Thinking of pinning my 1911 grip safety

[kungfuhippie]

Three points.
1. I voted yes, the only real safety is between your ears as Mr. Cooper said. And you still have the thumb safety.
2. Better to get your gun working right then disable a feature that isn't working correctly.
3. Use a gun you can shoot reliably for self defense. If a gun of mine has issues with reliability it either gets sent to the gun orphanage or only pulls range duty (depending on the gun's history)

 

[mavracer]

I voted yes because when I fitted my beavertail to my stainless delta elite the grip safety didn't work and I didn't really care.took six months before I got around to fixing it.

 

[farscott]

My Limited SV has a pinned grip safety based on how I was able to grip the gun without deactivating the grip safety. All of my carry 1911s have a functional grip safety. I have learned that my grip is very sensitive to the circumference of the pistol grip as well as to where my thumbs go. If I shoot high thumb, I have a larger chance of not deactivating the grip safety. I only shoot high thumbs on the 2011. Training has been an issue, so I have to practice quite a bit.

 

[Unforgiven826]

I was having a slight problem with my grip not always depressing the grip safety. I installed some ultra slim grips on my 1911 as soon as I got it and that was the problem. Once I went back to standard thickness grips the problem was solved for me.

 

[leadcounsel]

Bad idea to pin the safety for both safety and legal reasons.

 

[Black Majik]

I voted no.

Either adjust your grip, or get a beavertail grip safety with a larger pad/speedbump on it.

Don't disable the grip safety.

 

[DMK]

There is no issue or problem to be had if the gun was wearing a memory groove grip safety and is in good mechanical condition. With the memory groove grip safety it is impossible to grip the gun and not depress the grip safety.

I've got one of those on one of my 1911s and I can't grip the gun to shoot and not disengage the grip safety even if I tried.

However, my two other 1911s have standard grip safeties and I never have any problems at all. I actually like the grip safety since I CC cocked and locked.

 

[tractorshaft]

Trbon8r said....

There is no issue or problem to be had if the gun was wearing a memory groove grip safety and is in good mechanical condition. With the memory groove grip safety it is impossible to grip the gun and not depress the grip safety.
__________________


TRBON8R, I beg to differ,its not impossible as you say . To give you a little idea of the size of my hands I can pick up a basketball with my thumb and forefinger. When I use my preferred high grip with my thumb on top of the manual safety sometimes the web of my hand just does not fit the grip safety in a way that depresses it fully. My shooting buddy has a Kimber with a memory groove GS installed on it, same same..1 out of 10 times I have to readjust my grip to activate the grip safety.

I am sending 2 of my 1911's to Novaks and having the "Answer" back strap installed for me. I wont carry one of them IWB but they will see duty as a "Center Console" gun or night table work. I guess I will keep the Model 35 in .357SIG as my main IWB carry gun. Its not because I am afraid of it going off in my pants, as others have said...my primary safety is between my ears..

 

[trbon8r]

I'm 6'4 250 pounds and far from a midget. I've got big paws, but it sounds like you may have alien type hands that even dwarf my big mitts.

I'll take your word for it then, that you may have some unusual circumstances that might make the grip safety a problem for you. If that is the case, and you are certain there isn't something amiss with your grip technique then by all means do what you have to do to make your pistol work.

Keep in mind my response was dedicated to 99.9% of the would be users of the 1911. If you can pick up planet earth with the palm of your hand you might be a unique case.

 

[JDGray]

I can pick up a basketball with my thumb and forefinger.

 

[sniper350]

I will repeat what the other poster has said " with a properly fitted Grip safety, it is impossible to grip the pistol for shooting and NOT deactivate the grip safety". I don't really care how big your hands are .....if you are holding the pistol grip.........my grip safety will desengage. It take less than 1/16 of an inch movement for my grip safety to be deactivated.

Some tell me that's no safety at all -Smile- ......... but with a strong upward adjustment on the right hand leaf of the sear spring ..... it functions as a safety just fine.

Many grip safeties require too much compression of the safety, to deactivate........ but that's just a function of how the safety was "FITTED".
It doesn't have to be that way at all. There is absolutely NO need to pin a safety on a 1911 ..........just get it fitted properly and you will forget it is even there.

JF.

 

[jaysouth]

I carried a cocked and locked GI 1911 IWB mexican style for many years. I was not supposed to be carrying the weapon and was willing to ditch it should the need arise. (Wearing a holster is highly indictive of having a firearm nearby, so no holster.) To keep the gun from slipping down in my pants, I wrapped several large rubber bands around the grip. I discovered (call me 'genius') that a large rubber band wrapped around the grip safety would disable it. I made sure that the safety was disabled.

I later discovered that cops in NYC used this rubber band method on a routine basis to carry backups and off duty guns.

If you were legally carrying a 1911 in a holster, rubber bands could disable the grip safety, should you desire, and 'get lost in a hurry' should that the need arise, to paraphrase Mr. Stephen Camp, a resident guru we are fortunate to have on this board. (someday I am going to come up with an original idea.)

Carrying a 1911 cocked and locked with no grip safety is still one step (mechanical safety-wise) ahead of carrying a revolver.

 

[peacemaker45]

There are a bunch of ways to deal with the issue without disabling the saftey. One is to ease the spring pressure, so that nearly any contact with the GS disengages it. Another is to use a safety with a memory pad. With one of these, by the time your hand makes it into contact with the rest of the backstrap, the GS will have already reached the limits of its mechanical travel. Or both. A combination of a light spring with a memory pad is the extant system on my Tauri, and I've never had a hint of trouble with either one.

~~~Mat

 

[Hawk]

While there are a number of ways to deal with a grip safety, there's nothing wrong with the simple and straightforward method of driving a stake through its black heart.

Everything else is a halfway meausre that would comfort someone who has had issues with one to varying degrees.

Locally, I've noticed that many that would bust a spleen over clobbering a grip safety have little to no issues with removing a BHP's magazine disconnect. Clearly, litagophopia manifests in an uneven fashion.

 

[crebralfix]

Since this is a carry gun....

Get a combat gun that fits your hand properly and does not require you to disengage multiple safeties in order to fire. This is the advantage of the double-action pistol: you don't have to fight the safety. This flies in the face of the gun fighting mythos. Some people actually believe they need to get one inch groups at six feet! The notion is absurd, especially if you're also engaged in a fist fight. Even worse, they think staring at the front sight is necessary. Don't think...just point and shoot.

Therefore, here are some questions to ask yourself:

1) Can you operate this weapon one handed?
2) Does the safety occasionally fail to disengage?
3) How will the fight develop? Will it be close, within punching range? Kicking range? At what ranges are you training?
4) What are the odds you'll be reacting instead of acting?
5) Will movement be involved?
6) What level of accuracy is really needed?

The odds are you'll be moving quickly in reaction to an attack. It will probably be close--within 10 yards, but likely closer. We know from the Tueller Drill that 21 feet is too close and that most people cannot outdraw and shoot a charging man from that distance and avoid getting struck. This makes movement our number one fighting defense (with body armor next because we can wear it). For really close encounters, we may have to punch the goblin to mess up his plan. Given the above probable circumstances, what advantage does a single action handgun have over a double action handgun? I recommend you time your draws to the first shot with both actions. The results may surprise you.

***

I do like the field expedient method of grip safety deactivation: big rubber band AKA Hogue Handall Universal grip.

 

[1035 TOG]

For myself, no.

I've been shooting 1911's for nearly 30 yrs and I have never had an issue with the grip safety, nor have I known anyone who did. I would not disable the grip safety in any way.

 

[Outlaws]

Jeff Cooper was a normal human being. I fail to see why so many people seem to take his words as gospel.

 

[kungfuhippie]

Jeff Cooper was a normal human being. I fail to see why so many people seem to take his words as gospel.

Blasphemy!!!!!!

I think Outlaws deserves a time out to think about what he just said.

*sarcasm*

Jeff Cooper was a field expert on self defense, some would argue the best in his day, especially when it came to the 1911. So when he said something in regard to how to carry and use you 1911 it should not just be put aside. Though, I believe that it should be taken with a grain of salt and used as part of all the information you gather to make an informed decision.

My Star B is a 1911 knockoff (more or less) and has no grip safety, just a thumb safety. Being left handed that puts it away from my body while holstered which means as I clumsily waddle through life I will probably catch it on a branch or something and shoot a hole in my foot...

 

[Hawk]

Jeff Cooper was a normal human being. I fail to see why so many people seem to take his words as gospel.

Agreed. Many disagreed with the man.

However, he taught many in the use of the 1911 at Gunsite, was founding president of the IPSC and is widely recognised as the father of modern combat pistol shooting.

While there is always room for disagreement over matters of opinion, I feel most people can speak with absolute authority over the matter of what they find growing at the end of their wrist. Mr. Cooper reported that his hand was structured such that he had issues with grip safeties. I see no reason not to accept this at face value either from Cooper or the OP. Just because I can't grip a 1911 without operating the grip safety is no reason to believe it simply doesn't happen.

If one can accept that a hand can be structured in such a fashion, then the next question is what to do about it. This is where the disagreement would come into it.

Cooper was fine with pinning the thing. Whether this is worth one, ten, a hundred, a thousand or ten thousand random internet opinions is yet another matter of opinion.

The OP might derive some comfort from noting that had Cooper lived a bit longer and joined the THR community, that the father of the modern technique would have been told his technique was sloppy, that his observations of his own grip were suspect and that his pistol needed upgraded or repaired / replaced.