Right now i am looking at the Dan Wesson Patriot Expert for my 45 Bullseye pistol. Just about the only rquirements are
1: government length (5")
2: round slide
3 match barrel, bushing and link and
4: clean braking trigger

I am looking for recommendations or ideas.

I shot bullseye for a number of years in the early 80's. I had a good gun made for me but over time, I tinkered and fiddled with just about everything anyway.

You absolutely need an accurizer barrel and bushing. A bowmar rib to further lock the barrel is highly recommended. No matter what you get, you will need trigger work and peen the rails for a nice tight fit.

I then had to get into reloading, since every gun has its sweet spot and its seldom factory ammo that works best. So even if the gun is great, you need the absolute right ammo to be competitive. Its a very competitve sport.

Now you have me thinking about it. You need to know what bullet you're going to shoot. Lots use 185 grain semi wad cutter, nice round hole. Make sure the feed ramp reliably feeds them. You can get a flat or arched backstrap, try a few, see what you like.

Try a few sights. I used Bowmar extended rib which tuned the barrel lock and provided first rate sights.

The one i have in mind right now is the Dan Wesson Patriot Expert. If its anything like my current DW 1911 then it should do good. I am looking at around 185gr FP from Rainier.

I am still new to this sport. I have only been doing 22 bullseye since May. but i am an avid target shooter. I dont quite understand the Bomar accurizer. What exactly does it do?

will it be strictly a centerfire match pistol or do you plan to use it in the hardball distinguished matches? if you will shoot in "leg matches" or the presidents 100 at camp perry you will need a 45 that satisfies the rules for these phases "service pistol"-no ambi safes,beavertails, front slide serrations. At present the best bet seems to me (in the middle of the project right now) to buy a springfield mil spec or colt 1991 a1 and have clark do his hardball conversion on the gun you buy- Gun cost about 400 and clark conversion work is 700.If you are gonig to use gun as a centerfire gun with no reguard to using in leg matches, then any of the higher end production guns should work

Colt, Gold Cup, off the shelf.

Quoted: Colt, Gold Cup, off the shelf.

Your kidding right?

They don't make "new" 70 series Colt 1911s Gold Cups anymore and the low end Kimber "Classic" will out-shoot a new 80s series Gold Cup, both taken right outta the box.

No contest the Kimber will shoot circles around the Colt GC, which will need a good trigger job, before ya start..... while it's there getting the trigger fixed, have 'em install a better barrel bushing, which will help reduce the group size.

FWIW, Series 80 Gold Cups are NOT what they used to be, when they were the Series 70s GC. The DW he's talking about above is a much better pistol IMO.

Mike  

This would be used for only yhe 2700 point Bullseye matches and thats it. I dont think i plan on going as far as Camp perry.

What route I took was buy a used SA for around $350, had a Wilson NM barrel installed along with a STI trigger. Less than $600 invested & it shoots like a champ.

I'm sure it'd do better if I had the slide-to-frame tightened but I probably couldn't make up the difference with my shooting anyway.

Good luck.

Oh, yes. Avoid the Colt Gold Cups as they're overprice.

Bomar provided first rate sights and had set screws thru the slide that help lock the barrel in the same place for every shot. You have the barrel bushing in the front, locking lug on the bottom and the tuner rib on the top.

That's where the tuning comes in. I have no idea what people are using now since I haven't been involved for a while and sold my bullseye gun a while ago.

If you are going to reload, they like Bullseye, pushing a 185 grain SMC made from linotype lead. Measure the bullets to insure they are within 1-2 grains of each other, and lube them right.

In bullseye competition, little things mean a lot.

Quoted: Quoted: Colt, Gold Cup, off the shelf. Your kidding right? They don't make "new" 70 series Colt 1911s Gold Cups anymore and the low end Kimber "Classic" will out-shoot a new 80s series Gold Cup, both taken right outta the box. No contest the Kimber will shoot circles around the Colt GC, which will need a good trigger job, before ya start..... while it's there getting the trigger fixed, have 'em install a better barrel bushing, which will help reduce the group size. FWIW, Series 80 Gold Cups are NOT what they used to be, when they were the Series 70s GC. The DW he's talking about above is a much better pistol IMO. Mike

NO, I am not kidding.
I have a few 1911's and have got rid of more than a few.
Among some I have owned -
series 70  Gold Cups along with series 80 Gold Cups
Series 70  Colt Governments, Comanders, Combat Comanders
I have owned the Hardballs
Springfields
Custom speed guns by Brown, Wilson, and a few local smiths. The series 80 vs 70 arguement has been beat to death, if there is any difference it is to small of one to argue, I prefer the 70 series myself, but own some 80 series and they are fine firearms also, besides he never mentioned a preference for any "series" firearm in his question.
For what he wants to use it for I stand on my recomendation  The Gold Cup off the shelf.

I have no problem with Kimbers, just have never got around to shooting one yet.

I could never see paying a premium price buying a Gold cup off the shelf and then having to rework everthing.

If you want a good shooting .45 the Gold Cup is an excellent choice. If you want to be a serious bullseye competitor, buy a used Series 70 and rework it yourself or have it reworked with some of the things I've mentioned before.

Quoted: I could never see paying a premium price buying a Gold cup off the shelf and then having to rework everthing. If you want a good shooting .45 the Gold Cup is an excellent choice. If you want to be a serious bullseye competitor, buy a used Series 70 and rework it yourself or have it reworked with some of the things I've mentioned before.

Exactly. Buy it and use it stock, that seems to be a strange concept with 1911's. The only thing I would suggest is a set of Houge grips (rubber).

ramjet..

Here's a maybe for your list. I purchased a new Springfield Armory 1911-A1 Loaded (45ACP) for $590.00 new a couple of years ago. Tuned the trigger myself. Added a Colt series 80 barrel and a Ed Brown match barrel bushing. I replaced the two piece full length (SA) recoil guide with an Ed Brown one piece. I also replaced some blued parts with some stainless steel (just for looks). I haven't shot bullseye since 1975, but this pistol will tag a quarter (coin) at 25 yards shooting Wolf 230 grain FMJ rounds. If you want to see a pic of the gun and the quarter go to:
www.hunt101.com
Click on "member galleries".
Once in member galleries, go to the search box on the top right hand side and type in "fullotto".
The pics are listed in my gallery as "SA45" and "Quarter 02".
The total expenditure for all the mods including the purchase of the pistol was $800.00 You could probably forego the stainless parts and get a good adjustable rear sight.

Have Fun!

Have Fun!