The infamous 1911 grip safety or is it?

I’ve had failure to fire on one particular 1911 when using the “strong thumb over safety” hold. I got medium sized, skinny hands.

The cure was to file a tiny bit off the grip safety’s tang, where it stops the trigger from moving back.
 
1riot1ranger said:
I’ve had tons of issues. Most of my 1911s have the grip safety de-actived. If you were to poll most IPSC shooters, I think you’d find that many (even most) 1911/2011 guns have a non-functional (sear block removed or pinned) grip safety.

In one of the first designs (around 1910) of the pistol presented to the US Army there was no grip safety. It was the Cavalry that asked for a design change that “would prevent the pistol from firing if a trooper were to drop his pistol while mounted.” JMB (a f***king genius) added the sear blocking grip safety to meet the design change.

So - is it a safety feature? Sure. But did JMB think it was necessary? No.

And I’m a big Pat Mac fan... Love “Basic Dude Stuff”. But not many instructors (like zero of the competitive pistol instructors) support his trigger finger placement concept.
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So are most of your failures a you thing or the gun? As in as the gun wore/soiled failure was induced or did your grip style become something contrary to the mechanics of the safety?

Did you run a few of your 1911 stock then when a ftf developed you stripped the internals and pinned?
 
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WereWeasel said:
So are most of your failures a you thing or the gun? As in as the gun wore/soiled failure was induced or did your grip style become something contrary to the mechanics of the safety?

Did you run a few of your 1911 stock then when a ftf developed you stripped the internals and pinned?
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These are a combination of “me” thing and a “gun” thing. I have a very high grip on a pistol. With a 1911 that means the SH thumb on the safety. This grip opens a “pocket” at the thumb/palm transition. Right around the spot where the hand should contact the grip safety.

There a number of “memory bump” grip safeties that, when properly fitted, do work (my Sentinel Premier for example). But for any IPSC 1911/2011 I have the safety has been disconnected. It’s not worth worrying about the gun not functioning during a match. So for IPSC guns I never bothered to test them. The safety was deactivated when competition parts were being installed.

And earlier I posted that it’s a sear block safety. That’s not correct - it a trigger block. In my defence, it was early in the morning when I typed it...
 
Looks like we have a mix of opinions and experience re: the value and function of 1911 grip safeties, etc.

Whatever works for you .....
 
easyrider604 said:
I’ve had failure to fire on one particular 1911 when using the “strong thumb over safety” hold. I got medium sized, skinny hands.

The cure was to file a tiny bit off the grip safety’s tang, where it stops the trigger from moving back.
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I guess I shouldn't have said I've never had a grip safety issue, I had sort of the same issue with a Norinco where the tab blocking the trigger was big enough it would barely clear when the grip safety was pressed. Took a bit if material off and it was fine. I didn't really count that as a grip issue though, more of a poorly fitted gun that needed a bit of touch-up.
Kristian
 
I have small asian hands, small enough to fit in the size S mechanix gloves. Yet i have no problem actuating the grip safety, for those that aren't acutating it, your grip is wrong. The grip safety is actuated by the meatiest part of your hand so if you are missing it, you are gripping the gun at an angle. Probably the reason why your shots are off too.
 
sky52 said:
I have small asian hands, small enough to fit in the size S mechanix gloves. Yet i have no problem actuating the grip safety, for those that aren't acutating it, your grip is wrong. The grip safety is actuated by the meatiest part of your hand so if you are missing it, you are gripping the gun at an angle. Probably the reason why your shots are off too.
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Could you come and give me some lessons? I've only been shooting the 1911 for 40 years and won 4 National Championships with it, but clearly I need your help to fix my grip.

If I don't deactivate the grip safety I can't shoot a 1911.

-ivan-
 
NAA said:
I've had dozens of different 1911's in ~ 40 yrs of handgun ownership. Fired thousands of rounds thru them. Gotta say I've never had a grip safety failure. Maybe it's because I have hands on the larger side & always get a positive grip when shooting them?
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Antoine22 said:
You clearly never shot a pistol match or train for self defense class.
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Ha,ha..... actually, done both. ;)

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NAA.
 
Everyone worrying about their grip safety; have you tried adjusting the spring so that it takes less than a pound to activate the grip safety?
 
I have quite a few 1911s and have never had an issue with the grip safety. I wear size Large gloves and I tend to squeeze a handgun quite hard.

But I do relate to the issue. I have a Browning pocket pistol in 380 with a grip safety and It will not usually disengage when I try to shoot.

My hand does not tend to compress where the safety is located and the spring behind the safety is very stiff.

As a "fix" I glued some popsickle sticks on the safety, so my hand will compress it.

The spring is a leaf spring. If I knew how to get it out, I would grind a big waist into it (so it looked like an hourglass) in the hopes I could make the safety depress with a casual hand hold of the gun.

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i do know who did that but i think when i was younger i shoot a 1911 with no safety grip. we had a 59 smith and wesson a 1911 regular and 22. con kit also and a friend had that converted 1911. but it is few decades ago.
 
NAA said:
Gotta say, as much as I've loved the 1911 over the years & still do & can reasonably shoot one well, a G22 would still be my 'go to' over a 1911, if there was ever a 'need'....lol.... ;)

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NAA.
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never ever been taken on that one at i least i hope as a cgner ...
 
I have never had a grip safety issue with the 1911 or the 1922. If I did, the fix would be trivial. If I were actually carrying a pistol concealed, I'd be happy with a grip safety when holstering.
 
I have 4 1911's at the moment, and to be honest, I never even notice the grip safety (I've been shooting 1911's for near 40 years). For wild bunch cowboy competition, you cannot disable the grip safety.
 
Antoine22 said:
You clearly never shot a pistol match or train for self defense class.
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Probably because he knows the fundamentals better then someone playing "shooting games".
I've got a half dozen 1911's, never had an issue either with quick draws, weak hand, or anything else.
 
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