fake can on 1911?

[Power Pill]

I've been thinking about putting a fake can on my 1911, but I've heard that putting weight on the end of the barrel can cause malfunctions. Has anyone tried this before? Id like to get some more info before I look into it any further.

Thanks!

 

[MTF]

It's true that enough weight on the end of the barrel will cause it to not rotate out of battery and return again properly when fired. I don't know what that weight is. At one time in the dim, distant past I had a 1911 with a shoulder stock that came with a 16" barrel, which placed the weight of 11" of more steel on the barrel than it normally would have had. It functioned perfectly with normal 230-grain cartridges. I think if you make a fake suppressor of relatively light materials, and use normal military ball ammunition, the gun will work.

During Vietnam operations, the US Navy invested in some S&W Model 39s, which also use a tilting barrel, to be used as silened weapons. However, to make them as quiet as possible, they were altered so that they could be fired as locked-slide, single shot pistols. They were not normally to be used in semi-automatic mode, but presumably they could have been.

Good luck with your project.

 

[RickR1100]

During Vietnam operations, the US Navy invested in some S&W Model 39s, which also use a tilting barrel, to be used as silened weapons. However, to make them as quiet as possible, they were altered so that they could be fired as locked-slide, single shot pistols. They were not normally to be used in semi-automatic mode, but presumably they could have been.

Yes, and those suppressors had a operational life of about 20 rounds...the amount they were issued with! And they were designed and issued with a custom ultra-hot high pressure 9mm load...velocity subsonic, but it pushed a 170 grain bullet! It was nicknamed "Hush Puppy" because that's what it was supposed to do: silence Vietcong village dogs from alerting the occupants of the impending SEAL doom! That and they could dispatch dog tracking teams while they E+E'd out of the AO.

Interestingly, it was the SEAL "Hush Puppy" program that started the development of stainless steel handguns, and S&W struggled with the metalurgy in those days. They didn't really become long-term durable until around about 1990'ish...before that, they'd still have significant "galling" which is a smearing effect on the moving contact surfaces.