A Question Of Fit

[Sgt. Quincannon]

Hello to All,
A friend owns an old arsenal rebuild Colt 1911 pistol with mostly original small parts, but an Ithaca slide. On this pistol the slide sits just a millimeter or so forward on the frame, letting about a millimeter of the frame rails be visible at the rear. This does not affect the function of the weapon; it chambers rounds and shoots fine. Is this a result of sloppy wartime production on the part of Ithaca, or is there a worn part somewhere inside that lets the slide sit forward that small amount? I've seen this before several times on mixed-bag service 1911/1911A1 pistols, but I've never known why. Your thoughts are appreciated. Thanks for your time.
Regards, Sgt. Q.

[log man]

This can and does occur for a variety of reasons. how the slide matches the frame is influenced by the barrel's lower lugs which stop the barrels forward motion , the hood length which stops the slides forward movement and the contour of different manufactures of frames and slide vary. It is standard procedure to blend this area when it is known that the barrel is correctly fit in the frame and slide. This discrepancy as you mentioned does not adversely affect function.

LOG

[niemi24s]

It is standard procedure to blend this area when it is known that the barrel is correctly fit in the frame and slide.FWIW, the 1928 vintage Springfield Armory slide blueprint available on TheSight website gives a dimension from the breechface to the aft end of slide as 2.60 -.01 with "Dimension Previous To Blending With Contour Of Receiver" nearby.