Care and Feeding / Guide Rod

[Sheepdog324]

Hey ya'll, quick few questions. I just bought mich3210's 1911, the Loaded Springfield. And so I was wondering, 1911s, I hear they like to run wet and dirty, so was told to only clean it every 500 rounds or so and to just make sure I'm oiling it and it'll be ok. There anything else like that that I should know about them? Also, it's got the two piece full length guide rod that I'm not a fan of cause you have to use tools to field strip it, know it's only an Allen wrench but still... There any advantage to keeping the full length in there, I heard it made it a little more reliable and that it stops the guide spring from scratching up the barrel and inside of the dustcover. Where as with the GI length guide rod you can take it apart without tools. What would I need to buy to replace the full length rod, just a GI length guide rod and the plunger cap or what? Thanks for y'all's help.

[VR4]

The thing about the FLGR is that it will save you from having to replace your recoil spring every 2000rds or so. The FLGR helps the spring not kink and compresses it like it suppose to. If you go to a GI guide rod the spring will kink and inturn you will have to replace the spring more often. You could buy a one piece FLGR to replace the 2 piece guide rod if you would like. I clean my 1911 after every range trip and oil the crap out of it. If I haven't shoot it for awhile I like to put a dab of oil on the hood and rack the slide a few times. It's just personal preference.

[ranburr]

Too much oil is a bad thing on a 1911. A few drops in the right places is all you need. Too much oil just attracts dirt and unburnt powder which will gunk up and lead to malfunctions. I clean my 1911s every thousand rounds. There is no benefit to running a full length guide rod. Recoil springs are designed for a service life of about 3K rounds. What type of rod you use doesn't change that one way or another. There are obvious disavantages to a two piece guide rod. The take down you have already discovered. The biggest issue is if it starts to unscrew under recoil and locks the pistol up. I have seen this more than once.

[VR4]

Originally Posted by ranburr

There is no benefit to running a full length guide rod.

I disagree. Could you prove this?

[ranburr]

Originally Posted by VR4

I disagree. Could you prove this?

I'm sorry you disagree. Contact Wolff gunsprings. They will tell you that spring life doesn't change one bit between a FLGR and a GI setup.

[Sheepdog324]

So what would I need to buy to swap out the current guide rod and put in the GI length one? Just a recoil spring guide and new recoil spring plug?

[VR4]

Originally Posted by ranburr

I'm sorry you disagree. Contact Wolff gunsprings. They will tell you that spring life doesn't change one bit between a FLGR and a GI setup.

This is a hard one because the company say's there is no difference but I and people that run there gun's for competition say there is a slight difference and wears much faster.
Shedding weight off my TRP - Brian Enos's Forums... Maku mozo!

[VR4]

Originally Posted by Sheepdog324

So what would I need to buy to swap out the current guide rod and put in the GI length one? Just a recoil spring guide and new recoil spring plug?

Gi rod and plug. You can use your spring that came with the gun.

[ranburr]

Originally Posted by VR4

This is a hard one because the company say's there is no difference but I and people that run there gun's for competition say there is a slight difference and wears much faster.
Shedding weight off my TRP - Brian Enos's Forums... Maku mozo!

I have been running them for 30+yrs and I nor the dozens of guys I shoot with see any difference.

[bigun]

Originally Posted by ranburr

Too much oil is a bad thing on a 1911. A few drops in the right places is all you need. Too much oil just attracts dirt and unburnt powder which will gunk up and lead to malfunctions. I clean my 1911s every thousand rounds. There is no benefit to running a full length guide rod. Recoil springs are designed for a service life of about 3K rounds. What type of rod you use doesn't change that one way or another. There are obvious disavantages to a two piece guide rod. The take down you have already discovered. The biggest issue is if it starts to unscrew under recoil and locks the pistol up. I have seen this more than once.

During the break in process keep the gun almost dripping wet to avoid galling, this is especially important on stainless guns. As far as cleaning if I'm firing FMJ or Modern HP's I go 4-500 rds between cleaning sessions, lately I have been shooting more and more of my own cast bullets and clean after every range session. Make sure you use a good quality gun oil, I prefer synthetics because of their resistance to thickening in cold weather. After break in a couple of drops on both rails, A drop in each recoil lug recess, and any other place you can see obvious wear patterns will do the trick. Excessive oil is not as big of a problem with a 1911 as it is with many other designs so I'd rather run them wet than not.