2nd report on new SA GI (WWII)

[1911WB]

Got up to the 200 rd. mark today. The pistol is still doing great. Refresher- when I got it I replaced the extractor with a Brown. Also put in a Nowlin sear spring and a 20# mainspring which together reduced the already good trigger pull from 5 lbs to 4. The pistol is pretty well fitted. Other than the aforementioned changes all I've done is lubricate, clean & shoot it. It is reasonably accurate. Today I shot a 2 1/2" group at 20 yrds. with the following load: 230 gr. Win. FMJ, 5 grns Bullseye, WLP primer, 1.255 oal. The pistol has functioned perfectly with two exceptions: rds. 1 & 101 failed to eject (the extracted empties were sitting in the chamber catywampus- both of these rds. had been single fed from mags, then the mag was released & the rd. fired); the second issue is that occasionally, ejected empties graze the top of my head. The first issue might be due to my rather light reloads. When I tried the single round trick with a factory WB Win. round it ejected fine. I guess I can live with the second issue at least till I replace the ejector. All in all I can say that this pistol is the best value on a good 1911 that I know of. What I mean by "good" is reasonably well built, requires little to no mods to make it work right, and is reliable right out of the box. :)

[stumbler]

Good feedback! I'm glad you enjoy your piece. Any pics?

[1911WB]

Sorry, Stumbler, I guess I'm not computer savy enough to post pics. But, she isn't real pretty anyway. now, my Les Baer is another story! :) WB

[walangkatapat]

Any hammer bite? How's the shape of the fired brass, any severe dents?

[1911WB]

No hammer bite for me; but my hands aren't beefy, so I don't know how larger hands would be affected. The brass is in pretty good shape. Usually there is a small ding in about the middle of the case. No other significant injuries! :)

[walangkatapat]

Sounds like a winner.

[Big W]

Howdy. I too get the random brass buzz from my GI .45 (parked O.D.)--right across the top of the head. I've fired just 50 rounds through it (Winchester 230 gr. FMJ USA), but that's going to change over the weekend. I also liked the gun so much that I decided to buy another one, so I picked one up in black, which I added a set of rubber Hogue grips to. Feels nice in the hand, we'll see how it's virgin run does over the 4th.

I've loaded 200 rounds for the weekend. Winchester brass, WLP primers, HS-6 in loads of 7.6, 7.8, and 7.9 grains, with 230 gr. FMJ bullets. I'm planning on getting chrono readings on all of those if anybody is interested, including Winchester boxed ammo.

[1911WB]

Big W- I'd be real interested in your chrono results. Good shooting! :) WB

[Big W]

Big W- I'd be real interested in your chrono results. Good shooting! :) WB
Hey WB...it was a very hot day for shooting, but I was too excited to break this thing in to let Ohio humidity stop me. Ha. Maybe these should go in the reloading section, (my apologies if I cause any anger out there) but here it goes:

Winchester USA factory ammo 230 gr. FMJ:
Shot #1 lost
Shot #2 777 fps
Shot #3 809 avg.: 793

230 gr. FMJ bullet, 7.6 gr. HS-6:
Shot #1 741
Shot #2 800
Shot #3 790 avg.: 777

230 gr. FMJ bullet, 7.8 gr. HS-6:
Shot #1 808
Shot #2 787
Shot #3 807 avg.: 801

230 gr. FMJ bullet, 7.9 gr. HS-6:
Shot #1 771
Shot #2 806
Shot #3 791
Shot #4 792
Shot #5 787 avg.: 789.4

It beats me how the last group averaged lower than the one before it, but that's what happened.

Overall, I put 129 rounds through her today without malfunction or misfeed. I really like the rubber Hogue grips on the G.I. 45. They're just a little thinner than the stock grips, which make for a perfect fit for me.

I did get smacked in the forehead four or five times today, (I'm surprised I didn't get more than that from my bored girlfriend.), and it seems like these guns really give my brass a bigger beating than I had expected. Although, none of the scrapes or dents are sufficient enough to scrap the brass.

Overall, I'm tickled pink with both my black and OD green GI .45s. They bring back basic training memories (being an M1-tanker, 1911s were the issue sidearm still in 1987).

[Sinbad]

Mine is a keeper. About 600 rnds through it, it took some blood initially, but I'm adjusting. Replaced mainspring with a 19#, and recoil spring with and 18.5#. It eats the brass, no reloading with them, it wasn't as abusive with the 16# stock spring though. Replaced the grips with Hogues for the range only and used "white-out" on the blade so these 3 score and 4 eyes can keep it pointed down range. It shoots as well as my "loaded". Love it!

[Big W]

Is the case mouth of your brass crushed? I raised my loads another tenth of a grain to 8 grains of HS-6 for 230 gr. FMJ. I fired off a few test rounds today and noticed that the brass seemed to be in better shape. Better ejection maybe?

[Wayne]

Reached the 400 round mark on mine this past weekend. Different ammo, an assortment of Mag Tech , Remington, and Blazer. No malfuntion of any kind and brass is none the worse for wear. Yep ,definitly a keeper.