1911 stored in Condition One

Status
Not open for further replies.
G

Guns&Religion

Member
Joined
Dec 16, 2010
Messages
132
I have a Kimber Custom Target that I keep at the ready for home defense. I store it in a quick access safe in "Condition One". (That means the pistol has a loaded chamber, with the hammer cocked and the safety on).

I used to store the pistol in "Condition Two" (The hammer down on a loaded chamber). I did this because I was concerned about wear on the hammer spring by keeping it under tension, but then I've heard from some who say that tension on the spring does not usually cause problems for it.

I've heard a problem with C2 is that it can fire if dropped on the hammer, but my Kimber has an inertia firing pin, so I don't think that can happen.

So what do you guys think? Condition One ok for long storage and quick readiness?
 
Store away in Condition 1. It won't cause any additional wear to the gun. Do bear in mind though, with a 1911, firing pin, recoil and main (hammer) springs shoudl be replaced periodically.
 
All mine are in condition one as well. I had an older M1991A1 that I had had stored for probably 10 years, took it out to shoot it and it functioned flawlessly. I sold it later and the guy still has it and shoots it all dead stock from the factory!
 
Guns&Religion said:
I've heard a problem with C2 is that it can fire if dropped on the hammer, but my Kimber has an inertia firing pin, so I don't think that can happen.
Click to expand...

The 1911 platform as a whole was designed with an inertial firing pin. Someway, somehow, it may be possible for an original (series 70) design to discharge from condition two due to the lack of a trigger activated firing pin block, but with the hammer down it still seems very unlikely, even if dropped directly on the hammer. I believe all Kimbers use a series 80 design with the firing pin block however.
 
BluEyes said:
The 1911 platform as a whole was designed with an inertial firing pin. Someway, somehow, it may be possible for an original (series 70) design to discharge from condition two due to the lack of a trigger activated firing pin block, but with the hammer down it still seems very unlikely, even if dropped directly on the hammer. I believe all Kimbers use a series 80 design with the firing pin block however.
Click to expand...
Series II Kimbers do indeed use a firing pin block system, but it is a Swartz which is slightly different from a Series 80. The Swartz operates by a push rod coming up out of the frame to disengage the block when the grip safety is depressed as opposed to the Series 80 where a lever rises up from the frame to disengage the block as the trigger is pulled.
 
Yeah, the pistol has to be dropped on the muzzle from about 6 ft or more in the air.

Directly on the muzzle. Very low odds indeed. Titanium firing pins can help.
 
Dropping on the muzzle from any height won't work either. You could crush the numbers on what terminal velocity for a 1911 dropped from on high might be, but you'll never create enough inertia for the pin to overcome its spring and do any work on the primer.
Seems to me a guy did a test dropping a 1911 down a pipe to ensure its arrival muzzle down on to concrete, and gave up at 15' because he ran out of pipe, ladder, and interest in further damaging the gun even though it was a beater to start with. No boom.
 
Wow, the perennial "Will my mag springs wear If I keep them loaded all the time?" chestnut, with slightly different wording.

Springs do not wear out under static load (kept under constant tension). They wear out by being used.
 
In 1991, I was personally involved with the inspection of a commercial Colt 1911...not A1...that was stored in an attic after the death of its owner, who was a railroad detective and part time town constable for Courtney, NC. Surprisingly, the pistol was cocked and locked. Apparently my stepfather's uncle was a progressive thinker.

I cleared the pistol and did a cursory function check. I loaded the round into the magazine, which topped it off...stepped outside...and fired all 7 rounds. The slide locked back as per design.

The kicker? Uncle Will died in 1929. Aunt Emma...nervous about the gun...wrapped it in a diaper and placed it in a hatbox. It laid forgotten in the attic until her death in 1991.
62 years...loaded, cocked and locked...and it functioned perfectly.
 
Dropping on the muzzle from any height won't work either. You could crush the numbers on what terminal velocity for a 1911 dropped from on high might be, but you'll never create enough inertia for the pin to overcome its spring and do any work on the primer.
Seems to me a guy did a test dropping a 1911 down a pipe to ensure its arrival muzzle down on to concrete, and gave up at 15' because he ran out of pipe, ladder, and interest in further damaging the gun even though it was a beater to start with. No boom.
Click to expand...

http://www.10-8forums.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=88896&page=1

http://www.10-8forums.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=92828#Post92828

If these arent good enough for you then tell m1911.org to take them off their site.
 
@earlthegoat:
Thanks for posting that so I didn't have to.... Misinformation can cause accidents which could be easily avoided.
 
Good enough for me. We come here to learn, and I have again. Thanks for the abrupt correction. I assume noone comes here to deliberately post incorrect info, and that includes me.
Even so, I think I will worry more about being struck by lightning. Be safe.
 
Yeah, even though the test results are striking, the odds of it happening to anyone are quite rare. You would not just be able to drop the pistol from your holster or something similar.
 
Huh, he must be the smartest one they ever turned out.

I heard their was a reason the Bulldog is their mascot.....
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

M
  • Locked
Sig P238 .380 - Condition 1 or 2 Carry?
Replies
13
Views
8K
GrandmasterB
G
D
  • Locked
Condition One time limits?
Replies
12
Views
792
Mal H
Mal H
R
  • Locked
Revised conditions of readiness
2
Replies
43
Views
2K
RetiredUSNChief
RetiredUSNChief
D
  • Locked
Bedside 1911 Guidelines?
2
Replies
27
Views
1K
Dafish2011
D
A
  • Locked
1911 : Condition 0 vs Condition 2
2
Replies
44
Views
2K
Alan Fud
A
Back
Top