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Rock Island Armory 1911 Face-Lift

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klallen View Drop Down
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** The RockChucker **

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote klallen Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Topic: Rock Island Armory 1911 Face-Lift
    Posted: 12 May 2012 at 03:31

morning, all.

well, the .40 super's together, functioning and development will be starting soon, so attention has shifted to the next project.  we always have to have a "next project".

before the .40 super came along, i was always going to do something with my ria 1911.  the .400 corbon was where i was leaning.  that didn't pan out but i still wanted to do something.  i didn't really want or need another ole plain-jane .45acp.  a good cartridge, don't get me wrong.  but i already have the compact bersa thunder in .45acp for carry, and not being one that really enjoyed having two (or more) firearms in the same cartridge, something special was needed.

my brother had done some things to improve is ria 1911 and had developed a handload using .45acp + P cases that provided a performance boost above and beyond the acp standard.  actually, a pretty stout load in the neighborhood of 1100 fps with a 230 gr. bullet.  we switched out the spring in my ria for a 22#er and he let me try some of his loads.  the slide was launching the spent cases so aggressively, a heavier spring is definitely going to be needed, but this is the direction i wanted to go.  not so much a cartridge change, but a performance boost.

after a 2 day search, i found no + p brass but midwayusa did have in stock .45super brass.  dimensionally identical to the .45 acp but, by design, much stronger.  so i started thinking.  there can be concerns with some high pressure cartridges in these 1911 barrels and the unsupported portion in the feed ramp area.  my brother hasn't experienced any such problems using the + p brass.  but with the added strength of the super brass, this would only serve to lessen any concerns at this pressure point in the handgun.  so we next turned attention to the pounding the handgun will take.  we're going to amp up the 1911 a bit.  there needs to be a little preparedness for the increase in pressure.  springs, rods, bushings, buffers.  i'm going to have some things done cosmetically, also.

long story short     ...     handloading components should deliver on monday.  one of those potato / pototo kind of things but we'll have a cartridge change and a performance boost.  sweet !!!   i'm just looking to duplicate the + p handload my brother has.  if all works, it'll be a snappy little round.

more to come.

 

 

k

A Big Mouth Don't Make A Big Man !!!



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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote klallen Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 05 June 2012 at 14:46
evening, all.  had a nice day at the range sunday morning working with several rifles and handguns at various stages of handload development.

this was one i was really excited to get to.  here's some before / after pics of the ria 1911.  you can see the cosmetic stuff but the real important improvements aren't visable in the pics.





working mostly with data off the realguns.com website, i set up a string of handloads using starline brass, cci 300 primers, alliant's power pistol and hornady's 230 gr xtp.  printed max was 9.4 grs of power pistol averaging 1107 fps, off of realguns.  i thought this a reasonable target goal.  i had 4-shots of each charge put together and here's how they read over the chrony :
  • 8.8 grs = 1081 fps
  • 9.0 grs = 1102 fps
  • 9.2 grs = 1119 fps
  • 9.4 grs = 1149 fps
all shots were taken from a bench with my hand resting on a shooting bag.  a 1 1/4" hole was cut with all 16 shots at about 15 feet.

i have not popped out the primers yet to see how the cases responded to the top end pressures of the last two strings.  my initial thoughts are more along the lines of considering what's safe for the handgun.  not necessarily what the cases will handle.  i don't want to overwork this 1911.

i want one more day of confirming things, but it would appear as though a 9.0 gr charge in my particular 1911 is going to meet the goals set at the beginning.

at least after initial testing, it's accurate and it'll hit hard.

a couple improvements i may consider in the not so distant future are an upgrade in sights and getting a set of the pachmayr wrap-around grips that i have on my javalina 10mm.  i do like the look of the wood panels this ria delivered with but love the feel and comfort of the pachmayr's.  we'll see.

anyway, was a fun handgun upgrade and handloading project that amped up the performance typically associated with the 1911 platform.  i'm happy.

 

k
A Big Mouth Don't Make A Big Man !!!



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