The Twenty-Year Pistol... .450 SMC 1911 Longslide

[Diamondback]

Super's the one that needs all the special care, personally I'd be reluctant to shoot +P/SMC in anything not a steel frame.

Big difference between Super and SMC is between the primer pocket and if I recall right SMC has a thicker casewall turning some of the "unusable volume" into reinforcing metal so you can safely use more of the remaining volume.

At least, IF I understand Fernando Coelho right from back when he, Mr. Bane and I were haunting AmBack twenty-odd years ago...

[Big Frank]

I'm not recommending anyone else shoot .45 AP +P ammo in an alloy frame, but .45 +P is less than 2/3 the pressure of standard 9x19mm ammo, and no one gives a second thought to shooting 9mm in an alloy frame. A lot of people will even shoot +P+ 9mm in an alloy frame, and that's 83% higher pressure than .45 Auto +P. Even the lowly .22 Long Rifle has 1,000 psi higher pressure than .45 ACP +P ammo.

[Diamondback]

Granted, I am also admittedly overcautious... twenty years and a grand out of a live-in caregiver's budget is a big gamble.

[Rastus]

How is the collarbone doing and what parts are you still needing to complete your project?  This has been an interesting project to watch.

[Diamondback]

Parts are all in-hand to build for "rounds one and two" testing. (.45ACP regular and +P) Problem is I'm not firing it until it's been checked over by a pro and there are almost no good 1911 smiths still practicing in my area... Still can't lift anything heavier than a two-liter, but slowly (like, "glacial") getting better.

[Sponsor]

[Big Frank]

I'm glad to hear you're on the mend. Believe me, I know what real shoulder problems are like. The day the the orthopedic surgeon gave me half a year of sick leave, I found a whole new definition of pain. The surgery hurt WAY worse than the bones that were grinding together for 10 years after all the cartilage was gone.

[Rastus]

Parts are all in-hand to build for "rounds one and two" testing. (.45ACP regular and +P) Problem is I'm not firing it until it's been checked over by a pro and there are almost no good 1911 smiths still practicing in my area... Still can't lift anything heavier than a two-liter, but slowly (like, "glacial") getting better.

Do you really need a high quality 1911 guru to proceed?  I'm thinking one that can pronounce it safe would be good enough to go forward and put some rounds through it.  If you had a guru build it you could take it out and pretty much count on everything being good to your liking provided you spec'd out what you wanted up front.  Since this is your build putting some rounds through it now after a safety check may be the best route.  Then after you put some through the pipe you may glean something to "tune up" on it and with that actual real life performance then go to a guru who can zero in on tuning your gun up into something you want.

Just my 2 cents which, by the way, are no longer being made.

[Diamondback]

Amigo, I'm not even looking for a Bill Wilson - pretty much almost ALL gunsmiths here around Puget Sound are closing up shop with our State Goobers' war on the entire gun community. A "can it be safely shot, and if not what do I need to get fixed" is all I'm looking for - if it doesn't pass that, my old smith is across the Idaho line and since gunsmith work can go direct I'll just FedEx him the project and the "fix-it ticket."

[Rastus]

Man that's a shame.  I forgot where you live and didn't consider the effect on you.  Do you guys have gun shows up there?

[Diamondback]

Yeah, but they're pointless with the mandatory waiting period even for carry-permit holders and the long list of "prohibited parts". (Seriously, even a Garand or Carbine has to have the upper handguard removed. These people are on effing crack, I tell you... literally just elected a mayor of Seattle right out of her mom's basement.)