spring housing on 1911 - flat or bumpy?

BP7

BP7

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ok, so i'm gonna ask something silly (cuz it's monday).

on 1911 pistols, some have the spring housing (rear of grip) flat and others (i think it's the A1 versions) are rounded.

what's the performance / reliability difference?
what's the "feel" difference?
can one be swapped out for the other or is it pretty well part of the frame and/or a very expensive swap?
 
They can be easily changed. Personal preference.
In the 1920s, it was thought that the 1911 tended to shoot low and that the arched housing would raise the point of impact.
 
Long before the M&P and the 4th Gen Glock there was the 1911A1.

BP7 said:
what's the performance / reliability difference?
what's the "feel" difference?
Click to expand...

It's completely subjective.

can one be swapped out for the other or is it pretty well part of the frame and/or a very expensive swap?
Click to expand...

You can switch it back and forth in less than a minute.
 
Like tiraq says, the only difference is preference. It is relatively easy to swap out mainspring housings. Some like arched and some like flat. But that being said, most modern 1911's come with a flat mainspring housing while "retro" or GI style 1911's typically come with the historically correct arched mainspring housing.
 
so it's just the housing that's different, and the rest of the spring guts are identical for both version?
 
The flat MSH looks better, but the arched one does help. Try closing your eyes, bring up the gun and pretend you are trying to shoot somebody right in front of you in total darkness. If you open your eyes and find your front and rear sights line up perfectly, you have the right grip angle for you.

I have had such good sight line-ups with 1911 with arched MSH. With the flat one I always aim low.
 
BP7 said:
so it's just the housing that's different, and the rest of the spring guts are identical for both version?
Click to expand...

Pretty much, it you take one apart, all it is is a spring with two little nubby things (technical term) on the ends. This is inserted into a hole in the housing and capped with a pin to keep it in place.

I like the look of the flat housing, and I have smaller hands so I might pick up a flat housing for my Norinco.
 
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