1911 grip safety

KDX

KDX

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I just read an article where a guy had a custom made Novak 1 piece backstrap (with beavertail) for his 1911 and really liked it. He went on in the article on how the grip safety may just be there because it has always been there. He stated that Jeff Cooper checked it out and approved of it and ordered one for his own carry. Near the end of the article he stated that there was a 1911 manufacturer that was looking at the 1 piece backstrap design but would not name them. Is just a safety on a gun enough?
 
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Yes and No. It all depends on what you use the handgun for. My IPSC guns do not have this function. I pin the safety down. If I was to have a carry gun I would use this safty as designed. Because of my small hands I would have to use a beaver tail with palm swell to make it work on a two hand hold. That is the nice thing about the 1911, you can tune the gun to what you want. Safety first, everything else second!
 
The grip safety is just that, a safety...and many other fine firearms seem to
function well without them.
Personally, I think they're a pain in the ass... on some guns, it's easy to have them result in a 'no bang' situation because they aren't fully depressed... seems like a bad idea....
 
The grip safety was not a part of the original design but was an addition insisted on by the US Military prior to accepting the gun for service.

The grip safety forces some people into holding the gun in a manner which makes them concentrate on their grip rather than their target. I've seen accidental discharges as a result of people struggling to find a compromise between holding the safety down and achieving a grip as recommended by top shooters.

In IPSC my scores picked up as soon as I pinned my grip safety and when I shot my IPSC gun in a Bullseye 45 course of fire, my scores were improved over the previous year (but I don't know if the pinned grip safety is permitted in the Bullseye Rulebook).

The grip safety isn't for everybody and nobody will miss it.
 
Ardent said:
Never had a grip safety interfere with a discharge on any of my 1911's, I don't even notice it's there... So I vote keep it. :)
Click to expand...
Interesting how the majority, if not all, IPSC shooters using a 1911 with
grip safety pin them!
Hey, maybe somebody should do a poll....;)
 
The grip safety really only becomes an issue (as in not coming off properly) when used with a beavertail and a high hard grip.

I.E. when the gun is set up for fast accurate shooting and is held that way. This is why many IPSC shooters have this problem.

I never had a problem with my traditionaly set up 1911, but as soon as I switched to a beavertailed 1911 I could get intermittent disengagement.
 
I never had a problem with my traditionaly set up 1911, but as soon as I switched to a beavertailed 1911 I could get intermittent disengagement.[/QUOTE]
Ouch! That 'intermittent disengagement sounds painful!..or maybe embarrassing?
Don't they have medication for that?
;)
 
I have two .45's, one with the beavertail and one without, and I agree that any problems I've experienced with the grip safety relate to the beavertail. Having said that, I'm no fan of hammer bite, either.
 
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