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Old 08-28-2019, 15:55   #8
CSB
Quiet Professional
 
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Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: Clarksville, TN
Posts: 1,159
I suspect that you would complain that a virgin was too tight.

It is in the nature of the 1911A1 that there is an inherent conflict between the maximum external dimension of the barrel and the interior diameter of the bushing.

The barrel must have enough "slack" to pivot (lower) until it unlocks from the slide, while returning up to alignment when the pistol is "in battery."

When you are dealing with solid steel against solid steel ... well ... there is going to have to be give and take.

In my opinion the problem was neatly solved with the Gold Cup National Match version:

1 - The bushing was split, and instead of a solid cylinder of metal to hold the barrel in position a set of four "fingers'" each under strong tension formed the center line, and

2 - The barrel was machined with the smallest amount of bulge at the near tip, corresponding with the center point of the "fingers."

RESULT: There is enough flex in the bushing to allow the barrel to pivot down, have the fired casing pulled to the rear by the extractor and ejected by the ejector, while having enough force to compel the barrel to return to a single battery as it returns forward for the next shot.

You can always leave as much slack in the barrel to bushing fitting as you and your gunsmith desire. You can leave it so slack that you can reach around with your finger and wiggle the barrel left/right/up/down (making an audible "click - click") within the bushing.

Of course, that also means that the barrel will find it's own home after each shot. That "home" may or may not be in any sort of alignment with what the sights are indicating as the direction of flight.

Bottom line:

If you want a solid bushing, polish it (and the outside of your barrel), to your best compromise of smooth functioning (including disassembly) and accurate alignment when fired at the second shot, or...

go to a split bushing, with or without a barrel machined to match.

(By the way, when beginning the disassembly of a split bushing with a "fat at the tip" barrel, it is still a good idea to partially pull the slide to the rear, so the fingers are no longer fighting the thickest portion of the barrel).
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