Is this bad for a 1911?

[DMK]

When storing my 1911s in the safe, I drop the mag, clear the chamber, then while holding the trigger back, ease the hammer down with thumb and forefinger to condition 4.

Somebody told me that this was bad for the internal components.

 

[1911Tuner]

DMK wanted to know:

Is this bad for a 1911?
When storing my 1911s in the safe, I drop the mag, clear the chamber, then while holding the trigger back, ease the hammer down with thumb and forefinger to condition 4.

Somebody told me that this was bad for the internal components


Nope. No worse than pulling the trigger to shoot or dry-fire it. Be sure to
keep the trigger all the way back to keep the half-cock notch from tipping the sear, though.

Gotta wonder where all these myths get started...

 

[Graystar]

Gotta wonder where all these myths get started

That's what I was wondering. When I first heard these myths I thought about the mechanism for a bit and came to the same conclusion...it can't be any worse than firing (or dry firing) the pistol.

DMK, I perform that same simple procedure on my target 1911.

 

[George Hill]

When doing that, I like to make sure I rotate my mags if I'm keeping some of them loaded.

 

[DMK]

Thanks guys. I was thinking it was BullHockey, but wanted to check. Yes, I do hold the trigger until the hammer is at rest.

George, I'm with you on the magazines. I always buy three times as many mags as I need. I keep one set loaded and two sets resting, rotating every month so basically the mags stay loaded for one month and rest for two.

 

[1911Tuner]

Speakin' of Myths...

A guy on another forum asked a question some time ago. A gun-wise
pal had told him that hand-cycling a 1911 was hard on the disconnector.
When pressed for a "WHY" his answer was that the slide bumped it as it
ran back and forth, and had the guy cycle it so he could feel the bump. and that if he hand-cycled it very much, it would break
the tip off and cause the gun to go full-auto...guaranteed!

Now, this gun-wise pal was a pro at a local gunshop...knew all there
was to know about'em, and handed out advice both often and freely.
Another tidbit from the same source warned us that if the pistol were to
be dropped upside down, and the hammer hit the floor,that the gun would
shoot the man who dropped it...and provided details about a cousin that shot himself in that manner...

"See..When the hammer's down, the firing pin goes forward. Just like a
single action Colt, the gun should be carried with an empty chamber under
the hammer. All Colts are like that."

What we need to do is track this guy down and break his jaw so he can't
talk. I think this is where all this stuff is gettin' started.

Cheers!

Tuner

 

[Tactical]

It's crazy how ill imformed some dealers are.

 

[Vern Humphrey]

Kimber advises NOT lowering the hammer with the thumb, just dropping it by pulling the trigger. The reason is that the unsteady hand release can burr the tip of the sear.

 

[bvmjethead]

Just dry fire to drop the hammer. Just make sure it's unloaded.

You are wearing out your mags by rotating them. Compression and decompression CYCLES of the spring are what wears it out. You can leave a mag loaded for 35 years and it will work just like it was brand new.

 

[1911Tuner]

Hammer Dropping

T'was said:

Kimber advises NOT lowering the hammer with the thumb, just dropping it by pulling the trigger. The reason is that the unsteady hand release can burr the tip of the sear.

Yep. If it hits the half-cock. Keeping the trigger fully rearward will negate that. Best to pinch the hammer with the weak hand thumb and finger, push it back past full cock, pull the trigger and lower the hammer from there. Kimber has to assume that at least some of their pistols will
fall into untrained hands...which is true enough. Better to weaken a
firing pin spring prematurely than chip a sear. Much cheaper, y'know.

and:

Just dry fire to drop the hammer. Just make sure it's unloaded
-----------------------------------

That's also an option. Just be aware that it overcompresses the
firing pin spring, and you'll need to change it sooner than under normal use.
For dry-fire practice, I have a spring and a stub firing pin to put in the gun.
Why a stub pin? When the full-length pin overtravels, it can contact the
sides of the hole and cause some wear. Maybe a non-issue, but I feel better about it

--------------------------------------

You are wearing out your mags by rotating them. Compression and decompression CYCLES of the spring are what wears it out. You can leave a mag loaded for 35 years and it will work just like it was brand new.
-------------------------------------

Absolutely true. Cycling the spring puts the highest amount of wear and stress on it.
On the other hand, assuming good quality springs, it will take several
hundred load/unload cycles to wear them out. I normally rotate my carry
mags once a month.

Lay waste to the myths!

Cheers!
Tuner

 

[DMK]

You are wearing out your mags by rotating them. Compression and decompression CYCLES of the spring are what wears it out. You can leave a mag loaded for 35 years and it will work just like it was brand new.

Good point, but I usually do it when I take the gun out to the range. I try to fire at least a mag or two of my defense ammo in my carry gun at least once a month just for the practice, peace of mind that it and the mags work and to keep the ammo fresh. Often, I shoot it more, but with FMJ through cheap GI range mags.

 

[ProCharger]

I store my beretta 96 brig. in the same manner.....it has loaded magazines, no shell chambered, hammer down completely. It's prolly just me but i like the spring in the hammer decompressed fully. A pet pieve I guess but I believe we are talking about the same basic function here.

Brett

 

[riverdog]

In the past I would sometimes ride the hammer when I put a gun away, but the trigger was all the way back as Tuner recommends, and the hammer came down fast, just not as fast as a dry-fire. Lately tho' I just dry fire.

 

[Jim K]

Hi, folks,

"Just dry fire to drop the hammer. Just make sure it's unloaded"
-----------------------------------

"Just be aware that it overcompresses the firing pin spring, and you'll need to change it sooner than under normal use."

"When the full-length pin overtravels, it can contact the
sides of the hole and cause some wear. Maybe a non-issue, but I feel better about it"

Sorry, Tuner, but I don't buy either statement. Unless something is wrong, the firing pin spring goes solid long before the larger diameter swell of the firing pin can "contact the sides of the hole".

Likewise, because the firing pin spring will go solid in dry firing, it can't be "overcompressed".

I have always released the hammer simply by pulling the trigger and have never known of any damage from doing so. The only damage that will result from extensive dry firing is some battering of the rear of the firing pin and firing pin stop and that will happen even with snap caps.

"On the other hand, assuming good quality [magazine] springs, it will take several hundred load/unload cycles to wear them out."

How about thousands, if it can be done at all. I have GI mags that have been loaded and unloaded at least a couple of thousand times with no discernible change in spring tension. (Now as to some of the clone junk magazines with tincan bodies and cheap springs, that is another story.)

With all respect, I think too many folks worry too much.

Jim

 

[1911Tuner]

Ain't Buyin"

Jim said:

Sorry, Tuner, but I don't buy either statement

So noted. We've bumped heads a time or two before.

It's just a thing that I've got about letting coil springs go to coil bind. It
shortens their life. Comes from living with an engineer for the first
two decades of my life.

Also seen a few firing pins stick forward after dry-firing. *Probably*
the result of something being out-of-spec or tolerances stacking up
in opposition to one another...or maybe a light burr in the channel.
Logically, I know that dry-firing a 1911 is okay, since the mechanics are
the same as in live-firing. I guess it goes back to the days of the
warning."Never snap one...Please!" Some things just don't go away.

How' BOUT this springtime weather in January? Can anybody say
range trip?

Cheers!
Tuner

 

[SapperLeader]

Well, heres another myth Ive "heard " is bad for 1911's.
I have a springfield loaded 1911, which came with a factory trigger job. Is it bad to dry fire the gun? Usually I use snapcaps for any trigger practice, but for example at the range, on occasion I have lost count of the number of rounds, and fire on a empty chamber. Problem or myth:you decide .

 

[1911Tuner]

Springfield Trigger Job-Dry Fire

Howdy SapperLeader...Myth. The sear and hammer undergo the same
stresses in dry fire as during live fire, except for the disconnector function.

The warning MAY stem from the usual practice of thumb-cocking the hammer, which can result in slipping off the thumb and falling to half-cock,
which isn't good for the sear. To avoid it, just cock the pistol by racking the slide.

Cheers!
Tuner