M1911 Barrel Bushing Q

[Olle]

Originally Posted by sheepherder

I've heard that urban myth too.

It is also mentioned in the Kuhnhausen manuals, so I don't think it's an urban legend. IIRC, the problem was that they required more precisely machined slides, as they were sensitive to misalignment. If a standard bushing is misaligned, there's usually enough slop in the slide for the barrel to straighten it up, but in a collet bushing it might bend (and eventually break) the fingers instead. Something like that anyway, I can look it up if anybody is interested.

Kuhnhausen recommends replacing them with a solid bushing, but it's "for good measure" so there's no telling how common this problem really was.