Fuck you in your big, dumb ass... OK. I've had some fun times with firearms. Field-stripping a Mossberg M590. After about the 2nd or 3rd step, the gun falls apart faster than you can keep track of all the parts and pieces. Or taking apart the bolt on an M14. An M16 bolt comes apart easy. In much the same way an M14 bolt does. But the M14 doesn't come apart easy. I spent a wonderful half hour. Or 20 minutes. Or 2 hours. I don't know. It sucked balls, rooting around a garage floor, looking for a tiny, tiny spring that shot out of the bolt--and made the rifle utterly useless without it. These were almost as fun as taking down the new M1911. See, before getting it, I had an Airsoft 1911. And whatever else you might say about those dirty, dirty Japs, when they build a toy gun, the do it pretty fucking well. For having a completely different firing system, an Airsoft 1911 strips down pretty much like a real one. But the recoil spring is a lot weaker. So I'm drinking and watching movies. And of course it occurs to me that it would be a good idea to field strip the new pistol. Yes, part of my brain is screaming "YOU MORON! YOU KNOW HOW MUCH YOU HATED PUTTING THAT 590 BACK TOGETHER. AND HUNTING FOR THAT FUCKING M14 SPRING. DO THIS WHEN IT IS DAYLIGHT AND YOU'RE NOT DRINKING." But the other part of my brain that controls my body ignored that part of my brain. So when I finally got the spring buffer out of the way I had to track down the relevant pieces. And of course between the dim light and the drink, I wasn't entirely sure how many pieces had shot free when I finally manipulated the bushing. I thought there were three, but I only found two. And I only noticed two, so for over an hour I tried to put my fucking pistol back together with no luck. I eventually conceded defeat and was prepared to make a sheepish trip to the gun shop tomorrow for a bushing tool (and possibly some help). But when I dropped the hammer and set the gun down the spring and the bushing shot out of it. The spring was easy to find but I couldn't find the goddamn bushing. After a meticulous methodical search I finally found it on the couch. Wait a minute. No I didn't. The bushing was Parkerized. And had a flange for engaging the spring. This piece was blued with no flange. Yipee. So I HAD lost three pieces. After much more stressful searching I finally found the bushing. Actually having all the pieces made assembly much easier. But still. I fucking hate John Browning for his fucking 1911 barrel bushing assembly.
I never cared for cleaning weapons. It's a necessary evil I guess, but I'm just not mechanically reclined!
There was a time when I could literally field strip a 1911 while wearing a blindfold. I forget what the standard was, but I routinely beat it with ease. The only real pain in the ass for me is the barrel link. Fuck that up and it can set you back. The full length guide rod on my 1911 can be a bitch, too (the open bushing is "uncomfortable" to press on with your finger), but a standard closed bushing? As Tosk would say, "Piece...of cake."
Maybe you should think about disassembling your pistols in a shopping bag to catch any parts that spring out.
It is what it is, and that is a product of early 20th century design. The function of the firearm demanded that it be built like this. Yeah it is a PITA. I have one, but and always careful just for this reason.
Well yes. If you have all the parts. This is the first time I stripped this one (and actually my first real 1911 to strip) so I spent probably an hour trying to get the barrel bushing over the spring without the thing that goes over the end of the spring. Once I lost the bushing and found that while looking for the bushing--and found the bushing--it went right together.
All of my 1911's except my Les Baer's require no thought and next to no hassle when disassembling. My Les Baer's require a nylon bushing wrench due to Les' exacting tolerances. If you're bitching about a 1911, you don't deserve a 1911. Transfer them to me immediately, along with your man card.
Oh, and for the thread title alone, flog yourselves twenty times with a boresnake. Also, say 20 Hail Sam Colts. Do not disparage Saint Browning
It's all relative. I have a Les Baer that is just enough of a bitch to draw blood if you're not careful. On the other hand, most modern polymer framed pistols can be field stripped in about 3 seconds by anyone who has done it more than a couple of times. The only thing easy about the 1911 when compared to modern designs is the trigger pull.
What? He said he was drinking. If he wasn't drinking he may not have had the dumb thought to field strip his weapon down in dim lighting conditions and while drinking.
Oh I know that, its just that there is a difference between don't disassemble a 1911 while drinking and don't play with firearms while drinking. No need to throw the baby out with the bathwater!
The full length guide rod for mine is somewhere downrange at The Bullet Hole in Nutley, NJ. How the thing kept shooting and I didn't notice is beyond me. Didn't discover it till I was home (25 miles and 40 minutes later). Screw it, I put the factory spring back in.
Agreed. One time I thought I'd field strip my 1911 while drinking. I woke up the next morning to this.
