I'll probably end up with a Springfield.... Three words: STI (Uhhhh, I guess that is 3 letters). My 9mm Springfield 1911 is a fantastic gun, but it took a lot of hours and trips to the range to get it down to that great 2-1/4lb trigger. The STI was fantastic right out of the box. I think I've mentioned before that the Springfield trigger felt fine to me, it was a little heavy, but crisp. I'd rather have crisp and heavy than creepy and light. But when the little lady showed me the marks on her finger from the trigger on the Springfield... I know that my favorite JMB design will always be the BHP because of the simplicity (and cleaverness) of the design, but you just can't get a trigger on a BHP to feel as good as you can one on a 1911. I guess the only other gun whose trigger comes close is the Sig P210. I don't think the 2.2lb trigger on the X-Five is as good as either the P210 or my 1911's. Even the trigger on my worse 1911 isn't really that bad. However, let me go further to say that once you start shooting 9mm 1911's you get kind of spoiled. Of course someone has told me on numerous occasions that she really likes my Kimber 22LR. Long live the 1911. |
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Post by ron on Mar 17, 2007 17:17:24 GMT -5
There is a gun connection with the banjo. I had to get a CCW to protect myself against the people who hear me play the 5 string banjo.
I've been playing banjo for years, although I haven't been practicing much recently.
You know about the woman who parked her car with her husband's banjo sitting on the back seat. When she returned, her greatest fears were realized. Someone had broken the back window of her car and threw two more banjos inside.
Substitute High-Point 45's for banjos and we are back on topic.
Ron
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Post by ron on Mar 17, 2007 17:19:22 GMT -5
By the way, there is a good reason for the nice sheen to the 1911. I did apply a bit of Break-Free before taking the photos. That did give the metal on the 1911 some luster.
Now, if I could just give my hair some of that body and luster!
Ron
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Post by TMan on Mar 17, 2007 20:23:01 GMT -5
Ron, just be thankful you still have hair!!!
Personally, I like the sound of a well played banjo, but I can't think about it with out thinking of Deliverance. It was on TV last year, I recorded it, and kept replaying the portion of the "Dueling Banjos". (You can get away with stuff like that when your wife is out of the country.) I wonder what it would sound like with two banjos playing the song vs. one being a guitar.
I used to play classical guitar, but had to give it up when my fingernails got thin and started splitting. I had a problem at my last public performance and went into a dialog, just spur of the moment stuff. I was told afterward that I should do stand-up comedy.
Speaking of Hi-Point reminded me of an amusing thing I read on their web-site:
Now, we all know that the lighter the gun the more felt recoil there will be (read any articles about the big boys shooting the 11oz 357 MAG revolvers from S&W). Nonetheless, they point out that the forgiving nature of polymer reduces the felt recoil. Don't you wish your 1911 was made out of polymer so shooting those 45 ACP cartridges would feel like you were shooting a 22LR?
They make a point of saying that their pistols are guaranteed for life. However, if you look at their web-site, the instructions for sending one back for repair is to include a copy of the original receipt for when you purchased it, and that the gun will last for decades. So what the heck did I do with that receipt for that gun that I bought 30 years ago?
I actually considered buying one awhile back just to see if I could do something to improve the trigger. For once in my life, common sense prevailed.
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Post by ron on Mar 17, 2007 21:09:14 GMT -5
Hair? Ha, ha, ha! ;D ;D Here I am as a boy of 58 yo. Ron  |
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Post by TMan on Mar 19, 2007 21:08:46 GMT -5
You have hair Ron, it just slipped down to your chin.
Incidentally, if I were you I wouldn't post pictures anywhere on the web of myself with my arm around a young woman for fear that my wife might see it.
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Post by ron on Mar 19, 2007 22:22:45 GMT -5
No worries. The girl is my Mom.
Actually, it's hard to believe that my wife is only 1 year younger than me. Being married to her really saves me $$$. I don't have to go out to find a trophy wife.
Ron
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Post by "DoubleAction" on Mar 21, 2007 18:56:20 GMT -5
Talking first about banjos; I once saw Roger Mcquinn from the Birds describe how he used banjo picking techniques in arriving to the sound we heard in songs like "Eight Miles High" and "Mister Tamborine Man".
Although I have always enjoyed rock and roll and rythym and blues, I also enjoyed stuff like "Foggy Mountain Breakdown" that I picked up from watching "Bonnie and Clyde". "Dueling Banjos" is also one of my favorites. Funny how we are introduced to different kinds of music through the movie industry.
That is a very nice Springfield.
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Post by ron on Mar 21, 2007 22:12:01 GMT -5
I can clearly remember hearing Foggy Mountain Breakdown for the first time. It was one of the triggers that started me on the banjo. Interestingly, the Dueling Banjos theme in Deliverance was played by two New York studio musicians. The 'developmentally disabled' kid in deliverance was just an actor who didn't even know how to hold a banjo. Do you think that Burt Reynolds and his buddies in Deliverance would have had an easier time if they had concealed carry in those days?  Ron |
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Post by MLB on Mar 22, 2007 9:08:39 GMT -5
I do believe that I'm the only person on Earth that hasn't seen that movie.
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Post by "DoubleAction" on Mar 23, 2007 11:53:44 GMT -5
Do you think that Burt Reynolds and his buddies in Deliverance would have had an easier time if they had concealed carry in those days? Ron Looking at the movie, and living in Georgia for most of my life, here is my analogy of the situation. The river trip took place in an area where the area was to be filled in for what appeared to be a dam. The Chattahoochee River is the body of water and I suspect the movie depicts that part of Georgia which was covered up with the construction of the Buford Dam in the northern part of the state. That area was inhabited with people who lived in the woods, so to speak. There are some who live up there who are not a far cry from those you saw in the movie. Because the Chattahooche Natural Forest is run by the department of forestry, corp of engineers, and several other government agencies, the carry of firearms is strickly prohibited unless one is hunting on designated hunting land. The movie seemed to be accurate in that sense. Last time I was above that area with my sidearms I was happy to get out; a few of those boys took a fancy to one certain revolver. |
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Post by Callahan on Mar 26, 2007 10:53:42 GMT -5
One of the few decent movies Reynolds has made, IMHO.
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Post by "DoubleAction" on Mar 26, 2007 19:10:50 GMT -5
One of the few decent movies Reynolds has made, IMHO. I wonder how popular Burt would have become if he had the role in which Ned Beatty had played ? ;D The filming of Smokey and the Bandit took place where I live. Several mornings I would see the Bandit eighteen wheeler and a trailer full of Trans Ams going down the road. |
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Post by Callahan on Mar 27, 2007 13:18:08 GMT -5
Yeah, he should never have been allowed to pick his own material. Who can forget the classic cinematic line from the Bandit character Sheriff Buford T. Justice: "Bandit, I'm gonna barbecue yo' a$$ in molasses! You sumxxxxx! ... "
Back on the subject of this thread:
That is a nice Springer GI, Ron. I looked at the the stainless mil-spec pretty seriously, but then I got interested in concealed carry and headed off in other directions. Don't hear many complaints about the Springfield 1911s, though.
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