A while back I was contacted by coltm4 to do a review of a replacement 22/45 hammer bushing he is making. It replaces the mag safety parts on the 22/45 (and Mk.III I would assume, but contact him to be sure on that). This eliminates a pointless lawyer induced safety device and allows the mags to drop free instead of needing to be pulled out manually. Since I like to use my 22/45 as a cheap practical shooting trainer, having the mags fall free is a major bonus. It may also slightly improve the trigger pull, but not significantly.
To install the bushing you must strip the pistol down to the frame with the barrel removed. I followed this page and it came apart easily: http://www.guntalk-online.com/2245detailstripping.htm
Pistol stripped, with the replacement bushing seen in the lower right corner of the frame:
Once you have the barrel off the frame, you need to push out the hammer pin. It has a head on it and only comes out in one direction.
This shot shows the frame from the top, with the hammer out and the mag safety pieces still on the hammer. The replacement bushing is to the right and the hammer pin is at the bottom of the frame:
This shot shows the hammer with the mag safety pieces beside it. These get removed and the bushing put in their place to keep everything spaced properly on the pin.
The hammer with the bushing installed:
A view of the hammer sitting on the trigger bar about to be re-installed in the frame:
Be careful not to pull the trigger bar too far out of the frame or the spring loaded plunger at the front of the bar can fall out. Don't ask me how I know.
A shot showing the frame with the hammer back in. You can see the bushing on the trigger bar side of the hammer:
Once reassembled, everything worked as advertised by coltm4. The mags now fall free with no problems. The trigger pull may be slightly crisper, but it is not a major change one way or the other. I took the modified pistol to the range for a test drive and found that not only did mags drop free, but they were also easier to seat on insertion. With the mag safety in place I had found that I had to be very careful to fully seat the mag or the catch may not engage fully. I had no such problems with the bushing installed.
All in all, a worthwhile piece to add to your 22/45 if you want to have mags fall free and remove some useless junk off your gun. Coltm4 sells the bushings for $10 shipped, contact him for more details on the bushing and if it works in the Mk.III models as well as the 22/45.
Mark
To install the bushing you must strip the pistol down to the frame with the barrel removed. I followed this page and it came apart easily: http://www.guntalk-online.com/2245detailstripping.htm
Pistol stripped, with the replacement bushing seen in the lower right corner of the frame:
Once you have the barrel off the frame, you need to push out the hammer pin. It has a head on it and only comes out in one direction.
This shot shows the frame from the top, with the hammer out and the mag safety pieces still on the hammer. The replacement bushing is to the right and the hammer pin is at the bottom of the frame:
This shot shows the hammer with the mag safety pieces beside it. These get removed and the bushing put in their place to keep everything spaced properly on the pin.
The hammer with the bushing installed:
A view of the hammer sitting on the trigger bar about to be re-installed in the frame:
Be careful not to pull the trigger bar too far out of the frame or the spring loaded plunger at the front of the bar can fall out. Don't ask me how I know.
A shot showing the frame with the hammer back in. You can see the bushing on the trigger bar side of the hammer:
Once reassembled, everything worked as advertised by coltm4. The mags now fall free with no problems. The trigger pull may be slightly crisper, but it is not a major change one way or the other. I took the modified pistol to the range for a test drive and found that not only did mags drop free, but they were also easier to seat on insertion. With the mag safety in place I had found that I had to be very careful to fully seat the mag or the catch may not engage fully. I had no such problems with the bushing installed.
All in all, a worthwhile piece to add to your 22/45 if you want to have mags fall free and remove some useless junk off your gun. Coltm4 sells the bushings for $10 shipped, contact him for more details on the bushing and if it works in the Mk.III models as well as the 22/45.
Mark
