Little things about the 1911

[Guest Halfpint]

IT'S A REPOST Just getting that out there.

Been a while since this was posted, and JAB's thread got me thinking--not about price, just about the 1911 and its design in general. Why are 1911's so great? What makes them so different from other pistols?

It's the little things. Things like,

The dogleg kink in the plunger assembly spring that keeps the assembly from exiting at high speed when the thumb safety is removed.

The open end of the recoil spring and the notch in the plug that lets the plug screw onto the spring that keeps the plug from being lost during a hasty field-strip.

The press-fit of the closed end of the recoil spring onto the spring guide that keeps the recoil system from separating until it's purposely taken apart.

The hammer and sear pin heads not fitting flush with the frame so as to provide the thumb safety a surface to run over and provide a little clearance with the frame.

Fillet at the junction of the slidestop pin and arm that provides clearance at the frame.

Light angle at the rear of the slidestop arm so that the plunger applies slight resistance to upward movement...preventing premature slidelock...until the magazine follower shelf forces it up.

Radius at the lower lug feet that ride up on the slidestop pin even when the lug dimensions don't provide full vertical lift to the barrel...so as to get the lugs as high as possible into the slide, even though it's not a solid engagement...so as to prevent upper lug damage under recoil.

Angled breechface that provides a little resistance to the case rim as it slides up onto the breechface, so as to keep the feeding round from getting away from the breechface and out of full control.

Dimple on the mag follower that keeps the last round from escaping the feed lips or moving too far forward under recoil to effect positive controlled feed.

Tapered magazine feed lips that allow the rear of the round to rise as the front rises on the feed ramp...to provide a lowered angle of entry into the chamber...assuming that the feed ramp is correctly within spec.

Barrel ramp shaped and located to provide clearance for the incoming bullet nose...so that the feeding round won't push the barrel forward and up too early and cause rough feeding, bullet setback, and a 3-Point Jam.

Appendage on the top of the left-side grip panel that supports the plunger tube and keeps it from walking out of the frame far enough to let the plunger slip under the thumb safety...assuming that the appendage is within spec and correctly covers half the diameter of the tube. Also allows for an expedient field repair in the event of a loose tube by using a thin shim to hold the tube tightly against the frame.

Firing pin spring press-fits onto the firing pin...unidirectionally...to prevent being separated during a hasty disassembly in the field.

Of course, the oft-noted ability of the pistol to be completely disassembled with nothing more than its own parts..including the grip panel screws when the slits are correctly within spec...using the rim of a case.

That the stubby, original thumb safety had that flat area behind the pad for a reason. The reason being that it provided a flat striking surface that was centered over the pin to drive the mainspring housing pin out of the frame...using the slide as a hammer.

How? By striking straight down on the safety with the muzzle end of the slide with the bushing installed to prevent damaging the end of the slide. The bushing should be loose enough to sustain a little warpage without compromising function.

A fired case can be used in place of the recoil spring plug in an emergency.

The lanyard loop can be used in conjunction with a partially ejected magazine as a bottle opener.

The top edges and/or corners of the frame's spring tunnel/dust cover can be honed to a knife edge without compromising the function or strength of the pistol.

Gripped by the front/upside down and used as a club, the rear sight is a wicked skull pommel for that last-ditch, out of ammo kill or be killed showdown...and it won't damage the gun.

Three cartridges and the firing pin provide a quick way to disassemble and reassemble the magazine without the need for tools.

The toe of the magazine is a handy recoil spring plug depressor and bushing wrench.

The sharp, square heel of a high carbon steel magazine floorplate will strike sparks on a piece of flint, to make a hasty fire using the powder from a cartridge. Stainless magazines or magazines with bumper pads need not apply. Pulling the bullet to get to the powder is a simple matter of whacking the side of the bullet with the slide rail to deform it and loosen the case mouth's grip.

Slight angle on the top of the frame spring tunnel/dust cover from the rail ends to the end of the cover to provide a little clearance. Prevents cracking at the front of the rails and cover junction when the cover flexes upward as the slide hits the impact surface in recoil.

.010 Clearance between the top of the slidestop arm and the bottom of the slide rail...with the arm held fully down...to prevent friction as the slide moves back in recoil.

In a dire emergency, oiled walnut grips make for good fire tender without compromising the function of the pistol as a serviceable weapon.

Slide-locking thumb safety that prevents pushing the slide out of battery when reholstering a cocked and locked pistol.

Pinned magazine bases...in the old days...that allowed the gutted magazine to be heated on the base and used to cauterize wounds and staunch bleeding...without compromising the magazine's functionality. Welds will anneal and crack. Pinned bases won't.

The disconnector is actually a connector when the gun is in battery, and only becomes a disconnector when it's not.

The thumb safety wasn't Browning's idea. It was added at the U.S. Cavalary's request so that the mounted trooper could instantly place the gun on safe with one hand and work to regain control of a frightened, unruly horse. (See reholstering without pushing the slide out of battery.)

That...after the "loosening up" of the tolerances in non-critical areas was done in the early rush to production prior to the outbreak of WW2 not to make the gun more reliable...but to insure standardization of parts among 5 different contractors...3 of which had never built firearms. (Yes...The US government realized that they'd be going to war in Europe as early as 1937...whether or not they publicly admitted it. They knew about Japan, too.) All parts were checked with standard gauges and passed/failed based on GO and NO-GO fit. The criteria was that 2 guns selected at random from each contractor were to be disassembled, and the parts tossed loose into a box...and from the pile, the armorers had to be able to assemble 10 functional pistols. It was essentially the birth of the "Drop-In" part...except that these really dropped in and worked.

Test to be repeated with 10 separate pairs of pistols.

That...by mid-1944...Remington Rand was producing a better pistol than Colt for about 9 bucks less a copy.

That...after all the development and modifications ordered by the Army Ordnance Department... Browning was very likely pretty sick of the whole project by the time the gun was adopted, and ready to move on to other things...and that the grip safety wasn't omitted on the

High-Power because Browning considered it to be a flaw. It was simply because it wasn't requested.

That, the myth of the inaccuracy of the GI pistol is just that. The early competition pistols were selected from regular stocks of new pistols...test-fired with match-grade ammo...and accepted based on the criteria of holding a 3-inch group at 50 yards with 7 rounds...averaged over 10 separate groups...without throwing out the first round. If a gun shot 3.01 inches, it went back to the armory.

That .45 "Hardball" was originally 200 grains at 900 fps. The Cavalry wanted a heavier bullet.

Thanks to EasilyObsessed for posting this way back, I just posted it again.

And all those things are great, but the best thing about the 1911 to my way of thinking is that there are countless (and very dead) German, Japanese, and VC that would attest to the effectiveness of a combat pistol in .45 ACP.

It's just a hell of a combat pistol.

[Mark@Sea]

A no nonsense tool designed to reliably get the job done under almost any conditions with a minimum of frippery or fuss.

The farther from original spec, or the more some wecsog graduate fools with it, the more likely you'll have problems, but that isn't the fault of the design.

[eapking]

It's a single action trigger that does not require you to pull the hammer manually, unlike SA revolvers.

The trigger moves straight back as opposed to being on a fulcrum (of sorts).

The .45 acp round is the best carry round IMO. They were made for each other, literally.

The thumb safety is a good thing, but not a have to have, IMO. I carry a Glock mainly.

With single stacks the frames are narrower, making a more comfortable grip.

Just a few reasons.

Oh...ps...The best handgun ever designed.