Hey folks, is there anyway to convert a 1911 that has a guide rod to one thats spring only?
You mean converting a full length guide rod to a GI guide rod?
If your pistol has a bushing set up (Colt Commander/Government/Officers), you can just buy the spring, regular spring plug, and the short guide rod and you should be all set. - FYI - the examples above take different springs/other parts. They were used only in the sense that they all use a bushing set up.
However, if you have a Bull Barrel set up (Kimber Pro/Compact), I do not know the answer, as these have been set up to run with the reverse spring plug, and do not know how the standard plug would stay put in one of those set ups, were you to change it.
I have a government sized 1911. Im trying to find out if there is a way to set it up so that when I fire it there is no guide rod coming out underneath the barrel. Im wanting to set it up with a compensator and the easiest way to make that work is to make it so the guide rod doesn't pop through every shot. At least the way I understand it
That would entail a standard spring plug and a short GI guide rod. I'm pretty sure you can reuse your spring.
Short guide rod:
http://www.brownells.com/.aspx/pid=...PIECE_GUIDE_ROD
Edit: Yours would be the middle one in the picture.
Standard recoil spring plug:
http://www.brownells.com/.aspx/pid=...S_for_1911_AUTO
Edit: You may want to try the Colt version, with the indent for the spring in the side of the piece.
There are many different brands of each, I gave those just to give you an idea of what you will need.
Yes, unless the guide rod is part of some exotic setup, the spring would be the same.
Some compensator/barrel weight setups use a full length guide rod to help support the comp/weight.
That looks like it'll involve some machining of the slide; and stand barrels and bushings will likely no longer work in the pistol.
Before you make that change; you may want to look into how effective (not much) a compensator is when used with the .45acp caliber.
I'm doing it for the extra weight, which will help a bit with muzzle flip, and also just because I like pistol projects and I like the way that it looks with the comp on the front
Jim Clark, one of the pioneer post-WWII pistolsmiths, used a barrel weight on his (bowling) "Pin Gun" for years; he resisted the idea of a comp because of the aforementioned lack of effect with the low-pressure .45 ACP cartridge. However, he eventually gave in, as evidenced by the pistol illustrated below.