New GI Champion - Name your top 5 Upgrades

[Professor]

Purchased my first 1911 yesterday, 4" GI Champion. Can't take it to the range until next week, but I'm thinking about possible upgrades that can be made to it. Those of you who have this pistol, what are the top 5 upgrades you have done or would suggest.

Also what things if you had to do it again, you would not do to this gun.

Here's what I'm thinking.

1. Slide cut for night sights
2. enlarged slide stop and safety lever
3. Lower and flare exjector port
4. Grips
5. Grip safety with larger pad and/or change beaver tail

Thanks for your help. If you had to purchase this pistol over again would you do it?

Professor

[ranger edge]

:D why not shoot it first , and then see what you think ? You might like it
the way it is....I have the 5" GI 45 and I haven't touched a thing... works for me..... :cool:

[Professor]

Hey Ranger

Just from dry firing I can tell that both safeties need some work. When I place my right thumb on the safety I sometimes can not depress the grip safety well. I have semi large but slim hands. I really don't care for the sights. I have small dot xs sights on my other pistols. And the grips, just a personal thing. I'm not looking to do any of this work in the next couple of weeks, just wondered what other people have thought about, what they's done and what they won't do to make this pistol even better.

Thanks

[ranger edge]

:D Cool !

[GW45]

;) The only thing you might do is put some Houge rubber/w/fingergrips.

[Sabre]

I have a GI 5". You might want to try replacing the arched mainspring housing out with a flat one. That may cure the problem with disengaging the grip safety.

As far as modifications go, I suggest you shoot it some before you decide to spend money on mods. That money might be better spent on a good holster for your new shooter.

These are/were/will be my mods:
1. The first thing I did to mine was change the sights to King's Hardball #104 sights (it's actually at the gunsmith for this now).
2. After that, I may make an attempt to bevel the magazine well with a file, dremel, and some cold blue. I may also, if I get up the courage, see about lowing the ejection port and installing an extended ejector. If I ever have to fire from a retention stance, the ejection port mod would help me not burn my eyeballs out with hot brass.
Now, the back end of the frame is awful sharp. Kinda uncomfortable on my thumb knuckle with a high-thumb grip. I'd like to round this off with a file, but I am hesitant, as the entire pistol would then need refinishing.
3. I did end up taking a dremel to it. Using a felt bit and polishing compound, I smoothed up the feed ramp, as well as the bottom of the slide that contacts the frame, top of the frame that contacts the slide, disconnecter, hammer face and firing pin stop. The action is infinately smoother now. before, I could literally ride the slide down and "set" the slide on the disconnector, and it'd stay open. I also put a teeny bit of polishing compound in the frame rails and ran the slide through the rails a few times. Again, much smoother now.
4. The thumb safety needs work. It's awful stiff. Springfield really didn't want this thing to be disengaged unless you really want it disengaged. When I draw from a holster during training, sometimes it's very difficult to disengage this overly stiff safety with a less-than-perfect grip. So, the dremel will come out again and I will be slightly breaking and polishing the angle of the safety where it contacts the plunger.
5. The trigger is not so hot. Lots of creep. This will have to be remedied, but it's not an urgent issue. It's satisfactory for non-target shooting. Along with the trigger job when I get to it, I'll be installing a long solid trigger.
As far as beavertails, round hammers, extended safeties, and other bells and whistles go, I'll pass.

[gkbikers]

I like it. However, I knew I would change some things before I bought it.

I shot it for the first time on Thursday. No hammer bite, loved both the grip and thumb safeties, hated the sights. Grips were so, so.

Now have Hogue rubber grips (finger ridges). I'm looking into tritium three dot sights; slide will have to be cut for those. Thumb safety I'm going to leave alone, as I like its positive engagement and I have no trouble in moving it with a shooting grip (I have pretty good sized paws). On that last note, I was surprised that I didn't have any hammer bite. The last 1911 I shot (admittedly, a long time ago) chewed up my web pretty good. Or course, I only ran fifty rounds through the other night, so time may tell. ;)

I, too, may have the mag well beveled. Also, the arched mainspring housing could be changed, as it may be causing my grip to be off just a bit. Overall though, for such a plain jane gun, I think it's great . . . especially for the price of $369. :)

[ranger edge]

I think all of your mods are cool, but your taking away from what I think the
reason the gun was made. It's not exact WWII but close. Maybe you guy's should have bought a more updated 1911 for all the mods and leave this one the way it came. JMHO... :cool: Or at least tried it out before you bought it
If your trying to make a match gun out of this one, It's gonna' get costly ! :eek: I say leave it alone, thats the fun of shooting different guns.
Every gun's different !!!! ;) JMHO !

[gkbikers]

Maybe you guy's should have bought a more updated 1911 for all the mods and leave this one the way it came. JMHO... :cool:
I understand your perspective. :)

I (temporarily) "broke" my 40 S&W Firestar, which was my carry gun, and I decided that I needed a New carry gun. I really wanted a 1911 type single action, in 40 S&W (I've got lots of ammo for a .40 and I like that cartridge). Could not find one in my budget (didn't want used, either).

However, I know .45 is very good, too! I found this pistol and it fit my budget. So far, I'm into it for about $400 including the Hogue grips. By the time I'm finished, I might have another $150 in it. For what I envision as the finished product, I could not have purchased for $550.

I bought this as part of my concealed carry array of weapons. :D I didn't buy it for its looks or for its nostalgic value. The parkerized finish makes it less noticable, the size is right, and its few "deficiencies" can be corrected at relatively low cost. It will be accurate enough for self-defense; I'm not into competition shooting, so that's not an issue with me, either. :)

Different stroke fer different folks, but again, I do understand your point and it is well-taken. :D

[Seraph]

I love my GI Champion, but I know it bears little similarity to anything "GI." It's just a moniker contrived for marketing purposes. I didn't buy mine for WWII nostalgia, but as a backup gun for my primary carry gun. IMO, these guns are a perfect platform for custom buildups. The first thing that had to go on my Champ was the "US" grips. It now wears VZ Gator Back grips. Further mods await the return of my Mil Spec from SA Custom Shop. These will include, to match the Mil Spec, a Yost-Bonitz "Retro" fixed rear sight, Heinie dovetail serrated ramp front sight, with tritium insert, all Ed Brown small parts and controls, 4.5# trigger/action job, bevel magwell, carry bevel, and reparkerize. I also plan to replace the weird guide rod and dual recoil spring with an Ed Brown one-piece FLGR, cut to the proper length of approximately 3". I think these guns are a nice value, and are very good as-is, but they just beg to beg to be modified. If SA would sell matched slide and frame kits, I'd be all over it.

http://www.knoxferatu.com/seraph/Gigolette_VZgrips.jpg

[1911slabsides]

I like all the ideas you have except for the extended slide stop.

[N7CAV]

Also what things if you had to do it again, you would not do to this gun.

Here's what I'm thinking.

1. Slide cut for night sights
2. enlarged slide stop and safety lever
3. Lower and flare exjector port
4. Grips
5. Grip safety with larger pad and/or change beaver tail

Thanks for your help. If you had to purchase this pistol over again would you do it?

Professor

I just tested my new GI Government Model today. Picked it up yesterday, changed the extractor out last night when cleaning it. The changes I would make, after 700 rounds fired today -

1. The extractor must go.
2. The firing pin is anemic, and makes light strikes on primers.
3. Changed the mainspring housing for a flat, smooth metal one with lanyard ring; switched mainspring cap and INSTALLED a mainstring retainer pin. - The Springfield used a very deep mainspring cap, and no retainer pin, so you had to correct the mainspring cap so the hammer strut would have tension on hammer-down. I don't understand why they let the thing fly around like that, but probably has something to do with the mainspring safety crap, umm . . feature.
4. Sights will be changed to a serrated ramp front and S&W adjustable, low-profile rear. (No Dots or Glowing beads for me.)
5. I'll have a memory-groove beavertail installed, but keep the spur hammer, and modify the beaver tail recess to accomodate it.

The grips are not really a modification, but will be changed to nice wood panels. The weapon fed, fired and ejected just fine for me. I'm sure the stock extractor would have been an issue. The slide-frame and barrel fit is close enough for me, and the chamber/breech areas are reasonable enough to leave alone for now. Overall the gun is fine out of the box, so the mainspring housing and grip safety change are for my benefit. (I'm one of those people who have a problem engaging a standard grip safety because of little hands, so the memory groove helps more than the beavertail, they just happen to come in one package deal.)

I'll dink around with this pistol for a few thousand rounds and then modify it as issues come up. It's an entry-level pistol, and as such, is quite a value - But there isn't any need to dump more money into it if you already have a tuned carry pistol. I'll probably get one in stainless and switch the slides; Make the silvertop/steel frame a race gun and the steel-top/stainless frame a carry gun or something like that - Who knows. (Never had a two-tone weapon before)