If you've gone into competition with a poorly tuned 1911, then you know that it can have a significant impact on your results. No shooter wants to walk away from a competition feeling like their gun let them down. Luckily, the 1911 is a time-tested platform that can be finely tuned to make sure your shots hit their mark.
Learn how to fine tune your 1911 for competition:
1. Add a Compensator
Adding a compensator to your 1911 will redirect the gasses coming out of the gun after your bullet has left the barrel. This redirection helps to dampen recoil and get your sights back on target faster. As we all know, saving time in competition shooting is never a bad thing, and compensators help you do just that. Check out this great video from TFB TV explaining how compensators work and demonstrating the time savings they can provide:
2. Use the Proper Recoil Spring For Your Load
In a competition setting, you don't want your gun to drop hot brass at your feet. Selecting the right recoil spring for your ammo will make sure your gun ejects your casings the proper distance—without causing malfunctions. Once you've decided what rounds to use in competition, research the best recoil spring for that load, swap it into your gun and take it to the range to make sure you're set to shoot.
3. High Visibility Sights
In a competition situation, every second counts. Fitting your 1911 with high visibility sights is a great way to make sure your eyes lock onto the gun's sights naturally, which will save you time and put you ahead of the competition. Red Dot and Fiber Optic Sights are common high visibility sight options amongst competitive shooters.
4. Adjustable Sights
While we're on the topic of sights, another important thing to consider is whether your 1911 has a fixed or adjustable sight. Some guns may come with fixed sights out of the box, but if you really want to dial-in the accuracy of your pistol, you may want to add adjustable sights to your list of modifications.
5. Triggers
Anyone who has ever swapped out the stock trigger on their 1911 for a specialty match trigger will tell you that the difference is night and day. Adding an aftermarket trigger to your gun is an easily made adjustment that can help to give you the quick, crisp, even trigger squeeze you need to clinch the match.
In competition shooting, you're aiming for perfection. An out-of-the box 1911 is a great first step, but adding these tweaks will put your pistol at the top of its game. In the heat of competition, why would you want to leave anything up to chance?
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