Heading To The Gunsmith

Don't like to go to often .... as it normally costs $$

But IMO my "Parts" 1911 45 ACP pistol needs a GOOD check up

I "Built" it in 1986 from a used GI frame , mostly used FREE parts and a almost new 6" barrel
I used it for years to shoot bowling pin matches .... but it and I did our parts sometimes and we made $$ .... oh and I lost $$ by rushing

Oh it has been upgraded by me and gunsmiths several times since , not new and tight , but still a fun easy to shoot gun

But this afternoon I went to the range to shoot and ... Errr salvage a few 5 gallon buckets of range lead

I had to wait for a while to salvage the lead as others were shooting
So I started with the 32 ACP TomCat , as I am starting to like playing with it and cast bullets

Then I got the 45 out and loaded 4 - 8 round Shooting Star mags with 200 gr cast ... a mild load
I needed brass to reload and needed IMO to kill some "Time" and "paper" targets


Didn't even change targets
.452 holes are easy to tell from .312 holes

But everything changed FAST
2 mag was loaded and on the 3 shot ...... the pistol emptied the mag in 1 pull of the trigger

A nice group up till then .... but

I have shot full auto guns before , but I knew they were
6 rounds of 45 ACP in ... well to darn fast isn't what I wanted :oops:


I simply dropped the mag , put everything away in the gun case and Ammo bag

One of the people shooting came over to make sure everything was OK
So we talked for 10 - 15 min .... sure helped the nerves to settle down
She said I was shaking when she walked over

I figure I could tear the pistol down and fix it
BUT , I am not the fastest
Also I have a friend that is a good 1911 gunsmith and if there is a problem
He will tell me

Also he and I have helped each other lots of times

So I trust him to not say things need fixed or replaced that don't
LOL I also know if he feels that something big is wrong , he will also tell me

Have a nice night

LOL Still Shaking some

John

Most likely just need to replace the ignition parts. Likely worn sear or hammer hooks.

I bet that was exciting!

I'm in on the sear/hammer hook too if you can bring it to full cock and make the hammer fall by pushing on it.
If it holds, it may be the sheet metal looking leaf spring not pushing the sear
against the hammer's engagement hook fast or firmly enough when it cycles after a shot.

Or, it could be dirty and gritty inside- just enough to slow the sear in it's travel to not engage properly and skip over the hammer hooks.

Either way, its a simple fix.

Going full auto when you're not expecting it is a scary thing.It happened to me years ago wih a friends AO. The local Gunsmith set it up for bullseye and didn't tell him. We were shooting and I loaded a mag and dropped the slide release and there it went. It was pointing down range but I was done for the day. I'd say the sear gave way on it. Hopefully not too much $$$.

That's indeed scary...happened to me with an semi-auto AR on a busy range.
Started couple of times as 2-shot burst since I'm releasing my finger off the trigger.
When I kept my finger on, it dumped the rest of the mag quick.
ROs were all over me soon enough as the range has a 2-sec rule on shot splits.
Got me packing in a heartbeat.
Never thought it can happen in a 1911.
Sig

Firearms, parts, and the like are all repairable, replaceable, or land-fill potential matter :) ! I am so happy to read you sustained NO injuries. I was not present a few years (5 or 6?) back when a fellow had a Garand "double", then put in a 2nd en bloc thinking that might fix the problem, to -- I don't know exactly what happened -- have his right thumb and part of a finger removed. (MOST fortunately, both were surgically reattached, and after much therapy he has some use of both) He was using cast bullets with pistol powder, so the uncontested range talk was the incident was result of his loading error; but, it is ever so easy to take for granted the many pounds of pressure generated each and every time the primer explosion ignites it.
You ARE, indeed, a most wise man taking it to a trusted gunsmith!!
Best wishes!
geo

On the 1911 check sears engagement and the trigger parts carefully also the firing pin spring and firing pin

I had this happen once with an M1 carbine. Had the range all to myself and was able to find the issue and fix it. But, in my case the M1 carbine does not have a firing pin spring and it had gotten a tiny chunk of powder wedged in it and force the pin into the extended location. Easy fix... I hope your fix is easy as well, never thought a 1911 could do that.

Not too bad on a long gun where you have some control but a fatality happened on a military range in NC when that happened with a M1911A1. The shooter was relatively inexperienced, did not have his elbow locked and the muzzle ended up under his chin after several rounds through the covered firing line./beagle

I am glad you weren't hurt. I think after an incident like that, the piece of mind having a gunsmith look over the gun well justifies the price. I've never had a gun go full auto thankfully, closest I have had was an SKS that started doubling. I replaced a spring and it fixed the problem...I can't remember which spring now.

Glad to hear all is well. I had a 22 rifle empty a 17 round tube all by itself after the first trigger pull. Put her away and off to the gunsmith. Found a pinch point somewhere in the trigger group that was to tight. No injuries.

:| Hmmmmmmmmm.Me thinks that any semi auto can under the right circumstances go full auto.Maybe Mr Gibson can chime in here and correct me if I`m wrong.
Good luck.Have fun.Be safe.
Leo

Smart man
Take it to one who will KNOW what to do.
Should be an easy fix with the disconnector, sear spring finger and sear review.
May just be internal dirt :)
Let us know what he find out please
Mike