Safety Failure
Howdy Lawyerman,
The Colt Series 80 system is probably one of the most trouble-free passive firing pin blocking systems around. I've known of guns that went 70 or 80 thousand rounds without a problem. The only real problems that come up are
mainly the timing of the plunger lever not being early enough to fully depress the plunger and release the firing pin, and usually ordering the #2 lever from Colt fixes it in neat fashion in about 5 minutes. The whole thing is very similar in design and operation as the one on the old Walther P-38s. Nothing really new under the sun, it seems.
Disabling the system is simple, and only requires buying a 5-dollar spacer from Brownells to fill the gap left by the removal of the two levers in the frame.
The trigger bar lever and the plunger lever. Removal of the slide-mounted plunger and spring don't require anything other than removal. After that, the gun functions exactly like the original 1911s, and will even accept the older parts that were modified to work with the Series 80 safety system. It leaves a hole in the slide, but that doesn't seem to hurt anything. My disabled beaters function just fine with the open hole.
Firing pin...Firing pin stop...Grip safety...Extractor are the four different parts.
I suggest going with the original extractor, even though the Series 80 extractor won't likely cause a problem with the plunger removed...It just doesn't have the added strength in the cutout that the plunger provides.
Now for the caveat that must accompany disabling that, or any safety mechanism. The rest is up to you.
Disabling any engineered safety system...even though there are nearly identical guns that don't have the same thing...can be risky. Not because the gun is less safe, but because any shooting incident...whether accidental or by intent...could be viewed by a jury as negligent...or "Reckless Disregard."
While it won't likely have any effect on the outcome of a criminal trial...though it will probably be mentioned...it could open a huge can of worms for you in a civil action. Also...if you should let somebody else shoot or even handle your gun, and he shoots himself squarely in the foot, it could
cost you, even though he handled the gun carelessly. I therefore cannot recommend it.
Hope this helps.