I have a RIA 1911 Government clone that does'nt have a guide rod at all. Just a spring. Would my gun benefit anything by installing a full length guide rod?
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Well it was intended to have one, so I would guess that having one would prob improve performance or at the very least make the spring last longer. One of the 1911 gurus will be along shortly
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You will probably get a number of differing replies. Personally, I doubt you would get an real world benefit from the full length guide rod when it comes to accuracy and performance. Most of us cannot shoot well enough and do not shoot often enough for many aftermarket benefits to the basic design.
I don't care much for the full length rod. The only advantage to having one I can see, is being able to push out the slide stop and remove the slide assembly without breaking everything down.
I put one in my first 1911's and really couldn't see the difference. All it did was render me unable to do the thumb & forefinger chamber check.
My Government Issue 1911A1 has made it almost 70 years without a full length guide rod and it hasn't shown any ill effects.
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I like them because of the balanced feel they give the pistol. I'm not sure it gives any other benefit than that. If you like the slightly muzzle forward feel they are great but if not then you probably won't like a full length rod.
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from an accuracy standpoint a FLGR is questionable.
I have a Comp gun with one incorperated into the system, and I also have a carry gun without one.
Both will remove the orange dots from target centers equally at 25 yards.
the reason the carry gun does not have one is because, if needed, the slide is darn near impossible to rack one handed.
If your injured and have only the use of one hand, that guide rod is going to be a big problem at the worse possible moment.
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I like the added weight of a FLGR, but that's all it offers. Make no mistake, it does absolutely nothing for accuracy, nor will it increase spring life, or reliability. They also make field stripping a bit more difficult.
As the above members posted, it probably won't make much of a difference on your gun. As I understand it the full length guide rod was brought about as a measure to tighten up loose rails on well used 1911s and custom gunsmiths sort of set the bar for public demand, now they're all over. For the record I put one on my .38 Commander build, not 100% necessary but I was after the weight.
several of y'all mentioned using a FLGR for the added weight. how much do these suckers weigh?
I don't have a scale, but I'd guess they add around an ounce, maybe a bit more. It dosen't sound like a lot, but they do give the gun a different feel, it's weight added below the bore axis which is more benificial. It's not a huge difference, but if you've got a gun with a mag well too, it starts to add up. I like a hefty 1911, one of my favorites is my RRA which has a FLGR, mag well, and a heavier 38 Super barrel, that thing weighs probably close to 44oz vs about 37 for a regular 1911, it just feels and shoots amazing.
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