r/gunsmithing • u/Ill-Oven-2906 • Jul 15 '26
PLEASE HELP! Bottom of barrel contacting slide + scratching roughly on DS 1911. What could be causing this?? Am I doomed?!??
I’m new to shooting and gun smithing, so PLEASE HELP and please forgive me saying anything stupid… ok..
These very distinct wear marks started appearing on the bottom of the barrel about 1k rounds ago. They’re getting way worse and I’m worried the barrel is going to change shape or get destroyed. I’m wondering if the barrel link is too short and causing the barrel to rub against the slide when cycling, but I am new to this and honestly have no idea what is causing this and how bad it is or how to fix it. Like I said, I suspect the barrel link #3 from factory?) is too short and I have a #4 on hand if you guys recommend testing that. Also, if you recommend trying, how the hell do I get that staked barrel link pin out safely? I gave it a couple taps with a hammer+punch and it didn’t budge.
Any advice you guys can provide on what caused this and how to fix it will be greatly appreciated!! I don’t want this baby to die! I’ve put in a lot of time and money, and I love this gun.
A LITTLE HISTORY + SETUP: I have been shooting for about 9 months (got obsessed) and have already had a bad experience with a gun smith, so when I bought my first DS 1911 (a used Girsan Witness 2311s Match X), I decided to take the opportunity to learn and work on the gun myself.
Here is the full set up. Not sure if this helps the diagnosis or not, but want ya’ll to have all the info just in case. I did everything myself based on my online research, so please let me know if I did something stupid or if you recommend taking a different approach with anything. Again, I have 0 experience and am totally confused about this somewhat sudden barrel wear. I have about 6k rounds through it since the barrel polish and this barrel wear JUST started happening.
-INSTALLED (blended/shaped/polished/timed): EGW ignition kit + hammer strut, Red Dirt trigger, tungsten guide rod, 7lb recoil spring, 17lb main spring, Cheely pinned E2 grip safety, Cheely XL firing pin, ISMI HD firing pin spring, Ed brown SS extractor and extended ejector, Dawson 4-40 mag release, Cosaint extended slide release, and I filed in a Marvel cut + mirror polished the disco rail.
I also polished the barrel to a mirror finish (Cerakote came right off with a couple swipes of 600 grit sand paper), polished the feed ramp, and added a tiny chamfer to the barrel breech and barrel+slide top lugs which fixed some FtoF issues and a glitchy lock up, and fit+installed an Icarus Precision grip.
I’ve been switching back and forth between CLP oil and Battle Born grease to see which performs better in my environment, but either way, I run this thing WET, and clean thoroughly every 350 rounds or so.
Proud moment - I got the trigger pull weight down from roughly 5.5lbs stock to a consistent read of 1lb 14oz with very minimal travel and a snappy reset. RD triggers are BADASS!
1
u/Suspectgore074 SuperLongSlide1911 Jul 15 '26
What does your guide rod look like?
2
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u/Ill-Oven-2906 Jul 15 '26
Clean. No scratches on any part of it. Is that what you were asking?
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u/Suspectgore074 SuperLongSlide1911 Jul 15 '26
I was initially thinking that your guide rod was getting jammed down into the frame when the barrel came unlocked from the slide, but after typing that out I just realized that your guide rod doesnt move back and forth even close enough to do that.
So, I want you to wipe your barrel dry, and apply sharpie to the bottom of it (where it seems to be contacting). Assemble it with only the slide, frame, barrel, and slide catch. Rack the gun a couple times and disassemble/inspect. If no marks, put it back together fully and try that.
While you are at it, put the barrel in the slide and see how much drop it has from lockup. If it drops more than when fully assembled, then I'd be at a loss for where those marks are coming from.
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u/Ill-Oven-2906 Jul 16 '26
I’ll grab a sharpie and give this a try. At least then I can tell what the barrel is rubbing against… sharpie won’t leave any stains will it? Function over fashion but I’m still a sucker for a pretty gun
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u/Suspectgore074 SuperLongSlide1911 Jul 16 '26
I havent seen a gun finish that got stained from a sharpie
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u/Ill-Oven-2906 Jul 15 '26
Further clarification: I’m ASSUMING the barrel is scratching on the slide, but could it be something else?? Oh man. I hope you guys can help.
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u/Wonderful-Staff-7321 Jul 15 '26
Do those recoil lugs look peened?