1911 .45 ACP Barrel 16"

Here’s the straight scoop. The barrel is pressed into a “trunnion” piece containing the chamber, lower lug, and upper locking lugs, and welded. This trunnion piece is cast but properly heat treated, and very hard to where I needed to use diamond files to cut the lugs [for final fitting]. So, if you’re worried about the castings being “soft” — don’t be. Also, the lower lug is precisely dimensioned and will fit a Colt link and link pin perfectly. The tolerance on the link pin hole allows for a snug, press fit that will hold w/o needing to peen the pin. The barrel itself is perfectly straight, with perfectly centered bore, well-defined rifling and a mirror smooth, bore surface which no doubt comes from the precise hammer forge process used to make them. The outer diameter of the barrel is a tight fit on my barrel bushing, and I had to take a few thousands of an inch off the inside diameter of the bushing to gain a slip fit over the barrel. I recommend acquiring a dedicated bushing (not costly) to custom fit to this barrel. The “trunnion” is slightly oversized and will pass through the slide, but a few thousands of an inch off on each side gives a no-wobble fit w/ a smooth glide. The hood over the chamber is the wide one compatible with the Colt Series 70. I found the the hood and upper, locking lugs to be an excellent, drop-in fit w/ precise lock-up. Those areas polished well, also, w/ #320 grit paper followed by scotch-brite for slick locking and unlocking. My 16” barrel in .45 ACP came with left-hand twist, which is fine by me. The only issue that I encountered which is less than optimal is the seam where the barrel is welded around its circumference onto the trunnion piece. The weld is strong enough, so that’s not the issue. The issue is that the weld penetrates slightly into the bore, creating slight raising of the lands and grooves along a ring about 1/2 inch ahead of the chamber. It doesn’t appear to affect accuracy since it is more than 14 inches from the muzzle end, but it will catch more fouling. This is the only real flaw I find in the design and construction. If this could be fixed, I’d give 5 stars to this product. However, for the reasonable price, I feel that there is a ton of value in this barrel, and if you need a 16” barrel for your 1911 ... well, this barrel is about the only solution that is readily available as “commercial off the shelf” from Sarco Inc.

It's a nice barrel for the price but it doesn't fit my Colt Gold Cup. I'll try it with some of my other 1911's but it may need a little minor alteration. Well worth the price though.

May require minor fitting on brand new guns that have not been broken in. Otherwise, super fun to shoot with buttstock attached!