1911 Grip Safety Improvement

[Hambo]

Back in the day we used this...




I'm ambivalent about brand as long as a bump safety has to be fitted. I've used WC and Brown, maybe others. That combined with setting the tine on the sear spring should do the job. @Robinson's warning should be heeded. The line between perfect and junk is pretty thin. When I fit a grip or thumb safety I spend way more time assembling/disassembling than filing/stoning.

[Elwin]

Back in the day we used this...




I'm ambivalent about brand as long as a bump safety has to be fitted. I've used WC and Brown, maybe others. That combined with setting the tine on the sear spring should do the job. @Robinson's warning should be heeded. The line between perfect and junk is pretty thin. When I fit a grip or thumb safety I spend way more time assembling/disassembling than filing/stoning.

Same, and especially with grip safeties I do more of the work with sandpaper than with a file. Slow, but I’m much less likely to overdo it.

RJ, since you’re so data-driven, I’d think you’d get a lot of enjoyment out of paying $5 a month to listen to Joe Chambers talk about literally nothing but measuring different 1911s.

[HCM]

Well now, search and ye shall find.

About 735 rounds through my 1911 (Springfield Garrison in .45). Never had an issue depressing the GS during shooting, but...here I am this afternoon looking at Vickers video on 1911s, and he gets to talking about a GS. In particular, how they should disengage fairly early in the travel, but MAXIMUM of 50%.

I'm like, gee, I wonder, what does mine engage at? So after a bit of jiggery pokery with an inexpensive caliper, I deduce that my GS engages at 72%. In other words, the GS only lets the gun fire if it has traveled over 70% of it's range of motion. The fact mine was 72%, and Vickers says max of 50, got me wondering.

Is that worrisome enough to get worked up over?

This is not an EDC gun, being more of an ongoing, help-Rich-learn-about-1911s project gun. So I don't mind filing on something here or there, and learning more about GSs. Or even screwing up the one I have, and getting a replacement from EGW or Wilson/ But before I did that I thought I would ask: is this a rabbit hole I really don't need to go down?

I realize it's unusual of me to even ask this question; normally I'd just say what the hell, order some parts, and grab my Grobet USA file. But for some odd reason I am a bit hesitant on this one.

TIA.

EDIT Went back and put the part above bold. Might be I've answered my own question.

Rich,

I’ve been told by multiple 1911 ‘smiths that 1911/2011 grip safety should allow the gun to fire at about 50% travel.

I don’t mess with doing my own safety and trigger work on 1911’s, but a Gun Smith who knows what they’re doing can adjust the sensitivity on a grip safety in about five minutes. They can set the grip safety to somewhere between 15-25% travel.

Personally I’d rather have a sensitized grip safety than tie it down and deactivate it.

[TiroFijo]

Rich,

I’ve been told by multiple 1911 ‘smiths that 1911/2011 grip safety should allow the gun to fire at about 50% travel.

I don’t mess with doing my own safety and trigger work on 1911’s, but a Gun Smith who knows what they’re doing can adjust the sensitivity on a grip safety in about five minutes. They can set the grip safety to somewhere between 15-25% travel.

Personally I’d rather have a sensitized grip safety than tie it down and deactivate it.

Same for me...

I did the "sensitizing" myself on a couple of guns, but there are no good gunsmiths where I live so I prefer to make my own mistakes

First, understand well how it works, Then, measure, cut a little, measure again, repeat...

It is not really a very important safety in the 1911 IMO, and personally I have no beef with anyone that simply deactivates it, but in the case of a self defense shooting having an "intentionally deactivated safety" may not sound good to a jury. There aren't make browning Hi Power users (or any other pistol) complaining about the lack of a GS. IIRC, it was added per Cavalry requirements that the pistol be made immediately safe should the firer release his grip on the pistol. The idea was that a rider on a horse might let go of his pistol during a rough ride, and they didn't want it to go off and kill the horse or rider as it banged around at the end of its lanyard.

[SW CQB 45]

I tested my green MCOP grip safety that was tuned by SACS in the good ole days.

Unbeknownst to me it's about 50%.

Whew!

I take back what I said in a previous post. Last night I recalled one mishap at a range session. This was pre COVID sometime.

One of my co-workers and I are always poking at each other and if we are together at the range....it turns into a contest.

I will give credit where credit is due, he is faster out of the holster and on target.

We had a out of a holster contest (same retention but different guns CZ P10c / 1911), I can't recall the distance(s) and closest to the dot on the target and best time (shot timer).

He has a red dot CZ and I have my green iron sights MCOP. He has to find his height over bore mark, I don't.

We kept going on and his speed out of the holster was on his side.

I decided to go for broke and whip out some LUDICRIS SPEED. I sacrificed the quality of the draw and the gun felt odd in my hand. I went to press the trigger and NOTHING. My grip was so poor I was not on the grip safety.

He won and could not stop laughing.


as another JAB, we were teaching an academy class and he was performing a drill for the class and for some unknown reason... his CZ fed under the feed ramp and tied up his gun. We never let him forget. My guess, his recoil spring was long overdue for replacement.

[Trukinjp13]

I just fit a new BP Wilson grip safety and thumb safety on my Trp build. I had to file a shit ton off the grip safety to get it to activate, then a decent amount to be around 50% travel. I cut my old thumb safety off where it engaged the fire control and used for function testing.

Definitely worth taking the time to make the engagement correct.


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