1911 firing pin saftey issues

[DONT TREAD ON ME]

For all of you who have a 1911 clone (Springfield, Taurus, Kimber, etc.) and do not have a firing pin safety that is similar to the Series 80 drop safety have you ever/do you know anyone who has ever had a accidental discharge from the gun getting hit/dropped?

[G.A. Heath]

no issues I know of, however if I were to remove a firing pin safety I would probably install a titanium firing pin so as to have less mass and to eliminate the possibility of a weak spring allowing a dropped gun to discharge.

[DONT TREAD ON ME]

I dont have one of the 1911s with the firing pin safety...I am just curious.

[Excaliber]

For all of you who have a 1911 clone (Springfield, Taurus, Kimber, etc.) and do not have a firing pin safety that is similar to the Series 80 drop safety have you ever/do you know anyone who has ever had a accidental discharge from the gun getting hit/dropped?

I do not personally know anyone who had this happen, but it has happened. A quick Google search will turn up specific instances.

Two things you can do to significantly reduce the possibility are:

1. Change the firing pin to a lighter titanium one that carries less inertial energy if the gun is dropped straight down (as G.A. Heath has suggested).

2. ALSO change the firing pin spring to an extra power one that will further retard firing pin velocity during an accidental drop without impairing function when the hammer falls. (Brownell's and others carry the part).

An older gun that has never had the firing pin spring changed carries a slightly greater risk of an unintended discharge if it were to fall with the muzzle down.

Unless you're in the habit of dropping your gun, it's not a major risk. 1911's were carried for around 70 years before a firing pin safety became commonplace, but the possibility of a dropped gun discharge can't be discounted either.

I like the Kimber firing pin safety, but for me, a pre-series 80 gun with the above two modifications is well within responsible safety limits.

[gemini]

My short answer to the question is, no. I agree with G.A. Heath, if you have any doubts, install a titanium firing pin and extra
power FP spring from Wolf.

edit: Excaliber types faster than I do.....

[MoJo]

Before firing pin safeties - - - I'm old enough to remember when they first made their appearance - - - I do not recall any incidents of guns firing when dropped. The firing pin safety is a solution to a non-problem mandated by fear of lawsuits IMHO.

One of the gun rags did a test years ago that showed the fully loaded pistol would have to hit squarely on the muzzle, dropped from a height of about four feet, with no firing pin spring - - - in order to fire a primer. What are the odds for that?

I won't have a 1911 with a firing pin safety. One less thing to go wrong.

[KFP]

I thought I remembered one of our forum members had a 70 series RIA 1911 that he dropped on the floor of the kitchen in his apartment. I think I remember some pictures too, but my quick search didn't turn anything up.

Are there any 1911 manufacturers that still use the 70 series firing pin?

[The Annoyed Man]

For all of you who have a 1911 clone (Springfield, Taurus, Kimber, etc.) and do not have a firing pin safety that is similar to the Series 80 drop safety have you ever/do you know anyone who has ever had a accidental discharge from the gun getting hit/dropped?

My Springfield Loaded came with a Titanium firing pin and a slightly stiffer firing pin spring. The pin doesn't weigh enough to overcome the inertia of the spring unless it is driven forward by the hammer. I feel completely safe with it. My son's Taurus though is just like my dad's WW2 1911A1, which I own today. The way I see it, several generations of 1911 users were just fine before the series 80 pistols came along. I don't worry about it one tiny bit.

[KFP]

Found it: viewtopic.php?f=23&t=16443&p=186955&hil ... ge#p186955" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Texas Dan Mosby]

have you ever/do you know anyone who has ever had a accidental discharge from the gun getting hit/dropped?

No.

None.

IMHO the odds of a firing pin safety breaking / failing are greater than the odds of a 1911 discharging as a result of gravity induced inertia on the firing pin. I don't, and won't, own any 1911's with a FPS as it is a "solution" to a statistically non-existent problem that increase the potential for parts failure and failures to fire.

I am willing to bet a cup of coffee that there have been more ND's with "safe action" pistols in the past 10 years than there have been discharges as a result of dropped inertia fire in the 1911 platform since it has been in existence.

[DONT TREAD ON ME]

Thanks for all the comments. I was sittin around the house today and was wondering about the difference between the Series 70 and 80 1911 so I asked that in another topic. Once I read that I got curious if anyone has had any problems with a Series 70 type 1911.

I have never had a problem nor have I worried about it...just one of those curiosities.

[dicion]

Thanks for all the comments. I was sittin around the house today and was wondering about the difference between the Series 70 and 80 1911 so I asked that in another topic. Once I read that I got curious if anyone has had any problems with a Series 70 type 1911.

I have never had a problem nor have I worried about it...just one of those curiosities.

This leads to a rule that everyone should follow, but most people don't think about.

If you drop your gun, for any reason, LET IT FALL. DO NOT TRY TO CATCH IT.

The likelyhood of it going off due to the fall is less than .001%.
The likelyhood of your booger hook catching the bang switch in the fumble is much greater than that.

[DONT TREAD ON ME]

Thanks for all the comments. I was sittin around the house today and was wondering about the difference between the Series 70 and 80 1911 so I asked that in another topic. Once I read that I got curious if anyone has had any problems with a Series 70 type 1911.

I have never had a problem nor have I worried about it...just one of those curiosities.

This leads to a rule that everyone should follow, but most people don't think about.

If you drop your gun, for any reason, LET IT FALL. DO NOT TRY TO CATCH IT.

The likelyhood of it going off due to the fall is less than .001%.
The likelyhood of your booger hook catching the bang switch in the fumble is much greater than that.

You mean I should not try to play hacky sack with it and kick it up into the air and then catch it, oops

[WildBill]

Since this thread has been resurrected, I shall add my two cents. If I am reading the post correctly, after falling four feet, the gun discharged solely from the energy of the firing pin striking the primer.

I don't know the weight of a steel or titanium firing pin, but this seems impossible. I would think that a loaded .22LR cartridge would weigh much more that a 1911 firing pin. That would mean that you could set off a .22LR cartridge by dropping it four feet onto the tip of a piece of metal shaped like a firing pin. In that case you could design a mortar type weapon using a four foot section of pipe and a tack. Just drop the cartridge down the tube and "boom." I find this hard to believe that this is physically possible.