1911A1 Modifications

Colt 1911A1 Modifications

A Pictoral Guide

What & Why	What it Looks Like
Polished Feed Ramp To impove the feeding of hollow point and other flat point ammunition; the original design had a very sharp feed ramp which fed round nosed (full metal jacket or round nosed) ammunition well, but doesn't feed hollow point bullets so well. This is a nessecity for proper functioning with hollow point defensive ammunition.
	Link to Picture of Ramped Barrel	A ramped barrel has the ramp integrated onto the barrel, rather than the frame. The picture linked to is a BarSto.
Beveled Magazine Well/Magazine Well Extension To improve the ease with which magazines are inserted into the well during a reload. The extended magazine well is nice for competition use, but it makes the gun harder to conceal for carry guns. A beveled magazine well is a good compromise for improved loading without the extra length, but not a necessity.		Kimber Super Match with an extended magazine well.
Lowered/Flared Ejection Port To improve ejection of the spent casing out of the chamber. This is a necessity for reliable functioning.		The red outlines the bottom of the standard ejection port on an original 1911A1.
		This is a port which has been lowered and flared--note the indentation in the slide behind the ejection port.
Extended, Ambidextrious, and Tactical Safety Safeties come in many different sizes and shapes, as you can see from the pictures to the right. It's generally a matter of personal preference. For instance, the width and size of extended safeties varies from maker to maker, and gunsmiths can round, trim, and shape safeties into almost any shape. Some people like the safety to be accesible from both sides of the gun, while others like the 'thinner' feel of only having one. You will most likely replace your safety, probably several times, before you find what you like. Ot you might be lucky and get one that fits right from the factory.		This is the original safety on a 1911A1.
		This is a typical extended safety; note the piece which sticks off increasing the area with which you can operate it.
		This is a tactical safety; it's deeper than the standard safety, but it's not any longer. This often provides a good compromise between the full extended safety and the standard asfety.
		This is the backside of a 1911A1 without an ambidextrious safety.
		This is the back side of a 1911A1 with an ambidextrious safety.
Beavertail Grip Safety Increases the araa over which recoil is spread, increases the area over which your grip will activate the grip safety, and keeps you from getting your hand up in the slide. Also provides for a more consistent grip, resulting in greate accuracy. This is a necessity with any type of hammer other than bobbed.		This is a standard grip safety. Note that it doesn't protrude all that far from the back of the frame. It's very easy to get the meat of your hand over this thing and get caught in the slide, or even to not get a good grip on the safety, resulting in the inability to fire.
		This is a beavertail grip safety. Note the sharp turn up at the back, and the small pressure point added where the arrow points.
		This is another view of a beavertail grip safety. Note that the hammer actually nestles into the top of the safety.
Loop (Commander Style) or Bobbed Hammer A commander style hammer, or loop hammer, generally fits with a beavertail grip safety. A bobbed hammer generally allows the grip safety to be trimmed back considerably, at the risk of putting your hand up into the slide when grabbing the gun. The worst configuration is the spur hammer with no beavertail safety. Mostly, this is a matter of personal preference.		This is a standard "spur" hammer.
		This is a commaner or loop style hammer. There are many variations on this design, smaller and larger, different hole patterns, jewelled, etc.
		This is a nicely bobbed hammer. Note that you wouldn't carry it this way (it would be cocked, so the hammer would be exposed), but the bobbed hammer does allow the cutting back of the beavertail grip safety, shortening the gun up some.
Checkered Front Strap There are a lot of different things that can be done to the front strap to improve the grip and style. This is generally a matter of preference; some treatments feel better than others, etc.		A standard front strap--no checkering.
		This is a checkered front strap.
		This is a scalloped front strap.
		The rubber grips cover the front strap here.
Mainspring Housing There are a lot of variants available here; it's generally a matter of personal preference.		This is a flat mainspring housing.
		This is an arched mainspring housing.
		This is a bobtailed mainspring housing.
Cocking Serrations These are grooves in the slide which make gripping the slide to cock the gun easier. There could be serrerations on the back or both (there are few without serrerations at least on the back). The depth and style of serrerations vary considerably.		This gun has both front and back cocking serrerations which are very wide. The front serrations are used for doing a "press check," so you can check to see if the firearms is loaded with minimal movement of your off hand.
Slide Release There are various types of slide releases, including standard, tactical, and extended. This is a matter of taste and whether or not you feel you can operate the release without the extensions, which are similar to the extensions on safeties.		This is a standard slide release.
Bushing There are four fundamental variations in barrel types: match verses standard, and bushingless verses bushing. Match barrels are more accurate than standard barrels. Bushingless barrels are less accurate but generally more reliable than barrels which require a bushing.		This is a bushingless barrel. Note the barrel is much thicker at the end than in the middle; it flares out.
		This is a match bushing barrel from Ed Brown.
Melting "Melting" is the process of smoothing off all the hard edges on the gun. Simple deburring and softening is called "dehorning," while melting actually alters the look of the gun.		This the front of a Kimber in standard configuration.
		This is a melted front end on a Kimber. Note the radical smoothing of all the edges.
External Extractor To resolve perceived problems with unreliable extraction, or broken extractors, a few companies have come out with external extractor options.	Picture Link
Double and Single Stack Some 1911's are single stack, which means the cartridges are carried on top of each other in the magazine, while others are double stack, which means the cartridges are staggered in the magazine, not laying directly on top of each other.	Picture Link
Porting and Compensators All guns "flip" when you fire them. This is generally a function of the offset between the line of the bore and the centerline of where you're holding the gun. Porting a barrel, muzzle brakes, and compensators all try to hold the muzzle down when you're firing, to improve the speed at which you can are-align the sites after each shot.