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How to Build Your Own 1911 Colt Pistol

Building your own Colt Government model pistol simply requires you to gather the necessary parts and assemble them correctly. The Colt 1911 pistol was the primary handgun of the U.S. military for most of the 20th century and is popular with shooters worldwide. The advantage of the 1911 is that all the parts are standardized and therefore interchangeable regardless of manufacturer; however, if you want a true Colt pistol, use only Colt parts. The lower receiver is considered a "firearm" by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and is sold as the gun. The rest of the parts are unregulated.

Things You'll Need

Lower receiver
Slide
Barrel
Barrel bushing
Recoil spring guide
Recoil spring plug
Recoil spring
Slide stop

Instructions

- 1
  Put the recoil spring over the recoil spring guide.
- 2
  Put the barrel bushing on the barrel and position it so that it appears tilted slightly to the left (when viewed upside down).
- 3
  Turn the slide upside down and place the barrel (end first) through the front of the slide. Seat the barrel bushing guide (the small metal tab) on the end of the slide and turn the barrel bushing all the way to the right.
- 4
  Place the recoil spring through the slide (from the back with the spring sticking out of the front) and seat the recoil spring guide on the barrel.
- 5
  Turn the slide over and, with the ring on the bottom of the barrel hanging straight down, line up the slide with the lower receiver and slide them together.
- 6
  Line up the barrel ring with the hole located just above the trigger.
- 7
  Insert the slide stop in the hole and through the ring. Align the back tab of the slide stop with the small cut out on the slide, and press the stop all the way through. When the slide stop is seated, push the slide forward.
- 8
  Put the recoil spring plug on the exposed recoil spring and push it inside the pistol just past the end of the barrel bushing. Turn the barrel bushing straight down and secure the recoil spring plug. Your Colt pistol is now fully assembled.

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