That 1911 “ Rattle “

[acaligunner]

Any 1911 old school people remember shaking a 1911 and listening to that pistol rattle ? 🙂

I remember a few of them making that noise ( back in the day - 80’s / 90’s ).

One time at M B Retting a salesman was very high on a S&W 1911 and telling me how I should buy that 1911 pistol, well he handed that 1911 to me and I looked at him and then I shook that S&W and you could definitely hear it rattle like crazy - I looked at the salesman and said “ you want me to buy this ? ~ it’s broke man “ he was like 😦.

I just laughed because while some 1911’s did make that noise they were gtg, it didn’t mean they were “ broke “.

[Grendel Guy]

I've a S&W 1911 out of their custom shop. Very happy with it.

[MrTokarev]

I’ve heard that the rattle was mostly from military 1911s that had been in service since WWII and been rearsenaled a few times.

[Grendel Guy]

I also have a SA 1911 GI model. Shake it and it sounds like a empty can of paint.

[jarhead714]

I’ve heard that the rattle was mostly from military 1911s that had been in service since WWII and been rearsenaled a few times.

NIB Rock Island GI models have plenty of rattle nowadays!😆

[acaligunner]

I like the rattle, it’s what I grew up on 😁

[MrTokarev]

NIB Rock Island GI models have plenty of rattle nowadays!😆

Could be the difference between a new RIA vs an old colt? Or perhaps the specs for the RIA are worn Colts?

I don’t claim to know. It was just something I heard. My Springfield mil-spec is pretty tight.

[acaligunner]

NIB Rock Island GI models have plenty of rattle nowadays!😆

I don’t know if the old school folks knew something about that sound. 😁.

My Pops showed me that rattle sound when I was just a young Warthog ~ when I was around 7 years old 🙂

[beerman]

The rattle is because of tolerance allowed in making the guns. Any WW2 gun has rattle, rebuilt or not. Hardly affects accuracy, greatly improves reliability.

[acaligunner]

The rattle is because of tolerance allowed in making the guns. Any WW2 gun has rattle, rebuilt or not. Hardly affects accuracy, greatly improves reliability.

Since pops showed me, I always do the rattle test on all 1911’s, even the more expensive ones. Just ingrained in my brain 😁

[Oldluck]

Oh yeah, definitely remember that old-school 1911 rattle! Loose didn’t mean broken—those guns just ran no matter what.

[Dirk Tungsten]

My Norinco rattles a bunch, still shoots great. Airtight tolerances are overrated and unnecessary, IMO.

[Fjold]

The rattle is usually the barrel link shaking. You can check this by pushing on the barrel hood when the action is locked closed. If the hood moves down when you push on it, it means that the barrel link is too short

[aklon]

The rattle is because of tolerance allowed in making the guns. Any WW2 gun has rattle, rebuilt or not. Hardly affects accuracy, greatly improves reliability.

The gun had to work in every environment under any condition. I doubt some of the match tuned guns we're used to nowadays can make the same claim.
(IMNSHO)

[k1dude]

In the service, I remember an armorer telling me the quick way to pick a good 1911 was the right amount of rattle. He would walk down the line of 1911's and give them a good shake. If it didn't rattle, it likely wasn't reliable. If it had too much rattle, it likely wasn't reliable. It had to have just the right amount of rattle.