S & W Grip safety

[jimcon]

I have a Smith & Wesson SW 1911 which is a very good shooter except for one problem - the grip safety. Whe shooting slowly for accuracy , all is fine. However, when shooting fast the grip safety often does not engage. The makes the SW 1911 useless as a carry weapon. I know that I am not the only one to have this problem. (BTW, I shoot a great deal and almost always with a 1911.) I saw that Gun Tests had the problem and sent the gun to some gunsmith. Last month's Dillon catagogue mentioned the same problem and suggested changing the sear spring. Does any know how to fix this problem? I could use some help here.

Thanks

 

[Master Blaster]

Have you called S&W???

They will send you a pre paid fed ex shipping label, and all you have to do is box it up and call fed ex to let them know where and when to come get it.

Call them and have it fixed for free under warranty.

 

[JoeHatley]

Jim,

Rapid fire (for me):



I haven't experianced the same problem with the grip safety you have, but I did replace my sear spring with a Clark 4 finger unit.

Good Luck...

Joe

 

[Jim K]

Hi, Jimcon,

I guess you mean the grip safety does not disengage, that is that it does not get out of the way and allow the trigger to move and fire the gun. If this is the case, I fail to see how a new sear spring would fix the problem; a stronger three-leaf spring would make things worse, not better.

That fix is a simple one, but if the gun is new, send it back. Returns under warranty, and the cost it involves, are what sends companies a hard message that something is wrong. If customers fix the factory's problems, the company is fat, dumb and happy, thinking all is well. (That is assuming they care, which some makers seem not to, preferring to fix their guns rather than making them right in the first place, but generally, S&W has been better than that.

Jim

 

[Sheldon]

Sounds like a sloppy grip when you try to unholster the pistol fast. You can get a grip safety with a more aggressive hump on the back to ensure it gets depressed under the worst grip you can give it........or practice your draw to the point you don't grap it sloppy.

 

[minnesota oldie]

Joe. I know this thread is about grip safeties, but could you tell me about the mount for your red dot? Back to the safety, I had a similar problem with my 945 right out of the box, but as I shoot it more it seems to be going away.

 

[JoeHatley]

minnesota oldie,

Here's the other side so you can see the grip mount.



It's an aluminum grip replacement mount by NPC. I purchased mine from www.brownells.com It's held on by the two grip screws. Easy to swap back and forth between the Novak open sights and the UltraDot red dot. Doesn't loose zero, but I do have to snug up the grips screws about once per range session.

Most important to me, I didn't have to drill and tap the frame of my very low serial number SW1911 in order to enjoy the benifits of a red dot.

Good Luck...

Joe

 

[minnesota oldie]

Thanks Joe. Great group on that target.

 

[jimcon]

"Sounds like a sloppy grip when you try to unholster the pistol fast. You can get a grip safety with a more aggressive hump on the back to ensure it gets depressed under the worst grip you can give it........or practice your draw to the point you don't grap it sloppy"

As a test, this past weekend I fired all 4 of my 1911's and 2 that one of my shooting friends brought along and had no problem with any of them. All shooting of the 6 1911's was fast presentations from the holster. I am convinced that the problem is the S&W 1911.

 

[jimcon]

Joe Hatley:
I want to thank you for the suggestion of using the Clark sear spring. This sear spring dropped the grip safety from just under 6# to 4 #. The grip safety is no longer a problem. Just as a reference point all of my other 1911's have a grip safetys that require 2.6 to 3 #