Posted: 5/26/2013 10:31:11 PM EDT
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My wife bought me a Springfield Loaded SS 1911 for a graduation present (45 ACP). I'm looking to upgrade the grips to a style with finger grooves and add a magwell extension. There lies the questions...
1) Can someone explain what is meant by the terms "government, commander or officer" when referring to upgrades. Is the length of the barrel (and thus slide) the only difference in the models? 2) Would my gun (Model PI9132LP) be considered a government model since it has the 5" barrel? Here's a stock photo of my gun. Thanks! 
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My wife bought me a Springfield Loaded SS 1911 for a graduation present (45 ACP). I'm looking to upgrade the grips to a style with finger grooves and add a magwell extension. There lies the questions... 1) Can someone explain what is meant by the terms "government, commander or officer" when referring to upgrades. Is the length of the barrel (and thus slide) the only difference in the models? 2) Would my gun (Model PI9132LP) be considered a government model since it has the 5" barrel? Here's a stock photo of my gun. Thanks! http://www.gunshopfinder.com/springfield/PI9132L.jpg 1. Government = full size frame with 5" slide. Commander = full size frame, shorter slide (generally 4.25") Officer = short frame/grip, shortest slide (generally 3" to 3.5" slide). 2. Your gun is a government model. Nice gun btw, you are sure to love it! |
Very nice gift ! Sounds like she's a keeper 
5" are govt. ( full size ) Commander usually 4-4.25" barrel / slide - but in most cases share a full size frame ( grip ) Officer 3.5" barrel slide , plus a slightly shorter grip frame Hogue makes a nice finger groove grip , I acquired a pair with my purchase of a used 1991A1 I would suggest visiting a gun show where you can pick up many handguns and "try on different grips " I found a set of VZ grips that I really liked the texture and aggressive pattern actually provides a better option for me , everybody's different though My primary complaint about finger grooves is that your fingers must be in the same place all the time and hopefully your hand is the correct size to match up with those grips - in my case I like to have a my hand ride pretty high on the grip and the hogue grips did not work for me . |
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Quoted:
Very nice gift ! Sounds like she's a keeper
5" are govt. ( full size ) Commander usually 4-4.25" barrel / slide - but in most cases share a full size frame ( grip ) Officer 3.5" barrel slide , plus a slightly shorter grip frame Hogue makes a nice finger groove grip , I acquired a pair with my purchase of a used 1991A1 I would suggest visiting a gun show where you can pick up many handguns and "try on different grips " I found a set of VZ grips that I really liked the texture and aggressive pattern actually provides a better option for me , everybody's different though My primary complaint about finger grooves is that your fingers must be in the same place all the time and hopefully your hand is the correct size to match up with those grips - in my case I like to have a my hand ride pretty high on the grip and the hogue grips did not work for me . Thanks for the advice, I will definitely see if I can get my hands on some of the grips before I order them. I see you're from NC, I've lived there about my entire life but had to move to MD for a job. I've moved to the dark side 
Any of you guys installed fiber optic front sights on your gun? I have some pretty awesome groups with the gun so far, but my target acquisition time is not the greatest in the world. I think if I had some fiber optics that I could see more clearly it would be easier to focus on the sights, then target, then fire. Thoughts? |
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Any of you guys installed fiber optic front sights on your gun? I have some pretty awesome groups with the gun so far, but my target acquisition time is not the greatest in the world. I think if I had some fiber optics that I could see more clearly it would be easier to focus on the sights, then target, then fire. Thoughts? I've put optic rods on many of my most-used guns. They help tremendously over the black front sight when shooting against a black paper target, IMO. The good news is they're A) not permanent; & B) are fairly inexpensive. Many shooters claim to benefit better from a green optic rod over a red one, FWIW. Some mfgrs make a front sight & then offer a variety of colored rods in a set so you can try different colors. Tru-Glo is one, IIRC? My .o2 |
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Quoted:
Very nice gift ! Sounds like she's a keeper
5" are govt. ( full size ) Commander usually 4-4.25" barrel / slide - but in most cases share a full size frame ( grip ) Officer 3.5" barrel slide , plus a slightly shorter grip frame Hogue makes a nice finger groove grip , I acquired a pair with my purchase of a used 1991A1 I would suggest visiting a gun show where you can pick up many handguns and "try on different grips " I found a set of VZ grips that I really liked the texture and aggressive pattern actually provides a better option for me , everybody's different though My primary complaint about finger grooves is that your fingers must be in the same place all the time and hopefully your hand is the correct size to match up with those grips - in my case I like to have a my hand ride pretty high on the grip and the hogue grips did not work for me . Thanks for the advice, I will definitely see if I can get my hands on some of the grips before I order them. I see you're from NC, I've lived there about my entire life but had to move to MD for a job. I've moved to the dark side
Any of you guys installed fiber optic front sights on your gun? I have some pretty awesome groups with the gun so far, but my target acquisition time is not the greatest in the world. I think if I had some fiber optics that I could see more clearly it would be easier to focus on the sights, then target, then fire. Thoughts? I had NOVAKs custom install a gold bead in my front post , catches light well and about the same cost as a fiber optic front However I'm in my 40s and find my self liking some eye catching front sight . I have an xdm 5.25 with fiber front and I like it a lot NOVAKs was worth the trouble http://www.novaksights.com/products/sights/#descriptions |
Everything seems covered, for finger grooves I'd suggest these.
thin piece of rubber that goes under your grips, I just found 'em not long ago and really like them. Then you don't have to have garbage looking grips either. Pearce grip extension I think is what they're called. Cheap too |
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Everything seems covered, for finger grooves I'd suggest these. http://imageshack.us/a/img843/4899/photonjt.jpg thin piece of rubber that goes under your grips, I just found 'em not long ago and really like them. Then you don't have to have garbage looking grips either. Pearce grip extension I think is what they're called. Cheap too Wow, that's awesome. Is this them? How do you install them? Are they stick on or do they bolt on behind the grips? Thanks! |
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that's them.
They've got two holes in them for the bushings to go through. You put them on the gun and they're held on by your grips. May require a little trimming of the rubber so it doesn't show under your regular grips if you need tomorrow I'll get you a pic with the grips off if you think that will help I liked the finger grooves too, but I didn't want to have to use certain kinds of grips so I found an option that would let me use any grips I wanted. |
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that's them. They've got two holes in them for the bushings to go through. You put them on the gun and they're held on by your grips. May require a little trimming of the rubber so it doesn't show under your regular grips if you need tomorrow I'll get you a pic with the grips off if you think that will help I liked the finger grooves too, but I didn't want to have to use certain kinds of grips so I found an option that would let me use any grips I wanted. Photos not necessary, they're in my cart on midway  I'm also investing in an extended magwell from wilson combat and some HIVIZ fiber optics! The wife is going to kill me! haha
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Nice gun. I am sure you will like it. But, if you haven't put a few hundred rounds through it yet, why not spend the money on some good ammo and mags, put in some time at the range, and then see if you still want to invest in the mods you are considering. Sometimes we can get ahead of ourselves with a new toy, if you know what I mean. 
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Nice gun. I am sure you will like it. But, if you haven't put a few hundred rounds through it yet, why not spend the money on some good ammo and mags, put in some time at the range, and then see if you still want to invest in the mods you are considering. Sometimes we can get ahead of ourselves with a new toy, if you know what I mean. Well, I'm inclined to think you are absolutely right. Truth is, I've been wanting this gun for >2 years and have a list of things I want to do to it! I've reloaded about 1k rounds and have put about 200 through it already. The only mod I KNOW I need to make is to upgrade the front sight to fiber optics and add extended mag well (I would love to do USPSA some day). I'll probably just get the inserts because they're so cheap and then do a comparison shooting with them and without them. I want to start shooting with gloves too, which may negate the need to even worry with the grips. But for $10, you really can't go wrong.. |