pulled the trigger on colt...and i'm already needing help

[mark brewer]

i mentioned in another thread that i've been looking at .22 semi's. well, today i bought a brand new Colt Government Model Cal.22 Long Rifle. beautiful black pistol.

and now i must display my ignorance: i've got the manual safety on and can't turn it off. hammer back, no magazine, no bullet in chamber. i've never fired a 1911 and i don't know what i'm doing wrong. i assume a hammer is not the correct tool for this job.

can anybody rescue me? or is it possible somethings wrong with the gun?

 

[EMS6260]

Try putting the empty magazine in and then moving the safety.

 

[Gene L]

Not sure exactly what the problem is. The manual safety may just be hard to depress. If it still won't drop the hammer with the safety off, if the gun has a grip safety, you have to depress it.

 

[mark brewer]

ok, i have no idea what i did, but suddenly it moved. everything's fine. maybe it just needed to be worked a few times cause it's new.

but thanks for suggestions!

 

[Kurusu]

From your description there is something wrong with your gun. The safety should come off with a reasonable amount of downward thumb pressure. The safety lever is a fitted part in a 1911. Apparently yours is not well finished. If it was bought on a store I would take it back.

Edit. Just read your new reply. It may be a little stiff at first. spray some oil over the cocked hammer and work it up and down a bit.

 

[stansdds]

The thumb safety on the M1911 gets most of its resistance to movement from the spring loaded plunger housed in the plunger tube which is located just in front of the safety. It is quite possible that the plunger has more of a sharp point than a rounded point, there could be a sharp edge on the safety where the plunger contacts the safety, or there could be manufacturing debris inside the plunger tube causing the plunger and spring to bind.

 

[dajonga]

I sell these in the shop I work at and I have seen this numerous times lately. The safety plunger often does not allow for the safety to turn off. I do not know how to fix it for good, but I use a fingernail or small tool to depress the plunger whilst pushing down on the safety. I would make sure the plunger is lubed up and hopefully it will break in.

 

[2152hq]

The thumb safety blocks the sear from moving inside when it is engaged in the SAFE position. That's what that little block extension on the inside surface of the safety is for.

At the same time as it does that, that block is in a position to halt the full rotation of the hammer as well. It is placed into the machined out arc in the lower part of the hammer that presents itself when the hammer is full cock.
This is another safety in that it blocks full rotation of the hammer should the full cock notch break and the hammer fall. The sear nose , still blocked in position by the thumb safety, is also expected to catch the hammer in the 1/2cock notch.

That small block on the back of the safety that does all this work should be a slip fit up against the sear ..
If not fitted correctly, it will jam itself into position betw those surfaces. There is very little leverage to pull it free. It wasn't designed to need any, the spring/plunger/detent on the outside of the frame is the 'hold it in place' mechanism for the Safety either ON or OFF.

If it does stick in position again, sometimes pulling the hammer back a small amount and holding it there while at the same time trying to release the Safety can help undo it.

If it's simply the plunger & spring causing the problem,,a less than rounded plunger end and/or the same less than perfect detent hole in the Safety,,then those pieces can be refit quite easily as well.


Added.
Here's a good diagram of the 1911 Thumb Safety block. Explains it better than I can.

The red area is the block on the back side of the thumb safety that does all the work. Here engaged On Safe blocking the sear and in position to block the hammer from full rotation should the FC notch fail.

 

[824tsv]

Just as a note of caution, (I own one and found out the hard way)
If you or someone else decides to remove the thumb safety to either lube it or inspect it, I would strongly suggest placing the pistol inside a heavy plastic bag or pillow case when you do this. Although the pistol in all appearances seems to be an authentic Colt 1911, this particular model has many differences. Inside the plunger tube is a small spring and a single stud. It's the stud that sticks out the end of the plunger tube and acts upon the thumb safety. If you remove the thumb safety the spring and stud will quickly disappear unless you are extremely careful, hence the plastic bag or pillowcase. This spring and stud is different from a standard 1911 and if lost has to be ordered from Walther. The plunger tube is different than a standard 1911 in that the single stud only sticks out on the thumb safety side. Just a heads up. On the lighter side, I've owned mine since 2012 and have shot many many thousands of rounds through it and it continues to be a joy to shoot.

 

[mark brewer]

i thank everyone for sharing your knowledge. i've worked the thumb safety back and forth many times, it hasn't froze up again. i'm hoping to take it out and shoot it some later today. never fired any kind of 1911 before, looking forward to it.

anybody care to explain what the half-cock position is for? i know it's mentioned above, but i don't know if i get it.

 

[mark brewer]

Just as a note of caution, (I own one and found out the hard way)
If you or someone else decides to remove the thumb safety to either lube it or inspect it, I would strongly suggest placing the pistol inside a heavy plastic bag or pillow case when you do this. Although the pistol in all appearances seems to be an authentic Colt 1911, this particular model has many differences. Inside the plunger tube is a small spring and a single stud. It's the stud that sticks out the end of the plunger tube and acts upon the thumb safety. If you remove the thumb safety the spring and stud will quickly disappear unless you are extremely careful, hence the plastic bag or pillowcase. This spring and stud is different from a standard 1911 and if lost has to be ordered from Walther. The plunger tube is different than a standard 1911 in that the single stud only sticks out on the thumb safety side. Just a heads up. On the lighter side, I've owned mine since 2012 and have shot many many thousands of rounds through it and it continues to be a joy to shoot.

thank you very much for sharing this info, this is exactly the kind of stuff i need to know.

 

[gwpercle]

Sometimes the safety plunger , that's inside the safety pluger tube with a strong little spring ... needs a little lube sprayed in there and you can take a small screwdriver and press the plunger back into the hole a few times to loosen things up .

When you take the 1911 down , have a small screwdriver handy to push the plunger back while getting the safety back into it's proper place ... the safety is supposed to just snap in place over the plunger ... but that plunger spring is stout and mine go backtogether much easier when you hold the plunger back and help the safety get that pin into the groove on the safety ... three hands help !
Gary

 

[2152hq]

The half-cock notch on the hammer is there to catch the hammer from falling all the way down should the full-cock notch fail when the hammer is on Full Cock.
It's a safety feature. It goes along with the Sear Block and the Hammer Block that the Thumb Safety provides.

The Half Cock notch is NOT a position to place the hammer in and carry the pistol w/a round in the chamber.
It was never intended to be a carry safety notch position for the hammer .

 

[Baltimoreed11754]

The next evening that you're sitting there watching Saving Private Ryan get your pistol out [NO AMMO OR LOADED MAG] and just work the safety on and off until it gets easier to engage. It's just new, might have a burr or an edge that needs to be broken. At the least the sticky finish needs to be worn down some where the plunger and safety engage each other. A drop or two of oil will help.

 

[mark brewer]

The next evening that you're sitting there watching Saving Private Ryan get your pistol out [NO AMMO OR LOADED MAG] and just work the safety on and off until it gets easier to engage. It's just new, might have a burr or an edge that needs to be broken. At the least the sticky finish needs to be worn down some where the plunger and safety engage each other. A drop or two of oil will help.

i can't watch Ryan. every time i do, i get the hots for a thompson submachine gun. bad for the budget...

but thanks for the tip.

 

[Baltimoreed11754]

How about Band of Brothers? But then you want a M1?

 

[mark brewer]

How about Band of Brothers? But then you want a M1?

tell you what: when i watch "The Pacific", i definitely do not want a bolt action springfield!

 

[mark brewer]

well, i took the colt walther and my SW 65 out for some serious plinking yesterday and spent this morning cleaning. i was able to get the colt apart, cleaned, and put back together. i'm quite proud of myself.