1911 Problems

WELCOME TO THE NO BS ZONE OF TEDDY JACOBSON
This is a subject and a problem that will not go away. John Browning had a wonderful idea in his design of the 1911 pistol, and every one has cashed in on it. I personally still believe that Mr. Browning's Hi Power was a better idea in a number of ways. I will basically discuss only the 1911 pistol here and now. The geometry of the hammer and sear and disconnector in relationship to the position of the trigger is part of what gives you the superb 1911 trigger pull all of you want.

If one hole in the frame is drilled improperly or out of spec, you have a major problem which is often over looked. The idea of the 1911 design at first glance tells the novice that this is a piece of cake, unfortunately this is not so. You should be able to field strip a 1911 blindfolded once you own and use one. It has become very complicated because of various dimensions, nothing is constant, to many people making this product and parts. There are so many people that think they have a better idea in trying to redesign this 1911 workhorse.

People had dollar signs in their eye balls coming up with every possible type of after market part that they claimed was better. We are talking about barrels, triggers, magazines, hammers, struts, sears, disconnectors, springs of all kinds (recoil = conventional, variable, 16 lb, 17 lb, 18.5 lb, etc.) , mainspring housings, barrel bushings, grips, extractors, firing pins, firing pin stops, guide rods, barrel links of all sizes, etc, etc, etc, and the list never ends. WHY ??? = $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $, its always the very same hiway that leads to the Bank on FRANKLIN AVE., where Willie Sutton hangs out.

Almost 100 years old and so many of the factories still can't get it right. You can buy a Beretta 92F, Glock 17, 19, Sig Sauer 226, 228, HK P7 and they are flawless out of the box with no modifications. Example = Look at the tiny opening of the ejection port in the slide of the HK P7, no lowered ejection port and no roll over notch, a jam with good ammo, no sir, does not happen.

Lets go back to the 1911 pistol, everyone and his little brother makes magazines, they do not all work well, the followers in the magazines differ a great deal, the angle preset on the follower is critical. Do the factory armorers know how to set all the critical tolerances on the 1911 exact ??? I doubt it because not every 1911 that is new in a box works flawlessly. I ask myself is the feed ramp (barrel - frame gap) correct, are the barrel lugs top and bottom cut correctly and are the lower lugs mated properly to the slide stop pin so the barrel will not torque and shear off the lower lugs, is the ejector too long or too short or is it loose, is the breech face dimension correct ??? is the extractor properly set up with the correct tension and the firing pin stop holding the extractor tight and correct so it will not rotate or clock. Is the thumb safety installed properly so its low enough and has no bounce in the down position, how about the grip safety and we have not even mentioned the firing pin block safety system that these companies are now using.

It gets better because a stock 1911 pistol may have parts that were purchased through a series of bids so they could get the cheapest price, its all about $$$$$$.
I remember adjusting a cast extractor on a Para Ordnance pistol, as soon as I applied a little bending pressure it broke in half because there was an air bubble in the extractor from the casting.

To sum it up, everything in a 1911 pistol must be perfect including the plunger tube, if the slide stop detent pin protrudes to far out of the left side of the plunger tube because the shoulder in the cheap plunger tube was cut too deep and some armorer puts a kink in your plunger tube spring, there is now a problem installing your slide stop. I COULD WRITE A BOOK. What about the magazine catch, which is often over looked and taken for granted ??? Is your magazine sitting high enough in the frame ???

So now you can see I could go on and on and on and unless you really understand how to set everything correct with quality dimensioned parts, you have got your self a genuine problem. I have not even scratched the surface of all the problems associated with this design. Now you can start to see why so few people have their act together. Its not how good your pistol looks but it is whats inside that counts, the rest is BS.

A 1911 pistol is a superb design and can be made flawless in operation with proper tuning, magazines and quality ammunition, but there is so much BS and misinformation everywhere, people do not ever find the exit of the revolving door they are in.

I am truly amazed when people say to you, I made 100, 300, or 500 1911 pistols and never had a jam, never a failure of any kind, and will tell you, OH, BY THE WAY, I never worked as a professional full time pistolsmith, CAN YOU BELIEVE THIS ??? There are too many variables, mechanical problems with everything, STOP THE BS. In a 1911 pistol so much depends on internal extractor tension, feed ramp, magazines, springs, quality of ammo, etc, etc, etc, etc.

Do I get returns on the various 100 different models I work on ??? Sure, about 1 %
Some of these factories get 25% and up. Ain't Life Grand ???


AUTHORS PERSONAL NOTATION:
This commentary as well as all my previous commentaries are my personal opinion only and my personal viewpoint only. Thanks for all your support and your wonderful emails.


Teddy Jacobson - Pistolsmith
www.actionsbyt.com
281 277 4008
tjacobson@houston.rr.com
jaj45f@alltel.net
www.actionsbyt.blogspot.com/