[tcrace]

Hello to all the PT1911 owners and fans. Great website, glad I stumbled upon it.

I recently purchased my first 1911 format 45, a Taurus PT1911, and have fired about 80 rounds through it. It shot quite nicely and I was really impressed by the light trigger pull and ease of firing, never having fired a single action centerfire autoloader before.

While showing it off to a co-worker I demonstrated the grip safety feature and found if I apply a good amount of pressure to the trigger it will trip the hammer without the grip safety depressed. If I just give it a "casual" pull on the trigger the hammer doesn't fall.

My first thought was to send it in to be checked but after reading some of the reports of long wait times and sometimes less than stellar service I'm not sure. This gun is a recreational toy, not a carry weapon so I'm not too concerned about a safety issue. I have disassembled the gun down to removing the thumb safety, main spring housing, hammer, sear, etc. and am still not sure why the grip safety fails to keep the trigger from tripping the sear. Anyone here with more experience dealing with 1911's have suggestions on things to check. I'm not a gunsmith but I don't have any problem taking the gun "down to bits" and trying to figure out why the grip safety doesn't work.

Thanks for reading. I await your knowledgeable answers.

Tim

 

[Steelheart]

How were you holding the gun when it happened? Were you touching the grip safety or the beavertail in anyway?

Steelheart

 

[tcrace]

Just holding the grip, below the grip safety, with my left hand while applying pressure to the trigger with the finger of my right hand. I've tried this numerous times since I discovered the possibility and it works the same each time. Light pressure won't trip the sear but firm pressure will.

 

[scottw]

i just tried that with mine and it does the same thing.

 

[tcrace]

It's my understanding from reading about the 1911 that this should not occur with a properly functioning gun. I wonder if there is enough flex in the trigger to trip the sear with the grip safety bearing on the back of it. Or maybe the flex exists in the grip safety itself. :???: :???: :???: If anyone has ideas please post for the sake of my sanity ;D ;D

 

[DRAEGER]

I have two PT1911's and neither of mine will trip, regardless of how hard I squeeze. One is a 1st run early model from when they frist hit the market and the other is a new PT1911 AR (accessory rail).

 

[tcrace]

I pulled my pistol apart again and it appears the relationship between the grip safety and trigger is incorrect. The area of the grips safety that rests against the trigger is high in relation to the trigger and allows it to slip under if enough pressure is applied. If the protrusion on the grip safety could be bent downwards without breaking that would likely solve the problem.

I have also noticed on my gun that the slide "serrations" are cut deeper on the right side of the slide. I guess I could go ahead and send the gun back and allow Taurus' repair dept. "the opportunity to shine" and make things right. :???:

 

[Pierce]

I have two PT1911's and neither of mine will trip, regardless of how hard I squeeze. One is a 1st run early model from when they frist hit the market and the other is a new PT1911 AR (accessory rail).

I could do a head stand on my trigger and it won't trip.

 

[tcrace]

Update:
For anyone following this, I was able to carefully, and successfully, bend my grip safety. It now functions correctly. Now no matter how much pressure I apply to the trigger it will not release the hammer (sear) until the grip safety is depressed.

I had visions of a cheaply made cast part breaking into pieces before bending enough but thankfully this was not the case. I would caution anyone attempting this to go slowly, and of course YMMV.

Now if the weather would clear up and some of the snow would melt I could get out and put some more rounds downrange with this pistol. ;D

 

[Cimarron]

Here is the best cut away of the 1911. Before you start bending the grip safety take a VERY close look and realize that if you're not careful you will find a gun that won't allow you to fire at all. The thumb safety is designed to be the primary safety... the grip as a secondary. As long as the thumb safety holds then be careful about the grip. Take it to a gun smith... don't make this a first time event.

 

[LikesToShoot]

I'm glad you've found this site and look forward to reading your messages. It's also nice to read that you got your gun running OK without a trip back to Taurus.
I'm not sure but outside of the slide and frame I think everything else is MIM.

 

[tcrace]

Cimarron, thanks for posting those cutaways and thanks for your concern. The bending of the grip safety wasn't much and the gun functions correctly now. I made the decision to attempt this based on the fact that the grip safety didn't function as the gun was, and if I bent it too far I could bend it back. Of course the other outcome of the protruding part breaking off completely would have left the gun as it was before, with a non-functioning grip safety (and a tiny bit lighter )

 

[texas shooter]

Glad you got it fixed, hope it never gives a problem again. Nice cut away pic Cimarron.

 

[Cimarron]

If you look at a cut-away... it is possible for pressure on the trigger to cause the grip safety to ride up... especially if other angle were slightly out of alignment. However, I can't imagine that J.M. Browning ever intended the grip safety to be a primary safety. The thumb safety blocks the sear... and the grip safety was an add-on which came in the last stages to satisfy the Army and their distrust of troopers to manage mechanical devices.

I'd love to see some of you guys with gun smithing experience speak to this... bending anything with a set of pliers just doesn't set well with my gun Psyche. This fits under the heading of "red neck gun smithing tips".

PS... theoretically if you push a 1911 into a person's belly you push the breach out of position by a fraction so the gun won't fire... AND if you grab the front of the gun being pointed at you and hold tight, it will keep the breach from moving at all and the gun won't fire...

NOW... will someone volunteer to check this out for us... and the tests are relatively useless without live ammo to make the tests realistic. It would make a great video for YouTube?

You DID get the tinge of sarcasm in this... PLEASE don't test these mechanism out.

 

[baryon]

If you look at a cut-away... it is possible for pressure on the trigger to cause the grip safety to ride up... especially if other angle were slightly out of alignment. However, I can't imagine that J.M. Browning ever intended the grip safety to be a primary safety. The thumb safety blocks the sear... and the grip safety was an add-on which came in the last stages to satisfy the Army and their distrust of troopers to manage mechanical devices.

I'd love to see some of you guys with gun smithing experience speak to this... bending anything with a set of pliers just doesn't set well with my gun Psyche. This fits under the heading of "red neck gun smithing tips".

PS... theoretically if you push a 1911 into a person's belly you push the breach out
of position by a fraction so the gun won't fire...

This I understand. If the slide is pushed backwards, the disconnector is pushed downwards and it no longer "connects" the trigger with the sear. Pulling the trigger will pivot the disconnector but the sear stays vertical and hammer is not released.

AND if you grab the front of the gun being pointed at you and hold tight, it will keep the breach from moving at all and the gun won't fire...

This I don't understand. If the slide is in battery, pulling the trigger should let the sear to fall forward and release the hammer. It should go bang, right?

NOW... will someone volunteer to check this out for us... and the tests are relatively useless without live ammo to make the tests realistic. It would make a great video for YouTube?

You DID get the tinge of sarcasm in this... PLEASE don't test these mechanism out.

Of course, it is a joke but It has helped me review my understanding of the M1911 action.

 

[tcrace]

"I'd love to see some of you guys with gun smithing experience speak to this... bending anything with a set of pliers just doesn't set well with my gun Psyche. This fits under the heading of "red neck gun smithing tips"."

Yes comments from "real" gunsmiths would be refreshing.
And for the record it was not "a set of pliers", I used a bench vise. Although I'm quite sure many people, red necks or not, have been able to repair complex devices with a pair of pliers.

Sorry it just doesn't set well with your gun Psyche but like I stated "I would caution anyone attempting this to go slowly, and of course YMMV."

I would also encourage people to become familiar with their weapons of choice and remember that in many cases it was another human that designed it. It's not a mysterious mystical magical device that came from heaven. Although my PT1911 performs like it.