1911 - Am I the only one who doesn't like oversized beavertail safeties?

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WardenWolf

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I'm trying to find a more normal Colt-style grip safety, but I'm coming up short. The grip safety that came with my 1911 is an oversized beavertail that makes one-handed cocking difficult. I grew up shooting my father's unmodified Colt Combat Commander and this trend of oversized beavertails, far more than is necessary to combat hammer bite, really annoys me. Does anyone else hate the current trend towards oversized beavertails?
 
WardenWolf

I have found that most of the current beavertail safeties coming from the factory (Colt in particular), fit my hand just fine. The only ones I have a problem with are those that have a really wide upswept design to them. I installed one like that on my stock Combat Commander and found that it altered my normal grip on the gun. It felt like the gun was being forced downward in my hand and that I had to adjust my sight picture accordingly. Put the original grip safety back on and have done fine with it all these years without any problem with hammer bite.
 
Hmm, that John Masen safety doesn't exactly get good reviews, and the picture shows it to be rather rough. Any other options besides well-worn used parts?

Edit: Yeah, that's the style of part I have. It's a Rock Island Armory 1911 Tactical, basically a Government model with some added parts. That's my main gripe.
 
No, you're not alone. I have no beavertail inadequacy issues to resolve :D -

I have a very modest beavertail on my Springer 1911. So, I'll concede that, aesthetically, the beavertail can look nice, except when they get taken to extremes. And I've also found the oversized beavertail can change my grip on the pistol.

FWIW, I've not had great luck with Masen parts in general. Rough, and requiring a bit more fitting.
 
I despise beavertail grip safeties.

I think they're ugly and don't offer any better grip than the original short-tang safety. They don't even really alleviate hammer bite since a commander-style hammer (which you'd have to put on with a beavertail) doesn't bite anyway.
 
And I've also found the oversized beavertail can change my grip on the pistol.
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Just to point out, that's rather the point of them. The pure "hammer bite" issue can be solved several ways, including installing a rowel type hammer.

But the more radical beavertails are intended to allow you (usually along with a higher grip cut below the trigger guard) to settle the gun down further into your hand, reducing the height of the bore axis, and thus reducing the length of the lever arm through which recoil acts against your wrist. In other words, less muzzle flip, more straight-back recoil, faster sight recovery and faster follow-up shots.

Some notice and appreciate the difference, and some do not.
 
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I prefer my safeties more like the original for form, but I find that I occasionally do not fully deactivate the grip safety. Therefore I find myself utilizing beavertails with memory bumps until they make a standard safety with a memory bump....
 
Obviously you don't put thousands of rounds through 1911's through out the year.
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Don't be too quick to make assumptions. My round count averaged between 45 and 50K a year at one time. I used King's drop-in safeties to stop the blistering from the tang and kept the spot weld afforded by the standard...and I didn't have to alter my frames.
 
I despise beavertail grip safeties.
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I am also a member of this club . Just remember people the so called experts tell us we can't use a 1911 for self defense. With out the beaver tail, wide paddle safety, undercut frame, bigger sights, over size mag release , extended slide release , full length guide rods , and my number 1 gripe cutting up front of my slide.
Must have the latest newest 1911 just tested and approved by the shooting mags and experts .
In other words if you try to defend yourself with a plain old USGI type 1911 your dead meat.
Remember almost all the above didn't come from real life shootings. But from shooting paper against a clock.

KISS still works
 
Beavertail safeties are fine. They still provide the spot weld. It's the upswept ducktail safeties that I don't care for.

Yeah, I know. Everybody calls'em beavertails. I say go look at a beaver and then go look at a duck and see what you come up with.
 
You guys hate as hard as the other side. Can't we all just get along?

In other words if you try to defend yourself with a plain old USGI type 1911 your dead meat.
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I have learned the 1911 is too heavy to carry and too large to conceal, so you probably won't carry it anyway. The magazine capacity is severely limited and you will not have enough ammo. And, finally, it malfunctions every other round unless meticulously cleaned and tuned after each shot. The internet is a virtually smorgasbord of knowledge. How did we get along before computers?
 
I don't hate them, I have never had hammer bite. My dad bought a SA GI model, and I warned him to be careful with the hammer bite, because he had very large hands. He said he never had a problem. All my 1911s have them, I don't care enough to change them out.

The main problem I have with them is that when I use an army-issued M-12 holster, I can't close the flap on one. I have actually considered cutting and searing a slot in a flap to accommodate one.
 
OK - My 2 cents is that I prefer a modest beaver tail safety.

No one should have to complain because there is a large selection to choose from, and there should be no problem finding the one that fits your hand and shooting style.

If you can't find the one you want, it is also easy to modify or customize one.
 
Beavertail safeties are fine. They still provide the spot weld. It's the upswept ducktail safeties that I don't care for.
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There's the semantic distinction I was looking for! Agreed, its the ducktails I'm not so fond of either.
 
I don't own a 1911 -- at least not yet, but who knows what the future holds.

The 1911 is a true beauty, and the elegant curve of its large sweeping beaver tail is part of the look that I simply love. When in my big paws a beavertail simply doesn't look oversized by comparison.
 
The modern beavertail is more comfortable when shooting but it blocks access to the hammer.

The M1911 was designed to be carried round in the chamber and hammer down. The early M1911’s had wide hammer spurs and the grip safety did not block access to the hammer. With these modern beavertails it is very hard to thumb cock and dangerous, in my opinion, to attempt to lower the hammer on a chambered round.


M1911SAbeavertailcloseup.jpg
 
Don't think so,rnd in chamber hammer back safety on is the way to carry a 1911. Rnd in chamber hammer down not safe.
 
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