Aftermarket Drop-In Parts

Not counting the many handguns I have worked with and repaired over the years, I have built perhaps twenty-four custom 1911 handguns for personal and family use. For the most part when building these pistols, as well as a few competing types such as the Beretta 92, I have done so without access to a drill press or lathe. For the most part I have relied upon custom grade parts advertised as drop-in.

The majority of the parts used have actually been easy to fit but more than a few have required some fitting, just as the maker cautioned. I think that overall the availability of these semi custom parts is positive. After all, I have acquired more than a few batches of GI parts that tested both my skill and my religion! Lets take a look at this major resource for 1911 fans. The most common part that we replace, either from wear or from a desire for increased performance, is the barrel.

When it comes to drop-in barrels there are options beyond the 1911. I have purchased after market barrels for the Browning High Power, Beretta 92, and the Glock with excellent results. I have used Kart, Bar Sto, Jarvis, Ed Brown and Wilson Combat with good results. Most, but not all, were simple drop-ins. I have enjoyed good luck with two barrels in particular. One was a Clark Custom barrel used in a .460 Rowland conversion.

This barrel provided high precision and dropped in every mil-spec handgun in my safe, although not some of the tightly fitted custom guns. In the second instance I looked for an inexpensive barrel for a well used Ithaca 1911 picked up for a song. After a week or so of study, I contacted Sarco and obtained a Roto barrel. In this case the barrel fit right in the GI slide. Absolutely no fitting was required. This barrel improved the accuracy of the old warhorse immediately.

There are more than a few shot out .45 caliber barrels and the Roto barrel is one answer. It is nice when we don’t have to do fitting but sometimes we do. I ran across a Colt .38 Super with various problems. I wished to optimize this pistol and ordered anew Bar Sto barrel. The drop-in was not quite a dropin. While Bar Sto will fit the barrel for a reasonable price, I decided not to ship the slide and barrel but to fit the barrel myself.

While not particularly complicated, barrel fitting requires attention to detail. Remember, the 1911 began manufactured since 1911 and there are bound to be differences in dimension despite the best intentions and blueprints. To me, drop-in means minimal fitting. For the best results from a premier barrel maker, order a gunsmith fit barrel from Bar Sto Precision. Most of the time the drop-in barrels area great option but the consumer should be aware that they may need gunsmith attention.

It is simpler to obtain a drop-in for one of the European pistols. This was proven out when I obtained a .357 SIG caliber barrel for the .40 caliber Glock. The Bar Sto unit in .357 SIG simply dropped in but just the same gave outstanding results in the pistol. Coupled with Novak sights, the Glock became a fifty yard pistol rather than a 25 yard pistol. Oversize match grade pistol barrels area different breed. They are purposely oversize, requiring considerable work to allow them to slide into the locking lugs.

While they offer superior accuracy potential, drop-in units can also give good results. I seldom offer or order a gunsmith fit barrel except for a pistol with consummate match in the slide and frame to insure maximum accuracy potential. I have not ran across a dropin pistol barrel yet that wallows in the slide or is of excess dimensions. And that is quite a statement considering my broad experience with the type.

When drop-in barrels do not quite make the first fit in the slide, it is usually the barrel hood at fault. The hood must be carefully fitted by polishing away material. The locking lugs may be overlarge as well. A simple rule of thumb is to check fit with a slide stop. With the slide removed, seat the barrel properly in the frame, complete with a link. Insert a slide stop into the slide stop opening and through the link. If the barrel moves upwards, some fitting will be required.

When purchasing a drop-in barrel you are ahead of the game to order a complete barrel and bushing set. The outer diameter is OK if the old bushing fits your new barrel.

When care is taken in selection they are often satisfactory. This one was fitted by The Action Works. I have definite ideas on the best quality in pistols and pistol parts. When building a pistol it is best to check with the manufacturer of the frame and slide for parts compatibility. Recently, I acquired a Rock River Arms frame and slide for a special project.

Since Rock River thinks highly of the Smith and Alexander beavertail and cuts their frame for this application, it made good sense to use the same, especially since the Smith and Alexander unit is among the best of the breed. When it comes to the slide lock safety, this is one part that you cannot drop in and I wouldn’t want it any other way. This part has to be fitted for proper function and for proper clearance against the sear.

It is a shame to run a pistol with a wonderfully sharp trigger action and then ruin it with a rough feeling slide lock safety. The 1911 is a main focus of attention when it comes to drop-in pistol parts but the Browning High Power also has its share of fitting. As an example, the Cylinder and Slide Shop safety I prefer for the High Power is usually applied to the HP with a minimum of fitting. The same goes Are they all Novak sights? Are they all the same cut? Be certain before ordering. for the FM pistol.

The Hungarian FEG, on the other hand, will leave a gunsmith scratching his head. The Browning parts will fit but they require a bit of finesse and wrangling to figure out. Sometimes we do not wish to order a drop-in part and might actually need an oversize part. An example is an oversize slide stop. Sometimes there is slop in the fit, especially when using a non standard slide and barrel. I have found

The Bedair solid rod works well, as does the Laser Max unit. Others have sometimes not fit properly. Fitting is often in order. an oversized slide stop a great aid when using single shot upper units in calibers as diverse as .22 Long Rifle and .44 Magnum. Extractors do need to be fitted and I have used Ed Brown extractors in top end pistols with excellent results. Extractors can be a problem as the 1911 relies upon the extractor for proper function in the feed cycle.

I have used Wilson Combat extractors for many years and have never had a problem. However, recently I diagnosed a problem in a 1911 that surprised me. The culprit would have seemed to be brass shavings in the extractor tunnel but it turned out the extractor was contacting the tunnel, affecting function. A bit of polish on the extractor on the bump behind the claw cured this problem.

When it comes to adding a trigger, hammer and sear my advice is to purchase a complete kit or at least purchase all of the parts from the same maker. I am not pushing one over the other and have enjoyed excellent results with Wilson Combat, Ed Brown, and Nowlin. Most of us order from Brownells and your life will be much easier if the parts are in sync with the other! Sometimes a drop-in unit is OK as far as fit goes but changes the geometry of your lockwork.

That nice new trigger or hammer now has the sear and grip safety out of whack. When it comes to hammers, it is fairly common for aftermarket hammers to rub on the slide of a stock 1911. I do not understand the advantage of this type of tolerance, but it is a fact. Before installing it, I place the hammer in the naked slide to be certain no work is needed for the hammer to clear the slide and strike the firing pin.

Trial and error is critical in everything we do but there are certain runs of handguns that seem to have tight slide dimensions around the firing pin stop. There are those who 40 and .357 SIG, the barrel is usually a drop-in unit. feel comfortable adjusting tension on the sear spring. At one time, a special sear spring was manufactured that featured a twisted spring hand on the left side. It turned out that when installed in my pistol, it would sometimes connect the disconnector and prevent the firearm from firing.

Given this problem, I took this sear spring out and threw it away. It did give a nice action but it didn’t work properly. A lot of folks don’t understand the action of the sear spring and this is the last part you should go cheap on. Problem is, there is often some adjustment needed for perfect function and this is a place where finesse is needed. The left rear (long leaf) of the sear spring contacts the sear.

This is correct for the 1911. Grips often need slight fitting, usually around the magazine release. While a lighter tension here can produce a lighter action, too light tension can allow problems, such as the hammer following the slide down in recoil. The middle leaf resets the trigger. I once put together a 1911 that fired once, and the trigger was very nice, but it didn’t reset until I racked the slide three times!

The far right or short leaf maintains tension on the grip safety and is an important part in the scheme of things. The inside of the 1911 is not delicate as this is among the most rugged handguns ever produced but certain rules must be adhered to. One of these is that when a truly light trigger action is desired we must fit an aluminum or similarlylight trigger. The decrease in weight makes it much less likely the trigger will bounce the sear in recoil and fire the pistol when we do not wish it to.

Almost all triggers, drop it or not, must be fitted or they will not glide smoothly in the frame. Only GI triggers do not require fitting and we seldom use these any longer. Concerning non-1911 type pistols, there are These two caps are slightly different designs. many aftermarket parts advertised as drop-in that are not easy fits. One of my friends recently purchased a full length guide rod for his Glock.

Advertised as a high quality unit designed to tame recoil and keep the recoil spring straight, the unit quickly was beaten on the end. I have seen 1911 full length guide rods do the same thing. The Clark system seems to be the best all around, with its robust two piece construction. The full length guide

Top: Since Randall introduced the full length guide rod many have come and gone and all do not fit properly., Italy, is purposely over size for fitting. While sometimes difficult to find, these are good parts. rod used by Hindman as part of the .45 Super conversion is also very robust. Quite a few units get banged into the locking lugs, could present a liability issue and just don’t look right. I examined the guide rod my friend put in his Glock.

It was precipitously beaten and I felt it had no place in a defense pistol. I am not certain we need full length guide rods at all. In the case of the .460 Rowland it appears to be effective and the Clark unit is first class. As far as other units, I don’t see what can be done to help those drop-in parts as the dimensions are the problem. There are a number of dropin sight options available. Caspian makes a very nice adjustable sight that fits in their custom slides with a minimum of fitting.

There are a number of sights that fit in the standard dovetail. I have used a set from MGW (Maryland Gun Works) requiring the front sight be staked on, a straightforward operation. The rear sight is a simple matter and these sights work well. The front and rear sight are normally sold as matched pairs but some sights are sold as rear sights only. They look similar to the Novak, having a large body over a small piece that slides into the dovetail. A screw through the body locks these sights down.

OK as far as it goes but when the sights are installed with the standard front sight, the pistol inevitably shoots four inches or so above the point of aim at fifteen yards. drop-in they are, but less than satisfactory. Even something as simple as grips can require fitting. They almost always fit the grip frame but sometimes the screw holes do not exactly fit over the bushing and must be reamed out carefully.

On one occasion, the supplied grip screws were too long and protruded into the magazine well, binding the magazine. My overall view of drop-in parts is they are more likely to drop in a GI type pistol rather than a high grade production piece. As an example, recently I acquired a nice Caspian slide with sight cutout and front cocking serrations and set up for an external extractor. It is all top grade and modern. I expected to do some fitting.

I first tried it on my High Standard G Man, and it would not budge on the rails. I also tried it on a friend’s Wilson Combat pistol as a lark. No. While these pistols really didn’t need anew slide, both are top grade pistols. Part of the rationale behind the new slide was to have a permanent home for my .460 Rowland conversion, complete with high grade adjustable sights. I tried the slide on a Parkerized mil-spec Springfield, a stainless steel version of the same as well as a Rock Island Armory pistol.

Perfect fits in all regards. The pistols that needed an upgrade could get it. Top end pistols, held to tight tolerances in the first place, will probably not be the most fertile ground for drop-in parts. But then, who needs to add parts to these type of pistols? We must keep drop-in parts in perspective and understand the customer’s wants.

As an example, the addition of a drop-in Bar Sto barrel for Glocks always results in increased accuracy but a drop-in 1911 barrel will normally not be as effective unless the original barrel was quite worn. Drop-in parts can be used to change caliber, such as converting a .40 Smith and Wesson pistol to .357 SIG or a .45 ACP to .400 Cor Bon or .460 Rowland.

The customer must understand that only a true fitted barrel will give optimum performance, however, a modest improvement can be realized more easily with drop-in options. A true custom beavertail will look and feel best but require fitting and cutting the slide, while a drop-in version may be good enough and much less expensive to install. My experience with drop-in parts has been positive. While they may not give the results of true match grade parts, they can often come close.

When a reputable supplier is chosen and care taken in handgun selection, the combination can result in increased performance at a modest price. AG