[J Sanders]

I too have a Wilson 1996A-2 that has always been super reliable. It runs and runs with good ammo and I have no complaints with it going bang.
I still am somewhat underwhelmed with the accuracy I can get with it.
I'm not good enough to shoot 1 inch groups with iron sights with a pistol at 25 yards everytime, but with a ruger mkII with a 5.5 inch barrel I can consistantly shoot bench rested 5 shot groups less than 2 inches sometimes I can shoot some as small as 1.25 inches. This is with the factory iron sights.
With my Wilson pistol I have not been able to approach this level of accuracy. Around 3.5 to 4.5 inches for 5 shots is what I see and I'm not real happy with this.
The bushing in my Wilson is loose enough I can turn it easily with my fingers,I allways thought decent accuracy required a snugger fit than this.
My question is how important is bushing fit to accuracy?
Do any of you have 1911's with finger loose bushings that will hold groups less than 2 inches at 25 yards?
I need to shoot some factory ammo to determine a level of accuracy to shoot for with handloads,as allmost all of my shooting to date has been with handloads.But I have allways been able to get as good of accuracy as I wanted with handloads in other pistols so I just don't know. Thank you for your help. JS

 

[Shane1911]

Hi Joey,

As you already know, I'm not a 'smith, but all three of my Para's have bushings that I can turn with my fingers (it is tight however, so I do use a wrench most of the time). All three shoot 2" or less at 25 yds. from a rest.

My Combat Commander also has a bushing that can be turned by finger - although it is tight too. It is my best shooter - 1" at 25 yds. from rest.

You are obviously aware that the bushing is one of the keys to accuracy. The bushing to slide fit is not as important as the bushing to barrel fit however. I'm assuming that your Wilson has the stock bushing that came with the gun, therefore I'm also assuming that Wilson did the fitting?

Have you experimented with different loads? The same Commander I mentioned above will also shoot 3" groups with ammo it doesn't like.

 

[jaydee]

There a few things here, so let me break it down... An I will change the order of things to help make sense...

On 2001-06-05 21:37, J Sanders wrote:
Do any of you have 1911's with finger loose bushings that will hold groups less than 2 inches at 25 yards?

Yup, I have a few that hold 2" with no problems, one it a rock stock Kimber.

My question is how important is bushing fit to accuracy?
I need to shoot some factory ammo to determine a level of accuracy to shoot for with handloads,as allmost all of my shooting to date has been with handloads.But I have allways been able to get as good of accuracy as I wanted with handloads in other pistols so I just don't know. Thank you for your help.

Well, the bushing does play a role in determining accuracy, thru barrel lockup. While the bushing fit inside the slide is a factor, the clearance of the barrel inside the bushing is very important, too loose, and the muzzle can be moved around, and a few extra thousandths of movement at the muzzle can translate to a larger spread downrange.

While that same movement also applies to the bushing fit inside the slide, it doesn't mean that the fit of the bushing has to be forced fit. A good fitting bushing can still be tight, with ample freedom, and yet be turned, but this depends on how it's fit, and where the contact points end up.

I too have a Wilson 1996A-2 that has always been super reliable. It runs and runs with good ammo and I have no complaints with it going bang.
I still am somewhat underwhelmed with the accuracy I can get with it.
I'm not good enough to shoot 1 inch groups with iron sights with a pistol at 25 yards everytime, but with a ruger mkII with a 5.5 inch barrel I can consistantly shoot bench rested 5 shot groups less than 2 inches sometimes I can shoot some as small as 1.25 inches. This is with the factory iron sights.

With my Wilson pistol I have not been able to approach this level of accuracy. Around 3.5 to 4.5 inches for 5 shots is what I see and I'm not real happy with this.

The bushing in my Wilson is loose enough I can turn it easily with my fingers,I allways thought decent accuracy required a snugger fit than this.

Have you tried letting someone else shoot your Wilson? I suspect that you have tried bench-resting the Wilson. While shooting the Ruger is great practice, and the Ruger is a very nice, accurate "training tool", I have noted that some people actually become recoil sensitive when they switch to the larger caliber, and can tend to anticipate the hammer, causing errant shots.

This could be a factor in what it happening with the larger spread.

Another thing to try is moving the target closer.

If you can make 1 ragged 1/2-3/4" hole at 7-10 yards, then when you move to 21-30 yards, the same gun should be capable of 1.5-2.5" groups. it's afr easier to shoot well at closer distances, and if you can't shoot 2" at 10 yards, you'll never do it at 25.

Also, have you tried switching ammo? Many guns are ammo sensitive, and while my Kimber digests anything, for practice ammo, it seems to shoot tighter with Federal AE better than Speer Lawman, and HydraShok's are much better than Gold Dots. The Colts shoot HydraShok's, Rangers, Gold Dots, AE and Speers very well, but for practice ammo, seems to like the Winchester white box better.

There could be many factors weighing in, and probably not an easy answer, but as for bushings, I've only had 1 or 2 guns that HAD to have a bushing wrench to assemble/disassemble and the difference in accuracy was note that noteworthy, IMHO.

I am sure it helps in certain circumstances, but I have noticed that it depended on other things, such as the barrel lugs and the fit of the lugs inside the slide as well.

Good Luck...