Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns Finally got a 1911

I received lots of advise from experienced Fire members some time ago. Wife gave me a Remington 1911 R1 as a birthday present. Trigger is much better than I expected & fit & finish seem acceptable. The sights are much better than when I carried a 1911 in my Army days. All of todays 1911's seem superior to what I shot in the 60's & 70's serving as a scout in Vietnam. But then it was so long ago memories fade. I don't plan to start replacing parts, but are their critical modifications I need to consider?

Congrats. I loved the R1 that I had. It should serve you well. I wouldn't worry about any mods unless you notice something you need when shooting it.

I would not worry about any modifications. Keep her lubed. Break her in. Keep her clean. Shoot and shoot more. Spend your money on ammo/components. Just enjoy it.

Maybe some fancy grips if you feel the need.

I�d say, vet the pistol well, get a ton of trigger time, and perfect techniques to get the most out of both you and the pistol. If something turns up lacking in the pistol, then consider a mechanical correction. Likely, the biggest performance gains will be found through the operator, via quality trigger time.

My opinion based on experience.

You don't say what model R1 you have but in looking up a R1 either the standard 5" or enhanced 5" model should do you good service. The only add on I would add and that's because I'm a south paw is an ambi safety. Shoot the R1 about five hundred rounds of standard velocity of .45 Auto in 230 grain hardball and lube well using top grade of pistol lube. Don't skim on lube. After three hundred to five hundred rounds break the R1 down and clean thoroughly including breaking down the slide. Use industrial grade cotton Q tips and clean out the channels for the firing pin and extractor. This will keep your R1 operating reliable. Every 5,000 rounds or so if you feel competent enough to do so, I don't, break down the frame and clean and lube thoroughly. Check out you tube to find the correct way to lube.

Hope this helps.

You can detail strip the pistol over a pack in the middle of nowhere, down to the last spring, pin, and part with little to no tools. One does not need to be a gunsmith, a child can be taught to detail strip a 1911, the parts are few, simple, and fairly robust.

Lube is near pixie dust voodoo with some using the 1911, especially those having high precision 1911s with NASA like close fitting tolerances. I like simplicity. Having no bearing on the 1911, I tend to like, keep on hand, and most often use TW25B grease for almost any surface needing lubrication. How thick or how thin I apply this lubrication, all depends on the particular part and piece. TW25B, for me, seems to work well with most any cleaning solvent and most any oil, be it dino oils, or be it modern synthetic oils. Something that I like better than TW25B, and only in those applications where I do not intermix with other lubes, is Froglube or Tracklube. The Froglube paste variant is easier to obtain in small quantities than the Tracklube variant. I do not believe there is anything on planet earth any slicker than this stuff when properly applied. If used improperly and mixed with other lubes, or applied and kept thick, it can cause issues. But if applied properly, and exclusively throughout the entire pistol, it works wonderfully. The 1911 is such a pistol that is so easy to detail strip, it makes a good candidate for exclusive use of this lube on every piece and part of the pistol. But, do not do so and turn around and hose the gun down with dino lubes which may migrate down into the hammer/sear, firing pin, etc. They do not work well together and could gum the works. Outside the added attention needed during the initial application, a 1911 using 100% Froglube is near perfection in my book. Have found nothing as good and as easy to use when running a 1911 often and hard.

Outside of this, a mere can of synthetic Dexron ATF would keep one of these 1911s running well for its lifetime.

Best

That gun is pretty much perfect just like it is, assuming it's reliable, the sights are on the money, and it has a decent trigger.

My first 1911 was a Colt Government Model, Mk IV, Searies 70 acquired in the early 1980s. That was pretty much your only option in a 1911 back then. No bells or whistles. Sold it because I wanted one of the new 1911s that were hitting the market with all the bells and whistles, because I heard that's what you had to have. Went through a period where all my 1911s had all the bells and whistles, then about five years ago I bought a used Colt Government Model that was made in the early 1960s (no bells and whistles) and realized that I liked the handling much better than all my others. Since then, when I carry a 1911, it's just a plain Jane like the one you have. No "tactical" thumb safety. No "beavertail" grip safety. Nothing. Just plain Jane is the way I like it.

You can I can't. I'm not particularly mechanically inclined. My womanhood gets in the way.

I'd second the Froglube. Just be sure to apply correctly. A lot of guys don't then rant how the stuff doesn't work.

As far as the R1 goes, I've never owned one but I've presented them to a few customers - basically a good solid gun with no glaring faults or high points. Just all business, simple reliability and good execution.

Went to the range yesterday & shot about 50 rounds. No jams & the handgun performed as advertised. Its the standard 5" blued version that came with a rebate of 200 rounds from CDNN. Shooting the 1911 brought back some memories from my Army days. Some not so pretty. The Remington is a good basic no frills 1911.

I bought an R1 about 3 months ago and love it. Best out of the box trigger on a factory 1911 I ever saw. Great sights and great fit and finish on mine.

Neil

Oh, and mine is very accurate also.