M1911 Safety: Thoughts on Triggers and Firing-Pin Blocks

There are some things that have no business on a personal-defense handgun, and, in my opinion, adjustable triggers are one of them. Nevertheless, adjustable triggers have become popular with a many 1911 owners, and giving them the benefit of the doubt must come first. As professionals, we must be able to discuss the merits of a modification without rendering opinion, but persuading by clear logic. Still, I can see adjustable triggers leading to trouble.

First, many shooters seem to believe an adjustable trigger can be used to adjust the trigger-pull weight. The adjustment, of course, is in trigger takeup and nothing more. No trigger action is truly set in stone, and we can carefully polish and hone the action of practically any pistol. But for the purpose of this discussion, I’ll refer to triggers that offer adjustment by mechanical means. In the common type, engagement of the sear and trigger overtravel are adjusted by a set screw in the trigger.

The first pistols offered with a set screw adjustment, to the best of my knowledge, were the original National Match and Gold Cup pistols. Much has been written concerning the workings of the 1911 trigger, and many handsboth good and badhave attempted to achieve a crisp trigger break on the 1911 pistol. The process is not complicated, and most of us can safely improve the factory trigger action found on 1911s.

The 1911s advantage, mechanically, in my opinion, is that the trigger rides in grooves in the frame that allow a straight-to-the-rear compression; it’s not on a tangent like the Luger and there’s none of the impossible drawbar technology found on double-action pistols. The trigger compresses straight to the rear, allowing for excellent trigger control. When the trigger is well fitted, it will be free of excess sloppiness. Excess sloppiness leads to eccentric wear and a poor trigger action.

The trigger presses straight to the rear, pressing the sear and causing the sear to fall away from the hammer. At this point, the hammer falls and the piece fires. It’s quite simple, and all usually works well enough. What Is an "Adjustable" Trigger? It is quite interesting that more than a few of the adjustable triggers encountered are set at the factory and then sealed in place with some type of epoxy or heavy glue. The setscrew protrudes enough from the trigger body to contact the magazine catch.

This screw limits the travel of the trigger, giving a better trigger compression. The compression is shorter, smoother, and the trigger resets more quicklyat least in theory. The set screw allows the gunsmith assembling the piece at the factory to set a nice trigger break. I have to admit that many of the Kimbers so fitted have a This Century Arms Scout features along, lightened trigger that is nonadjustable.

very nice, more than acceptable trigger break. Adjustable triggers, then, are not necessarily meant to remain adjustable. They are meant to be adjusted for the proper travel and never adjusted again. This is a viable option and is what I would recommend to the owner of a pistol destined for personaldefense use. Sometimes, we can run into trouble installing the adjustable trigger on certain types of handguns.

In the past, I never recommended removing the Series-80 firing-pin block for any reason, but if the owner insists on an adjustable trigger, then you may need to do an overhaul of other parts and scrap the Series-80 parts as well. There are two problems encountered with the screw in the adjustable trigger. One is that the screw may not be adjusted correctly when installed. The second is that the screw loosens under the hammering of recoil. Each results in the same problem.

The trigger may not be allowed to travel sufficiently to release the sear. You can release the sear but perhaps not press the trigger enough to release the Series-80 firing-pin block. This is an issue because the majority of Colts I see today are Series-80-type pistols. I am not saying a pistol without the Series-80 block is not safe; we used the pistols safely for years.

Currently, I deploy Rock Island Armory pistols in confidence, and my son, a former Army sergeant and nowa cadet in officer training, considers a stainless Springfield to be his "alarms and excursions" handgun. True safety is between the ears, but modern pistols are safer in mechanical terms. The firing-pin block holds the firing pin captive until the trigger is pressed fully to the rear. When the trigger is pressed fully to the rear, the plunger drops, allowing the firing pin to move forward.

In other words, the hammer and the firing-pin block are released at the same time. I recently examined a Series-80 Colt with light firing-pin hits that was fitted with an adjustable trigger.

I’m certain the adjustable trigger was at fault, but the owner merely showed me the cases, the pistol, listened to my postulation, and left my shop. (He’s a pretty bright fellow and probably was able to cure the problem once it was pointed out to him.) The forward run of the firing pin was impeded by the incomplete drop of the firing-pin block plunger, a problem inherited from the adjustable trigger installed, or so I thought.

He did start the ball rolling on this report, however, and hopefully others will profit from it. We really need a few problem pistols to perfect our technique, but I’ve been able to isolate an inspection sequence for the problem. This test may apply to pistols fitted with any trigger, but is specific to 1911s fitted with adjustable triggers. First, carefully check the pistol to be certain it is unloaded. Lower the slide after clearing and checking the chamber. The hammer should be cocked.

You’ll want to depress the grip safety, taking the pistol in a firing grip. Next, very slowly compress the trigger. Feel for smoothness as the trigger moves to the rear. Does the trigger feel normal, as smooth as it should be? If there’s a catch or tightness, there’s a problem. If the trigger travels after dropping the hammer, then it is defeating its purpose and needs to be adjusted. Most adjustable trigger screws have right-hand threads. Turning to the left allows for rearward movement.

The problem with even properly adjusted set screws is that after hard use they may work loose. ¨

AGARAD6 Armorer’s Course AMG Vers. revised (coming directly from Belvoir)

AGARAD6 Armorer’s Course AMG Vers. revised (coming directly from Belvoir)

they will work is unprethe screw becomes loose, then the trigger is not good and tight; if it goes too far in the other direction, the trigger may not engage at all. Opinions differ as to the proper adjustment of a set trigger. The most common advice is for the trigger to have about 2 mms of travel after the sear breaks. Too far in can damage the sear nose, something to be avoided.

I’ve found that the subject of adjustable triggers and safety blocks often comes up in the same discussion, and it certainly is related as we have discussed. Let’s take a look at drop safeties. A Hard Look at Safety Blocks The safety block that we hear condemned so many times by shooters who cling to the Series-70 Colt came about by market pressure. Among the first service handguns to incorporate a firing-pin block or drop safety was the SIG P220.

Once the SIG was available and issued in America, it was an even bet all competitors would adopt some type of firing-pin block safety. And they did. Today, all the major European manufactures and FM of Argentina use the firing-pin block in their semi-auto pistols. I’m pretty certain the military began to be concerned with firing-pin blocks shortly after the adoption of the M1 Garand semi-auto rifle. This was the first semiauto rifle adopted by the U.

S., and firing pin travel when the bolt slammed forward was a concern. While rare, slam fires can occur with the Garand, especially with a high primer. On the other hand, the 1911 could be carried with the chamber empty, and this problem never came up with bolt-action rifles. Logically, with the adoption of semi-automatic rifles, and with nations moving to the double-action pistol that purported to have the advantage of carry with a loaded chamber, the firing-pin block became more important.

A firing-pin block prevents the firing pin from moving forward under Left top: Mishaps can occur with too-light triggers and standard hammers. This Chip Mc Cormack is a good design for those preferring an adjustable trigger Left bottom: The Chip Mc Cormack trigger has been used by the author on several competition-type pistols with excellent results. Note the screw adjustment and lightened body with plenty of surface for trigger control. inertia or being thrown forward when the pistol is dropped.

Colt found that when the pistol is dropped dead on the muzzle from sufficient height, there’s a chance the firing pin will run forward against the firing-pin spring with sufficient force to strike the primer. Even though the inertia firing pin is shorter than the firing-pin channel and the hammer is fully locked to the rear, this type of discharge could occur. Colt developed and patented the Series-80 firing-pin block. Some makers of 1911s pay a license fee and use the Series-80 system.

An alternative used by several makers is the light firing pin with a heavy-duty firingpin spring. This seems to ensure that the firing pin will not take a run against a primer when dropped. Only a hammer blow will drive a lightweight firing pin forward against a heavy spring. This seems ideal, maintaining the original 1911 lockwork while increasing safety. I have fired several Wilson Combat pistols so fitted with excellent results, and went the same route with a personal custom pistol using a Caspian slide.

However, another maker who adopted the light firing pin and heavy spring suffered several problems. I’ve examined half a dozen of these pistols that managed to lock the firing pin forward in dry fire. I called the factory and was told that it wouldn’t happen when the pistol fired for realthe fired case would slam the firing pin back in place every time. Well, it did most of the time, but I experienced a number of firing-pin forward problems during live fire with one example.

Never did a forward firing pin explode a (continued on page 16)

lightweight firing pin and heavy spring combination. Available from Wilson Combat, this is an inexpensive precaution that could save a life or a lawsuit. case, but it was a possibility. These pistols have been quietly repaired or replaced. What made matters worse was a nonstandard firing-pin tunnel. So, the best solutions are sometimes not perfect. My conclusion after much experience and thought is that the Series-80 firing-pin block works just fine.

But never couple an adjustable trigger with a Series-80 pistol if the pistol will be used for critical applications. By the same token, any pistol that will be used off a secure range should have a firing-pin block or the proper modern I A note on firing-pin spring replacement: In dry fire, the firing-pin spring actually takes more wear than in live fire. The firing-pin blow is not cushioned by the primer and the pin is completely run forward with each pull of the trigger.

I have a few testprogram pistols I keep good records on, and some have reached 10,000 rounds. Probably about that number of trigger compressions have been achieved in dry-fire practice. That’s 20,000 firing-pin spring compressions. I think it’s safe to say the firingpin spring should be replaced about as often as the recoil spring, every 4,000-5,000 rounds. I hope these few words on the internal workings of the 1911 are well taken.

So many of these handguns go in harm’s way, we simply can’t afford to send any out with anything less than 100-percent reliable function.