combat vs target

[Duksnightmare]

I am new to the forum and purchased my first 1911 about two years ago, a colt xse rail gun. I love the gun and have done a few things with it, polished internal parts, trigger job etc.... I have been looking at alot of "parts" and thinking about putting something together from a base model and what im confused about is where the line is drawn between combat stuff and target, for example i know on my colt the locking lug on the barrel is longer to provide more consistent lockup, but from a reliability standpoint is that hurtin me, also what type of springs would be best etc..... i guess if i where to buy a base model and do some diy work to it i would want to build up a ccw/ home defense type model as apposed to a target model and i am asking what eveyones opinion is on the type of mods you want on a ccw/defense pistol and what type of popular target, accuracy type mods to avoid (if any)

[rickgman]

I would highly recommend that you shoot your new pistol for an extended period of time before you decide to do anything to it. I suspect that you will find that your pistol needs little work to perform exactly as you desire.

[chuntaro]

Lots of stuff for sale has lots of marketing hype attached in sexy names. Combat/match target and on and on. In some cases there is little difference. Chances are you really do not need much but there is always the urge to make one mo better. My advice is be patient, read here and figure out what the pros are using and why. Sometimes, the parts choices are based on individual user requirements. Sometimes, certain parts may blend better with a certain base gun or other parts selected. If you are not careful, you could turn your 900 gun, give or take into a 2000-3000 dollar gun and not be much further ahead than you are now, or worse.

[richpetrone]

You could buy a RIA base model gun and add parts, but I think it would be better to buy an STI Spartan which already has many good parts and features to use as a concealed carry gun. They run under $650, so if you want to change out parts for a trigger job, add an ambi-safety, or fiber optic front sights, it is easy to customize the gun. You could also put a new custom finish of your choice on the gun, since they come with a Parkerized finish. The STI Spartan comes in 9mm and .45acp, and are an excellent value for the price, and a great base gun. You can order them through www.dawsonprecion.com or www.brazoscustom.com. The STI Spartan also comes in smaller versions like a Commander length gun, and the new Spartan IV is a 3" barrel gun on an Officers sized frame. My preference would be a Commander length slide, since 3" barrels lose a lot of velocity with the .45acp round, and increasing the load just makes more recoil and harder to make fast follow up shots. There is nothing wrong with a 3" gun in 9mm, since you can buy pretty good self defense ammo that has excellent performance. The 9mm is easier to control for fast follow up shots for self defense, and is much easier on the wallet for purchasing ammo. Good shot placment outweighs most caliber choices in a self defense confrontation every time!

[Duksnightmare]

i guess i should have been more clear, i dont want to do anything to my colt, i love it, the few things i have done (trigger job, polish parts, and fix a sloppy fitting safety)are about the only things i thought needed done, im just thinking about buying a base model like an ria or a para gi and tuning it up but want to make sure i dont do anything that would benefit a target shooter but hurt the gun as far as combat type reliability would go.

[superdude]

There is little distinction, if any, between a Target gun and a Combat gun, except how the end user employs it. If you were to look at the pistols used by the top IPSC (combat) shooters they look like "target" pistols. They are superbly accurate and have all the bells and whistles that a target gun has, and are extremely reliable. It's not a fair statement to say that making a gun a "target" gun will induce unreliability or that reliability is any less important. No matter what you do to a gun it still has to be reliable, and this applies to a target gun as well. Ask any experienced gun builder, even of "target" pistols and they will confirm this. The bottom line is that you don't to worry about "not doing something." Build the gun the way you want it, the way it fits you, with the options you want, and enjoy shooting it for a lifetime.