Gunsmithing Need help with a 1911 Colt and hammer following

[Frank Green]

I'm not a 1911 expert so any help would be apprciated here. What I have is an original 1911al Colt WW2 vintage pistol.

The problem: With the slide back and locked and gun empty. You insert a loaded magazine and hit the slide release to chamber the first round out of the mag. The round chambers but the hammer falls to half cock. The gun does it every single time no matter what you do.

If you draw the hammer back and pull the trigger the gun fires and cycles just fine and the hammer does not follow and the gun runs like a watch.

Again the hammer only falls to half cock when you drop the slide to chamber the first round manually. Not when the gun fires.

Any ideas on what to look at?

Thanks, Frank

 

[RADcustom]

Re: Need help with a 1911 Colt and hammer following

You are getting "trigger bounce". The inertia of the slide moving forward bounces the trigger against the sear causing it to fall to half cock. You have some choices...

You can hold the trigger back when you drop the slide. This is an old school bullseye trick used before they made after market triggers and hammers. This is not the best solution but, it will work.

You can apply more tension to the leaf spring that engages the sear. This would be the left finger of the three finger spring under the grip safety. Bend it forward until the problem stops. Make sure the spring doesn't protrude into the mag well. This will also increase the trigger pull weight.

The best option is to replace the trigger with a lighter weight aluminum trigger and better hammer. This is getting into the area of needing experience or getting someone who has some to do it.

Left unchecked, you could eventually break the half cock notch and the gun could fire unintentionally.

PM me if you need more explanation and I can walk you through it.

 

[seanh]

Re: Need help with a 1911 Colt and hammer following

deepen the hammer hooks (where sear engages the hammer)
more pressure on the sear finger of the finger spring...bend the sear finger forward a little.

 

[hdbiker1]

Re: Need help with a 1911 Colt and hammer following

Frank, I had the same problem after some trigger work. Like RADcustom said, you might be able to tweak the sear spring a little so that the trigger bounce doesn't trip the sear. But first, like he said, try holding the trigger back while the sear resets after firing to verify that it's your problem.

 

[Frank Green]

Re: Need help with a 1911 Colt and hammer following

Thanks guys! I'll give the spring a tweak and see if that does it.

Later, Frank
Bartlein Barrels

 

[Rhys]

Re: Need help with a 1911 Colt and hammer following

Make sure there is nothing in the full cock notch of the hammer. Being an older gun there could very easily be some junk that has built up in there over time. Then the sear spring, and also check the nose of the sear and make sure it hasn't started to wear and round off over time.

I've seen each of these cause the problem you're seeing.

 

[Douglas-001]

Re: Need help with a 1911 Colt and hammer following

My experience with 1911's encompasses fitting a bushing, replacing the recoil guide spring, and installing grips. But in my quest to learn, and maybe help others, I would like to recommend two books on the 1911 by Walt Kuleck.

"The M1911 Complete Owner's Guide"
&
"The M1911 Complete Assembly Guide" w/ Drake Oldham

I couldn't put them down from page 1! Hope this helps you Frank.
Good luck and good shooting!

Doug

 

[ShtrRdy]

Re: Need help with a 1911 Colt and hammer following

I'm a recovering 1911 addict and I'd like to say that I agree with what RADCustom said.

 

[leprechaun]

Re: Need help with a 1911 Colt and hammer following

That should fix it. If not your gonna have to replace the already mentioned parts let us know your results.