Accuracy problem

[Lee T.]

Gents, what's the first thing that comes to mind if a (commercial) mil-spec 1911A1 can't hold the paper at 7 yds, and seems to randomly 'spray' POI's from shot to shot. I don't want to name the maker just yet, it might bias your answers. The pistol chambers, extracts, ejects and fires very reliably. I thought it might be me - old shakey hands - but I do pretty well with my 1918 M1911 Colt, same ammo etc.
I'm thinking something's wrong with the barrel/bushing machining but that's just a guess. Your thoughts are much appreciated. lee

[KeithNyst]

I'm thinking something's wrong with the barrel/bushing machining but that's just a guess. Your thoughts are much appreciated. lee

That would be my intial guess as well. If the trigger pull real heavy, that could take some getting use to.

[Johnny P]

I can't imagine anything mechanical that would cause the pistol to completely miss a standard target at 21 feet. It would take a lot of slack to move the barrel enough to completely miss the target in all directions. Try it from a wrist rest and see what happens.

[Guamsst]

Generally there are two areas that can be a problem. Barrel to bushing fit and slide to frame fit. If you can't shake the gun and make it rattle then neither of these should be enough of a problem to cause this sort of inaccuracy. Seriously, I could throw the bullet through the paper at that range.

Is it brand new? My Rock Island was barely more accurate than that for the first 8 shots, not very good for the second 8 and then really tightened up after that and I am perfectly happy with it now.

[emmagee1917]

Take a tight fitting rod or wooden dowel ( may have to run tape around it ) and run it up the bbl a ways and sight at the target. Do the same with your good 1918 . See how they match as far as pointing at the target while sights are aligned . Compare also with a 2nd dowel placed along frame top , then each side. If still nothing , see how they match while sliding the slide back . An error this big should show up fairly easy with this comparison . May be misdrilled bbl , misaligned bushing , bad slide fit , misaligned sights , etc.
Chris

[Lee T.]

Thanks for the replies and suggestions, haven't tried the dowel-sighting yet. There's no rattle with the slide closed, just a tiny bit of movement side-to-side when twisted by hand. Trigger pull seems normal. Bought new in 1989, an SA Inc. I've heard that the early SA's can have problems.

I shot it a few times, bad results but figured it was inexperience with a .45, even though I had been ROTC-trained with them in the mid-60's. Now that I'm retired and have been at the range more and more, I'm more convinced, make that exasperated, that there's been something mis-aligned since it was new. I wrote recently to SA as they have a good customer service reputation, but they're all backed up with panic orders, so I don't expect a lot of help there. I guess it's off to the gunsmith for his opinion. I'll let you know where this leads. Thanks guys, lee

[Guamsst]

This may seem dumb, but check the front sight and make sure it is straight and not leaned to one side. One drop of the gun and it can end up bent enough to be way off but still look ok through the rear sight.

[Tuna]

What you might do is to take the barrel bushing from your other 45 and try it in the SA. If it shoots better then you know it's the bushing. You might even be able to switch barrels too to check that also.

[Lee T.]

Would the (slightly) different / shorter barrel from the 1911 be OK in the newer SA?
I'll for sure try switching the bushing, thanks.

[Lee T.]

Update - after hemming and hawing for several weeks I finally called SA cistomer service 12 days ago. I have to admit I was apprehensive sending it halfway across the country, but it was painless. Just got the pistol back - WOW! Total of 11 days CA to IL and back, over 2 weekends (one of them the holiday) - a new SS barrel, SS bushing, new sear spring a trigger tune-up and a nice 25-yd 5-shot group on the test target. Total cost to me - $0.
I'd call that service!