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Great 1911-22 Compact needs better rear sight and flat MSH

15K views 38 replies 22 participants last post by  jiminnashua 
#1 ·
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My otherwise-great! little Browning 1911-22 Compact needs a better rear sight (who knows the dovetail measurement?) and a flat MainSpring Housing...

I dig the pistol! Just don't dig the replica G.I. sights!

What'd The Colonel used to say? "All one needs on a 1911 are sights you can see and a trigger you can manage"...





^ pictured with a Springfield "Loaded" parkerized .45ACP

Who is making sights and a flat mainspring housing for the A1/Compact? Just spoke with Browning's parts people, and nothing from the Black Label will interchange. Well! Ain't that a fine how-do-you-do.

:-|
 
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#2 ·
Being that it is a reduced size version ,I suspect a flat main spring housing is not avaliable ? perhaps you can whittle down the stock version to flat and grove , stippel or checker it.
As far as sights you have to do some homework to see if anythings close or open up the rear dovetail to accept std size 1911 sights ! remember the front sight height may also need to be changed ?
 
#3 ·
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Thank you, Bob. Good idea regarding the existing msh. I'd have to remove it from the frame to see how material there is; it may be mostly hollow, and plastic.

Frame and slide contrary to some internet opinion are aluminum. The barrel and barrel block are steel. Was hoping the msh was alum... I know the grip safety is.

Sights? yes... I may simply widen the distance between the two rear sight posts... perhaps .005 - .007 per side. We'll see. Thanks again for your post.

:)
 
#6 · (Edited)
I opened up the rear sight slot on mine. Sight is plastic, I used a "safe" needle file I made and a sheetrock knife for finale shaping and debarring.

Made a world of difference, I can see the sights much clearer. Not match grade but user friendly for plinking pistol. Also my handgun students hit much better with the altered sights.

If aftermarket sights become available I will be first in line. Fun pistol, not a single malfunction in 4K rounds.
 
#7 ·
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My otherwise-great! little Browning 1911-22 Compact needs a better rear sight (who knows the dovetail measurement?) and a flat MainSpring Housing...

I dig the pistol! Just don't dig the replica G.I. sights!

What'd The Colonel used to say? "All one needs on a 1911 are sights you can see and a trigger you can manage"...





^ pictured with a Springfield "Loaded" parkerized .45ACP

Who is making sights and a flat mainspring housing for the A1/Compact? Just spoke with Browning's parts people, and nothing from the Black Label will interchange. Well! Ain't that a fine how-do-you-do.

:-|
Can you purchase a black label slide and simply swap it on?

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
#10 ·
Love the Browning 1911 compact, out of the box it eats anything I have put through it without a jam or miss-fire. As for the sights, it was a point and shoot and hope that you hit something......
until I painted the front sight rear surface from top to bottom with a craftsmart white paint pen and did a finger wipe to let the seretion show through so it almost looks factory. Ten yards I now have groups rather than seldom to never.
 
#12 ·
P238 sights?

I intend to buy one of these in the next few weeks, but it chaps me more than a bit to see a $500+ .22 pistol with plastic parts.

I'll probably be working on replacing those bits as Job 1.

I wonder if the Sig P238 night sights will fit? I think they are dovetailed front and rear.
 
#13 ·
The first one of these I bought shot waaaaaaay high and to the right, didn't group well either... I took it back and long story short they traded me for a second one.

This one is better, but this is as good it gets for shooting to the sights and grouping at 15 yards,



IF I ever get over having paid waaaay too much for build quality like these are, i'll try to get some sights on it that will make it a decent handgun...

DM
 
#14 ·
simple solution to the whole discussion

get yourself a walther/colt GOLD CUP pistol. a man sized 1911 that is great out of the box and gets better each time it is shot. very good accuracy, nice build with quality in all ways. I have two buckmarks also.very fine pistols.:bthumb:;)
 
#15 ·
get yourself a walther/colt GOLD CUP pistol. a man sized 1911 that is great out of the box and gets better each time it is shot. very good accuracy, nice build with quality in all ways. I have two buckmarks also.very fine pistols.:bthumb:;)
I didn't and don't want a "man sized" 1911, I've owned 1911's, including Colt Gold Cups ect... and I don't want another one...

DM
 
#18 ·
Its a shame Browning went to the trouble to build a nice pistol like this, and then put the worst sights on it they could manage. I looked at one when they first came out, and was ready to buy one, and as soon as I took a look through the sights, I gave it back to the gun shop associate, and have never had the desire again to own one. What a shame Browning.
 
#21 ·
well this thread took a turn i had not expected , so to look back to the OP ,

i guess ill start by saying i have both full sized 22s and the reduced size , in SAA revolvers and these 1911s , that because i shoot disciplines that require each ,

ill admit to being a 'smaller guy' with smaller hands so i have also found the reduced size easier to handle , but SASS requires the participant over a certain age ive not seen in 50 years to graduate to a full sized handgun ,
and practice for three gun back when 22s were cheap was better with a duplicate , albeit 22 version of the match gun you shoot , i shot a kimber 45 - so i have a kimber conversion that nearly duplicates my match gun , i did exactly the same with my rifle right down to the optics ,

its a real good excuse to buy more guns , just like buying additional sets of reduced sized guns for my grandkids to get them shooting SASS with me ,

OK , i got a little off track - but i didnt go down the road ya-all were headed down :>}
 
#23 · (Edited)
sorry bout that

well this thread took a turn i had not expected , so to look back to the OP ,

i guess ill start by saying i have both full sized 22s and the reduced size , in SAA revolvers and these 1911s , that because i shoot disciplines that require each ,

ill admit to being a 'smaller guy' with smaller hands so i have also found the reduced size easier to handle , but SASS requires the participant over a certain age ive not seen in 50 years to graduate to a full sized handgun ,
and practice for three gun back when 22s were cheap was better with a duplicate , albeit 22 version of the match gun you shoot , i shot a kimber 45 - so i have a kimber conversion that nearly duplicates my match gun , i did exactly the same with my rifle right down to the optics ,

its a real good excuse to buy more guns , just like buying additional sets of reduced sized guns for my grandkids to get them shooting SASS with me ,

OK , i got a little off track - but i didnt go down the road ya-all were headed down :>}
seems like there is a lack of a good sense of humor on here today!!! WOW! I do own both full AND small frame handguns and all of them fill a need.that is why they make all different sizes.
 
#27 ·
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^ ^ ^ Not available in Kaliphr3nia.

Thank you, fellas! for continuing this thread I had overlooked long ago... got busy at work, then scored a .44 mag Browning 92 lever carbine and plum forgot about my original post here.

Nothing's changed! I'd still love to see better sights and a flat mainspring housing! for this neat little pistol.

I searched this forum manually, back 6 or 8 months and haven't seen any new news. Did I miss anything?

Thanks again.

:)
 
#34 ·
I love the pistol but....
150 rounds down range with the black label and having trouble hitting steel plates at 7 yards. Shot lots and have lots so I'm sure it's not me. Had a failure to feed every other round. Ejects fine. Used cci velocitors, cci sv, federal automatic and sk plus. All the same but sk shot a lot better but still jammed up. Probably because it's a blowback. Ran it with fp10 on it. Slide doesn't always lock back either. Hoping its just the break in. It is fun when I hit what I'm aiming at. Have the black label 4.25 model. Gonna put another 200 thru this week. See if it gets better. Also when it is warmer out. I was running it in 15 degrees.
 
#35 ·
I bought one of the first A1's , and they had bad sights for old eyes on it. All black with a narrow rear slot. I had a gunsmith open up the rear sight slot and then drill marks and paint them so they are now like a three dot system. It helped me immensely. My little Browning is not fussy to the type ammo at all , and eats up standard velocity and subsonic rounds to boot. The only round that I have had trouble with is Winchesters subsonic rounds and the gun was dirty & cold , as it was only 15 degrees that day.
 
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