As it comes from the supplier, the Kart bushing will not go into the slide. The author uses a belt sander to carefully remove a little metal from the outside diameter of the bushing.

As I went along, each barrel setup was test-fired for function with ammunition representative of what would be used in the accuracy-test portion. You may notice that Federal match wadcutter is one of those loads. Conventional wisdom says plain guns won't feed that, and you need a special lighter spring. That is bogus BS. With each barrel, the gun ran perfectly with it using the standard spring. As a concession to convenience, I did replace the standard Springfield two-piece full-length recoil spring guide with a standard guide and plug. When the actual testing is done, I like to leave the frame in the Ransom Rest and simply change barrels, and that facilitates changing--plus I am not a fan of full-length guide rods.

So here was the process I used. When the stock pistol arrived, it was test-fired with all the ammo likely to be used, and it functioned without a hitch. Then the Nowlin Pre-fit barrel was installed, and the test was repeated--again there were no stoppages. Finally, the Kart barrel was fitted and tested in the same manner as the other two. This time I carefully checked for wear or high spots on the barrel, and I took a tiny cut on the hood to make it drop freely. Since there had been an "alteration," the test was repeated. During all of this shooting, there were still no malfunctions.

The test procedure is routine for me and begins with a minimum of 15 rounds to settle the gun in the rest. This period is also used to verify the proper operation of the chronograph. Normally I chronograph each round but just report the statistics on the entire string--in this case, 25 rounds. And since one of the test loads has a lead bullet, I shoot those last and fire an extra five rounds that are not measured to be sure the bore is conditioned for the ammo change. Even though I am changing only the barrels--not taking the gun out of the rest--I still fire the settling rounds before record shooting begins. In addition, the barrel is lubricated before any shooting, and the procedure is strictly followed for the third barrel as well. This routine produces a lot of information.

Sometimes when you have this much information, it is a challenge just to figure out what it's telling you. The first thing is that you will see some rather large or small groups within any given set. This falls under the law of random distribution (the bell curve), and if we didn't have that, the data would be suspect. The information really doesn't tell us anything about the quality of the barrel itself but rather how well it fits the gun. The secret to accuracy in the 1911 pistol is in the lockup and the need for the barrel to return to the same place after every shot. The only way to judge the quality of the rifling itself is to test it independent of the gun in a special fixture.

But maybe the biggest question is one the shooter must ask himself. "Do I need to do anything at all to the gun to meet my needs?"

Not too long ago, brand-new guns often shot 5-inch groups at 25 yards and wouldn't have a prayer of working with target loads. Today, reliable function is a given, and as it came from the box, the Springfield was more than accurate enough for defense or general recreational shooting.

Shooters always want to personalize their guns, but today, there isn't much left to do, and frequently, modification is an expense that produces no tangible benefit. A barrel upgrade is an exception, and better accuracy is the result. I'm especially partial towards the Kart barrel just because it required a little work on my part. The skill required to do this job isn't great, and you can get by nicely with a good file and the installation kit from Kart. If you don't have any experience with a file, find a piece of scrap metal and practice filing a flat surface so you won't end up with the hood all cattywampus.