Good afternoon gentlemen.
Last night while taking my 1911 off for the evening I noticed that while taking the pistol off of safe was a little more difficult to do than usual. So I unloaded the gun and proceded to manipulate the safety multiple times to see if "smoothed" out again. After about 10 manilpulations of the safety I could not longer take the pistol off of safe, rendering the gun useless. It was only then that I realized that the rear stake on my plunger tube had come loose and allowed the plunger to interact with the thumb safety in such a way that the safety was stuck in the on postition and the slide was obviously locked as well.
I DO NOT want this thread to turn into a effing disaster about this pistol vs. that pistol or why I was carrying the gun in that condition, or anything else. I simply wanted to illistrate the fact that a loose plunger tube stake could severly negatively affect the reliability of this platform. If this is already common knowledge please forgive me. I just never considered that the plunger tube could work itself loose unless the gun was shot a ton latetly, which this gun was not. So please check your plunger tubes for movement or at least make sure that your thumb safety is easily operable prior to carrying your 1911 for protections sake.
Now onto the gunsmith question. Can a plunger tube reliably be re-staked? Or should I just purchase another? Anyone out there willing to let me borrow thier plunger staking tool?
Thanks guys, have a good one.
Last night while taking my 1911 off for the evening I noticed that while taking the pistol off of safe was a little more difficult to do than usual. So I unloaded the gun and proceded to manipulate the safety multiple times to see if "smoothed" out again. After about 10 manilpulations of the safety I could not longer take the pistol off of safe, rendering the gun useless. It was only then that I realized that the rear stake on my plunger tube had come loose and allowed the plunger to interact with the thumb safety in such a way that the safety was stuck in the on postition and the slide was obviously locked as well.
I DO NOT want this thread to turn into a effing disaster about this pistol vs. that pistol or why I was carrying the gun in that condition, or anything else. I simply wanted to illistrate the fact that a loose plunger tube stake could severly negatively affect the reliability of this platform. If this is already common knowledge please forgive me. I just never considered that the plunger tube could work itself loose unless the gun was shot a ton latetly, which this gun was not. So please check your plunger tubes for movement or at least make sure that your thumb safety is easily operable prior to carrying your 1911 for protections sake.
Now onto the gunsmith question. Can a plunger tube reliably be re-staked? Or should I just purchase another? Anyone out there willing to let me borrow thier plunger staking tool?
Thanks guys, have a good one.