1911 series 70 vs 80 question

[Evil_Ed]

No, as mentioned that's just straight up not a problem in 1911 platform.

If it were a problem, it would have happened numerous times between the years of 1911 and 1985 when the 1911 was the military's issued sidearm, not to mention all of the various one-offs, reserve units, etc that still issued it up until the mid or even late 2000s. I've never even heard of it happening. I think you could remove the firing pin spring entirely and still not have this issue.

Not only that but just using that guy's reasoning, it would simply go full auto at random times when shooting...as the slide is rapidly closing every time you shoot.

I vastly prefer an S80 gun for few reasons over the original USGI setup, but that particular worry is unfounded.

[That Guy]

And does anyone know if most firing pins are made of steel or are lighter materials used to minimize drop firing events?

Thinking globally, there are very many 1911's in existence and most of them are more the "built to a price point" variety than the high end customs one tends to see discussed on P-F. So I think it is an easy claim to make that the vast majority of 1911's have steel firing pins in them.

[Evil_Ed]

I have not before heard of anybody claiming a fear of the gun firing off the slide stop.
Many sources say the standard 1911 will fire if dropped. Mine didn't.

There are a lot of titanium firing pins in lieu of mechanical firing pin obstructions.
There have been some number of titanium firing pins replaced with steel to stop misfires, too.
So if you consider a light firing pin safer, test it to be sure it is reliable.

P.S. "Series 70" did not always mean "lacking a firing pin obstruction."

Mine didn't either, but watching that gaping maw of a muzzle sweep across my face as it made contact with the concrete...yeah, that was enough to make me wonder.

Dropping the mag and clearing the gun after showed a dimple on the primer after. Not a deep one, but enough to show that the firing pin did in fact contact it. That was enough to make me a convert to a firing pin safety. This was on a Colt S70 reissue (so titanium firing pin) with a fresh firing pin spring btw (less than 1000 rounds on it)..

[03RN]

Mine didn't either, but watching that gaping maw of a muzzle sweep across my face as it made contact with the concrete...yeah, that was enough to make me wonder.

Dropping the mag and clearing the gun after showed a dimple on the primer after. Not a deep one, but enough to show that the firing pin did in fact contact it. That was enough to make me a convert to a firing pin safety. This was on a Colt S70 reissue (so titanium firing pin) with a fresh firing pin spring btw (less than 1000 rounds on it)..

1911s can fire if dropped on the muzzle straight down.

As for the dimpled primers... You ever check the primer on a chambered 556 AR-15? It gets dimpled every single time.

[Elwin]

This might be a contender for most nonsensical thing he’s ever said.

If it’s possible for this to happen, what is the difference between using the slide stop and slingshotting the slide that makes the latter so much safer? Pulling the slide back and releasing it actually gives it slightly more rearward travel and spring compression to work with, so if anything it’s potentially moving forward with more, not less, energy. Unless you ease it forward instead of letting go of it immediately, which can cause its own problems.

And then of course there’s the already mentioned fact that if true, this would result in 1911s effectively going full auto.

Does anyone know if he has the same opinion regarding ARs?

[farscott]

Mine didn't either, but watching that gaping maw of a muzzle sweep across my face as it made contact with the concrete...yeah, that was enough to make me wonder.

Dropping the mag and clearing the gun after showed a dimple on the primer after. Not a deep one, but enough to show that the firing pin did in fact contact it. That was enough to make me a convert to a firing pin safety. This was on a Colt S70 reissue (so titanium firing pin) with a fresh firing pin spring btw (less than 1000 rounds on it)..

I forgot that Colt switched to titanium firing pins in the old "Series '70 Reproduction" guns back in 2004. My samples predate that change, which was done to pass drop tests in California. I use quotes for that model as it is neither a Series '70 pistol or a reproduction of any Colt 1911.

The only 1911 I have with a titanium firing pin is a SA Mil-Spec customized by John Harrison. The pin was installed by SA and worked with no issues, so it stayed in the pistol where it has seen several thousand rounds with no issues. I used to look for damage or signs of light strikes, but I only check now during the annual detail strip and clean.

As for the OP's question, it has not proven to be an issue from 1911 until now as the vast majority of 1911-pattern pistols lack a firing pin safety. If it could happen, we would see it in competition, and we do not. I have seen other oddities such as an ejected round striking the ejector and firing during, "Unload and show clear". That suggests extended ejectors can be an issue. My favorite happened to me when I loaded a magazine at slide lock, the magazine catch failed, and the freshly seated magazine hit the ground. My response, as I had no clue what happened, was to load another magazine with the same results. My shooting buddy said the look on my face was classic.

[Caballoflaco]

That video is evidence that he lacks the fundamental understanding of how a 1911 works.

Maybe he is confused with old bullseye guns that would hammer follow if you didn’t pull the trigger to engage the disconnector while releasing the slide because they had unsafe trigger jobs.

This, boys and girls, is how fudd-lore is born.

[Jim Watson]

Anecdote Alert:

Back a few decades, the local FFL carried a Commander Condition 2. I did, too, for a while until I realized he was a southpaw and going C2 because he had learned before ambidextrous safeties were common.

I once saw him unload his Silvertip carry ammo to load the cheap stuff for practice. The top round had been in and out of the gun so many times that its aluminum jacket looked like it had been chewed on and the primer had a prominent dent, either from repeated chambering or maybe a sudden lowering of the hammer. I gave him a spare firing pin spring that had come with a recoil spring. Must have worked, he carried that gun the rest of his life with no AD.

[Rmiked]

Mine didn't either, but watching that gaping maw of a muzzle sweep across my face as it made contact with the concrete...yeah, that was enough to make me wonder.

Dropping the mag and clearing the gun after showed a dimple on the primer after. Not a deep one, but enough to show that the firing pin did in fact contact it. That was enough to make me a convert to a firing pin safety. This was on a Colt S70 reissue (so titanium firing pin) with a fresh firing pin spring btw (less than 1000 rounds on it)..

Evil Ed, I appreciate your example of dropping your pistol. Especially the dimpled primer! Yikes!

I don’t have a 1911 but want one and am evaluating various manufacturers, especially DW. When I heard Paul Harrell mention the concern, it got my attention. He actually pulled the slide back (slingshot?) vs using the slide release. As mentioned here, the slide release would impart less energy into slide since recoil spring compressed less. Paul is a VERY experienced and exceptional shooter and I like his reviewers and commentary. My impression was he was emphasizing gun safety pointing the pistol in safe direction and wanting to point out that some pistols have features intended to minimize unwanted discharge. My immediate reaction was “why wouldn’t it go into full auto”?

Anyway, I knew I would get tons of experience from PF. One thing I have never been clear on: why isn’t dropping the pistol on the hammer worse than the muzzle? I get it that the inertia muzzle down accelerates the firing pin toward the primer. And hammer down accelerates the firing pin the safe direction (Away from primer). However, if the hammer makes contact with the ground it has all the pistol weight (inertia)
directly transferring to the firing pin which then travels toward the primer? With no barrier between the hammer and firing pin like a trigger activated block, it’s a straight shot to the primer? Seems there is only the half-cock sear notch to prevent firing. Is that the explanation OR is the beaver tail enough of a barrier to prevent firing?

[TGS]

The guy doing the video is very experienced.

So, here's the first issue.

I don't know where this idea came about that Paul Harrell is any sort of authority on stuff.

He's just some fuckin' random youtuber that people latched onto for whatever reason.

One thing I have never been clear on: why isn’t dropping the pistol on the hammer worse than the muzzle? I get it that the inertia muzzle down accelerates the firing pin toward the primer. And hammer down accelerates the firing pin the safe direction (Away from primer). However, if the hammer makes contact with the ground it has all the pistol weight (inertia)
directly transferring to the firing pin which then travels toward the primer? With no barrier between the hammer and firing pin like a trigger activated block, it’s a straight shot to the primer? Seems there is only the half-cock sear notch to prevent firing. Is that the explanation OR is the beaver tail enough of a barrier to prevent firing?

The weapon should be cocked when being carried; the hammer doesn't make contact with the firing pin.