Fitting The Right 1911 Barrel For The Job

Over the course of the previous thirty years I have replaced dozens of pistols barrels and the great majority have been 1911-type handgun barrels. Most were replaced in order to gain an advantage in accuracy or feed reliability, although a few were replaced simply because they were badly worn or corroded. With the rapid disappearance of GI pistols and their comparative rarity, the replacement of these types is far less common today.

Many military pistols needed new barrels, but these pistols are no longer a common resource for building custom 1911s. Today we replace 1911 barrels primarily to increase accuracy potential. When Ifi rst began building 1911 handguns to one degree or the other, the good fit and accuracy demonstrated by Bar-Sto Precision was a main reason for fitting new barrels to standard pistols. While a few modern 1911s come from the factory with a match grade custom barrel, they are not common and are relatively expensive.

The barrel is, of course, only one ingredient. The skill of the person fitting the barrel is more important, given a quality barrel to work with. There are several types of aftermarket barrels, ranging from dropin types to those that must be carefully fitted. They are available for every budget. As for the quality of drop-in barrels, I have ordered units that required only a minimum of fitting and gave good results. When a barrel is needed for a 1911 of mod- This Bar-Sto barrel is fitted in a Caspian slide.

We had no original results for comparison as this is anew slide, but we have our own accuracy standards to test against. est cost, I often use the attractively priced Roto barrels from Sarco, Inc. As one example, the reason for the last barrel replacement in an Armscor pistol that crossed my bench was not to increase accuracy, rather, the owner has gotten too happy with the Dremel while attempting a throating job at home. He had ruined the barrel, producing an unsupported chamber and the inevitable burst case.

I replaced the damaged part with a Roto unit with little difficulty. The ten thumbed owner had not gouged the frame ramp, thankfully, having only done in the original barrel. The Roto Barrel has also given good results in a number of older 1911s. For an original type or GI pistol replacement these barrels remain afine resource. A higherquality pistol such as the Rock Island or High Standard guns, as one example, may be counted on to yield even better accuracy still.

The next step up are Match Grade barrels, which may require considerable effort in fitting but the results are almost always consummate with the labor. As an example, when working with a Springfi eld 1911A1 I ordered a Bar-Sto barrel and specifi ed dropin dimensions. My experience with Bar-Sto indicates these barrels are actually drop-ins with the majority of Colt and Springfi eld pistols. This means "Series 70" to most of us.

These barrels are consistent but be aware you get into a different situation with a barrel that was carefully fitted at the factory. The Springfi eld GI may allow a true drop in. Conversely, a pistol supplied with a fitted barrel from the factory will often require a match grade barrel be fitted as a replacement if the original wears out. In years past there was time tak-

The Nowlin barrel is among the finest barrels ever produced. en at the factory to fit the barrel, so when we say "Colt and Springfi eld friendly" we may use the term Series 70 interchangeably and seldom be wrong. If we are fitting a barrel to a Colt Gold Cup we will have more trouble on our hands. Understand this. As an example, when experimenting with the .400 Cor Bon I could not simply drop in a barrel to the High Standard G Man, a high end piece.

It was not Series 70 at all as this pistol is a highly fitted handgun. I suspect Les Baer and Wilson Combat might present the same difficulty if you had a customer that had managed the Herculean feat of shooting out such a barrel. Before we proceed, let me issue a warning. If you do not completely understand how the 1911 pistol functions and if you do not have patience in working with firearms, do not attempt to precision fita barrel. If the firearm is a defensive firearm this should not be your first project!

Lets look at some of my experiences with barrels, both drop-in and fitted, and consider the options in ordering and fitting barrels. Not long ago I found a decent older 1911 at a fair price in a pawn shop. One of the main reasons I wished to obtain the piece was it had a custom grade barrel. The popularity of the .400 Cor Bon cartridge is reflected in the fact that we are now seeing used pistols with conversion barrels in this chambering. The barrel was an Ed Brown dropin.

The pistol functioned fine, but it was well worn and lacked good sights, with the original GI sights still in place. I wished to keep the high quality Ed Brown barrel for another pistol and fit the 1911 with a .45 caliber pistol barrel. This made sense as the Ed Brown barrel ended up shooting like a house on fi re in a target-sighted Colt. I can only guess how that Ed Brown barrel ended up in an old Ithaca GI pistol! I ordered a Roto barrel from Sarco, Inc.

Advertised as a drop-in, I found the Roto barrel well made of good material and still affordable, a good application for replacement in older 1911s. It "plugged in" and came out firing. Accuracy was good and the barrel was smooth enough that the Roto barrel gave good results with my cast bullet handloads using the Oregon Trail 200 grain SWC. A word on barrel fit. As long as the pistol locks up in the same manner time after time when the pistol fi res, we will have an accurate handgun.

The locking lugs and the barrel bushing must be reasonably tight. Older 1911s sometimes rattle when shook and this means the piece is loose enough for good reliability even when dirty. Just the same, if the lugs and bushing are tight the pistol can be accurate, but all points must be accurate. A well-fitted lug

does nothing if the bushing is not also tight. Sometimes, a match-grade barrel bushing alone can increase accuracy. If you wish to replace a pitted or well-worn barrel in a GI or MIL-SPEC type, the Roto barrel should give good results, especially if you also fita King’s match grade barrel bushing. This is an old school approach and still very workable. I recently fitted a Bar-Sto barrel to my long serving Colt Combat Commander.

I have used the Commander for some time and never benchrested the piece for accuracy, believing that marksmanship is hitting the target rather than firing small groups. But the Commander was more casual than I liked with accuracy. Afi veinch group at 25 yards, while typical of the generation, was not what I desired. The drop-in barrel required a few passes on the barrel hood for good fit, but the results were excellent.

The original groups with Colt Commander ranged between 4.75 to 5.75 inches for fi ve shots at 25 yards. With a properly-fitted Bar-Sto barrel in place group sizes ranged from 2.5 to 3.5 inches. Obviously this is good performance from a short barrel 1911, and with load development better accuracy would probably be realized. The Bar-Sto really shines and dropped in for most applications. In fairness, the Commander is not a loose handgun but neither is it exceptionally tight.

It needs better sights for practical improvement. Good sights and a good trigger compression affect practical accuracy while the barrel affects intrinsic accuracy. The only 1911 pistols I have owned that approach a true one-inch 25 yard group have been those fitted with a match grade custom barrel. The above results show the difference between casual accuracy and a much more usable level of accuracy that promotes practice.

As an example there would have been little point in fitting custom sights to a handgun with the type of accuracy the Commander exhibited out of the box. The sky is the limit. Fitting The Barrel First, understand your lock up points. There are four lock up points on the barrel. These are the locking lugs, the barrel bushing, the sides of the hood, and the bottom lugs. Let’s begin with a quality barrel that is ordered as a match grade unit. In other words, oversize.

The barrel hood is Not noted for fine accuracy the Colt showed a distinct improvement with the drop in Bar-Sto barrel. larger than the breechface opening and must be fitted. When filing, be certain of two things. You must have 0.003-inch clearance on each side and the hood must remain parallel to the breechface sidewalls. Straightforward, sure, but requiring attention to detail. You cannot replace metal once it is gone. The barrel extension

Both are factory fitted and give generally good results. is also longer than on a drop-in unit and must be measured with a hood gauge and properly shortened. Carefully cut the barrel on a lathe until the hood is about 0.003 longer than the hood gauge measurement. At this point, the hand work comes in. Carefully fi le the barrel until the unit slides into the lugs with no excess movement giving a good tight fit.

I normally use Bar-Sto barrels, and am most familiar with this type, but the general rules apply to Nowlin, Storm Lake, Wilson Combat and any other fine barrels as well. Kart barrels area special case covered at another time. A quick caution on the Kart. They are high quality but I have seen duffers simply grind the fitting humps off and call it a gunsmith fit. What a waste! Time and effort are required to fit any barrel.

The rear cut of the Bar-Sto controls upward motion and must be carefully inspected during fitting. The time honored method of fitting begins with placing the upper lugs in the slide slots and carefully, slowly tapping the bottom lugs with a brass hammer. Tap toward the muzzle for proper fit. Simply put, filing the barrel allows it to move more fully into contact in the locking recess. You may smoke a stainless barrel and fi le where the smoke is rubbed off. Sight black can also work.

Be certain your strokes are perfect, with metal fi led away and moved evenly. You wish to reach a point where the barrel rests in its locking lugs without springing away from locked position when pressed into place. In short, the barrel must be properly fitted and also perfectly centered in the slide. With care and deliberation this will happen but attention to detail is demanded. This ring on the end of a Randall barrel tightened the barrel to the bushing.

Italy, is afinely made bushing well worth using to improve accuracy. Ifi nd binding on the slide stop less common with modern barrels but it can happen. This is especially true of extended slide stops for some reason. I supposed they are overall a bit larger to support the added weight of the gas pedal-type slide lock. The hood must be centered and the bottom lug must not bind on the slide stop, but ride smoothly against it and squared properly.

There has been some confusion concerning the proper length of the link. This is not an arcane art but I am surprised it is not understood more thoroughly. Once the barrel lower lugs are properly filed and smoothed, with a proper fit to the slide stop, measure the length from

The customer will have to foot the bill. A National Match bushing fitted to a factory Colt. Without any other type of alteration accuracy improved considerably. the link pivot hole to the area that has been polished. Next, measure the area between the two holes of your swinging link. These measurements must be the same. If not, the link will not be properly fitted.

When using a larger diameter slide stop this measurement becomes critical, but I have had to use the Chip McCormick oversize slide stop on occasion with off specifi cation 1911 pistols in order to ensure proper function and, while not related to barrel fitting, to snug up certain upper unit caliber conversions. You really have to understand the relationship between link length and barrel to locking lug to slide stop measurement to do this.

When the upper assembly is placed on the pistol and checked for smoothness and function, any drag will normally be the lower lug against the slide stop. This is addressed by filing and smoothing in turn. As for the barrel bushing, normally a fitted bushing comes with the barrel. When using a King’s or National Match bushing we are required to fit the bushing to the barrel. An improvement in accuracy is always realized after properly fitting a tight bushing.

This type of bushing is oversize in inner dimensions and the barrel is turned to achieve a good fit. Afi tted bushing alone without adding a barrel works best with pistols that are already pretty accurate. It will not make up for a sloppy pistol. The Kimber is one such example. The barrel on the right has lugs that are being beat up during firing. Something is amiss. Keep in mind that what we are doing is increasing accuracy.

The technical concept of accuracy is a qualitative expression attempting to describe the measured degree of precision an instrument exhibits. The term has been used when measuring time pieces and to ascribe a true value to accuracy when that value is known. The true value of an accurate handgun will probably never be measured but the skilled gunsmith may improve what we have and in the process make for a much more accurate handgun. AG