1911 question

[Gillis2]

Hi all,

So far my very limited shooting experience with 1911 has been with pistols equipped with a beavertail. Now I am interested in buying a model that has the classic shorter grip safety combined with a spur hammer. My concern is getting slide bites while shooting if I don't have the protection of an extended beavertail. What do you 1911 specialists have to tell me on that topic?

Thanks for your comments

Gilbert

 

[JTF#]

I never had a problem with the stock safety.

 

[Import]

Only issue I ever had was a hi-power spur hammer....I learned pretty quickly to adjust my usual grip a little lower...35 rounds in, it was getting quite sore....boo-hoo...you could always change the hammer?

 

[09outlander]

You won't have a problem with slide bite with a GI grip safety. I personally don't like them because I find they dig into the web of my thumb.

 

[Mark-II]

Here's what I've learned or surmised about the 1911

the pistol was designed to be fired single-handed, as that was what was done at the time. The government grip safety is absolutely acceptable, and for myself even preferable, for this sort of shooting.

Once guys got bored with Bullseye type competition and got into running and gunning, 2 handed holds became the norm.

The government style grip safety is not the most comfortable, or ergonomic for this type of hold. Your hands are higher on the grip, and your strong hand gets its web forced deep into a downward pointing projection.

So some bright spark came up with the beaver tail, blended to the frame, both wider and swept upwards to give you both a higher hold on the gun and a more comfortable fit for your web, the bumps on the bottom of these safeties serve for more positive disengagement - they serve no purpose for the one handed hold (I hate memory bumps as they dig into my palm if too proud).

So that's my take on it.

If you aren't going to be shooting in the Bullseye style, the government grip safety may not be comfortable for you, depending how big your hands are.

 

[Gillis2]

Thanks for your answers guys. I have average sized hands. I shoot mainly 2 hands. I am still interested in that particular pistol. Can I buy it and easily change the grip safety for a beaver tail one if it gets to be a problem? IS this an easy operation. The gun is a Colt.

Thanks

Gilbert

 

[Smcx]

It will likely require fitting. I personally don't mind the G.I. Safety.

 

[Still alive]

As long as your hands are not overly fleshy, with a proper one or two hand grip, the standard grip safety with the spur hammer is fine. I, like you, have average hands and have no issue shooting said model.
Only guns I ever had problems with were the PPK and the BHP. Because the grip safety on the 1911 must be depressed all the way to shoot the gun, you should already have a good grip on it so hammer bite won't be an issue. The BHP bites only when you grab the gun quickly without a proper grip and fire, which is impossible with a non-deactivated grip safety on a 1911.

 

[misanthropist]

Really depends on your grip. I can't shoot a non-beavertailed 1911 without drawing blood. If you're not picky about fit, there are drop-in beavertails, but you do need to either swap or grind the hammer to make it work.

To properly fit a beavertail is not that hard but it does take a bit of work.

 

[deadman]

Here's a pic of one style of drop in beavertail (or duck bill in this case). Same concept, different shape.



As misanthropist mentioned, a hammer swap or bob would most likely be required if you decide a beavertail is what you want to go with. The benefit to one of these is that you don't need to modify the frame to fit it, but its at the expense of a snag-free, fitted transition from the frame to the grip safety. This pistol was thus equipped when I bought it, but shortly after I changed it out to a rat tail type grip safety.

I've never had an issue with a traditional type spur grip safety, but I'm not a very good shade tree gunsmith so in order to retain the commander type hammer that was installed, I opted for a grip safety that would allow me to get the fit/feel I prefer with the hammer that was there. I've done this to a couple of pistols I bought used, no regrets and no "bite". The same pistol is below after the part was changed.





The original accepted JMB design used a very short spur grip safety, which was lengthened after a few years in what is called the "A1" pattern. Here you can see the difference, original on the left (1918), A1 on the right (1943):



The longer tang of an A1 grip safety is intended to prevent the bite that some experience. But you have to factor in things like hammer length as well, as some may overhang the grip safety more than others, depending on the configuration. This pertains more with a traditional type pistol, especially when you encounter old service pistols that may have had a lot of parts swapping done.

Just wanted to illustrate a few different options. I'm not necessarily a fan of a drop in beavertail but if you want to avoid cutting a frame its an option.