I have an 1911 R1, bought in 2011 and I believe the only two options then were whether or not you wanted a 7, or 8 round mag. I want to switch out the mainspring to an arched mainspring. I'm finding not many manufacturers list what models their product is compatible with, and those that do provide it, provide the Colt model. For example Houge only says "1911 Govt." in the item description, and absolutely nothing else. Brownells lists only "Commander, Government" after the product description.

My armorer knowledge & skills are limited, but I'm confident I can change it out. Not so confident in choosing the correct.

Any help would be appreciated.


Thanks

Try calling :

Remington Arms · Customer service


+1 800-243-9700

I didn't give a thought. I did call them and although the parts guy didn't sound very confident, he did say that the R1 closely matches the Colt 1911 Government model. I'm not going to loose a bunch of sleep over this, so I'm rolling with it. I'll do a follow-up afterwards just in case anyone ever has the same question.

Thanks for the advice.

My mainspring is on back order, it'll be a while before I know for sure. But just FYI, I asked Houge, and here's their reply...

"Thank you for contacting us here at Hogue. As long as you have a standard full size 1911 the main spring should work. Mainspring houses reuse the existing mainspring, mainspring cap, cap pin, and retaining pin."

Too many this may have been a silly question with a simple answer. If so, it's only because I'm new to altering firearms. As well as 1911s - this is my one & only. If there's a good reference showing the spec differences between the Colt Government, Commander, Range Officer, etc, please advise.

Thanks

No problem...glad to help.

Keep us in the loop...

No silly questions here, MJ, except the ones that are never asked. I have an R1 Commander and I've occasionally wondered about the same issue. I'll be awaiting your feedback when you accomplish this. And welcome to the Remington Owners!

Well, I can only speak about the mainspring housing, but when buying one for the 1911 R1, and having to choose from a Colt variant, the Colt Government model was a perfect match. They may all be the same, I have no idea, but Brownells made me choose between Colt Commander, or Colt Government, and when I called Remington, I was told to go with the Colt Government model.

Here's what an arched black aluminum with a matte finish Hogue mainspring housing looks like.