My Springfield Armory GI and its upgrades.

[APachon]

I will have a new Springfield Armory addition to my collection in about 4 weeks. Pics to follow.

~A

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[Deke45]

You guys are probably getting tired of seeing this pistol by now. I took this picture and it turned out better than I thought it would. Just thought I would share. [clipse

Actually Clipse, I enjoyed your pictorial journey, and the fact you did most the work yourself makes it that much more satifying.
So happens, I've had the itch lately to break out Kuhnhausen and tinker with building me another pistol, and have seriously been contemplating getting one of these Springfields for the foundation.

I think the project will be called:
"How to Build the Most Accurate All Around Shootin' Full-Size 1911 On a Budget Where You Can Actually Keep Both Arms and Legs Intact!"

[SGeringer]

Wow.......you've done a terrific job. I'd love to pick one of those up sometime soon.

[tex45acp]

Here is my modified GI WW2 Champion, in progress. I have changed the grips, hammer, grip safety and sights. I chamfered the barrel chamber entrance and polished the integral ramp for more consistient feeding, even though the darn thing will feed rocks if I can get them in the magazine. I bought the gun NIB for a song. Another gun was ordered by my smith and this came in instead. It sat on the shelf for 6 months and I was the first to even look at it. Man they made me a real great deal. So now I spend money making it mine and I am still way below what a fancier one costs. My next ventyre is a trigger job and replacing the ILS mainspring housing with one that is non-ILS and not arched.

Great accuracy even without that pesky barrel bushing!!!

[doc Russia]

Before I go on a tangent, let me say that you have a very handsome .45 there. and it probably shoots better than it looks.

I agree more with ACP45armed. Checkering does help grip the pistol. That being said, it is a fairly minor concern, realistically. I mean, if checkering is all that is keeping you from dropping your piece, you are doing something wrong. As such, getting your personal balance between retainability and shootability is the only question. Personally, I am looking at getting a set of a lumagrips. I was very impressed with their ability to allow garments to slide over the surface, but for their ability to get grippy like warm Pirelli's on dry asphalt. As such, I think they are about as close to ideal as one can get. I plan on getting some laser etched with the Marine corps EGA emblem for my government 1911. I also am looking at getting a pair of slimline half-checkered ones for a carry commander that so far exists only as a plan in my mind.

Once again, nice pics. Lemme see if I can get mine posted.


well, it should be attatched as a file. Definitely not as good a photo as yours, sir.

[tex45acp]

Here is the finished version of my GI WWII Champion. Since the post above I have done some major dehorning of the slide, lowered & flared the ejection port, added a combat trigger and a checkered flat main spring housing. Lastly I sent the slide to Springfield to have Novak Extreme Duty Adjustable Carry Night Sights installed and the frame re-parkerized. I love the parkerized finish for its durability, look and lubricant holding qualities.

I hope it appeals to you as much as it does to me.

[Bud White]

Looking good .. Now is it just me or does the ejector look like a part of the frame is it really blended that well?

[tex45acp]

You know....in that picture the ejector does look like part of the frame. It is a separate piece though. When I replaced the grip safety and blended the beavertail into the frame, I sanded & polished the surface all the way up to the extractor. I then had the frame re-parkerized at Springfield and that's the appearance it gives. Springfield probably performed some polishing of their own before re-parkerizing the frame.

[Bud White]

i was gonna say it couldnt be part if the frame deff a good blending job there

[OD*]

Clipse,

Nice lookin' Springer.

[OD*]

Euc,

I think 1911's would appeal to me a lot more if the factory would do some of these common aftermarket improvements on all their models, straight out of the box.

There are plenty of options for you, some of us like the basic 1911 without all the trinkets, we have far fewer choices. Not all of use find the extra's improvements.

Contracting out certain components to other companies is the way I'd run a gun manufacturing plant.

Most companies do, to some extent.

It doesn't cost the factory a red cent to use a better firing pin or safety.

Maybe not, if they make the part in house. If they purchase from a vender it would cost them more.