barrel bushing compensator?

[c1911a]

Seems to me like a good idea in theory, would love to hear any opinions of one in practice.

I am looking for cheap upgrades for a low end 1911 to improve appearance and possibly functionality, these seemed intriguing....

Just looking for experiences/horror stories/opinions

[log man]

Seems to me like a good idea in theory, would love to hear any opinions of one in practice.

I am looking for cheap upgrades for a low end 1911 to improve appearance and possibly functionality, these seemed intriguing....

Just looking for experiences/horror stories/opinions
This type of comp has too large of a bore as the barrel must pass through and the benefit is quite limited more of a looks cool than anything else.

LOG

[Hawkmoon]

The only possible benefit is that it adds a bit of weight to the end of the barrel. Functionally, it does nothing. If you study the way the 1911 works and the timing of the slide in recoil, you'll see that it's impossible for this gadget to be effective.

[c1911a]

Yes, I thought as soon as a round is fired, the slide begins backward travel thus negating any effect on muzzle climb.

So now that I'm sure it will only improve appearance, another question:

Can a full sized barrel bushing be simply cut down to fit a commander length slide?

I would plan on putting one of these on a commander length slide. However, all of these bushing type compensators I've seen are sized(?) for a full sized slide. (by "sized" I am referring to length, commander barrel bushings are shorter than full sized barrel bushings)

I'm willing to bet someone has tried this, and I have a sneaking suspicion it's not as easy as it sounds

[Hawkmoon]

Can a full sized barrel bushing be simply cut down to fit a commander length slide?
Yes.


But ...

If the bushing is a tight fit to the barrel, it may have "springing" problems. Been there, done that.

If you look at a genuine Colt Commander barrel bushing next to a Government model bushing, you'll see that the actual bearing surface on the inside diameter extends about twice as far back on the Government bushing as it does on the Commander bushing. Without having either here to measure, I'll guesstimate it perhaps 3/16" compared to 3/32". Because the Commander slide and barrel are 3/4" shorter than the Government model but the link is the same height, when the barrel links down the Commander swings through a greater angle. If the bushing is a tight fit, the barrel can hang up on the shoulder of the bearing surface. Either using the shorter bearing ring or angle boring the bushing (such as done by EGW) alleviates that problem.

Nonetheless, I've seen countless Commanders whose barrel bushing has the wide bearing surface and they seem to work okay. (Most of them, anyway.)

[wichaka]

Compensator's don't work well with the 45 caliber, they don't have the high pressure to make them work as they should.