[spyder]

Greetings,

I'm new to the 1911 world so please be patient

I ordered and received a Sistema Colt from JLD and it looks great. Replaced all springs with a Wolff kit as suggested on a couple of threads. Shot it last weekend and it shoots great but has serious hammer bite. The sights leave a little to be desired also. Been looking/calling around and ended up talking to Chip McCormack. They state their parts are drop in and suggest changing the sear and trigger together but the disconnector is optional. I'm also looking at their drop in low-pro rear sight that supposedly works with the stock front sight. Any thoughts? I just shoot paper for fun at this point.

 

[hhsmiley]

I have a Kimber polymer which uses McCormick parts. I also used their hammer/sear/disconnect on another gun which provided a nice crisp approx 4# drop in pull. They have held up very well for me and I have no problem recommending them. The CMC beavertail is very similar to the Ed Brown but like their other parts are less expensive than from most other manufacturers.

 

[KITT]

I have used Chip's parts several times and they have worked well for me. I am also looking to put his drop-in rear sight on my Para P-13. These sights are NOT adjustable but my P-13 shoots to point of aim and I can still use the factory front sight and not have to cut my slide.

 

[10mmfan]

CMC is good quality and durable. I have seen other brands MIM parts warped but not CMC. Take NOTICE : CMC has dropped machined trigger groupe parts from their line, stating the MIM parts stand up just fine.

 

[Army Chief]

spyder,

CMC's 1911 MIM parts aren't quite as good as they were in the EDM tool steel days, but FWIW I wouldn't hesitate to use them. The quality is still excellent IMO, and I have always liked Chip's designs.

Sorry I couldn't get any more confusing acronyms in this post.

Chuck

Edited to correct an inadvertent misspelling of spyder's username.

[This message has been edited by StormMaster (edited 09-27-2001).]

 

[BrianMajors]

Just a little extra info. I bought 2 8 rd. Chip McCormick shooting star magazines and they both disappointed me greatly. after about 100 or so rounds they BOTH failed to feed any ammo including 230 gr. ball. I am not very happy about it, but I hope for CMC's sake, it is not common the their product line. I have since purchased 8rd Mec-gar mags and not had any problems whatsoever. Thanks to all for a great forum!

 

[fremont]

Why mess around with a perfectly good Sistema, albeit one with hammer bite? Take the edge of the hammer off with a flat file, then touch up with cold bluing.

BTW, how did CMC come off suggesting you needed a new trigger and sear???? I thought you said it shot fine.

If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

 

[Army Chief]

If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Amen to that Fremont! This seems to be one of the hardest-learned lessons in the 1911 business. If your gun is running fine, and you don't have a very specific purpose for changing things out, by all means leave it alone!

When a guy goes out and spends $375 on upgrades that weren't necessary to begin with, and did nothing to improve the function (or accuracy) of his pistol, what did he really accomplish? To my thinking, the same money would have been better spent on ammo.

Chuck

 

[spyder]

Oops, I meant hammer and sear not trigger. Figured for $37 it was a cheap way to get rid of the bite. Really don't like the sights, has anyone actually tried the drop in rear with stock front? What are the options for changing or is milling the only way? Thanks for the opinions!

 

[fremont]

Spyder,

She's your gun, so monkey around all you want. (That's 80% of the fun in 1911 ownership, according to a recent Gallup survey.)

The point, I guess, is that a Sistema is a pretty eloquent reproduction of an era gone by. I simply stare at mine--all moony-eyed, with it's nicked up sights, ugly brown plastic grips, etc. I've changed some internal parts (the hammer/sear job wasn't safe IMO, so I replaced with a King spur hammer and a new sear), but the rest is bone stock. I wouldn't touch it for the world. (To me, it's like trying to make a Gulfstream V by starting with a Cessna 182.)

If you want new parts and sights which allow you to shoot 5" groups at 25 yards, Springfield makes some beautiful, inexpensive shooters. Nevertheless, it's the journey, not the destination. Have fun.

 

[Doug 29]

Kimber45,
If you still have the Chip McCormick magazines, try a new spring. I've got several that are very reliable! I think Chip has new springs, or might even take the mag's back.

 

[Master Blaster]

Something no one here has mentioned:

If you replace the Systema hammer with a commander style CMC, you will also have to replace the standard grip safety with a high rise safety to accomodate the hammer spur of the commander hammer. Hi rises have a cutout to accomodate the Commander hammer spur. A standard grip safety will interfere with the commander hammer and prevent cocking of your gun.

 

[BBBBill]

If you replace the Systema hammer with a commander style CMC, you will also have to replace the standard grip safety with a high rise safety.

Or you can dish out the top of your standard grip safety to clear. This is an old technique to deal with that issue.

 

[spyder]

Thanks for all the good info! CMC does have a drop in grip safety that's pretty reasonable. I bought this gun to just shoot but it's turning into an AR15...as fremont said, the fun is in the journey. I'm also thinking about sending it to Clark Custom for an accuracy job. Anybody have any comments on the CMC drop in rear sight?