1911 XACT FIT BARREL Reviews & Ratings

Love Fred Kart 1911 45 ACP hand gun because I have one of his personal guns in my safe! As soon as I get the new barrel I will let you know how I like it.

Fitting went well using the xact fit tool kit. This is the 3rd 1911 barrel I have fitted. Functions great and a noticeable improvement over the stock barrel for accuracy.

Takes understanding of the mechanical intricacies of a 1911 lockup but the results of the accuracy are phenomenal. Fiitting the hood is the first step.

Own a 1969 Colt Govt 45acp with target sights. Lucky to get a 3.5in group out of the ransom rest at 25yds. Followed directions exactly. With the Xact, it is so tight and today shot a 1.7in group at 50yds from the rest!

I used one of these for a Caspian build. The only real stumbling point for me, was that I needed to lower the barrel bed of the frame to get the barrel to drop low enough for the lugs to clear the slide when the barrel drops. I was able to find at least one other instance of this being necessary with virgin Caspian frames. Will likely not be a problem if you are installing in a factory pistol. I was able to get the pistol to lock up TIGHT. The trigger rattles a little bit, but nothing else does. I expect that the Kart barrel is capable of better accuracy than any mortal human can hold a pistol. I'm not a great bullseye shooter, but I can shoot ragged-hole groups if I'm taking my time and concentrating. The barrel is throated well. 200gr semi-wadcutter bullets slide right into the chamber with little effort. As long as I get the recoil spring right, the pistol chugs along happily. Firing pin strikes are well-centered on the primers. Not as simple or foolproof as a drop-in barrel, but you'll get better accuracy, and the Xact-fit barrel saves you from trying to fit a bushing to the barrel, picking the right link, and cutting the barrel lugs, and saves you from buying a couple hundred dollars worth of tools. I'm now getting ready to buy a ramped 9mm Xact-fit barrel for my next build.

I've had Fred's exact fit barrel in my bullseye Colt 45nm for some years now and have started to take the accuracy for granted. The gun is like a fine swiss watch and a much better shot than I am. So I just bought a 10mm Colt Delta Gold Cup on Gun Broker (what a beauty), loaded up my best bullseye recipe and headed to the range. What a let down. So I started comparing groups with my 45 bullseye gun and am sending a check to Kart for a Colt 5" / 10mm exact fit barrel today, there's just no comparison. The Delta Gold Cup may never be the equal of my bullseye gun but it wont be because of the barrel.!

I know my way around guns pretty well, but I've never fitted a bushing or barrel before. With Brownells' "bushing installation kit" and Kart's barrel-fitting kit, I was able to not only get the job done but get it done RIGHT. I don't have the shop tools some folks may have, but you don't need many tools for this installation. I got it all done over the course of one weekend; the bushing I did in a couple of hours on Friday night; the barrel I did over most of Saturday, and finished things up on Sunday. Again, I've never done this before, so I was taking my time (you can't put metal back)... but, for the most part, I can't say there were any problems. I do have to say I wasn't impressed with the instructions; the people who wrote them (and illustrated them) clearly KNOW what they're talking about... but I didn't, and their instructions were often confusing and, in a few instances, poorly worded. I had other references on hand, though, plus access to the Internet where I could look things up... so I never got to a point where I felt like I'd hit a brick wall. JUST TAKE YOUR TIME and you can do this. The gun into which I installed the barrel and bushing is a Springfield Armory 1911 Mil-Spec. Sure tightened things up and I can't wait to shoot it. I've read nothing but good reviews on Kart barrels in 1911s.

I installed the Kart .40 S&W barrel in a Kimber 10mm 1911 to allow more ammo options in today's tight ammo market. The Kart Easy Fit Tool Kit #472-015-000 provided an alignment block, .003 feeler, bench bushing, Swiss file & marking paste. I chose to use the Brownells Barrel Alignment Block # 080-000-041 instead because it drops into the slide rails. The Kart Swiss file was great for adjusting the .003 clearance on the sides of the barrel hood. I used a Brownells Bushing Fitting Mandrel # 080-804-100 with a drill press and #320 grit shop roll material ONLY to give a VERY nice fit of the Kart bushing to the Kimber slide. I did not need to use a file for this step! Fitting the hood length to give the .001 - .002 clearance required more time and the Kart bench bushing helped immensely because of the numerous steps of file several strokes followed by testing fit. Be very cautious when adjusting the barrel pads. I was careful to use the marking paste, take a couple of file strokes, then test lock-up. Note that VERY LITTLE material needs to be removed!! I recommend removing the extractor during this process because I discovered that the Kart barrel extractor recess needed a slight enlargement to give proper clearance similar to the original Kimber barrel. The Kart Swiss file was perfect for this adjustment. The only other "surprise" was that I needed to polish the barrel feed ramp to provide hesitation-free feeding with all of my different bullet types. I used a Cratex Medium Bullet Point #8 (#190-025-082) in #4 Mandrel (#190-001-004) to do this. Subsequent testing indicated that firing pin impact was dead center on the primer. VERY SATISFYING INDEED!!

If you take your time and read the instructions, and make sure you totally understand the funstion of the 1911 platform, and take your time with the file (1 stroke, check fit, do it again)you will have a barrel fit that is better than anything you can get from a professional smith.

I am a builder of custom 1911s , I am able to get 5/8" 5 shot groupes at 25 yds on a regular basis with a ransom rest.