[Gunnar44]

Does anyone know what an acceptabe barrel bushing to barrel clearance is? My PT 1911SS has a clearance of .006 inch, which seems a little sloppy to me. That could be one reason why it sprays bullets over 24" at 25 yards.

 

[tomchevell366]

Im not exactly sure what that means. I was looking in Brownell's for a chrome barrel bushing for my blued PT1911 and they had differant ones with differant clearances. I was confused and I didnt buy one. My PT1911SS shoots pretty straight though.

 

[Cimarron]

You might want to try different bullets before you deal with barrel bushings. Different bullet weights, different brands, etc. Guns have a preferental diet.

 

[Gunnar44]

Cimarron; I have tried 185 gr JHP, 200 gr SWC and 230 gr JHP. The 185s were best with a 8" group at 25 yards. The others were sprayed all over the target.

My original question is about the difference between the ID of the bushing, .582" and the OD of the muzzle, .576", on my PT1911. The .006" clearance seems sloppy and excessive.

I have tried to research on several forums, catalogs and publications the proper or optium clearance or "fit", but can't find that info anywhere. Does anyone out there know what the proper fit should be?

My Pt 1911 is still "on vacation" with Taurus in Miami and should be back in about four weeks. It'll be interesting to see what they actually did under warranty.

 

[Cimarron]

No help here, but there's too many 1911 guys out there (gunsmiths and wannabes) who will have opinions and or recommendations. Good luck!

 

[Gunnar44]

I got my PT1911SS back from it's vacation in Miami in 26 days. A good turn around time from what I have read. Now the bad news: nothing was changed. The enclosed letter claimed the barrel was changed, but upon further review, it was the same barrel. I still had the sloppy .006 inch clearance between the barrel and the barrel bushing. After disassembly, I put the bushing in the slide and noticed I had quite a bit of slop between the slide and the bushing. When shaking the slide with only the bushing installed, I could hear the bushing rattle. I found a Wilson barrel bushing on ebay and fitted it to the slide. Let me tell you; it is tight. I need a wrench to turn it. The original Taurus bushing I could easly remove and install without the wrench.

I havn't shot it yet since the bushing swap, but I will let you know of the anticipated increase in accuracy. I mean, a 24 inch group from sandbags shouldn't be too hard to improve on.

 

[MC350]

If that bushing is as tight as you say, expect some problems. You need some clearance for heat expansion.......

 

[Gunnar44]

Well, I finally got some range time in. The new barrel bushing did wonders for improving accuracy. Groups have shrunk to 3" or slightly less at 25 yards with either 185 HP or 200 LSWC loads. It's not exactly match grade performance, but a big improvement from 20-24" groups I was getting.