How do 1911 pistols work

If you're carrying concealed, the slimmer profile of a standard mag release will work well and may be more comfortable. Aside from the height of the mag release, look at the shape of the button.

Some have beveled edges for comfort. It's one of the main grasping surfaces, and it's common to see it roughed up or checkered. Coarse checkering for duty use is 20 lines per inch, suitable for gloved hands 17 lpi shown ; while 30 lpi works for carry guns. Hand checkering a pistol is time consuming and expensive, so get it at the factory or pay a gunsmith dearly for it later.

Skateboard tape with a strong adhesive is an alternative. Factories save money by providing cheap mags with new guns. Vickers advises that you simply throw away the mag that comes with your gun and get Wilson, McCormick or Tripp mags. If you can't afford new mags, at the very least, you must get baseplates for your factory mags to help seat them during reloads. Be aware that although popular, Novak-style sights will loosen eventually.

They must be checked and even installed with some Loctite. Fixed rear sights work for everyone except serious competition shooters. Look for a front sight with a roll-pin to prevent any movement. A ledge on the rear sight for one-handed charging looks good on a feature list but is seldom used. Fiber-optics sights work great during the day, but are useless at night.

Practical shooters should look for night sights. Also, have a look at the slide top. Slide top milling and serration will give you some extra front sight height for faster sight acquisition.

Up front, grasping grooves aren't popular with traditionalists though you'll see plenty of pistols sporting them. If you need to clear a malfunction in a hurry, you will be grateful for all the leverage and purchase you can get on the slide.

Some shooters also like to "over-hand" press-check by running the slide from the front. There's no right or wrong way, but there are shooters that will always keep their hands as far away from the muzzle when given the choice.

If that's you, then you can pass on the front grooves and save a few bucks. These work on a stock gun, but once you get into any beavertail grip safety, the spur hammer is a no-go. The beavertail gets in the way of the longer hammer. Contemporary designs use a rounded, commander-style hammer.

Skeletonizing looks cool and saves weight, but be aware that a lighter hammer speeds up movement and improves lock time. Both are good, if the rest of your pistol is set up for it. A good hammer and sear are EDM machined out of tool steel. If you do swap your hammer, make sure you replace the sear along with it.

Ambidextrous safeties are generally meant for lefties. Despite their name, they rarely work or hold up as well when used by righties. It's a novel design machined out of billet steel that is stronger where traditional safeties often fail.

Also, make sure you have no burrs or sharp edges on your safety. Get one that feels good at the shop or be prepared to have a gunsmith take the edges down. Your thumb will thank you. The exaggerated horn allows a higher grip without the danger of the slide tearing railroad tracks down the webbing of your hand. Beavertails are often combined with the grip safety into one curved piece of metal.

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