1911 newbie questions

Okay, I need to suck up all pride and exhibit some humility here....

I will be picking up my first 1911 soon.  Springfield Range Officer 45ACP.
I've had Berettas, EAA Witnesses, Smith revolvers, Ruger 22's, Smith 22's, but never a 1911. They are foreign to me.
The purpose of this gun is to be my bullseye gun. I plan to run it stock to start out (maybe change springs if I find that's recommended or needed).

Are there any tips for a first clean? Lube?  What about maintenance cleaning and lube?  Is it bad to disassemble these completely?  Is a bore snake the way to go? 

I had read from "Tony's Bullseye Blog":

Quite a few notable BE smiths have mentioned when cleaning the top-end, during the typical season, the barrel should remain in the gun without removing the fitted bushing. The late Jim Clark, Sr. has been quoted as saying, “Every time you remove the bushing you loose an X in retained accuracy.” Even Messrs Masaki and Salyor have been instructing us for years to remove the bushing only during a complete take-down.

I mostly used Ballistol as my go-to clean and lube product.  And I've been using a bore snake on my 9mm and 22's (but rarely clean my 22 barrels).  I've tried some of the Mil-Comm products as well (MC-25, TB25B, etc). I like their lubes but hate their cleaner. Ballistol seems to be the easiest route.  But again, I don't know what the pros do and don't want to make any detrimental newbie mistakes out of the box with this new firearm.

Thanks for the help.

that stock bushing will be ok to take out it is to lose to do harm
if you reload ( 3.5 gr bullseye with 200 gr cast or swaged bullet ) you might need to reduce recoil spring
dry fire train and live fire with reloads 
and you will have fun!

Deerspy wrote:... you might need to reduce recoil spring ...

You might also want to change the main/hammer spring to 19#, maybe 20#.  Myself and a lot of people I know use 19# main/hammer spring.

I shot my Range Officer straight out of the box for a year with 200 gr and 4 gr of Bullseye. I did not change springs or anything else for the 1st year. I kept it lubed whenever I shot it and cleaned it every few weeks. It will treat you fine to start out that way. As you get more experience with it, you can start looking to tweak it (as I have with mine)

Many times shooters shoot well until they rest test their guns.

Just shoot it, you will be surprised.

Thanks guys.
Yes, I do reload. I've got dies on coming and I just ordered some 185gr LSWCHP's from Magnus. I'll be working up a load with some BE powder. I have a few other powders that are cleaner burning, but BE is the standard in this sport, so I'm planning to stick with that.

Ballistoll is fine. Heck 0-20 mobil one works fine..
If you want to improve the RO the addition of a fitted EGW angle bore bushing and a after market slide stop will for for little $$.

Hoppe's and kroil work well for removing lead and carbon.

Enjoy the pistol. A quality firearm

I run 3.9 of BE with that bullet but with iron sights you can go lower

Try 700X, about 3.5 gr.  Should shoot just splendid.

Hammbone wrote:..........I had read from "Tony's Bullseye Blog":

Quite a few notable BE smiths have mentioned when cleaning the top-end, during the typical season, the barrel should remain in the gun without removing the fitted bushing. The late Jim Clark, Sr. has been quoted as saying, “Every time you remove the bushing you loose an X in retained accuracy.” Even Messrs Masaki and Salyor have been instructing us for years to remove the bushing only during a complete take-down.

......

I was puzzled about this, and asked Dave Salyer directly:

"True of my friend Ed Masaki. Not true about me.... I do recommend pushing the slide back out of battery before turning the bushing, but it is not a requirement. Regarding bushings, I say this. There should be no clearance between it and the slide. There must be clearance between the bushing and the end of the barrel. This small ’clearance’ is taken up when the gun is in battery because the back of the barrel is raised up into lock-up. If the bushing is never removed any bore cleaning must be done from the muzzle end. This is a little risky of damage to the crown."

mikemyers wrote:

Hammbone wrote:..........I had read from "Tony's Bullseye Blog":

Quite a few notable BE smiths have mentioned when cleaning the top-end, during the typical season, the barrel should remain in the gun without removing the fitted bushing. The late Jim Clark, Sr. has been quoted as saying, “Every time you remove the bushing you loose an X in retained accuracy.” Even Messrs Masaki and Salyor have been instructing us for years to remove the bushing only during a complete take-down.

......

I was puzzled about this, and asked Dave Salyer directly:

"True of my friend Ed Masaki. Not true about me.... I do recommend pushing the slide back out of battery before turning the bushing, but it is not a requirement. Regarding bushings, I say this. There should be no clearance between it and the slide. There must be clearance between the bushing and the end of the barrel. This small ’clearance’ is taken up when the gun is in battery because the back of the barrel is raised up into lock-up. If the bushing is never removed any bore cleaning must be done from the muzzle end. This is a little risky of damage to the crown."

Thanks for digging into this and providing the feedback Mike!