{"id":1883,"date":"2024-02-28T08:03:12","date_gmt":"2024-02-28T08:03:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/?p=1883"},"modified":"2024-02-28T08:03:12","modified_gmt":"2024-02-28T08:03:12","slug":"dont-do-these-things-with-your-1911","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/?p=1883","title":{"rendered":"Don\u2019t Do These Things with Your 1911!"},"content":{"rendered":"


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By Massad Ayoob<\/a><\/p>\n

T<\/span>he 1911 pistol has been with us for going on 110 years. Automobiles have been with us somewhat longer than that, and people are still abusing\u00a0them<\/em>, so it\u2019s no surprise that the same is known to happen with 1911 handguns. Yep, there are a lot of 1911 handling mistakes going on out there right now. So let\u2019s look at a few examples, and why each of those is a really bad idea.<\/p>\n

The 1911 is an outstanding design, but it requires specific handling and operation procedures. Are yours the right\u00a0ones?<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Loading<\/h2>\n

One thing that makes knowledgeable 1911 users cringe is when a \u201cnoobie\u201d locks the slide open, drops a live round into the firing chamber through the ejection port, then slams the slide closed. The extractor wasn\u2019t designed to close over the rim that way, and it beats the heck out of the extractor hook, setting the stage for malfunction or breakage. Moreover, most 1911 pistolsmiths agree that the habit doesn\u2019t do the sear mechanism any good, either.<\/p>\n

\"In
NOOO! Dropping a round into the chamber by hand and then slamming the slide closed is the mark of an amateur, and can damage the\u00a0pistol.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

To get to full cartridge capacity, rack the slide to chamber the topmost cartridge from a fully inserted magazine, then on-safe the pistol and holster it. Remove the magazine and replace that topmost cartridge. Re-insert the magazine into the pistol until you hear and feel it click into place.\u00a0Voila:\u00a0<\/em>your 1911 is now fully and safely loaded to full capacity.<\/p>\n

Closing the Slide<\/h2>\n

When it\u2019s time to unload, you have completely removed the magazine and have\u00a0then<\/em>\u00a0drawn the slide to the rear to eject the live cartridge from the chamber. You have locked the slide open and confirmed by sight and by feel (it\u2019s easiest with the pinky finger of the non-dominant hand) that both magazine well and chamber are empty. Now, we are going to close the slide and put the unloaded pistol away.<\/p>\n

\"In
Left thumb is about to slam slide closed on empty chamber. This doesn\u2019t do the extractor (or sear on a 1911) any\u00a0good.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Please don\u2019t let it slam forward. Please. As noted above, it is harmful to the sear mechanism according to some top pistolsmiths. The slide\u2019s forward movement is cushioned in the firing cycle by the resistance of the cartridge it is stripping off the top of the magazine. That cushioning is absent when the slide is slammed closed on an empty chamber. You want to\u00a0ease\u00a0<\/em>it forward when it\u2019s unloaded. That could cause a failure to chamber if you did it when you were loading, but two protocols aren\u2019t that hard to master. The easy way to remember the right thing to do is found in the phrase, \u201cSlam it loaded, but ease it empty.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Safely Holstering<\/h2>\n

The short, relatively easy trigger pull of the 1911 is good news for shooting, but if something interdicts the trigger on the way into the holster and the thumb safety has not been engaged \u2026\u00a0BANG!<\/em><\/p>\n

\"In
Safety engaged, thumb on hammer, trigger finger straight is the safest way to holster the loaded 1911 pistol, says\u00a0author.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Make sure the thumb safety is up, in the \u201con safe\u201d position. On the single-action 1911 this only works if the hammer is cocked. Carefully place the thumb of the gun hand on the hammer. If the safety catch has been missed and something has interdicted the trigger, not only is the thumb in place to hold the hammer back and prevent a discharge, but the web of the hand has been removed from the grip safety and that\u2019s active, too \u2013 another safety net. Speaking of which \u2026<\/p>\n

Deactivated Grip Safeties<\/h2>\n

A grasp that fails to activate the grip safety means the gun won\u2019t go bang when you want it to. Those who like a high thumb position often find it pulls the web of the hand away from the grip safety and makes firing an iffy thing. One famous advocate of the 1911\u00a0and\u00a0<\/em>a high thumb position, therefore, recommended deactivating the grip safety. His formative years came before today\u2019s litigious society.<\/p>\n

\"In
Deactivating the grip safety is troublesome if you ever end up in court over the use of the\u00a0gun.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

You don\u2019t want to give a prosecutor or plaintiff\u2019s lawyer the nuclear-grade sound bite, \u201cThis defendant is so reckless with firearms that he\u00a0deactivates their safety devices!<\/em>\u201d If you\u2019ve been failing to depress your grip safety, consider a harder grasp, a lower firing-hand thumb to tighten the web of the hand against that part of the pistol, or a grip safety with a bump at the bottom to better guarantee that it works as John Moses Browning intended it to.<\/p>\n

Wrong Kind of Press Check<\/h2>\n

Some of us get slovenly with our terminology. Retracting the slide to see if there\u2019s a round in the chamber is simply a\u00a0chamber check,\u00a0<\/em>and not a bad thing.<\/p>\n

\"In
Don\u2019t use this old press check technique to examine the chamber with your finger under the muzzle and thumb in the\u00a0triggerguard.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

However, it\u2019s improper to always call it a \u201cpress check,\u201d which is one specific technique, to wit, holding the thumb of the support hand at the inside front of the triggerguard and using the index finger of the support hand to press back the bottom front of the slide assembly.<\/p>\n

This places that digit in front of the muzzle, and the combination of a fat or gloved thumb and a long trigger can cause a discharge when the slide goes back into battery with the finger still there. If the slide comes forward snappily, the momentum can drive the muzzle down until it is in contact with the index finger and \u2014 goodbye, finger. Even if the bullet itself barely misses, the muzzle blast is likely to cause a burning, mangling finger injury.<\/p>\n

Forward cocking serrations on your slide can give you an option for pressing back the slide without getting your fingers in front of the muzzle, and would get your thumb out of the triggerguard.<\/p>\n

Hammer Position<\/h2>\n

Listen to the advice of the late Col. Jeff Cooper, who led the renaissance of the supposedly obsolete 1911 in the mid-20th<\/sup>\u00a0century, and\u00a0all\u00a0<\/em>of those who\u2019ve won world and national championships with 1911s in action shooting: if you\u2019re going to carry it with a round in the chamber,\u00a0carry it cocked and locked!<\/em><\/p>\n

\"In
Lowering or cocking the hammer with a live round in the chamber is a recipe for disaster. Cocked and locked carry tends to be much less fumble\u00a0prone.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It\u2019s what Cooper defined as Condition One, as opposed to Condition Two, which is hammer down on a live round. The problem is that the hammer sits so far back in the hand that unless you have digits like an orangutan or are double jointed, it\u2019s so awkward that it breaks your hold to thumb-cock it with the firing hand and slows you down terribly.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s also so fumble-prone that unintended discharges are highly likely, when cocking\u00a0or when lowering the hammer after you\u2019ve loaded the chamber.\u00a0<\/em>Chances of a fumble increase exponentially under stress or when attempting a quick draw. It\u2019s safe to break your hold enough to hold the hammer back when holstering carefully, but not when you\u2019re trying for a fast draw.<\/p>\n

\"Three
A quality 1911 like these Springfield Armory models will offer you a lifetime of service, so make sure you treat them\u00a0right!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Conclusion<\/h2>\n

Having used 1911 pistols since 1960 and learned from the best 1911 gunsmiths and shooters, the above advice has served me well, and should do the same for you.<\/p>\n

Editor\u2019s Note: Please be sure to check out The Armory Life Forum, where you can comment about our daily articles, as well as just talk guns and gear. Click the \u201cGo To Forum Thread\u201d link below to jump in!<\/em><\/p>\n

Join the Discussion<\/span><\/h5>\n

Go to forum thread<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n


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Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Massad Ayoob The 1911 pistol has been with us for going on 110 years. Automobiles have been with us somewhat longer than that, and people are still abusing\u00a0them, so it\u2019s no surprise that the same is known to happen with 1911 handguns. Yep, there are a lot of 1911 handling mistakes going on out […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1884,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1883","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1883","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1883"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1883\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1884"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1883"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1883"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1883"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}