The Art and Science of Keeping Your 1911 Running

[Evil_Ed]

I also need a grip safety. This one works pretty much text book from what I gather, it allows the trigger bar to pass at about exactly halfway through its total travel which is pretty much dead flush to the back of the grip frame. The grip safety when fully depressed is below the frame surface. My problem is it's an "old school' bumpless grip safety and to fire I have to use a completely different grip instead of my normal "high as I can get it" and ride the thumb safety with my strong hand thumb. This is a Caspian build and the frame is hard chrome. I don't want to jack with reprofiling and re-chrome.

Anyone have a suggestion for replacement? I'm at the point of just filing it a small touch to allow trigger movement a bit sooner and putting some Talon grip material on it.

Attachment 107239
Attachment 107240

Depending on the radius, you may or may not have luck with a "drop in" replacement from say S&A or something like that..you can for sure re-sensitize the safety to get out of the way sooner. You can also get some thin strips of leather or similar material and build up a bump with some kind of epoxy on the bottom of the grip safety itself, making a nice bump to deactivate it sooner...some pro gunsmiths can braze or weld a bump on too, but it'll probably be less expensive to measure the radius and order something that may/should fit it as a drop-in. Worst case, if you order something from Brownells and it doesn't fit, so long as you haven't modified the part you can always return it..

[SW CQB 45]

Is that a King's Gun Works grip safety? look at 206.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/225508449675

https://www.1911forum.com/threads/my...464010&slide=0

when the grip safety HUMPS started appearing, I had no extra money so I had an old grip safety and I cut a piece from the bottom. I shaped it and JB welded to the grip safety making my own hump. It worked. We wont talk about looks but it worked.

[Elwin]

I’d try sensitizing the safety first so it releases in more like 1/4 of its travel. If it’s still not right I’d experiment with add hoc hump additions to see if those help, and if so I’d send the grip safety to a smith for a proper weld and blend job. I know I saw pictures recently of exactly that kind of work but unfortunately I can’t remember where or who it was.

Off the top of my head, maybe Jim Milks? He does a lot of excellent welding work adding material to frames (including entirely replacing the front strap) so I’m sure he could do it. That all sounds, to me at least, like a better route than having to refinish a hard chromed frame or potentially living with a new grip safety not being as perfectly blended.

[awp_101]

Ok, I'm reading myself blind trying to figure this out. Will a Wilson 429BG grip safety replace a GI style grip safety without frame modification? I'm not expecting "drop in", but I want to avoid having to modify the frame.

The victim is a Fusion Gold 9mm that came with a GI style hammer and grip safety.

Received the WC part and tried to install but it's a no-go for drop in. The WC part measures .62" and the Fusion measure .61". No big deal as I was hoping for true drop in but not expecting it. Since I don't have a mill, I'm thinking setting up my flat surface and sandpaper to lapping to fit is the best/easiest option?

While I was fiddling around with the pistol I thought I'd try 780B hammer and BP hammer strut I bought out of someone's spare parts stash a while back. Neither the hammer nor hammer strut came with the pin to join them. Drove out the pin from the Fusion hammer and strut and it's too big. So what are my options now? Is there a pin kit that covers this? Do I need to get something direct from Wilson? Do I need to Mcgyver one out of a drill bit and JB Weld?

[Amp]

I keep a couple of these on hand: https://wilsoncombat.com/pin-set-1911-blue.html

[awp_101]

I keep a couple of these on hand: https://wilsoncombat.com/pin-set-1911-blue.html

Thanks, I'll add some to my Brownells and Midway wish lists!

[45dotACP]

Received the WC part and tried to install but it's a no-go for drop in. The WC part measures .62" and the Fusion measure .61". No big deal as I was hoping for true drop in but not expecting it. Since I don't have a mill, I'm thinking setting up my flat surface and sandpaper to lapping to fit is the best/easiest option?

While I was fiddling around with the pistol I thought I'd try 780B hammer and BP hammer strut I bought out of someone's spare parts stash a while back. Neither the hammer nor hammer strut came with the pin to join them. Drove out the pin from the Fusion hammer and strut and it's too big. So what are my options now? Is there a pin kit that covers this? Do I need to get something direct from Wilson? Do I need to Mcgyver one out of a drill bit and JB Weld?

Completely unrelated, but how are you liking that Fusion? There's one at the LGS and it looks cool to me, but I'm waffling on it.

[SW CQB 45]

This is my first ACW.... Commander Length with softened edges on the thumb safety (I had to do that), undercut (because of hand size) and round butt. It was not what I originally wanted as I wanted 1201 for my serial number but this was a nice consolation being LE for the past 33 years.

It was supposed to be my retirement piece, but after I got 911, I continued to play the numbers (HA, not want you think) and it took some time, but I got my badge of 1201.

This gun is accurate, but it's not hard fitted. It fields strips without tools, and I put 800 trouble free rounds through it before I parked it. Why did I park it? Because 1201 was coming and I did not know if I could afford DBL ACWs. Not sure if I still can but holding on to it for as long as I can. I scuffed up the bluing on the slide being stupid with an ancient holster that broke and exposed rusty jagged steel in the middle

Rob fixed and re-blued my slide and my modded thumb safeties. I guess I am getting old and don't like thick corners. I like everything blended. So, it's been sitting, and I just took it apart and coated it with ACW recommended WD40 Specialist Corrosion Inhibitor (no grips) and it will be going nite nite. I am keeping it in its current state just in case the I can't keep it rears its ugly head. According to the WD40 can, it protects for a year.

If I decide to shoot it, I will have to remove all the WD40 as it was not designed for lubrication.

[awp_101]

Completely unrelated, but how are you liking that Fusion? There's one at the LGS and it looks cool to me, but I'm waffling on it.

Right now I'm going to say I like it and it has potential but there's some things that need to be addressed before I can really start bonding with it. I've got to get the BTGS fitted and a replacement pin for the replacement hammer and strut (all WC BP parts). If my hands would play well with a GI hammer and grip safety I'd leave the factory parts in place.


This is what it can do with me behind the trigger and I feel it's definitely more capable than I am. The 124gr S&B mostly bounces off my right arm between the bicep and mid-forearm. 124gr AE comes straight back and bounces off my forehead, my nose or my chest. So it looks like I need to see if there's any tension on the extractor. OTOH it fed and fired just fine so I've got that going for me... The targets make me look pretty decent at 10 yards so I'm not unhappy with it. It's just difficult to stay focused when I don't know if the next empty is going to bounce off my arm or my face....

[Joe]

Update:
Did a two day course with the Pilot Mountain Arms Operator 1911 (that’s a mouthful).
380 rounds day one, 320 day two. Weather was in the 90s. Only maintenance between the two days was to remove the slide, wipe down, reapply lubricant.
Things that work:
- Properly built 1911. This pistol is now just short of 10,000rds
- ALG Go Juice. It doesn’t dry up/run off as quickly as a lighter weight oil.
- Speer Lawman 230gr ball
- 18.5lb recoil spring with 23lb mainspring. I prefer Sprinco.
- Vickers Wilson magazines

The above combination had zero issues.
One failure to feed with an ancient Chip McCormick magazine; the round didn’t even get to the feed lips so I don’t know if I’d even classify that as a failure to feed. Old Wilson 47T magazines with brand new springs and followers saw a little bit of resistance to feeding the first round when releasing the slide with the slide stop. Never failed to feed but you could tell the maxed out spring pressure in the mag was making the recoil spring work.