1911 Firing Pin Stops And Safeties

Recently I ran across a problem that hadn’t come into the shop in some time. A customer brought in a Philippine-produced 1911 with a firing pin stop that had fallen, ditching the firing pin and spring. This was a problem that must have came up pretty often with GI 1911 handguns. From Cooper on Handguns, Jeff Cooper noted that it was standard operating procedure to peen the firing pin stop of the 1911 before trusting the piece for service.

He saw many more worn GI .45s than most of us ever will and the advice was well taken, though today such problems aren’t common. An easy check isn’t always easy. The firing pin stop may be a bit wobbly and still work fine, just as an extractor can clock a bit and still work fine. This check is done by coming beneath the firing pin stop and attempting to move the stop just where the hammer moves against it. The extractor should also have some spring but not too much.

If the parts were solidly in place it would be the devil to remove them for routine cleaning. A tight fit is generally best. The firing pin doesn’t always launch when the firing pin stop drops, it simply is blocked by the firing pin stop and the stop doesn’t always fall completely out. Much depends on which part of the cycle the pistol is in when the firing pin stop falls away.

A weak firing pin spring allows the dreaded bounce, the firing pin doesn’t return to its tunnel in the firing pin stop and the bounce in the slide allows a loose fitting stop to take flight. I believe debris such as brass or lead shavings working into the firing pin channel can also affect the firing pin’s travel and lead to the firing pin stop taking flight. A solid recommendation is to always maintain a strong firing pin spring. Firing pin blocks make the loss of the firing pin less likely.

A neat trick is the Evolution Gun Works firing pin stop. They are relatively simple to fit and with a bit of effort you have a good fitting firing pin stop that is nice and tight. Use a file at least as wide as the stop and just slightly break the edges in fitting. Radius or bevel? Radius is perhaps the most traditional but either works. The EGW firing pin stop works to reduce recoil and it has to be experienced to be believed.

It is the manner in which the hammer and slide operate and the means with which the firing pin stop mitigates felt recoil. Mechanical advantage is shifted from the slide to the mainspring, resulting in reduced felt recoil. Occasionally, a 1911 will swipe at the primer and leave a drag mark instead of a nice round strike. The EGW firing pin stop also mitigates this problem by its transfer of mechanical advantage.

The firing pin stop is oversized for width, not thickness, for a true custom fit and a few passes with the file are all that is needed. The firing pin stop holds the extractor and if the pistol is experiencing erratic or wide ejection, it may be the extractor or firing pin stop. The firing pin stop may have something to do with the problem of an extractor clocking. The firing pin block makes the likelihood of losing the firing pin less likely as the block butts into the firing pin when the trigger is released.

These devices are controversial but should be understood. The bottom line is that the makers must incorporate a firing Far This is the Wilson Combat bullet proof firing pin stop.

pin block into the design or abrogate any chance of police and agency sales. There are a number of types. The most prevalent seems to be the Colt Series 80, as used by Colt, SIG and others. The firing pin block fits into a notch in the firing pin body and prevents the firing pin from taking a run forward if the pistol is dropped on its muzzle. The trigger moves to the rear and the levers connected to the trigger move the block from the firing pin and allow the firing pin to move forward unimpeded.

Many claim that loose motion is added to the Series 80 trigger but a good trigger action can still be had with the Series 80, although would not recommend a particularly light action job on this one. Back to the nuts and bolts of firing pins and firing pin stops. When you order anew firing pin be certain that you order the correct unit. We know that the Series 70 Colt differs from the Series 80 because the newer firing pin has a notch for the drop safety cut into it. There are other considerations as well.

For example, in 1918 at about serial number 240000, the radius at the bottom of the firing pin stop was increased from 0.078 to 7/32" to facilitate easier cocking during recoil. A more recent example, the original firing pin has a firing pin diameter of about 0.090 at the tip. Most Springfield 1911s use a lightweight .38 Super-type firing pin in all calibers. The lightweight firing pin coupled with an extra power firing pin spring is Springfield’s answer to the problem of a drop safety.

A lightweight firing pin has less inertia than a standard weight firing pin. Coupled with the extra power firing pin spring the Springfield lightweight This Springfield has nearly twenty thousand rounds on it with the original firing pin stop and extractor. Both are tight and well fitted. Far Never remove the drop safety from a pistol. It will bite you sooner or later. The Swartz block does not connect to the trigger and is used on the Kimber II series and Smith and Wesson 1911 handguns.

This one is activated by the grip safety and was invented prior to World War Two but used in very few Colt pistols. Kimber uses this firing pin block and has sold quite a few of their 1911 handguns to police agencies and the Marine Corps. The firing pin block is required in many circulars and invitations to bid so Kimber had to have some type to have an eligible design. A downside with this design is depressing the grip safety prevents removing the slide.

With the grip safety depressed the firing pin block pin contacts the firing pin. Use too much force against the slide while holding the handle and you will shear this pin and the pistol won’t fire. I personally own two Kimbers with nearly ten thousand rounds through each with no problems of any type but there have been issues with grip safety timing and the Swartz block. Theoretically, and in practice, the hammer would fall but the pistol would not fire.

With the Series 80 block, if the trigger is pressed to the rear the firing pin block drops. With the Swartz a situation could exist where the hammer would fall and the firing pin remains locked. This is a doubtful situation but one that must be thoroughly considered when you do a trigger job or work with the grip safety on a pistol with this type of safety. Far

Top Bottom The Series 70 has no cut out for the firing pin block. firing pin is a good answer to the problem of the 1911 possibly firing if the pistol is dropped on the muzzle. The lightweight pin is less likely to run forward, particularly when the extra strong firing pin spring is considered. This lighter firing pin is available as the Ed Brown 825 for a perfect fit and this firing pin is also used in quite a few custom slides such as the Caspian. The hole in the slide is smaller as well, of course.

Not every Springfield pistol uses the smaller 0.069 inch diameter firing pin so be certain which pin you need. On a very serious subject, I investigated a rather odd accidental discharge that was apparently caused by a loose firing pin stop and firing pin, and may well have been a combination of the two. The firing pin stop apparently moved up rather than down and the firing pin was stuck up and in a bind, unable to return to the hole in the firing pin stop.

As a result, the firing pin protruded from the firing pin channel. The shooter is experienced and understood muzzle discipline so no one was hurt when he experienced an accidental discharge upon dropping the slide on a loaded chamber. This is among a very few true accidental discharges I have seen, with the majority of such incidents being negligent discharges. The shooter loaded a magazine in the pistol and racked the slide. The firing pin was protruding and contacting the primer caused the pistol to fire.

If simply stuck forward from a too tight firing pin spring the firing pin probably would have been forced to the rear. Fortunately the bullet was launched into the ground when the pistol fired. This incident underscores the need for good tight firing pin stop fit and proper firing pin fit as well. A final word on the firing pin stop. For those wishing the ultimate expression in reliability there is a special firing pin stop that cures every possible problem.

In Browning’s original design, the firing pin stop not only holds the firing pin but the extractor, yet is sometimes held in place only by the firing pin head and spring pressure. The fit in the slide can be secondary. During the thousandths of a second when the hammer strikes the firing pin forward against spring pressure and as the hammer is cocked, there is a chance that the slide will release its grip on the firing pin stop.

The firing pin stop may drop against the cocked hammer and the firing pin cannot return to its proper position. Dave Lauck has designed a firing pin stop with a set screw. It is sometimes misunderstood as a tunnel isn’t drilled into the slide. A small dimple is placed in the slide and the set screw in the Lauck firing pin stop is then tightened, introducing pressure into the slide stop and slide relationship.

With the small indented seat in the slide and the set screw in the fitted, oversize firing pin stop, the end result is a good tight fit and every problem here is solved, period. Back to the firing pin block. Check the firing pin block to be certain the firing pin is locked when necessary and releasing when it should.

The first step is to remove the magazine and to be certain the pistol is unloaded by racking the slide, clearing the chamber, locking the slide to the rear then placing a finger tip in the chamber to be certain the chamber is empty. Lower the slide and leave the hammer cocked. Take a pen or punch and press on the firing pin to be certain that it is locked in place as it should be. Be certain the pin or punch is solidly in contact with the firing pin, not the firing pin stop.

There is movement but not enough to allow the firing pin to protrude from the firing pin channel. To check for proper unlock when the trigger is pressed, retain the hammer in the full cock position and press the trigger while depressing the grip safety. Once the trigger is pressed to the rear, release the grip safety but not the hammer. Press the firing pin forward. The firing pin should move freely and protrude from the firing pin channel.

If the firing pin does not move or there is a click or binding as it goes over the drop safety something is wrong. There is always a chance that the adjustable trigger or a trigger stop has retarded trigger travel to the point that the firing pin block will not release. The firing pin may even strike the firing pin block but still fire every time. Obviously this is a problematic situation. The obvious cure is to reset the over travel stop. AG