Sa 1911 gi

[1911GI Fan]

I bought this GI replica in 2005. It's a great shooting pistol. I wanted to know, how often should you replace the recoil spring and what # is the factory spring? I saw the posting about carrying the 1911 in Condition 2 and had another question. Has anyone carried one in battery, with the thumb safety on and had it accidentally discharge?

 

[rcmodel]

GI spring weight is 16 pounds.

I would suggest replacing it every 4,000 - 5,000 rounds. Sooner if you see changes your guns performance such as failure to return to battery, ejecting brass into orbit, etc.

As for your other question.
It is practically impossible for a properly functioning 1911 in Condition 1 or Condition 2 to fire accidentally.

BTW:
Condition 2 = A round is in the chamber and the hammer is fully down.

Condition 1 = Also known as "cocked and locked", means a round is in the chamber, the hammer is cocked, and the manual thumb safety on the side of the frame is applied.

The so-called Safety Notch is not that at all.
It is designed solely to catch the hammer should your thumb slip while cocking or lowering the hammer.

It is dangerous to carry a loaded 1911 on the "Safety Notch".

rc

 

[DeepSouth]

Generally accepted 1911 Maintenance

Cleaning: (Range Queens and Beaters) Field-strip, clean, oil every 500 rounds (Jacketed ammo)
Field-strip, clean, oil every 250-500 rounds (Cast lead reloads)

Detail strip,clean, examine for wear or impending parts failure every 2,500 rounds (Jacketed ammo)
Detail-strip, clean, (Might as well check the parts) every 1,000-1250 rounds for Cast lead reloads.

Recoil spring replacement...2500 runds
Firing pin spring replacement...5,000 rounds
Sear spring replacement...10,000 rounds
Mainspring replacement...20,000 rounds
Plunger spring replacement...If/When needed
Firing pin...as needed, indicated by wear or damage.
Plunger detent pins...as needed, indicated by wear or damage.

 

[1911GI Fan]

Thank you

Thank you both for your replies and your information. The recoil spring I'll go ahead and replace. The rest will have to be done by a gunsmith at a later time.

 

[rcmodel]

There is no need to pay a gunsmith to replace any spring on a 1911.

Suggest you read up on field stripping a 1911 completely for cleaning & maintenance.

A gazillion GI's were able to do it blindfolded & without tools.

http://www.m1911.org/stripin1.htm

rc

 

[Oro]

+1 to RC model. Get a good manual for it about detail stripping, or you can find them on the internet for free. When something confuses you, watch this Youtube animation about 1911 assembly, and it will clear it up. This helps a lot of people:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4P4XJTKzKEU