Burstfire on my 1911's

[ripcurlksm]

In the past two weeks, i have had both my Kimber Warrior and Kimber Eclipse go into burst fire while at the range. I've owned both these pistols for a year and have been great.

Kimber Warrior
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Dropped in a new Kimber aluminum trigger and shot 300+ rounds fine, then it started going into burst fire my 3rd trip to the range. Gave it to the gun smith and he noticed that the edge of the sear was chewed up. He blamed it on a bad part. This is working fine now.

Kimber Eclipse
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Just yesterday put in a Wilson tungsten guide rod (love it!) and took it to the range. About 40 rounds into it... burst fire. Im going to order a new sear and all new bullet proof wilson parts me thinks.


I suppose I am posting this to see perhaps if these malfunctions and damage could have been done by me. Could I be doing damage by holding the trigger too hard after firing? Im left scratching my head because both these pistols work great and within two weeks they started to go into burst fire. I know there is a lot that can be said about Irish fury, but this is ridiculous.

Perhaps if anyone can suggest other parts to replace while i am at it-- I was thinking at least the sear and slidestop

 

[rcmodel]

Holding the trigger back hard after firing is actually not going to hurt a thing. The sear is complety disconnected from the trigger when the gun cycles.

You have adjustable match triggers in both guns, and the trigger over-travel stops may have been set improperly.
This will allow the hammer half-cock hook to hit the sear on the way down every shot.

I'm guessing that right there is your problem!


rcmodel

 

[ripcurlksm]

So the trigger over-travel screw should be tight enough just to let the trigger squeeze and let the hammer fall -- correct?

 

[rcmodel]

NO!
It should be loose enough to let the hammer fall without the half-cock hook (or bump on Series 80's) hitting the sear.

To set it, hold the trigger back, and let the hammer go up & down with your thumb. You can feel it "tick" past the half-cock on the hammer if it is set too close.

Keep backing it off until you no longer feel it "tick" the sear, then back it off another 1/4 - 1/2 turn.

I like to blue Loctite them so they can't ever change by themselves once they are set correctly.


rcmodel

 

[jaybar]

So the trigger over-travel screw should be tight enough just to let the trigger squeeze and let the hammer fall -- correct?

INCORRECT !
The over-travel screw controls and limits the movement of the sear. The sear has to move far enough forward to clear the hammer notch AND the safety (half cock) notch. When adjusting the the over-travel screw screw hold the hammer back with your thumb. When the screw is adjusted far enough to allow the hammer to fall,hold the trigger firmly to the rear and control the hammer letting it go forward very slowly. At about the half-way point you will feel a "tick" as the safety hooks hit the edge of the sear . This is what is causing your damaged sear(s). Unscrew the overtravel screw about 1/4 turn and repeat. The "tick" should disappear. If it doesn't go away unscrew another 1/4 turn and try again. Reapeat until the "tick" is gone, then you'll have the over-travel properly adjusted.

 

[Spartacus451]

The trigger bow on Kimbers and S&W can move far enough to cause real trouble if the overtravel screw is not in far enough. The grip safety is supposed to prevent it but S&W and Kimber only pay lip service to spec.

Reset the overtravel screw to reduce overtravel as much as possible using jaybar's directions and see if it gets better.

 

[ripcurlksm]

ok well the over travel screw on my Kimber Warrior was adjusted by my smith makes no click -- my Kimber Eclipse clicks at half cock when adjusting the screw no matter how far out I unscrew it.. any thoughts?

The warrior is silent, the eclipse makes the click

 

[Devon]

It sounds like the grip safety is keeping the trigger bow from traveling rearward enough to allow the sear to clear the half cock notch. I ran into that when I changed the trigger on my S80 Commander. I stoned the grip safety notch a few thousandths of an inch and all is well.
It also could be that the sear is damaged from the trigger not being adjusted properly. When the trigger overtravel screw is not adjusted properly, the hammer halfcock notch will slam into the sear nose and cause a flattening effect resulting in burrs that will rub the hammer after the damage is done.
Have a gunsmith look at it.

 

[silverlance]

Sounds like a fun gun... although I probably wouldn't want to be shooting it when it gives up the ghost after prolonged burst fire. But I wouldn't mind shooting a full auto 1911...