SIGforum
Opinions on 1911 gunsmith work
May 23, 2026, 11:56 PM
dry-flyOpinions on 1911 gunsmith work
I have a full rail, Springfield 1911, TRP in .45 that I love and seriously doubt I’ll ever part with. I admittedly don’t shoot it a ton, but it’s not a safe queen either. I contacted Nighthawk to ask about their “reliability package” and was quoted the below for $383. I know good work costs money, I don’t really have an issue with paying.. I guess I’m debating on the perceived difference I’m going to notice. What I’m after is just smoothing things out some..An actual “trigger job” is another $365 if I remember correctly. I’m interested in y’all’s opinions.
"Attack life, it's going to kill you anyway." Steve McQueen...
May 24, 2026, 03:26 AM
12131Pretty fair, and I dare say a bargain, even, imho.
Q
May 24, 2026, 04:15 AM
DaBigBRSeems like a reasonable price, but if the gun runs as-is, I'm not sure that you're going to notice much of a difference.
If you want the trigger improved, you might consider doing the trigger job instead of the reliability package (if that is an option) and maybe replacing the recoil spring and firing pin spring if they haven't been done in a while.
May 24, 2026, 07:26 AM
4MUL8RIF it is reliable, as is, do you need a reliability package?
IF the trigger works for you, and you are both accurate and precise at the distances you shoot, is a trigger replacement necessary?
$750 is a lot of money. Plus shipping, you are at $1000, probably.
Is pistol cost + $1000 less than the price of a nighthawk? Likely.
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Trying to simplify my life...
May 24, 2026, 07:33 AM
dry-flyFair enough, I would not be doing both the trigger job at $365 and the reliability job at $383. I’d pic one or the other.
"Attack life, it's going to kill you anyway." Steve McQueen...
May 24, 2026, 07:49 AM
patwIf it is running and performing well enough, I would leave it as is, as far as the reliability goes. If you want a crisper/smoother trigger pull, the trigger package may be the way to go. You could always add some higher end parts yourself. I have bought some from Cylinder and Slide over the years and while I am no 1911 gunsmith, their parts are of great quality and offer good reliability.
May 24, 2026, 08:27 AM
Jim WatsonWhat a racket, selling stuff that ought to have been done at the factory.
May 24, 2026, 09:31 AM
dry-flyquote:
Originally posted by Jim Watson:
What a racket, selling stuff that ought to have been done at the factory.
The TRP is a production line piece, it’s not a custom gun.
"Attack life, it's going to kill you anyway." Steve McQueen...
May 24, 2026, 09:34 AM
Boss1Very solid 1911 IMHO… Keep in mind, if you have another shop work on it, no matter how good, you’re probably (99.99%) voiding SA’s factory warranty as well. As others said - if reliable and trigger is good (~5#, crisp), then best bet is to resist the urge to tinker and leave it alone. Otherwise it’s counterproductive for ‘just’ a small amount of potentially redundant work.
Now, if you wanted to ‘get fancy’ with a full-on hand fit rebuild, that might be a different story.
SA used to have an absolute top notch custom shop…sadly no more. But you might reach to them and see if there’s anything they still do in-house.
$.02/YMMV,
B
A real life Sisyphus...
"It's not the critic who counts..." TR
Exodus 23.2: Do not follow the crowd in doing wrong...
Despite some people's claims to the contrary, 5 lbs. is actually different than 12 lbs.
It's never simple/easy.
May 24, 2026, 01:50 PM
Jim Watsonquote:
The TRP is a production line piece, it’s not a custom gun.
There is nothing on that list that cannot be done adequately on the production line. It may not be polished shiny, but if they can't get the feed ramp the right angle to start with, why should I have to pay to get it corrected?
May 24, 2026, 02:00 PM
dry-flyquote:
Originally posted by Jim Watson:
quote:
The TRP is a production line piece, it’s not a custom gun.
There is nothing on that list that cannot be done adequately on the production line. It may not be polished shiny, but if they can't get the feed ramp the right angle to start with, why should I have to pay to get it corrected?
Thanks for your input, it’s offered nothing constructive. I cant go back in time and ask SA to rebuild the gun to my specs.
"Attack life, it's going to kill you anyway." Steve McQueen...
May 24, 2026, 02:16 PM
Jim Watsonquote:
I cant go back in time and ask SA to rebuild the gun to my specs.
No, darnit, they don't have a custom shop worthy of the name any more.
I think it is sad that an $1800 gun is so rough you feel like it needs all that touch up work.
May 24, 2026, 02:28 PM
FenderBenderI probably wouldn't bother. I don't think they'd cause any problems but I can't see them markedly improving it either. the TRP was always a premium offering and Springfield can hire just as competent gunsmiths to get even potentially produce a better gun in practice more than in perception.
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Proverbs 3:31 "Envy thou not the oppressor, and choose none of his ways."
May 24, 2026, 02:30 PM
Sgt 127Back in “the good old days”. You didn’t actually buy a Colt to carry. You bought the kit. And, sent it or took it to a reputable gunsmith for mods to make it run. Reliably.
The “standard” package back then was:
Throat and Polish
Real sights. (Fixed or bomar)
Lower the ejection port.
Solid bushing.
Extended thumb safety.
Beavertail.
Trigger job.
Most modern guns have most of that, and more, already.
Unless you just really feel like spending money. If it runs now. That package won’t really change anything.
May 24, 2026, 02:45 PM
dry-flyquote:
Originally posted by Jim Watson:
quote:
I cant go back in time and ask SA to rebuild the gun to my specs.
No, darnit, they don't have a custom shop worthy of the name any more.
I think it is sad that an $1800 gun is so rough you feel like it needs all that touch up work.
The gun is not the turd you are making it into. I simply was asking about some tuning work and *IF* it even needed it when you provided your .2 cents. Your disdain for SA is duly noted.
"Attack life, it's going to kill you anyway." Steve McQueen...
May 24, 2026, 02:47 PM
dry-flyquote:
Originally posted by Sgt 127:
Back in “the good old days”. You didn’t actually buy a Colt to carry. You bought the kit. And, sent it or took it to a reputable gunsmith for mods to make it run. Reliably.
The “standard” package back then was:
Throat and Polish
Real sights. (Fixed or bomar)
Lower the ejection port.
Solid bushing.
Extended thumb safety.
Beavertail.
Trigger job.
Most modern guns have most of that, and more, already.
Unless you just really feel like spending money. If it runs now. That package won’t really change anything.
Gotcha, thanks for that
"Attack life, it's going to kill you anyway." Steve McQueen...
May 24, 2026, 03:40 PM
car541bob does great work, you will not regret it
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"I don't own the night, I only operate a small franchise" - Author unknown
May 24, 2026, 03:47 PM
dry-flyquote:
Originally posted by car541:
bob does great work, you will not regret it
*That* I do not doubt. Thanks
"Attack life, it's going to kill you anyway." Steve McQueen...
May 24, 2026, 03:57 PM
DanHUnless you are having reliability issues, then getting the Reliability Package is a waste of time and money. However, that trigger job will also replace you MIM trigger internals with billet components that can be tuned to a much finer degree and get fitted to your gun by some of the best 1911 smiths out there.
The biggest thing you didn't mention is the timetable. Nighthawk was about 12 months out on Custom Gun orders a couple of years ago when I checked. Odds are good you aren't going to see this gun for a while.
Another idea is check with Skips Gunz.
https://www.skipsguns.com/coll...11-2011-gun-servicesA trigger job using your existing parts is around $100 while for $300 he'll replace your trigger guts with an EGW Ignition Kit that a lot of custom houses use. As long as you're only doing gunsmithing work, he can do it within a week, but you'll have to check what his lead time is.
May 24, 2026, 04:10 PM
dry-flyquote:
Originally posted by DanH:
Unless you are having reliability issues, then getting the Reliability Package is a waste of time and money. However, that trigger job will also replace you MIM trigger internals with billet components that can be tuned to a much finer degree and get fitted to your gun by some of the best 1911 smiths out there.
The biggest thing you didn't mention is the timetable. Nighthawk was about 12 months out on Custom Gun orders a couple of years ago when I checked. Odds are good you aren't going to see this gun for a while.
Another idea is check with Skips Gunz.
https://www.skipsguns.com/coll...11-2011-gun-servicesA trigger job using your existing parts is around $100 while for $300 he'll replace your trigger guts with an EGW Ignition Kit that a lot of custom houses use. As long as you're only doing gunsmithing work, he can do it within a week, but you'll have to check what his lead time is.
Thank you, y’all have pretty much steered me from the idea of needing the reliability package. My goal was just to “tune” the gun some.. I have an account with EGW, I bought a bunch of their parts for a previous 1911 I owned. The 1911 is not a gun I have a lot of experience with. Thanks for the recommendation on Skips, that’s a good idea.
"Attack life, it's going to kill you anyway." Steve McQueen...