1911 grip safety question

[squeals99]

Well I'll put my burn suit on for a moment, but I am kind of a gun novice that tinkers with stuff too much and... well you get the point...
Well the first handgun i personally bought is my taurus 1911, which seems like it has been nothing but trouble from the start. The first mag i ran through it broke the extractor, and after i got my replacement extractor the hammer locked up half cocked and somehow lodged the slide to where it wouldn't move forwards or backwards. Well now I have a minor problem, my grip safety doesn't work at all. I really don't want to send it in again, I'd rather just tinker with it to see if I can do it myself. I just am worried that if I buy another 80 series grip safety that I will have to do a bunch of modifying and I'll end up ruining the one that i buy and be in the same boat.
From the reading I've done it seems like no matter what 1911 part you buy, it will take a little bit of tinkering to get it to fit correctly, but if there would be a plug and play version that would be great
Anyone be able to help me out?
Thanks!

 

[MikeDVB]

1911's are not a design that lends themselves to being a production gun assembled by unskilled workers from binned parts that are 'within tolerances'. Sometimes you can get a production gun that runs perfectly and other times, like in your case, you can get one that is pretty much junk.

Usually an extractor won't break unless you're putting a round in the chamber and then closing the slide on said round [forcing the extractor to snap around the rim of the case, which it is not designed to do].

As far as your grip safety not working and your hamer being half cocked and lodged to the side - it sounds to me like something inside is broken. Could be the safety pin, could be the sear, could be the hammer... I'm not familiar with the Series 80 [my 1911 is Series 70] but there are more parts to break in a series 80 [primary reason I went with 70, simpler design less likely to break imho].

I would call Taurus and have them send you a shipping label to send it back to them, and I would make sure to ask them to test fire it before they send it back when it's repaired.

Beyond that - not sure what else to tell you.

 

[church]

Did you purchase the firearm new? Is it a custom fit pistol? If its not, the amount of modding to the stock taurus grip safety should be very minimal, if any, maybe some light sanding at the most and working it back and forth in the frame to "break it in". Thats assuming the grip safety has malfunctioned. Have you disassembled it to find the root cause of the issue? If you are a novice and have never fully disassembled a 1911 I don't suggest doing it your first time alone. However, If you feel confident enough in your mechancal skills to take it down yourself, search online for a take down manual. I personally have not had good experiences with Taurus firearms. though I've only owned one and for a very short time. Any photos or more information you could provide would help a lot.

 

[squeals99]

i did purchase it new and the extractor problem originally broke on the 3rd round ever fired through the gun... i never put a round in the chamber without it coming from the magazine

the hammer/slide lockup problem i have no idea about... and when i called to find out what was the actual problem they just said they replaced the barrel and hammer and sear.... but those problems are all good now, i'm just trying to get it safe now (even though i'm not carrying it, its just a shooter but its the thought of something not working that bugs me)


well i did tear it down to bare frame just to clean and make sure it was all functional, and it just seems like the angle of the point of the grip safety just isnt at the right angle to catch anything, but i'm not exactly sure how to tell exactly which point it is supposed to rest to really do anything with the piece i have now or how to bend or manipulate it to function again....

And I called taurus to see if they would repair it, but it is older than one year so I have to pay shipping. I would rather take the $50 from shipping and either work with what I have now or buy another grip safety and just drop it in and go if thats the case, but just from reading around it sounded like about every part was going to be a "gunsmithing required" part

 

[squeals99]

i guess what i don't understand is where it is supposed to sit to function? is it against the back of the trigger? like i guess what would be like the trigger bar? mine sits to the right of the 80 series part that pushes the firing pin plunger up but i guess either isnt long enough now or is just in the wrong spot entirely?

 

[church]

Does the Sear look bent or extremely worn? How about the Sear pin? Does it have any obvious wear spots that are extremely excessive? The sear disconnector, does it have grooves in it where the sear has moved around due too loose installation or poor fittment? How about the hammer strut or the strut pin? Any of those parts being excessively worn or bent could potentially hinder the grip safety from operating 100% or cause the hammer to seize and cause your slide to get stuck. For safety sake all of those parts need to be mic'ed and inspected. It sounds like Taurus might not have fixed the root cause of the issue when they had it.

 

[church]

Also, what about burs? Are there any burs on any of those parts that need to be filed off?

 

[LD36]

Id send it back. Dont want to give anyone a reason to think you did something to it. Just let them fix it and be done with it

 

[MikeDVB]

Id send it back. Dont want to give anyone a reason to think you did something to it. Just let them fix it and be done with it

^^ This ^^

Unless you're a qualified gun-smith I really wouldn't try fixing it yourself unless you're willing to pay for any mistakes you may make.

 

[squeals99]

sear looks brand new... really everything looks like to me in great shape, but i'm eyeballing something i don't do or look at all the time, or ever really haha

and i guess ^^^ means send it back.... so in the box she goes

 

[church]

Yeah, I agree with the above. Send it back and let them handle it. A qualified smith should inspect it.

 

[Jim McKalip]

grip safetyt

I had exactly the same problem on a Taurus 1911. In my case, the trigger bow was too short. Unless you are experienced in 1911 work, let Taurus fix it. Be sure to tell them that they have worked on your gun before and tell them when. If you have a R.O. #, give it to them. This is NOT a simple repair.

 

[Aaron1776]

1911's are not a design that lends themselves to being a production gun assembled by unskilled workers from binned parts that are 'within tolerances'. Sometimes you can get a production gun that runs perfectly and other times, like in your case, you can get one that is pretty much junk.

This

Id send it back. Dont want to give anyone a reason to think you did something to it. Just let them fix it and be done with it

And this.

Unfortunately, cheaper 1911s that run well are basically a fluke.

For a good guide on how to select a good 1911, go to 10-8 performance.com and read their articles on the 1911 by Hilton Yam


Articles


You'll find that to get a reliable 1911, you're probably going to have to drop 800$, and that's assuming you don't get a rail.
1911s can be great, reliable platforms, but you really have to inspect them before you buy and inspect them after you buy on the range. Then you have to clean them every 300 rds.
Not a buy cheap, plug n' play weapon. As soon as you get away from John Browning's genius specs, the gun breaks down fast.

But, if you get a good one, you won't find a better shooting gun.

I'd personally ditch the gun and find a different one as soon as you can afford it. If this is a defensive weapon and you can't/ don't want to drop 800-1200$ on a carry gun, then you're better off buying a polymer gun like the M&P, XD, or Glock.
Otherwise you're going to be deal with these problems as the parts wear down and break quite quickly.

I would rec. a Springfield Loaded. It's the best value out there. For railed 1911s, I love my Springfield Operator, and you just can't beat their customer service.

 

[NHT3]

Wish you were closer, I would be happy to take a look at if for you

[FONT=&quot]NRA Life member [/FONT][FONT=&quot]GSSF member[/FONT][FONT=&quot]
Gunsite graduate Certified Glock armorer[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT][FONT=&quot]1911 Mechanic[/FONT]

 

[MikeDVB]

As far as cleaning every 300 rounds, I've fired well over 1,000 through my Wilson Combat without cleaning and without issues. The initial 'break in' period says to fire 300 to 500 rounds without cleaning and, last I looked, they suggest 500 if you can.

 

[DocIndy]

I will personally recommend AllenM here on INGO, or in the Diamond Collision section, to do any 1911 work. There will be a upcoming thread about my Colt/Caspian that he assembled.... It's awesome and he does top notch work.

 

[rockhopper46038]

I do not know much about the Taurus version of the 1911, but here is a thread that may help. The operation appears similar to the standard 1911, but perhaps not exactly.
malfunctioning grip safety

 

[Aaron1776]

As far as cleaning every 300 rounds, I've fired well over 1,000 through my Wilson Combat without cleaning and without issues. The initial 'break in' period says to fire 300 to 500 rounds without cleaning and, last I looked, they suggest 500 if you can.

This is true. My Operator is currently getting dirtied up to see how long it can go without having issues....or how long I can go before my gun OCD takes over and makes me clean every centimeter of the firearm.

So far I haven't cleaned it once, it's had regular and crap russian ammo shot through it, it's been rained on, etc.
No issues. My OCD will take over before the gun has problems.

 

[Double T]

This


And this.

Unfortunately, cheaper 1911s that run well are basically a fluke.

For a good guide on how to select a good 1911, go to 10-8 performance.com and read their articles on the 1911 by Hilton Yam


Articles


You'll find that to get a reliable 1911, you're probably going to have to drop 800$, and that's assuming you don't get a rail.
1911s can be great, reliable platforms, but you really have to inspect them before you buy and inspect them after you buy on the range. Then you have to clean them every 300 rds.
Not a buy cheap, plug n' play weapon. As soon as you get away from John Browning's genius specs, the gun breaks down fast.

But, if you get a good one, you won't find a better shooting gun.

I'd personally ditch the gun and find a different one as soon as you can afford it. If this is a defensive weapon and you can't/ don't want to drop 800-1200$ on a carry gun, then you're better off buying a polymer gun like the M&P, XD, or Glock.
Otherwise you're going to be deal with these problems as the parts wear down and break quite quickly.

I would rec. a Springfield Loaded. It's the best value out there. For railed 1911s, I love my Springfield Operator, and you just can't beat their customer service.

You can't be serious.

 

[Aaron1776]

You can't be serious.

Quite serious.

The myth that 1911s break all of the time comes from the cheaper, massed produced weapons out there.

I should have been a bit more clear.

If it's just a range gun....then who cares?

If you're betting your life on it, or if it's going to go through a lot of abuse due to competition use, the above advice is 100% applicable. As so evidenced by the OP and just about every 1911 I've ever heard of breaking.

Thus if you're not going to pay the $$ for a good one, then buy a polymer to bet your life on. That way you know it'll go bang instead of having the hammer, extractor, etc break in the middle of the fight.