RA40
Member
The HP doesn't get me either...lucky. The HP is smallish in that area and pretty easy to get pinched. An aside, the K-L frame revolvers get me and the back of the hammer spurs have been shaved down.
Does your non beavertail 1911 "bite" you?
- Thread starter someguy2800
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I've been bitten a couple of times by gov-spec-ish 1911's, and have also had some of the discomfort that others note from the sharp edges. My grip (i.e., how I grip the gun) is all about wedging my right hand tight up against whatever kind of stop/beavertail there is. I'm in no danger of immediate starvation, so I've got enough flesh there to sometimes get pinched.
The comment above about a wider beavertail interfering with thumb-cocking is absolutely true. Thumbing the hammer (cocking and de-cocking) is vastly easier with a GI-spec rat-tail. Of course, I don't ever do either of those things with a 1911 in use, so losing the ability to do that stuff one-handed is a small price to pay for superior ergonomics for actual shooting.
The comment above about a wider beavertail interfering with thumb-cocking is absolutely true. Thumbing the hammer (cocking and de-cocking) is vastly easier with a GI-spec rat-tail. Of course, I don't ever do either of those things with a 1911 in use, so losing the ability to do that stuff one-handed is a small price to pay for superior ergonomics for actual shooting.
Wichaka
Member
I don't know how the person doing the original 6k test had any web left. I gotta have a BT on every 1911, or the web gets tortured.
doubleh
Member
No, I have not.
stchman
Member
I had a Tisas 1911-A2 and a Para GI Expert that didn't bite me at all.
I had a RIA GI 1911 that would almost make the webbing between my thumb and trigger finger bleed.
I had a RIA GI 1911 that would almost make the webbing between my thumb and trigger finger bleed.
1MoreFord
Member
I have big fleshy hands and I run the highest grip I can manage. Yes I get bit Bad. All my 1911 grip safeties are pinned and de-activated because I can't shoot the pistol because of an active grip safety. My Browning HP went to Cylinder & Slide for a beavertail because of hammer bite too. I have to be careful with my Seecamp and it's chisel the chisel shape on the rear of the slide.
1MoreFord
Member
Jeeze, I've been here over four years and Just made my 100th post. Real chatty guy that I am.
With my 1980-ish vintage Colt series 70 M1911, I'd get bit once in a while but never enough to really hurt. Kind of "Oh, I'm bleeding a bit" when I stop shooting but I had not felt the bite when actually pulling the trigger.
My hands are a little fleshy and it depended on how I gripped the the pistol. It was never painful enough to actually do any modifications to the pistol or hammer.
Over time, the frame has been converted to a 22 RF and the slide has been mated to an after market frame with a 38/45 Clerke barrel. The rimfire gun does not have the bite and the 38/45 Clerke gun has a Commander style hammer. I also have an Auto Ordinance 45 ACP M1911 from the 1990s and do not remember it ever biting me.
If I remember to grip the gun "correctly", I do not have a problem with the hammer bitting me. I kind of prefer the spur hammer over the Commander hammer but in the M1911's that I have built, Commander hammers were the thing to buy at the time, so they have Commander style hammers. Since then, any M1911's that I have purchased came with what ever hammer and it is what it is.
Bottom line, i do not get bit enough to worry about it.
My hands are a little fleshy and it depended on how I gripped the the pistol. It was never painful enough to actually do any modifications to the pistol or hammer.
Over time, the frame has been converted to a 22 RF and the slide has been mated to an after market frame with a 38/45 Clerke barrel. The rimfire gun does not have the bite and the 38/45 Clerke gun has a Commander style hammer. I also have an Auto Ordinance 45 ACP M1911 from the 1990s and do not remember it ever biting me.
If I remember to grip the gun "correctly", I do not have a problem with the hammer bitting me. I kind of prefer the spur hammer over the Commander hammer but in the M1911's that I have built, Commander hammers were the thing to buy at the time, so they have Commander style hammers. Since then, any M1911's that I have purchased came with what ever hammer and it is what it is.
Bottom line, i do not get bit enough to worry about it.
You are quite the talker compared to me.
9mmfan
Member
My Colt Government Model does. Couple HPs I’ve shot did as well.
My Auto Ordnance 1911 has a shorter wide spur hammer, and has not bitten me yet.
My Auto Ordnance 1911 has a shorter wide spur hammer, and has not bitten me yet.
Old Dog
Member
Nope, never ... and I've been shooting 1911s (A1's with the conventional spur hammer and original style grip safety) since oh, about 1969 or or so ... and I've got decently sized hands.
I have a model 1911 with the GI style grip safety and spurred hammer and one with a beavertail grip safety and skeletonized hammer. Neither bites me but I do find the beavertail a bit more comfortable. I have a bit larger than average hands, and do not ride the thumb safety.
Col. Cornelius
Member
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Yes, I get hammer bite on a Colt Govt 1991 model, shooting hardball ammo. Softball ammo typically doesn't bite me.
I do have a large hand and my second nature is to hold as high and firm a grip on the pistol as I can.
I do have a large hand and my second nature is to hold as high and firm a grip on the pistol as I can.
CapnMac
Member
Not once.
Personal purchase or issue--so that spans better than a dozen examples.
Personal purchase or issue--so that spans better than a dozen examples.
OP
OP
someguy2800
Member
I was hoping to see a pattern that certain models do it more than others, or large or small hands but it appears its more random than anything.
OP
OP
someguy2800
Member
I do get a bit of abrasion on the web of my hand from the sharp edges of the grip safety, but barely enough to note and only if I shoot alot in one day, which I rarely do since I shoot at my house.
Charlie98
Member
My old non-BT grip Colt did once in a blue moon, as did my BHP.
The beavertail helps me really jam it in my hand without fear of The Bite... helping me in sighting and handling recoil.
The beavertail helps me really jam it in my hand without fear of The Bite... helping me in sighting and handling recoil.
il.bill
Member
Not a single case of 'hammer bite' for me. Not yet.
1911s - Colt MkIV, Colt 1991 Blued & Stainless Steel, two Remingtons, Ruger, Kimber, four or five Taurus models, GSG, three or four Armscor/Rock Island Armory - that is what I could remember off the top of my head. Almost all had no beavertail.
Hi Powers - FN, FEG, FM, Luger, Mauser.
1911s - Colt MkIV, Colt 1991 Blued & Stainless Steel, two Remingtons, Ruger, Kimber, four or five Taurus models, GSG, three or four Armscor/Rock Island Armory - that is what I could remember off the top of my head. Almost all had no beavertail.
Hi Powers - FN, FEG, FM, Luger, Mauser.
Cemetery21
Member
Yep. Any stock spur hammer bites me. Usually a blood blister but sometimes breaks the skin. I have fairly large hands - XL gloves are too snug. I try hard not to grip high but sometime during a string my grip will shift enough to get bit. Been shooting 1911s since the early 80s. PPC competition back then and just old man games now. If I keep a pistol with a spur hammer, I bob the spur a little and that solves it for me.
I have averaged sized hands and my MK IV '70 has always bit. I don't shoot it a whole lot but this month I decided to something about it.
I should have done more research before I ordered a "DROP IN" beaver tailed, grip safety for mil-spec government models. When I got it the packageing said the frame would have to be modified! I should have sent it back. So much for drop in. Also, I should have known, the hammer spur wouldn't come back all the way. It required a rounded hammer.
Stubborn. And I didn't want to mod the frame or hammer of an original '70. I filed on the beaver tail until it would actually drop in. I also had to reshape the base to fit in the grip recess and mate with the main spring housing. AND of course I had to order a rounded hammer. (Which btw won't clear a standard grip safety's tang.). Finally I had to pass the file over the safety lug some as it was about 0.01" too wide and wouldn't allow the trigger to move when depressed.
After all that, reblued the grip safety and reasembled with new hammer and tested it today. No bite, of course. I like the feel and will be shooting my 1911 more. It was a worth the trouble as I learned a heck of a lot about this aspect of my gun and feel proud of my ability to "smith" even though I'm just at hacker level.
I should have done more research before I ordered a "DROP IN" beaver tailed, grip safety for mil-spec government models. When I got it the packageing said the frame would have to be modified! I should have sent it back. So much for drop in. Also, I should have known, the hammer spur wouldn't come back all the way. It required a rounded hammer.
Stubborn. And I didn't want to mod the frame or hammer of an original '70. I filed on the beaver tail until it would actually drop in. I also had to reshape the base to fit in the grip recess and mate with the main spring housing. AND of course I had to order a rounded hammer. (Which btw won't clear a standard grip safety's tang.). Finally I had to pass the file over the safety lug some as it was about 0.01" too wide and wouldn't allow the trigger to move when depressed.
After all that, reblued the grip safety and reasembled with new hammer and tested it today. No bite, of course. I like the feel and will be shooting my 1911 more. It was a worth the trouble as I learned a heck of a lot about this aspect of my gun and feel proud of my ability to "smith" even though I'm just at hacker level.
Patocazador
Member
Not in the same category but my Mauser HSc bites me with its hammer almost every shot.
doubleh
Member
Never, ever. I've owned mine since the 70's had have it a lot.
bannockburn
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alfsauve
Nice job of modifying the beavertail grip safety to get it to work. I did one for a friend of mine (nickel plated RIA), so I got everything in stainless so it would be easier to match the bright shiny appearance with a little judicious polishing. The fit itself was pretty much a drop-in job except for some light filing and sanding on some of the contact areas. No modifications to the frame were necessary.
Nice job of modifying the beavertail grip safety to get it to work. I did one for a friend of mine (nickel plated RIA), so I got everything in stainless so it would be easier to match the bright shiny appearance with a little judicious polishing. The fit itself was pretty much a drop-in job except for some light filing and sanding on some of the contact areas. No modifications to the frame were necessary.
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