Just got a new 1911 and noticed the bushing sticking out and not sitting flush with the slide causing a noticable gap. With the spring plug removed the bushing has alot of play for and aft. I tried several other bushings giving the same result. I think the bushing notch was cut oversize, will this cause bushing wear when firing? I'm gonna call my dealer and see if I can take it back as this doesnt seem right for a new pistol.
Who made the pistol?
Some outfits are more rational to deal with than others...
I'd send it back if you've tried other known good bushings.
I bought a used pistol with that condition that was a result of the PO forcing the bushing flange. There was a clear to see notch out of the bushing piece and another bushing fixed it.
Whether or not it causes unusual wear, it looks bad and is not acceptable in a new pistol.
At some time after 1928, the specification for how far that groove should be from the front of the slide was changed from 0.117 - 0.008 to 0.117 - 0.005 inch.
The tighter tolerance must be too much for some manufacturers to cope with - at least on a consistent basis.
Hold the dealer's and manufacturer's feet to the fire until you get a new slide or gun. No excuse for letting such sloppy work out the factory door.
How much play are we talking about on the bushing?
It was a Colt Series 70 repro with a least .032 gap. It just seemed like too much, I could push on the bushing and see alot of movement until it sat flush with the slide. I'm not even sure an oversize bushing would have been tight. It didn't seem right to me so I'm having my dealer order me another. I hope I get lucky with this one.
That's way to much on that pistol. If the dealer is swapping it out, that's very good service.
FWIW, this gap for a USGI M1911A1 has a range of 0.001 to 0.009 inch.
Most likely the bushing's lug is undersized or the bushing flange is mislocated relative to the lug.
Rx
Try another bushing.
I think the OP said he's tried several bushings. If not, then absolutely - check the cheap part first!
I tried 3 other standard bushings with the lugs around .112 and have a new unfitted Brown oversize bushing that the lug measured at .117". Though I couldn't try the Brown bushing visually it didn't look like it would help much. I could push the bushings down flat against the slide face which indicated to me the lug notch in the slide was too large. Here are other problems I found:
Bushing has a machining error/gouge on one leg.
Bushing notch in slide oversize.
Right grip came with cut out for ambi safety.
Barrel ramp (throat?) has nice scratch in it, almost thought it was a crack.
The ambi safety cut in the grip is pretty common. The rest of the stuff really doesn't sound like a new pistol. I wonder about the path it took getting to your dealer...
Oops!
Change the bushing flange/slide nose gap in Post #8 to 0.002 to 0.010 inch for a USGI 1911.