What kind of 1911 do i have

They do exactly what they say; prevent the gun from firing if it's dropped. The way they work is to add a bar that interrupts the firing pin's forward progress unless it's raised up out of the way as the trigger or grip safety is squeezed. Purists will tell you that they negatively affect the quality of the trigger pull. Colt's Combat Elite has a firing pin safety. These are also referred to as a drop safety, Swartz safety or "Series 80" safety referring to Colt's adaptation.

If you're after for a Colt without the firing pin safety, look for a "Series Instead they use a titanium firing pin that is lighter than a normal steel firing pin. This means there's less moving mass hitting the primer if the gun is dropped on it's muzzle. When slammed home without the strength of the hammer and mainspring, there isn't enough force to ignite a primer in a waist-high drop. Big hands might go for thicker grips, but look for a good contour that fills your palm.

Wood grips are probably the most popular and arguably can be the best looking, but are not as durable or as grippy for sweaty hands as composites made by companies such as VZ Grips.

A year of serious shooting and training think dry fire, reload and draw practice can wear out a set of wood grips. Flat works with most, but if you have large hands, look for arched. Also, when looking at the MSH, decide if you want a magazine well, as they are often combined. An extended and flared magwell guides the narrow mag into place during reloads. They are necessary for competition and helpful in a duty pistol but add unnecessary bulk to the pistol butt on a concealed-carry rig.

At the least, if you don't want to get a full-on aftermarket competition magwell, make sure the the inner walls of your factory magwell is at least beveled. Hints for finding one come from Sam Hatfield, a successful gunsmith out of northern Virginia : "If they don't have a wait time, forget them. Hatfield, a former member of the Army Marksmanship Unit, suggests that service in a top-tier military marksmanship shop is a great indicator of expertise.

Another is membership in the American Pistolsmiths Guild. Thanks to our friends at Virginia Arms for helping us with our armoring questions and firearm transfers. Jun 8, Air Force photo by Tech. Joseph Swafford Jr. More In GearScout. Marine grunts are swapping earplugs for 21st century hearing protection The fielding follows an earlier effort aimed at artillery and reconnaissance Marines.

In Other News. Oklahoma Guard goes rogue, rejects COVID vaccine mandate after sudden change of command Less than 24 hours after an unexpected change of command, the Oklahoma National Guard rejected the Pentagon's vaccine mandate. Mike Hilkert helped save the lives of more than 30 soldiers and airmen. The combination of the standard GI grip safety and GI hammer will painfully bite the web of large hands.

The thumb safety is small and non-ambidextrous. The slide-to-frame and barrel fit, while good, is not optimal for the highest level of precision. The grips are unattractive and plastic. And, maybe just as importantly, by modern standards, the gun has a plain and utilitarian look. The sights are bold and easy to see. The trigger action is magnificent. The grip is wrapped in G10 scales, and the front strap has an aggressive checkering pattern to help you hold the gun with sweaty or even blood-covered hands.

Fit is impeccable and the pistol is optimized for accuracy and reliability. It also holds 16 rounds of 9mm as opposed to half that many. Even affordable s will probably shoot better than you can, but a customized can shoot better than anyone can. This is so much better than hiding it in a closet or something, not that I have a gun but my brother does.

Wonderful, what a webpage it is! This web site presents useful information to us, keep it up. What is your opinion of the Dan Wesson Valor commander. Interesting article. Not necessarily my experience. My Para GI was junk. Would not fire a full as without a misfunction. After changing mags and tripe to my pistol smith, tradedat apawn shop. Their customer service is disagraceful. Never again. Same problem with Springfield loaded and colt government and gold cup but were fixable.

Series 1 kimber is ok after replacing MIM broken parts. Nighthawk is a nice gun but required about rounds to break in. New SW sc seems like a good gun but have not fired often. DW valors Vbob andfullsize are excellent. Going to buy. I agree. It was junk. Sent the mags back, got new ones, no improvement. Changed to Wilson combat. No change. Had my gunsmith look at it. He polished and fine tuned but the gun still had FTF, etc. Wanted it to be my for.

Ever gun. Traded it and cash with my local pawn shop for a colt. By far, the DW valors are the best. I own seven style 45 acps and Standard Mfgs. Valero is the best Or a full custom. I have shot almost every made.

In the early is put over k rounds down range. Umm para ordinance has been shut down bought out for years now. This article was written in ? NOTE: these are Canadian dollars which are currently at. I have built up a few of these NORCS and they can be made into reliable, accurate, and durable examples of what a should be.

My last one was an Enhanced Commander, which I upgraded with coned barrel no bushing required , captured recoil spring plug, and the other usual mods, using top quality US bits. Total cost for all the bits and pieces, for a full custom practical carry. And I liked it better than the equivalent Kimber.

It already had a coned and ramped barrel, and a great trigger job. Many top of the line oarts were included from the factory. I built some of the first Para match pistols in Canada. Unfortunately, the original Para frames were aluminum alloy, and when compensated would crack out at the trigger cut in the grip, from the downward leverage exerted by a good comp.

Who knew? I tried again with the steel framed Paras, and successfully campaigned in IpSC with one if these pistols for my last season. Third Runner Up, is the rare and little known Norinco double stack type pistols. Randall pistols were exquisite examples, precision built from the very best materials available.

And when bead blasting, the glass beads made sparks. Unfortunately, when the aerospace boom evaporated, so did Randall Arms. They had a very short period on te market. During their liquidation sale, I lucked into some of their remaining parts at dime on the dollar prices. I got dozens of slides, frames, barrels, and other top quality SS bits. I campaigned with it for three seasons of IpSC competition, and when I sold it years later it was still tight, accurate, and reliable.

However, be aware these pistols have achieved a cult following, so auctions might get a bit ceazy. Also be aware that with the parts being sold off, many of the Randall branded pistols might not have been built at the factory. You could have all the power and ergonomic features of a. AND in the Real world, it lived up to the billing.

On theory that you should practice with what you would carry. With a PF of Drawn from genuine concealment. Out of a small of back holster. Pulled from under a jacket. Aside from changing the triple wound recoil springs every rds, I had minimal reliability issues. I have owned a number of production s. The absolute worst was a Para GI.

Had it checked and worked on by my pistol smith. Said it could not improve unless it were completely with Brown, Nighthawk,etc parts.

Is a a good carry gun? Why are pistols so expensive? Will a fire if dropped? Is it safe to carry a with the hammer down? Is it OK to dry fire a Kimber ? Is good for beginners? What is the difference between Series 70 and 80 ? Can a be as reliable as a Glock? Is Springfield Armory 70 or 80? Is a series 70 Safe? Is a better than a Glock? What is a Series 70 firing system? Is the Remington R1 a Series 70 or 80? What is a Series 80 ? How does the grip safety on a work? How many safeties does a have?

Do all have grip safety? How does a sear spring work?