ACCURACY & PERFORMANCE:

• Precision Slide and Frame Fit: We perform this operation on scratch built pistols only. The slide and frame is machined to a press fit and then hand lapped to a 'slip-fit-no-shake' tolerance.
• Enhanced Slide and Frame Fit: For production guns and pre-fit slides and frames. The slide and frame is refitted through a process of metal forming in order to obtain the best possible fit. This is not always successful at totally eliminating tolerance between the slide and frame and various degrees of success should be expected.
• Precision Barrel Installation: A match grade barrel is machined to key precisely with the breech face of the slide as well as mate with an appropriate oversized barrel bushing. The legs are machined to engage the slide stop pin with the correct barrel lock time and slide stop dwell as dictated by the specific caliber employed.
• Match Grade Stainless Bushing: The bushing is fitted line-to-line with the slide channel and keyway and then machined to accept the diameter of the barrel used. The web of the PD barrel bushing is thicker than most units on the market and require a dedicated recoil plug.
• Oversized Slide Stop Pins: Our oversized slide stop pins are designed to take up excessive tolerance in slide stop tunnels on worn 1911s. Slide stop tunnels will increase in size overtime and more often than not becoming oval. Our way of compensating for this is to re-machine the slide stop hole but slightly oversize in order to recover trueness. Some new 1911 frames have slide stop holes that are not true or correctly located. We perform the same operation in order to optimize the pin location.
• Wide Links: Wide Links are designed specifically for target pistols. They work best with low pressure target loads because the link advances the lock time of the mechanism so that light loads will function the pistol more efficiently.
• Crowning: Proper crowning is necessary to release the bullet from the bore cleanly and to protect the release apex from damage. We use two types of barrel crowning techniques: step crown and traditional radius crown.

FUNCTION:

• External Extractor: A standard feature on our scratch built pistols. This system allows us to precisely position the location of the extractor relative to each caliber. Extraction and ejection is substantially enhanced over the traditional 1911 internal extractor system.
• Internal Extractor: We offer internal extractors on our scratch built pistols but we are seldom asked to do so. Because of the infrequency of these requests, internal extractors are single set-up operations and add to the expense of the pistol.
• Throat and Ramp: This is one of the most critical aspects of feed and function performed on the pistol itself. It shares importance with good ammo and magazines in assuring that your pistol feeds properly. The barrel throat is machined and polished to facilitate a good feed pattern. The feed ramp on the frame is ramped in order to allow the round to blend into the throat.
• Port and Dimple: This is what allows the fired case to clear the chamber without interrupting the next round to be chambered. The port on the slide is configured to clear the path for the fired case during firing and to eject a live round properly in case of a fail-to-ignite. The dimple helps the fired case to clear the slide on ejection without being deflected. Reloaders like it because, if done correctly, it prevents the small ding in the middle of the brass that eventually becomes the source for a fracture that reduces the reloadable life of the case.

SIGHTS:

ISS Sight and Bushing System: The ISS system is a unique Pistol Dynamics feature that allows interchangeability of the front sight on a locked breach pistol. It is an extremely secure form of front sight installation and numerous sight configurations are available. Unlike most other sight installation methods, the ISS is secured on all planes generated by the linear dovetail. The barrel bushing has a locking tab integrated into the design and serves a secondary purpose of securing the front sight. The sight is a press fit in the slide and does not dislodge when the pistol is disassembled. The ISS bushing requires a special wrench.
Rear Sights - Fixed: Our rear sights are designed and CNC machined in house. They are available in a number of configurations from blank blades to nite -sites and fibre optic etc. We offer a bevelled and radius profile. The dovetail is 'Novak' compatible. ('Novak' is a trademark of Novaks Inc. and is used in this context for descriptive purposes only).
Rear Sights - Adjustable: We use Bomar adjustable sights primarily when rear sight adjustment is needed. Other sight systems are offered but Bomar is our sight of choice.
ISS Wrench: The ISS 'tombstone' wrench is designed to work with our interchangeable sight system but it is also compatible with most stock bushings available on the market. It is CNC machined in-house from high grade aluminum and is intended to be a 'sacrifice' tool to prevent damage to the slide face and bushings of expensive pistols. For this reason they don't look pretty for to long but they do last a very long time.
Optical Sights: We generally mount optical and electronic sights on competition pistols such as Bianchi, Steel Challenge or Bullseye guns. Various mounting options are available and include slide, frame and nose mount.
Ribs: We make our sight ribs from high grade aluminum specifically for Bullseye pistols.
Fibre Optic Sights - FO sights are available as a set or separately and are based on our PD fixed sight bodies. Fibre optic sights are highly visible but the FO rod can be somewhat fragile.
Gold Bead Front Sights: We fit more of these sights to our pistols than any other. We use only genuine 9ct gold rod to machine inserts that are precisely positioned in the front sight post (brass rod or plated material doesn't work well). Gold is one of the most reflective materials available and has the widest ambient light reflecting capabilities of any sight insert material. Ed McGivern was right!

RECOIL SYSTEM:

• Stainless Recoil Guide and Closed Plug (Standard) - Machined from 416 Stainless Steel our standard length guide rods are thicker on the web to prevent distortion caused by continuos use. The are dimensioned to secure a Wolff recoil spring and to minimize spring distortion.
• Stainless Recoil Guide and Plug (Full Length) - Machined from 416 Stainless Steel our Full length two-piece guide rods are thicker on the web to prevent distortion caused by continuous use and are dimensioned to prevent recoil spring distortion and to smooth the action of the pistol. These guide rods require a dedicated recoil spring plug to match our bushings.
• Active Reverse Plug: The ARP system is part of our XO line of handguns and is available as a retro-fit on certain bull barrel production handguns. The advantage of this system is that it eliminates the need for take down tools and it supports the bull barrel throughout the cycle of the pistol.
• Stainless Recoil Springs - We use ultra high performance stainless steel springs in our pistols in the majority of cases. Some of our trigger kits and extractor springs are a different material for technical reasons. Most of the recoil springs in our pistols are supplied to us by Wolff.
• Slide Guards - Slide guards are used to help prevent the thumb interrupting the action of the slide when using a high hold technique or wearing gloves in a tactical situation. Our design replaces the safety plunger and spring and is held in place by the left grip, screw and bushing.

IGNITION SYSTEM:

• Hammers: Pistol Dynamics hammers are machined from high grade tool steel and designed to reduce mass through a unique pocketed design that increases lock time without reducing the strike force needed at the firing pin.
• Firing Pins: We use stainless steel firing pins because the 1911 is an inertia fired pistol. Titanium firing pins require more main spring pressure to ignite the primer consistently making it difficult to tune out muzzle climb because of the force required to re-cock the hammer after each cycle.

SAFETIES:

• Beavertails: We believe that the beavertail is the single most important aspect of pistol ergonomics. We machine and shape our beavertails from bar stock to an exacting design to ensure a proper grip on the pistol. Our part produces the highest hold possible without generating a high front sight when the handgun is properly held.
• Single Side Safety : At this time we use modified and re-configured Brown safeties as the base of our design.
• Ambi Safety: We use modified and re-configured Brown safeties as the base of our ambi design as well.

MISC:

• Browning Cuts: 'Browning Cuts' are a Liebenberg signature that has been used in conjunction with 'ball cuts' on his pistols for a number of decades. The practical use is to release the pistol from molded holsters more efficiently.
• Bevel Package: Commonly referred to in the gun press as "dehorning" our method consists of an ergonomic bevel applied to all corners that could come into contact with the shooter. We do not melt anything
• Barrel Fluting: We flute heavy wall barrels like 9mm and 38 Supers to cut down unsprung weight. It helps to soften initial impulse but this can only be perceived by very experienced shooters using lighter loads. Generally we do it for cosmetic reasons.
• Grips: We offer a large range of commercial grips on our product. However, Pistol Dynamics micarta grips have been designed for maximum adhesion and are ergonomically shaped to fill the hand without effecting the girth of the pistol. They are also designed specifically for use on our custom mag well installations and are recommended for this use over all wood grip material.
• Mag Well / Slide-on: This system is ideal for instances where it is difficult to permanently attach a mag well (i.e. aluminum frames) or with use on a competition pistol where there is a high wear factor on the mag well and refinishing the part instead of the whole gun is an advantage after extended use. This system does not extend the length of a standard 1911 frame but they require dedicated PD grips.
• Mag Well / Fixed: These are cosmetically and functionally identical to our slide-on mag wells but are permanent and externally seamless. They also require dedicated PD grips.
• Mag Well / Beveled: This is the traditional method of bevelling a stock mag well on a 1911. There is no attachment. The mag well opening is machined to facilitate a smoother reload.
• Pinch Checks: These are cocking serrations cut on the muzzle end of the slide to match those on the rear. We do not recommend 'pinch checking' a pistol for safety reasons.
• Square and Checker Trigger Guard: We do not swage or stretch trigger guards in order to square them. We totally replace the stock trigger guard using the same host material as the frame. We then machine it as though it was intended to be there. The front face is hand checkered. Although this method is time consuming it produces the best result.
• Flat Top and Line: We have a myriad of slide lining patterns, these include a bordered 40 LPI, 20 LPI radiused (reserved for Combat Specials) and hand checkered patterns.

FINISH:

• Hard Chrome Plating: This is an industrial plating process that was developed many years ago for the aerospace industry. It works well on pistols because of it's durability. We use it on our personal competition guns because it highlights the sights against the chrome body of the pistol. The down side is that hard chrome doesn't have a 100% surface coverage, especially on internal nooks and crannies of the slide and frame.
• Bluing: There is nothing more appealing to us than a good blue job on a high end custom pistol. Bluing is essentially a controlled rust and can be prepared in many ways to include high polish and matt bead finish. The down side is that it shows wear almost immediately upon use which can add to the character of the pistol but it also could lead to corrosion quicker in high humidity areas.
• Exotic: These finishes include carbono and nitre blues, silver and gold plating and combinations thereof. These finishes are museum grade applications and are generally impractical for daily use because to re-apply the finish after time is restrictively expensive. Nitriding is one of the few exotic finish that is wear resistant but it is generally irreversible.
• Polymer: If you want to 'paint' your gun, this is the way to do it. The process is usually applied with a spraygun and then baked. When done correctly it can be relatively successful. If poorly applied it can be scraped off with a fingernail. It is substantially thicker than other finishes. High grade guns with tight tolerances don't benefit from this finish in our opinion.