12
by Ylatkit
Staking a new front sight into a 1911 slide was the second thing I did, (because it was the second thing that broke).
1911s are not indestructible, but they are relatively easy to repair. When I was issued a 1911, they had 19 year old boys who repaired them. Since 19 year old boys are only good for two things, neither of which is repairing a 1911, that tells me it's easy to teach someone how to repair a 1911.
On a side note, in my experience, Wilson Combat is one of the worst offenders for trying to re-design the 1911. They're right up there with Kimber, of nylon parts fame. Some of the geometry in Wilson's fire controls bear little resemblance to, for instance, Colt's.
It's always a good idea to know exactly which system you're working on, and how that system varies from ordnance, which is the only real set of specs I trust.
These differences are why one must know which tenon on a staked front sight one is dealing with-- because people have been redesigning the 1911 since 1911. Those differences are also why there is more than one diameter for a simple link pin. (Side note to the side note: measure the diameter of the pin you have. Use the calipers you have for reloading, that should be close enough.)
Personally, I like bigger sights and the lowered and flared ejection port. I don't care about a higher grip or beavertails, and I have no use for the arched mainspring housing. Things like front cocking serrations make it hard for an instructor to teach a new shooter properly. (If your hands don't belong out there, why are there cocking serrations out there?) Over the years, things like slide buffers and the first glow-in-the-dark sights actually removed tactical options, without giving anything in return, but progress marches on.
Show a 1911 to 100 people, and 85 of them will just shoot it. Ten of them will immediately tear it apart to see how it works, five of them will break it, two will fix it, and three will instantly start trying to improve it.