Be the 1st one with this 1911 @ the range..

Ceapea

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Discovered that they fit pretty well a few,, not so well on others, and not at all on some. I put the SS one on my early 80's made Springfield Govt. model, it fit very well, the blue one is on my STI Spartan V , ( also a Govt. mode).. It was difficult to get it to stay on the STI, , ended up using rubber cement to the front strap, & then squeezing it around the frame, to get enough of the edges of the piece to fit under the G-10 grips I have on it

The problem is the Wilson piece is just a bit too short to fit under the grip panels, that are supposed to hold it on the pistol. If the edges were 1/8" longer, they'd fit better. If my memory is correct, when I tried it on a few Colts, they wouldn't fit at all. Frame shape, beneath the trigger guard is too wide, on my Delta & Combat Commander.
Just remembered that the other 1911 with the Wilson grip piece was my SA RO.
So far, all of those frames allow for proper fit/wrap around of the small tab, under the stocks.
I don't think I have any other 1911's that aren't already checkered on the front strap. So I may never find a frame that it will not work on.
 

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Ceapea

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Dec 20, 2018
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56
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SE Mitt.
Talon Grips makes a piece for front straps that works really well, used to be 5 bucks free shipping, I bought a good many to have on hand, I actually like these better than 25-30 line checkering, not as pleasing to the eye as a nice checkering but the grip you get along with G10 grips is amazing
I have very similar/generic rubber grip tape on a few other pistols. Looks the same as the Talon, but missing the "T" cutout.
It does work well!
 

Bob Lee

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No pimp guns or Kkmbers ever in my safe
Did my time with 2 early pro carries. Never again! And the customer service totally sucked then. New Yoprk attitude at it's absolute worst! To quote Red Forman Dumb Ass!
 

Bob Lee

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"The one thing I don't care for on any of the 1911's I have, is the smooth front strap. I like "Grippy" grips on my 1911's!"
I discovered the Wilson add-on front strap "stippling" piece., bought 1 in SS finish & 1 in blue, to try them.

Having a variety of sizes, brands, and calibere. of 1911, I tried to see how the Wilson pieces would fit on several of them.
Discovered that they fit pretty well a few,, not so well on others, and not at all on some. I put the SS one on my early 80's made Springfield Govt. model, it fit very well, the blue one is on my STI Spartan V , ( also a Govt. mode).. It was difficult to get it to stay on the STI, , ended up using rubber cement to the front strap, & then squeezing it around the frame, to get enough of the edges of the piece to fit under the G-10 grips I have on it

The problem is the Wilson piece is just a bit too short to fit under the grip panels, that are supposed to hold it on the pistol. If the edges were 1/8" longer, they'd fit better. If my memory is correct, when I tried it on a few Colts, they wouldn't fit at all. Frame shape, beneath the trigger guard is too wide, on my Delta & Combat Commander.

What I learned from this was .: 1911 frames may look identical, they may even have all the holes & cuts in the same places, so internal parts fit & are interchangeable. This doesn't extend to having identical frame shapes.. Not something I'd even even considered before, but trying to install these simple stamped steel pieces around the front strap shows how subtle differences exist in the frames.

The Wilson piece is a great low cost mod for 1911's if you want to add texture to your front strap, but don't want to spend $300.00 or more having a gunsmith do hand checkering on it for you. Be aware that it may not fit on your brand of 1911.
Thank you for this. I have one 1911 with a checkered front strap. It was done by Derr Precision, and it is Beautiful! Grippy w/o being too rough if that makes sense? It is one of three 1911's I have that have a beavertail grip safety on them. The other is a Colt Govt that was that way when I bought it, the other is a L/W commander pre series 80. This was done by Derr precision also. The Derr Precision safeties are the stubby retro style beavertails. I really like those.
 
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Liggett

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Jul 9, 2018
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Northern Vermont
My ONLY Kimber, and the last Kimber. It's dependable now with Wilson and Harrison guts throughout. It was my first foray into a dot on a 1911 when the only choices were Kimber and Nighthawk.
 

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Bob Lee

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My ONLY Kimber, and the last Kimber. It's dependable now with Wilson and Harrison guts throughout. It was my first foray into a dot on a 1911 when the only choices were Kimber and Nighthawk.
It's sad you had to replace so many parts, but at least now It's working properly. A first foray like that must have been totally disheartening to say the least. Glad you persevered!
 

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