Unique Handgun Problems

WELCOME TO THE NO BS ZONE OF TEDDY JACOBSON

I Thought I would like to discuss some unique problems I have while working on specific models. I regret that most people are so impressed with exterior looks of a handgun which of course motivates their decision to purchase. These companies are well aware of marketing strategy, it does work in all types of sales whether it be cars or tools or electronics or whatever. I have had many women tell me they purchased a Walther because it looked good in a James Bond movie. I remember how sales took off after everyone saw the SW 29 used in the Dirty Harry movies. Women are very impressed with fancy wood grips or exotic material.
Sadly people are basing there purchases on things that are irrelevant. There are so many people that fall in love with these little 1911 style mini Kimbers with a 3 inch barrel, why they think that is such a great gun is beyond me. You only get 2 inches of rifling, they are carrying a pistol that may give them a 230 grain bullet with 650 feet per second, makes no sense to me.


I want to concentrate more on the internals of some of these handguns. I will not have any specific order to my notes here. I am writing this without a written script. Working on a 1911 pistol represents some very unique problems that the average person whether it be the owner or a "SMITH" does not understand. America has always had a love affair with the 1911 pistol and the 45 acp cartridge.
I have no problem getting a good trigger pull on a series 70 or a series 80, but the 80 is more difficult. Not every company uses the same firing pin block safety system as Colt. Many companies use a system that works like the Kimber style safety known as the Swartz system. Do I like it ?? NO, but I must deal with it.

How many people have trouble with reassembly of their 1911 pistol and just do not know how to insert the slide stop or it just will not go in smoothly. I would say 50% of the 1911 pistols I have seen have that same identifiable scratch, this bothers me a great deal because the person who either made the gun or the person that worked on the gun just did not know what they were doing. Many of these plunger tubes have the shoulder cut to deep internally on the left side. That is just one problem, there are many more reasons the slide stop does not work properly.

I often see the thumb safety while in the down position, not only sits too high and touches the bottom of the slide but it bounces. Most people DO NOT know how to properly install a thumb safety on a 1911 pistol. This is a major problem and the same applies to installing an internal extractor, and the same applies to installing an ejector. Its just not that easy. It can't be taught that easily and it never ends when talking about a 1911 pistol because if it was easy they would all work flawlessly right out of the box and would not need to be fine tuned by some one like me. I do not like to have super tight barrel bushings because when the barrel and bushing get hot they expand and then you have a jam waiting to happen. This is the never ending story that is always discussed on every major forum, most are giving you a line of BS.

The old Colt revolvers like the Python are not easy to work on, parts are becoming harder and harder to find. The cost of parts for any Colt are sky high. Its not that easy to retime these older Colt revolvers, I suggest if you have one use caution on who works on it. They are a superb action, I have always liked them but its not for everyone to work on as you must really understand how to time the bolt. I have owned quite a few of these old Colt revolvers but I regret I just have one left. I am so sorry that I did not keep all of them. You must not play with the "V" mainspring by grinding it thinner, it will be unforgiving.

The Colt Mustang is a very good small 380 as well as its larger brother the Gov. 380. I have had many people bring them to me in a bag of parts because they took them apart and could not get it back together. Its not easy to get a good trigger on these Mustangs but I have been doing for years. I have always liked this little handgun. I had one gunsmith give me one to reassemble for him. When they first came out the sear spring would sometimes fall out and Colt solved the problem with a sear spring retaining clip. If you have one of these little pistols, keep it, do not sell it. If you have a light weight aluminum frame use the original plastic guide rod, because the after market steel rod will batter your frame.

The Colt Pony is a problem gun, I have seen many problems with this pistol. The hammer does dot have enough mass for reliable ignition, of course this is my personal opinion. I have seen the extractor fail many times on this pistol and have always suspected a heat treating problem with the extractor, again just my opinion. This is not a pistol I would want to own. Many times I have installed a retaining plate to hold the trigger bar in place. Colt only uses one grip screw on each grip panel instead of the usual two on each side.

The Colt Pocket 9 is another problem gun in my opinion. If you do not believe me just try and field stripping it and remove the dual spring guide rod. This alone will ruin your day, another nitemare. This model has a very light weight hammer and in my opinion a mistake. Its possible to improve the trigger pull on all these small pistols regardless of what you read in the magazines. This is a Double Action only pistol, the same as the Pony.

The CZ pistols are a very difficult handgun to work on and to get a good trigger pull. I have been working on these for many years as well as their clones that are made by Tanfolio of Italy. These pistols feel good in your hand, but the original CZ guns are finished with some kind of baked on epoxy type finish. Most of the companies have resorted to this way of finishing their products. The hammer is over engaged in these models as in many military type weapons. It is not easy to correct. The roll pin used for the trigger pin is flared on both ends and you must get thru the flaring to be able to remove it. I do not recommend you working on this type of handgun, especially the decocking model.

The Beretta 92f and the similar looking Taurus pistol are very different internally. Do not ever think you can save 150. dollars by buying the Taurus as you are getting the very same gun. The internals on the Beretta are far superior. Many people like the frame mounted thumb safety of the Taurus better than the Beretta. I have worked on all these models thru the years and its more difficult to work on the Taurus. They can both be made reliable. My high capacity handgun of choice around here has always been the Beretta 92f.

The SW third generation pistol is very reliable. I have not only worked on many of these, I have owned quite a few that I regret selling. My friend Lou Alessi the Holster maker carries one I did for him. They are not an easy gun to refine, my favorite model is the 3913 which is a small 9mm pistol. The crown of the barrel is one of the worst out there but it can easily be corrected. This is not a handgun for the average person to work on. If you make the single action engagement too light the hammer will follow down the slide. They have a good external extractor system.

The Sig Sauer pistols are not very well understood by many people that work on them. The reason is that they are the only current production handgun I can think off that uses a reset spring design. These Smiths go to town on cutting your springs and I often see the trigger return spring installed wrong. This pistol is unforgiving if you cut springs, you will have a click instead of a bang when you pull the trigger. That could cost you your life. If the trigger return spring is installed wrong that too could cost you your life. Do not use after market parts, you are just looking for problems. You want a short trigger buy it from the factory. The after market rubber grips may bind your hammer spring, I have seen this hundreds of times. It could also bind your trigger bar.


AUTHORS PERSONAL NOTATION:
This commentary as well as all my previous commentaries are my personal opinion and personal viewpoint only.


Teddy Jacobson / Pistolsmith (semi retired)
www.actionsbyt.com
281 277 4008
tjacobson@houston.rr.com
jaj45f@alltel.net
www.actionsbyt.blogspot.com/