Calling 1911 gurus.

[BlueSkyJaunte]

Personally I despise tritium sights. I'm too slow picking them up in daylight! I like the brass bead (or better, gold bead) and will eventually have it done on all of my hand spoons. Until then I do pretty well with plain old bright white 3-dots. Colt's 1991A1-style are my favorite. The original government sights are a bit tiny for my myopic eyes.

The whole "accuracy arms race" has me a little puzzled, when it comes to anything besides bull's-eye shooting. I have a Philippine-manufactured Officer's sized 1911 that's looser than a Paris whore. I can make fist-sized groups with it out to 15 yards. It eats and spits out every type of .45 ACP bullet I've fed it, with no issues. I've committed extensive butchery to it smoothing out sharp edges, corners, etc.

Being able to choose which of the bad guy's nostrils to shoot with it seems like an unnecessary luxury.

[m21sniper]

Originally Posted by Jeff Higgins

Oh, and Rick - drift the rear sight and file it down. Re-file the notch a bit deeper if you have to. This is how one adjusts the sights on a "fixed" sight 1911. It's not the load, it's not your grip, it's not how you hold your mouth. It's the sights.

Different weight bullets in differing velocity ranges can print several inches from point of aim.

For instance, 230gr 830fps FMJ is going to shoot to a much different point of aim than 1350fps 165gr+P JHP's.

So i would pick the load that comes closest to shooting X, then file the sights as needed from there.

Originally Posted by Jeff Higgins

Hmm... that makes it harder. Your only real option then is replacement with a lower rear or higher front.

Or you could always just paint over all three dots. I never have liked those things. It's impossible to get any sort of decent accuracy by trying to line up three dots. It's far, far easier to align a big fat post in a square notch, both for elevation and windage.

The white dots are for fast "good enough" shooting, they were never intended to improve accuracy. Many people shoot worse with 'em in the daytime, but at night, 3 dots are the cats meow IMO.

[Jeff Higgins]

Originally Posted by m21sniper

Different weight bullets in differing velocity ranges can print several inches from point of aim.

For instance, 230gr 830fps FMJ is going to shoot to a much different point of aim than 1350fps 165gr+P JHP's.

So i would pick the load that comes closest to shooting X, then file the sights as needed from there.

Of course you are correct. Heavier, slower bullets shoot higher. That said, I can see no earthly reason to shoot anything other than 230 grain bullets in the .45 ACP - FMJ, or JHP, or hard cast lead. This caliber is at its most effective under the broadest variety of circumstances with the 230 grain. The lighter bullets are marketed to those who are unduly impressed with velocity, advertising hype, and "paper ballistics". Or are a bit intimidated by recoil.

Originally Posted by m21sniper

white dots are for fast "good enough" shooting, they were never intended to improve accuracy. Many people shoot worse with 'em in the daytime, but at night, 3 dots are the cats meow IMO.

Exactly. Which is why I can't understand why guys fit them to their guns, then complain about accuracy at the range. They don't seem to understand their purpose, or the compromises made to achieve that purpose.

[m21sniper]

Originally Posted by Jeff Higgins

Of course you are correct. Heavier, slower bullets shoot higher. That said, I can see no earthly reason to shoot anything other than 230 grain bullets in the .45 ACP - FMJ, or JHP, or hard cast lead. This caliber is at its most effective under the broadest variety of circumstances with the 230 grain. The lighter bullets are marketed to those who are unduly impressed with velocity, advertising hype, and "paper ballistics". Or are a bit intimidated by recoil.

I liked the lighter bullets because, as you mention, they have reduced recoil, and because they can achieve 600+ fpe of energy in .45 ACP. One other side effect of the flatter shooting 165+P is it's very flat trajectory (by .45 standards), which obviously would improve long range performance.

But i also like the 230gr rounds as well, especially the +P offerings(i know you're not a fan of +P). Federal 230gr HST and Doubletap 230gr Gold Dot loads both offer nearly 1" expansion and 15"+ penetration in calibrated gelatin.

That performance totally blows away the performance of even the very best 9mm, .357 Sig, .357 Magnum and .40 S&W loads.

Originally Posted by Jeff Higgins

Exactly. Which is why I can't understand why guys fit them to their guns, then complain about accuracy at the range. They don't seem to understand their purpose, or the compromises made to achieve that purpose.

Every part in a firearm, or any machine, is a compromise.

3 dots operate under the principle of trading speed and visibility at the cost of some range and precison. Considering the intended purpose of a self defense firearm, i feel it's a good trade off. Especially when you've got night sights.

3 dots would be out of place on a target or hunting pistol though.