PT1911 intermittent half cock

[Enfielder]

On cycling my PT, I'll get a once in a while, not recreatable, hammer that drops to half cock.
It happens most often when I'm dropping the slide with the slide release. It's clean and has not a lot of rounds through it.
Any spots to check for wear? Wood chip caught in the disconnector?

Please keep the Taurus hating down to a minimum as its not necessary. I like this gun and my other Brazilian products.

 

[edwardware]

If the hammer's dropping to half-cock when you drop the slide, either the hammer hooks or sear is battered.

This needs fixed, probably by fitting a new hammer, or sear, or both; it's just possibly a weak spring or a wooly booger, but unlikely.

 

[Steve in Allentown]

Are you dropping the slide on an empty chamber?

If so then this is the way to test the pistol for hammer follow. It is not the way to treat the pistol on a regular basis.

A couple of things to try:

1. If you have an over-travel screw in the trigger, back it out a quarter of a turn. If the condition persists, try #2 below.
   
   
2. A close inspection of the sear/hammer contact surfaces should reveal if there is any damage to the surfaces. If there is damage, replace the parts. If there is no damage, bend the middle leaf of the sear spring forward to increase pressure on the disconnector. You only need to bend it enough to prevent the trigger from bouncing into the disconnector and releasing the hammer during slide cycling.

 

[Enfielder]

I am dropping it on an empty chamber. Trigger time. Rack and point.

 

[Blue68f100]

Not recommend on 1911's except for testing for hammer follow. If your going to do it, hold the trigger back so the ignition parts are not damaged.

Just manually cock the hammer, or load snap caps. I use a laser snap cap for dry fire practice. Gives you feed back on what your doing.

 

[Texas10mm]

https://www.ingeniousgunworks.com/hammer-sear

No fitting, problem solved.

 

[edwardware]

No fitting, problem solved.

Do you have any experience with that? I'm immediately suspicious of a No Fitting hammer and sear set for a 1911. . . but that doesn't mean it's not possible.

 

[Jim Watson]

Slamming the slide on an empty chamber is hard on the lockwork... unless you have a real mil-spec with 7 lb pull.

Consider that you already have a "no fitting" hammer and sear. Mass production guns like that are assembled, not fitted.

 

[Steve in Allentown]

I am dropping it on an empty chamber. Trigger time. Rack and point.

You can do this with striker fired pistols like Glocks but doing it to a 1911 is bad ju-ju.

 

[bearcreek]

Please keep the Taurus hating down to a minimum as its not necessary. I like this gun and my other Brazilian products.

Just food for thought. It's really quite rare that a bunch of people who have extensive experience with a given subject just randomly decide, for no good reason, that they don't like products from a certain company. Usually there's some logic behind it.

Hope you find a solution!

 

[entropy]

Replace the sear and disconnector with non-MIM parts, inspect the hammer's engagement area with the sear, replace if necessary. While you're at it, take out the Series 80 safety and put this in:
https://www.brownells.com/handgun-p...to-series-70-conversion-shims--prod13121.aspx

You'll be glad you did.

I am dropping it on an empty chamber. Trigger time. Rack and point.

Nothing wrong with dry firing a 1911, just recock the hammer by thumbing it back instead of racking the slide.

 

[Texas10mm]

Do you have any experience with that? I'm immediately suspicious of a No Fitting hammer and sear set for a 1911. . . but that doesn't mean it's not possible.

Only what I've read about it. Since it's the hammer and sear that need to be fitted to each other buying them as a fitted set is common. I've used EGW fitted sets with no problems at all.

 

[GRIZ22]

I don't think this can be written off as just poor Taurus quality. Things happen to all kinds of guns.

I've had my PT1911 for about 13 years. Thousands of rounds through it and no issues at all. When I carry a 1911 it's usually my PT1911. All my other 1911s are Colts.

I would send it back to Taurus.

 

[Slamfire]

Time to replace the hammer and sear. Hammers and sears wear, MIM parts particularly. This Kimber is on its third hammer and second sear.



The Marine Armorers at Camp Perry installed the last sear, told me to get a "forged" one, which I did from the Springfield Armory Pavilion on Commercial Row. It might be a bar stock, but it is most certainly not a MIM. Until you replace your hammer and sear, your 1911 is unsafe as the sear/hammer surfaces are too worn to secure the hammer.

And I do not recommend attempting to hone MIM hammer/sear surfaces in an attempt to keep the old parts. Accept they are worn and go find bar stock or forged replacement parts.

https://www.ingeniousgunworks.com/hammer-sear

No fitting, problem solved.

I would check with the maker to find out which of these steels: "4140 Stainless Steel" they are using. Stainless steels are favored by Garage mechanics for some reason, but stainless steels don't deep harden, at best you get a thin hardened layer which wears out quickly. While rust resistance is nice and all, what you need in this application is wear resistance. In this applicable, with its high impact and contact loads, what is desired is a steel that hardens evenly and deep, and what meets this is the category of steels called "tool steels". According to Hudson, https://www.hudsontoolsteel.com/technical-data/steelHT, 4140 is a tool steel. If ingenious makes their 1911 hammer and sear from 4140 alloy steel, I think that would be OK. There are posters who are real metallurgists, and I would be interested in their opinion on 4140 in this application.

 

[BBBBill]

Please keep the Taurus hating down to a minimum as its not necessary.

Just food for thought. It's really quite rare that a bunch of people who have extensive experience with a given subject just randomly decide, for no good reason, that they don't like products from a certain company. Usually there's some logic behind it.

I would send it back to Taurus.

No hate here, but I agree with bearcreek. I stopped selling Taurus in my shop due to so many issues for which Taurus provided near zero support. Can't get factory only parts and literally years getting a gun repaired and returned (Model 94 revolver that would not light rounds after a total of two trips and three years back at the factory). That said, I do own several nice ones although I did have to finish what the factory failed to do, three revolvers with not even a hint of forcing cones among them. Fortunately I am equiped to do some of that stuff.

Good suggestions to tune the sear spring after inspecting the hammer and sear, and adjust the overtravel screw. Many folks adjust the screw too close (or the screw migrates because of no Locktite or staking). I do not like MIM, however good MIM is very serviceable. Colt sears are MIM. Kimber MIM is good. Wilson value line is decent. For my stuff I still use Harrison, EGW, or Wilson Bullet Proof internals, but I'm old school. Drop in is a suggestion, not a given. You get lucky with it many times, but there is always the issue of tolerance stack or out of spec parts. Too many different manufacturers, all with their own idea of specs/dimensions/tolerances and varying degrees of compliance with their own specs. In other words, expect some fitting/tuning to be required.

 

[rbernie]

The small bits in my PT1911 lightweight 5" were of abysmal quality; visually very poorly formed and with poor tolerance control for key dimensions. On the other hand - the frame quality, both dimensionally and in terms of finish, was superb. A rebuild using Ed Brown and C&S bits on/in that frame gave me a very nice full size lightweight carry gun and shooter.

I know what I'd do, if I were the OP.

 

[Rule3]

Call Taurus and send it back to them. They do have a LIFETME warranty. Tell them it is a "safety" issue (not the actual grip safety.

 

[entropy]

The small bits in my PT1911 lightweight 5" were of abysmal quality; visually very poorly formed and with poor tolerance control for key dimensions. On the other hand - the frame quality, both dimensionally and in terms of finish, was superb. A rebuild using Ed Brown and C&S bits on/in that frame gave me a very nice full size lightweight carry gun and shooter.

I know what I'd do, if I were the OP.

I did exactly as you did, and put the TJ's series 80 shim in.