"Iffy/Dubious" grip-safety on my Norinco 1911A1?

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boomer49

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Hi guys,

About three-or-four years ago I bought a basic Norinco 1911A1 for $325 from the good folks at Marstar. I researched it a lot. It was great. Functioned perfectly.

I then ordered the basic/classic wooden grips from Herret’s (money well-spent, except for the shipping) and then shipped it off to a well-known pistolsmith in Prince George for his well-regarded $100 basic 1911 tune-up.

It’s a great gun. But … the grip-safety has always been “iffy”. I don’t trust any safety … and I think that we all agree that nobody else should, either.

The firearm’s real safety … visible steel-on-steel … seems bombproof. But that too-complicated (and redundant) grip-safety just disappears about 50% of the time whenever I “test” it.

Has anybody else noticed this “glitch” on their own (stock or tweaked) Norinco .45’s?
 
lots of 1911s have the grip safety disabled/pinned, mine isnt but is so light/useless that with about 6lbs of pull i simply break through it. doesnt bother me, the grip safety doesnt really count as a safety anyways
 
heavenIsAlie said:
lots of 1911s have the grip safety disabled/pinned, mine isnt but is so light/useless that with about 6lbs of pull i simply break through it. doesnt bother me, the grip safety doesnt really count as a safety anyways
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Hi Abbotsford-person,

Thanks ... that's what I kinda figured. Just out of curiosity, does anybody know if that "design shortcoming" applies to other manufacturers' 1911's as well?

Are they often disabled/pinned (as you mentioned) by folks who really need the gun to work perfectly ... first time, every time?

Thanks again.
 
I've shot tons of 1911 but never a Norc. They weren't made yet when I was shooting 1911s!! Never had any issue with a functioning grip safety. It was the rage to pin or modify them in the 80s and 90s since they were as useful as square tires. Apparently in gunfights, people were not taking a proper grip and the gun won't fire costing them time if not injury or their lives. Then lawyers got involved and the whole removing a safety device on a firearm issue came up. Needless to say, in our current climate, de-activating any safety on a firearm is not a good idea for obvious reasons. J Browning apparently disliked his own grip safety on the 1911 that he took it away on the P35 Hi Power.
 
Still alive said:
J Browning apparently disliked his own grip safety on the 1911 that he took it away on the P35 Hi Power.
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Yes, I'd forgotten that point. As a kid, I'd requested (and received) every gorgeous (money-no-object) Browning catalogue from about 1961 to about 1971, and really wanted that pistol ... and the take-down .22.

I swear that those catalogues were printed at The Mint.
 
Grip safety isn't overly complicated, it's nothing more than an arm with a step in it that blocks the trigger. I figure if you just grind the shorter shelf area a little shorter it'd be disabled altogether without changing anything else. Being a norinco it's probably just a bit out of spec.
 
A weak grip safety is the result of a weak leaf spring, and it's easy to adjust by installing a new spring or giving the current one a bit of a tweak.

Back in the day it was commonplace for 'serious pistoleros' to pin the grip safety to disengage it permanently.
 
I just ripped my handgun apart and bent the spring which pushes against the grip safety and the safety works 10 times better. It's not loose, it stays all the way out until pushed in and returns when released. From the factory it was really loose and not really making the firearm safe at all.
 
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