The Best Deal On 1911 Mainspring Housings
Midway USA has finally received a new stock of Smith & Wesson 1911 mainspring housings. 
These are machine checkered at 20 lines per inch, and are lightweight aluminum. They will fit any standard Government Model or Commander sized 1911, and the fit is excellent. The best thing about them though is the price. $11.99. They also come with all the internals, making them a fantastic deal.
To swap out your old mainspring housing, first make sure your gun is unloaded. Wrap a large rubber band tightly around your pistol's grip safety and frame to hold it compressed. This prevents the sear spring from jumping off the sear. Then, make certain the hammer is down. Next, punch out the lower mainspring housing pin. (If you have a Springfield with the internal locking safety, lock the mainspring housing safety first.) Slide out the old mainspring housing, slide in the new mainspring housing, making sure the hammer strut rests in the mainspring cup. Finally drive in the mainspring housing pin, and remove the rubber band. Voila'! Instant upgrade for less money than the least expensive commonly obtainable housing alone!
Edited to add: Tuesday night......Wow, they are already out of stock again.....
These are machine checkered at 20 lines per inch, and are lightweight aluminum. They will fit any standard Government Model or Commander sized 1911, and the fit is excellent. The best thing about them though is the price. $11.99. They also come with all the internals, making them a fantastic deal. To swap out your old mainspring housing, first make sure your gun is unloaded. Wrap a large rubber band tightly around your pistol's grip safety and frame to hold it compressed. This prevents the sear spring from jumping off the sear. Then, make certain the hammer is down. Next, punch out the lower mainspring housing pin. (If you have a Springfield with the internal locking safety, lock the mainspring housing safety first.) Slide out the old mainspring housing, slide in the new mainspring housing, making sure the hammer strut rests in the mainspring cup. Finally drive in the mainspring housing pin, and remove the rubber band. Voila'! Instant upgrade for less money than the least expensive commonly obtainable housing alone!
Edited to add: Tuesday night......Wow, they are already out of stock again.....
Labels: 1911's, Gunsmithing, Heads Up
posted by Xavier at 2:43 PM
13 Comments:
I do not own a 1911 but I am aware that I do need one. In an effort to save some money but get a good deal how is the Taurus PT1911?
I have yet to shoot one Tyler, but they seem to be getting excellent reviews.
Darnit! I just placed an order yesterday with Midway. I'm looking to replace the plastic MSH on my Kimber.
X:
Thanks for the tip...I've really fallen in love with the MSH on my 1911PD Gunsite Commander, so I think I'll order a couple to put on my Norincos and Kimber Pro Carry.
Mike Harbour
Helena, MT
Doh, sold out already. Xavier, you should get a commission. :)
Perhaps I'm incorrect, but I presume this will "drop into" a Norinco 1911?
Thanks for the heads up, sir!
Yes, it will drop into a Norinco 1911.
Not being a 1911 guy (yet) I didn't even know where a Main Spring Housing was on the pistol. I found Scott Auld's page "Removing a Colt 1911 Series 80 firing pin assembly" to be really helpful.
X and Josey:
Just a followup on the Smith MSH-to-Norinco statement I made when this post was new: the housing did NOT fit easily into my ChiCom 1911. Indeed, the fit was so tight, I feared I wouldn't be able to get it back out once the grip safety was inserted. Thus, I went with another maker's housing on that particular gun. I've got two other Norincos left to try, so I may get lucky with one of those frames.
Mike Harbour
Helena, Montana
Mike,
Sorry it wasn't a drop-in fit. Chances are, the slots it fits into on the 'rinco may be a bit shallow. Compare the Norinco MSH to the S&W unit. If the slots are a bit shalow, take a flat Mill Bastard file and move the S&W MSH along it to cut down the rails just a bit. Also, on the inside lower surface of the S&W MSH you will see a bit of a protrusion. this is there to obtain a snug fit. Same thing, take it down little by little with a flat Mill Bastard file until the MSH flushes up with the bottom of the gun.
Being aluminum, the S&W MSH is pretty easy to fit to a frame if necessary.
X:
Thanks for the tips...I'll try 'em tonight and get back to you with the results!
Mike Harbour
Helena, Montana
I am with JohnS... I don't even know exactly what or where the mainspring housing is and was glad to see a link to info to clear that up. BUT, when I clink on the Scott Auld link, it says I cannot read because I wasn't invited. What's up with that?
It looks like thefreepatriot went private Steve. There could be a lot of reasons.
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