Gunsmithing 1911 Group Gripper Problem

[athhud]

I tossed a Wilson Combat group gripper into the cart with my last Midway order and have run into a problem with it. The I.D. of the slide stop pin hole in the Group Gripper barrel link is slightly too large. I called Midway and Wilson Combat in hopes of purchasing an under-size link, but such a thing does not exist. The only solutions that I can come up with are to mill a custom link, install an oversize slide stop, or the most likely option of returning it for a refund. I really don't see it being worth the trouble, but if someone knows of an easier fix then I'll keep it.

By the way, the slide stop pin isn't worn. I've put less than 1000 rounds down the barrel of this springfield and the factory link fits perfectly. Is it possible that the Wilson Combat link was machined too large and a simple exchange would solve it? The rep that I talked to at WC seemed clueless....

 

[HPLLC]

Re: 1911 Group Gripper Problem

The Group Gripper link is ~.005" oversize for hole spacing AKA a LONG LINK.

The link out of my Kimber 1911 from the "custom shop" <which I know is kind of a missnomer had larger holes than my Group Gripper link which had smaller holes.

The point of the .005" oversized hole to hole spacing is to attempt to reduce the gap between most sloppy barrels and the top of the slide. The spring only keeps the barrel elevated in battery.

When I installed mine the .005" spacing combined with the tighter holes themselves actually caused a slight interfearance of fit in my Kimber CDP Pro- I believe it raised the barrel about .009" where .007" was all the space available. So I polished the hole open with a dremel sponge. After about 10 checks in progress it began to lock up, and I then had to reduce the height of the spring engagement tab to enable the slide to go into battery with less resistance.

I believe my group gripper increased accuracy of my Kimber about 25-30%.

 

[pfcustom]

Re: 1911 Group Gripper Problem

Send it back for a refund. Complete waste of time and money. Either the barrel is fit correctly; proper size link and proper fitting of the lower barrel lugs or it ain't.
Get you money back and use it to buy more ammo to practice with.

 

[former naval person]

Re: 1911 Group Gripper Problem

Old technology....from the 60's. (1960's...tried them out back then!) As pfcustom says...fit the pistol up correctly and that is a superfluous piece of trash that will only give you something else to break. Technology has progressed way beyond that bandaid. JMHO

 

[athhud]

Re: 1911 Group Gripper Problem

That was kind of my feelings towards it, but I figured that it wouldn't hurt to try it. In the off chance that it does increase accuracy, the 25% chance that it leaves my slide out of battery kind of makes it a moot point.