1911 Nighthawk guide rod question?

[Pappabear]

Guys, I recently purchased a Nighthawk Talon. It has the short guide rod. What is the current thinking on this guide rod? I switched my TRP guide rod out for a Wilson Combat full length guide rod. Would you change the guide rod to a full length guide rod?

[JiMfraRED1911]

HELL 2 teh NO.

FLGRs make take down more difficult, add useless weight to an already fairly heavy gun, and limit options on single handed cycling of the gun (JMB designed the gun so that the surface area beneath the muzzle can be pressed against a table to cycle the gun).

Also, contrary to popular believe, they do NOT aid in mechanical accuracy. Accuracy in a 1911 is due to barrel fit. Don't believe me? Some of the most accurate 1911s ever built for the 50 yard line at Camp Perry never sported f**king FLGRs and never will.

[erik_]

If firearm designs were meant to be left alone then we wouldn't have ARs with flat-top uppers, free-float quad rails, brakes/comps, ambidextrous controls, piston systems, clean breaking triggers, collapsible stocks, match grade barrels, etc. ;)

With that said, if you plan to use your 1911 for carry/duty purposes then a short rod is the best choice. If you are shooting targets then either one will work fine. If using lower weight recoil springs, a FLGR can be of benefit here as cycling will be a bit smoother due to less spring binding.

Regarding takedown with a FLGR, you can always have a gunsmith remove 1/8" to 3/16" off the end and taper it slightly so you can still push the spring plug in with your thumb. Regarding being able to cycle the slide on a table, it can still be done with a FLGR as there's still enough surface area to push -- you just have to pay attention more when doing it and avoid pushing against the rod.

[JiMfraRED1911]

If using lower weight recoil springs, a FLGR can be of benefit here as cycling will be a bit smoother due to less spring binding.



X-rays have shown time and again, that (on the full sized guns) the recoil spring has NO WHERE to bind.

[DBH]

I have taken out the full length guid rods out of all of my full size 1911's. I have not had any problems with the GI plug and whatever you like to call it. I think it makes it a hell of a lot easier for weapon maintenace too.

[ThirdWatcher]

Guide Rods is a topic that has been cussed and discussed ad nauseum. The general concensus seems to be that FLGRs aren't necessary but they don't hurt anything either.

All three of my Nighthawk Customs came with the GI setup. One rule I have with my NHCs is other than grips and recoil springs, I don't change anything. (I do have some NHC-made spare parts, but I haven't needed them yet.) The parts in your pistol have already been hand fitted by the guys that built it.

Your pistol is GTG right out of the box.:)

[bcso78]

If you spend the $ on a nice hand fitted gun like a Nighthawk, why mess with it. I prefer to run GI style for ease of cleaning, and for the simple fact that that is how they were designed. I maintain a buch of GI WW2 armory rebuilds, and all are run close to stock. My guys have no complaints.

If I was to be so lucky to get a Dave Luack 1911 with a FLGR, I would not mess with it, even though that is not my preference.

If you want to experiment with doodads, buy a bare bones 1911 and play with upgrades/ add-ons, but AI would leave the Nighthawk be.

Enjoy!

[erik_]

X-rays have shown time and again, that (on the full sized guns) the recoil spring has NO WHERE to bind.
There's about 5/8" of dead space on a full-size frame where a lightweight recoil spring WILL bend out of alignment before being forced into the spring plug during a cycle. A FLGR will smooth this out. I don't need an X-ray to tell me what tens of thousands of rounds over the years with various setups have told me. ;)

Again, I'm not advocating a FLGR for every application. It's absolutely NOT for every application. I only use one for target and never use one for duty. It's that simple.

[MarshallDodge]

I run whatever came with the gun except in one instance, my old Norinco.

The barrel does not have a match fit and adding the FLGR got rid of the occasional flyer.

If it's a custom built gun, I would definitely stay with what came in it. This is one of the problems with 1911's, people think that they know better than the manufacturers on how to make them run better. If it works, don't fix it. :cool:

Magazines are the only upgrade I recommend unless it doesn't run.

[Pappabear]

Thanks for the replies. I changed out the guide rod on my Springer TRP (Not FBI $2,500 model). I really cant remember the issue and may have been ill advised, even though the gun has run flawlessly before and after the FLGR.

Are there any issues with that particular GR that would cause one to encourage the change, other than what has already been stated about the opinions.

[erik_]

If you want some extra weight up front for stability, you can go with a tungsten FLGR. Stainless will add about an ounce more where tungsten will add about 2.5 oz more.

FWIW, I use a GI rod 98.5% of the time. ;)

[sff70]

FLGRs accomplish nothing.

I had a Les Baer PII with the 1.5" guarantee. Compared it for accuracy with a GI length rod and a FLGR. No difference that I could tell (pistol was more accurate than me).

BTW, LAV (a man whose wisdom on all things 1911 you would be wise to follow) says FLGRs are not needed.

But it if gives you a warm fuzzy, by all means, install a FLGR.