Questionable Malfunction in with Colt .45 Model 1911

sounds like maybe the friend may have been the cause? I would think a sear or other worn part would allow failures more consistently than what you describe.

Since you couldn't reproduce it, and it only happened with your buddy, is your buddy normally a "ride the reset Glock shooter"?

Did you actually witness it when your buddy experienced it a second time?

If the firing pin return spring is broken/binding, it could be slam-firing on particularly soft primers?

Thats a gorgeous 1911, BTW!

First i would measure the trigger pull weight.

Sear spring adjustment. May need to make it heavier? Or go to a lighter trigger assembly.

May be just a friend problem?

If we accept that he doubled several times, and you couldn't. . . it's him. Riding the reset as @JTQ mentioned can induce this. Age-weakened trigger return and sear springs can make it more probable. Worn sear and hammer hooks can also contribute; try the push-off test to see.

If you feel the need to fix it, as opposed to him learning not to do that, I suggest a new trigger/sear/grip safety leaf spring. Fitting new sears and hammers is much more in-depth.

If it was truly going into Full Auto it would have fired all of the rounds in the magazine, not just three.

I agree that your friend has a trigger finger problem.

Many, Many moons ago, an acquaintance let me shoot his bullseye competition Gold Cup. A first time experience for me. He said he never cleaned it until it doubled or tripled and then did a complete, full disassembly cleaning.

Something to try.

Bump fire


Fast forward to 2:57

I had that happen once with a Colt 1911
There was a piece of metal in the firing pin channel

The firing pin froze in the forward position. What a surprise

This thread reminded me of an article I read once

A guy brought his Colt SAA 1873 in because it was shooting full auto. Gunsmith didn’t believe it. He shot it and it did shoot multiple rounds with a pull of the trigger. The reason that was given was the firing pin bushing had fallen out. When the hammer came forward and the firing pin hit the primer, the round went off. The primer came out of the cartridge pushing the hammer back and rotating the cylinder far enough for the hammer to fall and set off the next round

JTQ said:

Since you couldn't reproduce it, and it only happened with your buddy, is your buddy normally a "ride the reset Glock shooter"?

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Things like this are why I come here. I did not know this was a thing until now. You can read a lot of gun magazines and not hear about it. Does it cause Glocks to burst-fire?

I have two different 1911's with high round counts. I did have one "double" once. It did not empty the magazine. I replaced the sear spring and have shot it many times since with out a problem.

I am not saying replacing the sear spring is the cure all. Rather just sharing an experience.

Monac said:

Things like this are why I come here. I did not know this was a thing until now. You can read a lot of gun magazines and not hear about it. Does it cause Glocks to burst-fire?

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No, it is just a method of shooting striker-fired pistols that can cause inadvertent firing of single action semi-auto pistols. When you ride the reset on a striker pistol, you are ready to start the nearly double action of the pistol. But on a 1911 you are much closer to firing the already cocked single action gun.

Disconnector

ancientnoob said:

Good Morning,
I wanted to pick your collective brains. About a week ago a friend and I went to the range and loaded up my old .45 with some 230 ball, regular factory stuff. After the second magazine my friend told me it was firing automatic. He said it let off 3 round with one pull. I thought he was pulling my leg. I was loading mags a few feet away and not intently watching. After three magazines I did not have this problem, I could not reproduce it. I tried single strong hand, single off hand, two hands tight two hands soft and could not reproduce it. Then he did it again, I was not able to reproduce again. Any thoughts. Taking the pistol home and cleaning it I did not see anything unusual. It is an old gun so any failure of the sear and such is not out of the realm of possibility.


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I would examine the disconnector, consult your local 1911 Guru

A 1911 that is doubling, whether only in your friend's hand - or yours, is a pistol that is right on the ragged edge of being unsafe. You really need to have a smith diagnose and fix this before you shoot it again.

I disagree that the problem is likely to be due to the shooter. The question I would ask is "if the gun was perfectly within specifications, would this shooter's poor technique lead to doubling?" I think the answer is no. Unless you believe that the shooter fully released the trigger and then pulled it again by mistake, then it is not just a "shooter" problem.

There are possible mistakes in grip, trigger manipulation, or wrist stiffness which could contribute to the malfunction, so it is possible that a shooter with perfect technique would not have any issues at this time. But the underlying cause is still most likely that something in the pistol is out of spec. If so, it will eventually get worse and happen in more situations.

One commenter mentioned that if there is really a mechanical problem, then why didn't it fire the whole magazine? I have seen a number of 1911's that doubled, as well as some other makes of pistols. It is definitely possible for a pistol to double occasionally due to worn parts, and depending on the issue, the pistol may fire three or more rounds with no particular rhyme or reason to it. Any of these behaviors are unsafe, and need to be addressed promptly. A friend of mine witnessed a 1911 loaded with five rounds of 45 ACP fire all five in a burst. He said it happened too fast to maintain control, and the last round went straight up in front of the shooters face. If there were more rounds, it might have been worse.

As others have mentioned in this thread, doubling can be caused by issues with the sear, hammer, sear spring, disconnector, firing pin, and possibly just dirt. I would have the gun examined by someone who knows how to check the tolerances in all of these areas.

It could be as simple as adjusting the trigger over travel

South Prairie Jim said:

It could be as simple as adjusting the trigger over travel

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You make a good point that a mis-adjusted trigger over-travel setting can cause doubling, but I don't think the 1911 pictured in this thread has that adjustment. The pistol shown is an early government marked 1911. I say early, because it does not have the 1911A1 changes that were added in the 1920's. I believe this pistol has every feature that would be needed for government service, but none of the sporting features that have become popular is recent decades.

And to the OP, it is a lovely gun, and considering that it is about 100 years old, its condition is great. You have a real piece of American history, and I am a little jealous.

Not being an expert by any means, I would have to consult the guy that builds my 1911s on government trigger bows and the correct way to adjust or set them as it’s been awhile since we’ve had this conversation.
Nice pistol for sure and well worth the effort

South Prairie Jim said:

It could be as simple as adjusting the trigger over travel

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Did ya even look at the picture? It's a solid trigger. No adjustment.

Texas10mm said:

Did ya even look at the picture? It's a solid trigger. No adjustment.

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Yes I did
Thanks
I believe they can still be internally adjusted at the trigger bow.
It’s been awhile since I’ve tinkered with my 1911s although I do have a great guy I can ask for clarification if you’d like.
It would be my pleasure to assist any way I can.
Jim
Addendum- just a follow up to say that after speaking with my guy I stand corrected, ya can’t do much about the government trigger bow.

I had an SKS carbine at one point that would do this. It would occasionally fire 2 shots back to back. It would not empty the whole magazine. I detail stripped it and cleaned it. Replaced the firing pin and spring. The problem went away. I think it was slam firing.