** AO 1911 ** Sight Upgrade? Sell/Trade? .45 ACP

[RoterTeufel]

My first 1911 & Probably not my last.
An entry-level Auto Ordinance 1911. I've "upgraded" the grips the the slim orange grips with the thumb / index finger relief.
Gun Originally looked like this:

View attachment 148067

Lockup is nice. Little/no noticeable creep. Crisp, 4.5-5# pull. Trigger has been worked lightly & still original.

Problem I am having is hitting the damn target. I can shoot my 9mm & .22 all day & hit bull, or close to at 25'. I can even push the .22 to 50' and be very accurate & precise.

When Last I shot this at 25' I hit the bottom of the paper, then the backstop, low.

I pulled the mag racked the slide (ejecting a round) and did a bunch of dry fire drills, like I would tell my soon to be wife, if she did that.

I chambered a round & hit the backstop, low.

I must admit, I have put maybe 250 rounds through this gun - not a lot of range time.

Looking for suggestions for good sights that won't break the bank & someone that might be able to do it.
I believe the front sight is peened in place & requires a special tool to remove, which I have no interest in buying.

Also, what are your thoughts on the slim grips(not pictured)?
Anyone use them?

I may try to sell/trade this for a .243 or .270 that I've been eyeing up for the past year plus...


I await your criticism on my pistol technique!

 

[alohadoug]

Shooting with two hands or one? I ask because I had the same issue with mine. Then someone pointed out that the change to the curved mainspring housing on the 1911A1 was done to accommodate shooting with one hand. Look at most "modern" 1911A1 models and they use the flat mainspring to facilitate two handed shooting.
Try shooting just strong handed. When I did it that way, my poa/poi was the same.
As for changing sights, you would do better to get a new 1911. The front sight on the AO 1911 is integral to the slide.

Aloha

 

[RoterTeufel]

I'm shooting 2-handed.

I've only shot single handed a few times w/ the .22 for pistol competition. I'm not so great at it, but do enjoy it.

 

[warwickben]

You can swap out the slide or have it milled for after market sights.

 

[mac1911]

Ok so it's shooting low ......what happens when you aim high ? Can you shoot a decent group with the gun. I know I'm not goog with the handgun. I do find myself getting sloppy quickly. I tend to squeeze my entire hand vs just pulling the trigger which drives the muzzle down for me.

I think you should test the pistol from a rest and see what happens.
The cost of a new slide or machine work for new sights might be better put towards a new pistol?
If you can get a decent price on the pistol if you try to sell it.

 

[jkelly1229]

Yeah that's the problem with those of you get one where anything is wrong not worth fixing they look cool tho that old military style I dig it

 

[Gammon]

Shooting with two hands or one? I ask because I had the same issue with mine. Then someone pointed out that the change to the curved mainspring housing on the 1911A1 was done to accommodate shooting with one hand. Look at most "modern" 1911A1 models and they use the flat mainspring to facilitate two handed shooting.
Try shooting just strong handed. When I did it that way, my poa/poi was the same.
As for changing sights, you would do better to get a new 1911. The front sight on the AO 1911 is integral to the slide.

Aloha

I doubt very much that the arched mainspring housing was introduced for one handed shooting. I added arched housings to my 1911s to facilitate two handed shooting over 20 years ago. The AO is a faithful copy of the original 1911 which has a front sight secured to the slide with a tenon, not a part of it. Again, I doubt that AO would resort to any change in the front sight which would stray from the original design and diminish the value of the pistol.

 

[Gammon]

My first 1911 & Probably not my last.
An entry-level Auto Ordinance 1911. I've "upgraded" the grips the the slim orange grips with the thumb / index finger relief.
Gun Originally looked like this:

View attachment 148067

Lockup is nice. Little/no noticeable creep. Crisp, 4.5-5# pull. Trigger has been worked lightly & still original.

Problem I am having is hitting the damn target. I can shoot my 9mm & .22 all day & hit bull, or close to at 25'. I can even push the .22 to 50' and be very accurate & precise.

When Last I shot this at 25' I hit the bottom of the paper, then the backstop, low.

I pulled the mag racked the slide (ejecting a round) and did a bunch of dry fire drills, like I would tell my soon to be wife, if she did that.

I chambered a round & hit the backstop, low.

I must admit, I have put maybe 250 rounds through this gun - not a lot of range time.

Looking for suggestions for good sights that won't break the bank & someone that might be able to do it.
I believe the front sight is peened in place & requires a special tool to remove, which I have no interest in buying.

Also, what are your thoughts on the slim grips(not pictured)?
Anyone use them?

I may try to sell/trade this for a .243 or .270 that I've been eyeing up for the past year plus...


I await your criticism on my pistol technique!

There are several rear sights for the 1911 that will fit in the original dovetail, Dawson Precision is a good place to start. The stock front sight is difficult to change without special tools; I know as I have done a few and have the tools. The best way to deal with this is to have a gunsmith install a front sight by milling a dovetail in your slide. Once the dovetail is done you can make front sight changes yourself, if necessary. Again, Dawson is a good place to start.

PS I prefer stock Colt wooden grips with a piece of skate board tape on the front strap.

 

[alohadoug]

I doubt very much that the arched mainspring housing was introduced for one handed shooting. I added arched housings to my 1911s to facilitate two handed shooting over 20 years ago. The AO is a faithful copy of the original 1911 which has a front sight secured to the slide with a tenon, not a part of it. Again, I doubt that AO would resort to any change in the front sight which would stray from the original design and diminish the value of the pistol.

The change was introduced in 1926 at the request of the Army. Army doctrine at the time was firing one-handed from the crouch. The Army had determined the flat mainspring housing was causing shooters to hit high. By arching the mainspring housing, the slide is lowered and better poa/poi.

Aloha

 

[highlander]

Send it down to Greg Derr and have him mill the front of the slide and put in a set of decent sights. A friend sent his slide down to Greg and as I recall it wasn't all that expensive.

 

[tuna]

What type of ammo? Try a heavier bullet.

 

[Gammon]

The change was introduced in 1926 at the request of the Army. Army doctrine at the time was firing one-handed from the crouch. The Army had determined the flat mainspring housing was causing shooters to hit high. By arching the mainspring housing, the slide is lowered and better poa/poi.

Aloha

Doesn't make sense to me (not that I doubt your word). The arched MS housing should cause the pistol to point slightly higher.

 

[RoterTeufel]

Thanks for all the great comments so far.

Greg Derr is/was my first thought as far as gunsmith goes. I usually do my own work, but something like this is not in my wheelhouse.

I like the gun, but I need to determine if it is me or the gun.

Send it down to Greg Derr and have him mill the front of the slide and put in a set of decent sights. A friend sent his slide down to Greg and as I recall it wasn't all that expensive.

- - - Updated - - -

Ok so it's shooting low ......what happens when you aim high ? Can you shoot a decent group with the gun. I know I'm not goog with the handgun. I do find myself getting sloppy quickly. I tend to squeeze my entire hand vs just pulling the trigger which drives the muzzle down for me.

I think you should test the pistol from a rest and see what happens.
The cost of a new slide or machine work for new sights might be better put towards a new pistol?
If you can get a decent price on the pistol if you try to sell it.

Possibly do this today... have the day off today & Monday. Getting Married tomorrow.

 

[92G]

IMO these budget 1911's arent meant to have $$ dumped into them. Would consider upgrading to a better 1911. I like thenew production sig 1911's although they sometimes need some tweaking and specific magazines. the S&W 1911TA has been 100% reliable + accurate for me.

The remington R1 enhanced is also nice. They come w fiberoptic front sight which you may dig. Mine shot awesome i only sold to thin the herd

 

[Greg Derr]

Congrats on the wedding, hope you have many years of happiness.

 

[RoterTeufel]

Congrats on the wedding, hope you have many years of happiness.

TYVM