AO 1911PKZSE report

[JohnR]

It has arrived. From the packing oil that was on it, it's clearly a new gun, but it came with no manual or anything in the box. The box was for the right model, but had a different serial number. I'm not bothered by that, it's a new gun and what I ordered.

This was an interesting surprise, a Colt brand magazine?

https://s5.postimg.org/slai60phz/2017-08-18_11.17.07.jpg

I field stripped it and almost detail stripped it but wasn't in the mood to put it back together afterward so I cleaned it up and lubed it. The trigger is crisp and clean, but I was hoping for the short rounded-face trigger in the picture on their website. I can replace that in the future.

Overall I love it, can't wait to shoot it.

https://s5.postimg.org/66stpsmqf/2017-08-18_11.17.29.jpg

https://s5.postimg.org/impjjjg2f/2017-08-18_11.17.44.jpg

https://s5.postimg.org/65ivwdkwn/2017-08-18_11.17.57.jpg

https://s5.postimg.org/7w1wxv2fr/2017-08-18_11.18.15.jpg

[Bawanna]

Beautiful. And it already has the wide spur hammer, I love wide spur hammers, right up there with antler and stag. With a little help and guidance from Greg, I put a wide spur hammer on my Remington R1.

I prefer the mid to long trigger myself but like you say, you can swap that out when / if you get the urge.

The grips look very well done on that one.

No clue why it came with a Colt mag, unless it just got swapped during handling at some point. Not a bad thing at all of course.

I run Wilson's in all mine, some have never been shot with the factory mag, guess I should try that at least and make sure they work. Confident that all do.

Happy new gun to you!

[JohnR]

It probably sat in the shop for too long, then when they decided to sell it they couldn't find all the original stuff.

The grips are genuine 1940s style plastic.

[gb6491]

I like it! I think it definitely has the look you wanted. Congrats on picking it up :)
Regards,
Greg

[yqtszhj]

Very nice.

[JohnR]

Darn short triggers are pricey. Original ones are $40-60 on fleabay.

[JohnR]

Disappointing. 100 rounds of PMC Bronze FMJ, too many failures to eject and feed to count. That was with the Colt mag and two Promags. I knew one of the two Promags had problems because it wasn't reliable in my other 1911s, but since it was all these mags I don't think it's mag related. The gun is very tight, probably needs more rounds to break it in, and I should probably go ahead and detail strip it and clean the guts better. Some of the failures were getting the slide to go all the way into battery.

The GI style high ejection port was a hoot. Most of the rounds flew up and into my face. I probably have some tiny red crescent marks on my bald spot. One tried to get behind my shooting glasses, and another got me in the neck. My wife will probably think it's a hickie and make me sleep on the couch, now.

I meant to dab some white paint on the front sight before shooting it, and that's definitely on the "to do" list because I could barely see the sights. That's part of the territory for a GI 1911, I'm not complaining.

Other than that it shot great. :D

[Bawanna]

Awesome! Disappointed, too many failures to eject or feed to count, tossing brass into your face and body, couldn't see the sights, other than that it shot great!

I love you man.

Think of it as a work in progress. Run it wet or grease the rails. Get some real magazines even if you don't think it's the issue.
I run Wilsons, hardly ever use even the factory mags other than to see if they work.

[yqtszhj]

Maybe some extractor tuning is due too. Keep us posted as this is a good learning experience for me.

[JohnR]

It does have some lube oozing out of the moving parts; she's certainly wet. Not sure how to "tune" the extractor, but I'm sure YouTube will help...

[gb6491]

It does have some lube oozing out of the moving parts; she's certainly wet. Not sure how to "tune" the extractor, but I'm sure YouTube will help...
You are correct about that:)

Here's a good read as well:
http://www.m1911.org/technic2.htm

Regards,
Greg

[Bawanna]

Here's another good one and watch the Brownells video. Very helpful for challenged folks such as me.

http://www.jackweigand.com/eat.html

[JohnR]

A video by Wilson Combat said to bend the extractor till it held an empty case when you gently shake the slide. That's an easy test.

[JohnR]

The short trigger arrived today. I detail stripped the frame and soaked the parts in Braklean. Looks like they made their own gravy.

https://s5.postimg.org/ppbvinljr/IMG_3180.jpg

Got it back together, and it feels looser. I did test the extractor tension and it seemed ok.

The short trigger can pinch your finger against the frame, maybe that's one reason they lengthened it.

Looks good, though. And needed zero fitting, it slipped in perfectly.

https://s5.postimg.org/cwnriq9xz/IMG_3181.jpg

[Bawanna]

Was that a Flea Bay trigger or from AO or ??

Looks like a perfect match up. I always feel so lucky when they drop in and work with zero fitting, that part always kind of skeers me.

[JohnR]

It's from FleaBay, it came with a nice finish almost like new. Probably refinished. No apparent wear or dings. I asked AO if they had a short trigger like in the pictures on the website, and they said no, the trigger I got is the only trigger they have.

[dsk]

The dimensions of the AO's frame and triggerguard are making the short trigger sit further inside the frame than on a true GI pistol. A long, long time ago I had one of the pre-Kahr, Numrich-owned AOs and a short GI trigger looked the same way in mine.

BTW testing the extractor tension is done with a loaded round, not an empty case. The tension should be just barely enough to hold the round in place with the slide held level. A 1911 should be reliable with ball ammo no matter what, so if the extractor tension isn't the culprit you'll need to send it back to Kahr.

[JohnR]

42 more rounds and it’s still not running right. I think the extractor isn’t grabbing the casing, making the next round choke up. Since the “test” showed it holding the casing without any wobble I presume the extractor needs loosening.