Handgun Parts You Can Actually Use to Make Practical Upgrades

If you’re looking for colt parts, there’s a good chance that you actually take your favorite sidearm to the range and use it. There’s isn’t much point in tricking out the internals of a safe queen, anyway.

These are some of the best upgrades you can make with the addition of quality colt parts and, of course, the right guide to do so. See if any of these apply to your favorite pistol.

1.Improve accuracy and confidence with a new trigger

What can we say about poor quality triggers that haven’t been said a million times over in every firearms publication in the history of firearms publications? The trigger has, without a doubt, one of the most significant impacts of confidence, and therefore accuracy, in the build of a gun.

Mushy triggers, unpredictable triggers, and triggers with creep and overtravel are the literal banes of the shooting sports. In order to become confident and effective, your handgun’s trigger must break at a consistent weight and at the same point, every time. Luckily, with a few tools and a compatible trigger group, you can switch out your factory trigger for something potentially much better.

2.Soften reports with a suppressor - if legal

Hearing protection is a must, especially if you shoot recreationally. However, if you can do anything else to increase your comfort, why wouldn’t you? Even with protection, some handguns are still unpleasantly loud, and a suppressor might just become your best friend at the range, significantly reducing the perceived volume of your shots fired.

3.Replace the recoil spring for surer cycling and resetting

Well made recoil springs may last over a thousand rounds, but even the best of them will wear out and need to be replaced eventually. Without a functioning recoil spring, your firearm will start to fail to cycle and feed, eventually turning a semi-automatic handgun into a sloppy single shot. Replace the recoil spring when cycling starts to lag, the gun jams or fails to feed, and you should notice a marked uptick in performance, unless something else was the culprit.

4.Add a magwell, spend less time fumbling

Personal experience is the best teacher here, but proponents of magwells love them. They say it cuts back on time spent “feeling” for the mag compartment, guiding in the magazine and making it easier to reload a handgun. Add a magwell and see for yourself if it was worth the investment. It’s not a particularly expensive part. Besides, maybe you really can cut back on the time it takes to reload or even do it reflexively - if so, you might be able to score better in competition.

5.Add a match grade barrel, watch the groups shrink

Another improvement you can make with the right set of Colt parts centers around replacing the barrel. Old handguns will need their barrels replaced eventually whether they’re worn and pitted or not. Every shot sent downrange will wear away some of the barrel’s rifling, so when the time comes you’ll need to replace it anyway.

Except, the next time you replace your handgun’s barrel, replace it with a match grade barrel and you may be able to see your groups shrink. Of course, the ammunition you feed your gun matters just as much here - but a higher quality barrel should produce noticeable effects with the same loads.

6.Improve the look and feel with new grips or scales

Here’s an upgrade you can make that actually does have some cosmetic value. Swap out the scales or grips of your pistol and give it a new, improved look. Some popular handguns, like the perennially popular 1911 and mimics, can be vastly improved with the simple addition of new scales. You can give them new life in this manner, and the same can be said for many aging revolvers. New grips can breathe new life into a handgun, and they can even improve your comfort while shooting if you replace them judiciously.

7.Colt part or not, add optics to the platform

You might not consider optics to be Colt parts, but at the very least they are accessories and they can vastly improve your accuracy, especially with reflex shooting. Whether you add a red dot or a scope to your handgun, you can bring down your time-to-target acquisition and drive down the size of your groups. Add a rail to the top of your slide if you don’t have one and have at it. You can also try adding night sights - they offer different functionality, but it’s equally desirable.

Do you have any questions about how to make any of these upgrades, which are the top manufacturers, or what parts you should look for with respect to your preferred model? Whether your handgun of choice is a Colt wheelgun or a Glock 19, take a look through our collection of Colt parts or reach out to us at 610-250-3960. If you don’t know what you’re looking for, we’ll help you find it.