SA not all their speced out to be

[DoomOfMan]

The other day I bought a new SA Loaded Operator 1911. When I took it home and broke it down to clean off some of the excess oil. I noticed that it ddn't have a full length guide rod, as specified in the specs. So I called SA about this and I was told that they may have changed what parts they put into the guns and it may no longer come with a full size guide rod. So she asked me to leave my name and number and she told me she would get back to me. So my question is has anyone else had an issue like this?

 

[HoughMade]

No full length guide rod? So they've improved it. Good for them!

 

[indiucky]

No full length guide rod? So they've improved it. Good for them!

This....^^^^^^^^^^^

 

[Drail]

You are much better off without that stupid full length rod. I know why they started putting them in originally but I have no idea why they are still doing it.

 

[AmmoManAaron]

I don't like full length guide rods in a 1911. A lot of annoyance with little benefit. You're better off without it, but I suspect SA will take care of this to your satisfaction.

 

[DoomOfMan]

Why am i better off without one? Everywhere else ive read people say the opposite.

 

[ncuster852]

I dislike full length guide rods but merely as a personal preference. The hard core 1911 guys will have to chime in if there is a real functional reason to lean that way. That being said, I still would not like getting a product that was not in line with what was spec'd when I ordered it.

 

[blueboxer]

For quite some time the Operator has been made and shipped with a GI style guide rod. The SA page you have listed shows the brand new redo of the Operator. Could be they have changed the guide rod for the new one, I'm not sure. When you click the models on that page the features they have get highlighted in red. The new Black Operator doesnt highlight the full length guide rod, and the picture shows a small peek of a GI style end cap.

 

[dtkw]

When I got my Les Baer it didn't have a full length guide rod. I called them they said their gun is fine without one. OKKK, But I had a Wilson Combat full length sitting somewhere. I replaced it with the WC. Maybe their guns don't need it, but I feel better with it.

 

[Drail]

It serves no purpose. When they first started putting them in guns it was because Bill Wilson had convinced everyone that it was an improvement (allegedly because it helped the recoil spring to last longer.) Now they are beginning to realize that not everybody wants to have to deal with one and/or always having an allen wrench handy to remove it, so now many guys are changing them back to a short guide rod. In the early 90s I was selling and installing FLGRs as fast as I could order them from Wilson Combat. It was a "customer rich environment". It only adds a tiny bit of weight to the front end of the gun. It makes taking the gun down a little more difficult. It will try to come loose if you shoot a lot. I used to compete a lot back then and all my guns had FLGRs. I still don't know why we all had them in our guns. We were cool though. We all had every Wilson part we could buy on our guns. Now all of my guns have short guide rods. They still shoot better than me. It doesn't hurt anything to run one but it doesn't make the gun run better or more reliably either. It is essentially a gimmick. It's not unlike all of the guys who just have to put a rear wing spoiler on their front wheel drive Honda. It looks cool. If I bought a new 1911 and it came with a FLGR the first thing I would do is replace it with the original G.I. part. Simple is good.

 

[AmmoManAaron]

Drail is correct. It takes longer and is annoying to take down a pistol with an FLGR, plus you have to have an allen wrench available (more junk to take with you to the range, if you're playing it safe). The theory is that the guide rod reduces kinking of the spring as it compresses, thus giving the spring longer life and the gun smoother operation. Like Drail said though, it's all theory and it doesn't make a noticeable improvement. I too, prefer simplicity, ease of takedown, and the slightly reduced overall weight of a gun with a standard G.I. guide rod.

 

[wtburnette]

I've only been into 1911's a short while, but I prefer the G.I. style guide rod myself.

 

[CrazyCracker]

Why the heck do you need an allen wrench for take down you gun with a FLGR? I do it with my hands and no tools all the time. Guess I don't have Palmolive hand the rest of ya?

 

[AllenM]

Why the heck do you need an allen wrench for take down you gun with a FLGR? I do it with my hands and no tools all the time. Guess I don't have Palmolive hand the rest of ya?

Springfield uses a 2 piece guide rod that requres one it is to long to twist the bushing over without removing the end.
I do have 1 piece in most of mine but I also agree with the general opinion here that it makes no improvment to the gun and makes it almost impossible to rack the slide one handed for those operators out there.

 

[bigretic]

Springfield uses a 2 piece guide rod that requres one it is to long to twist the bushing over without removing the end.
I do have 1 piece in most of mine but I also agree with the general opinion here that it makes no improvment to the gun and makes it almost impossible to rack the slide one handed for those operators out there.

I absolutely hate that 2 piece setup.

 

[Karl-just-Karl]

Back when I bought my first SA .45, everybody said a full-length one-piece was the way to go. Now it ain't.

I expect it to be fashionable again some day. A 5/32 allen wrench isn't that hard to come by or keep track of. I do keep one in my range bag, but I have never had to use it at the range.

A G.I. model breaks down without one, I guess that is a good thing. My brother has a S&W that doesn't have a 'FLGR' or require tools for take-down. They both shoot pretty good.

People are fickle and it seems like what people "need" is constantly changing.

Thank you people with marketing degrees!

 

[Nam1911]

I actually like my FLGR in my 5" 1911. It looks awesome. And disassembly takes a 1/4 second longer. But REASSEMBLY is actually faster and LESS a pain in the butt.

 

[Drail]

Back when I worked on race guns all the time everybody either had a Wilson FLGR or a King's FLGR. The stupid thing was that each took a different size allen wrench so I had to carry two of the little bastards around to work on people's guns, either to tear it down or just to tighten up the front half of the rod when it shot loose. Before this silliness became standard you didn't need any tools but your fingers to tear a 1911 down to the naked frame. You can drive out the MSH pin with the thumb safety. You can remove the magazine catch with the tip of the sear spring. Browning was a very smart dude. Keep it simple. I currently run a Wilson bull barrel and a reverse spring plug with a G.I. rod. It comes apart and goes together very easily with no tools and nothing to wear out or loosen up. Bill Wilson claimed that the FLGR kept the spring from kinking and wearing the outside of the spring from rubbing inside the slide. That's true. But with the FLGR the spring kinks around the rod and wears the inside of the spring out. The spring is going to lose temper and have to be replaced long before any serious wear takes place so it's kind of silly. Wilson sold a ton of FLGRs. That was their true purpose.

 

[BE Mike]

Full length guide rods are a solution to a problem that never existed. All the cool guys and tacticool guys just had to have them back when. Consider yourself better off and press on.

 

[Leo]

In my 50 year love affair with the 1911, I still cannot feel any difference between a GI spring plug and a full length guide rod. Conventional Bullseye competition or action pistol type games in the .45 caliber. Just because I cannot feel the difference, does not mean it is not there. In a 9mm 1911, I CAN definately feel the differtence, as the light recoil spring works the slide so much slower, you can feel a shot to shot difference in the recoil without the guide rod, and a much more consistant smoothness with a full length guide rod. I have no way to quantify the difference with the .45acp.

It does not matter if a pistol has a short plug, or a guide rod, my attention is on sight alignment, breathing, target picture and trigger control. Recoil managment is the least factor. The lack of a full length guide rod will never be an excuse if the bullet holes are not touching on my target.