Non working grip safety on a Kimber

[AK103K]

I just picked up a used Kimber Ultra Carry and noticed the grip safety doesnt block the trigger and the gun will fire, depressed or not. Anyone else run into this? I've had it apart and switched out the trigger and mainspring housing and it appears that the piece on the safety that would block the trigger is not long enough to stop its rearward travel. It doesnt appear to have been broken either. I'm not overly concerned as the gun functions fine(other than this) and the thumb safety works as its supposed to, but this is the first 1911 I've ever had that this has happened.

 

[Jim Watson]

The previous owner might have shaved the blocking arm to disable the grip safety on purpose. Less obvious than pinning it down.

I like my grip safeties to work and would replace it.

 

[1911Tuner]

Grip Safety Check

Might be somethin' simple...Push up on the bottom of the tang a little and see if it'll block the trigger. If it does, it could be the right leg on the sear spring needs to be bent outward a little, or the safety may need to be modified to allow it to kick out further at the bottom. Maybe also a little off the top of the mainspring housing where the safety hits/stops. Easy fix.

Standin' by...

Tuner (Back online by 0500 hours)

 

[mpthole]

Just going along for the ride on this thread... I'm having some grip safety issues as well, so I'm looking for ideas.

 

[AK103K]

Thanks for the quick replies and suggestions boys.

Jim,
I looked at the safety pretty good while I had it apart and it didnt look like it was messed with. I dont think the gun was taken down for cleaning, let alone apart any further. It looked to be new when I bought it and I dont think it was shot much, if at all. When I took it apart to clean it when I got it, it looked like they do when they come from the factory and was about as dirty. The take down tool had not been used either. After fiddling with it, I'm thinking it got by QC and came from the factory this way. As far as it working, I agree, its on there and I'd rather it worked than just sitting there looking pretty.

Tuner,
I tried lifting up on the tang and bottom of the safety with the mainspring in place and with it slid down just a little so the bottom of the safety would clear the top and it still wont block the trigger. I'm almost thinking the arm on the safety is not long enough to stop the trigger, at least it looked that way when I was watching things work while trying to figure it out. Of course I didnt measure it so I'll have to take it back off and compare it to one on another pistol. I'm thinking of calling Kimber and just getting another one. I figured I'd ask before I end up with two the same and still have the same problem because of something stupid that just needed a little TLC.

Thanks again for the help.

 

[Old Fuff]

It may be that the trigger bow is short - a not uncommon thing these days. If you have a spare, or one out of another pistol, you could switch in a different trigger and see if it made any difference.

These days quality control and effective inspections is a joke. Kimber like other save money by shorting inspections and end up fixing only the ones that are returned. If it were mine I wouldn't only return it for correction, I'd make sure they knew of my displeasure with their work. Considering the asking price for their new guns these things should be done right.

 

[NMshooter]

Agree with Old Fuff 100%

 

[AK103K]

Fuff,
I had given that a thought too, but I did swap the long factory trigger for a short Videcki trigger and still have the problem. The short trigger was in another pistol and worked fine with the grip safety on that one. The only thing I can think it can be at this point is the arm on the safety is to short.

 

[Old Fuff]

You might be right, but in that case I'd suspect you'd notice file marks or other evidence that someone (or Kimber) had "adjusted" it.

Another possibility is that the hole in the frame is mis-loacted, and the grip safety is positioned too far back. This is still another reason it should go back to the manufacturer, because if this is the causing the problem the frame might have to be replaced.

Apparently you have some other pistols around, or at least available to you. If so, why don't you put the grip safety in question into a second (or more) pistols and see if it works in any of them? This might further identify what is going on.

 

[AK103K]

Well, I finally got around to switching some parts around and got a working combination. I'm still thinking the grip safety is most of the problem, but I think Old Fuff's trigger bow suggestion is also part of it. The Kimber trigger worked in the other guns as did the Videcki. All but the trigger from my one Colt(the one now in the Kimber and as luck would have it, one of the SS triggers. ) still would not work in the Kimber, but worked OK in the other guns. The Kimbers grip safety is a beaver tail type and the others are not and really didnt seem to fit to well, or at all, so I didnt really try them between the different pistols. The arm on the Kimber's safety does "look" to be slightly shorter and slightly rounded on the corners compared to the others, but I didnt think to mike it at the time. Thanks again for the suggestions.

 

[lycanthrope]

My Kimber Eclipse Target did that. Kimber replaced the grip safety for free.