The only guns that don’t ever break down are those left sitting in a safe. No firearm is exempt from these problems. It must be noted that the failure of any part that make up a firearm is a common occurrence in any brand and model. the three-pronged sear spring, the barrel link, and the barrel bushing - especially if the bushing develops backlash. Other parts are subject to wear and failure, i.e.
The small tube that houses the manual safety and slide stop spring (called Plunger Tube) is mounted to the frame using two rivets that, over time and extensive use, tend to come loose.
The mechanics of the 1911 handgun exhibits some critical points. This operation requires a certain amount of skill.īesides these preventive measures, we recommend that you purchase the highest quality magazines you can afford, and thoroughly test each magazine to be sure of its reliability. In order to improve operation, the extractor claw should also be accurately cleaned, removing burrs and tuning it to reduce interference to the firing cycle. Keep your fingers clear of the trigger during all these operations! Now, we must retract the slide rearwards to visually inspect the chamber. The barrel link must also work with very strict dimensional tolerances to ensure precise and reliable operation, avoiding premature wear or breakage of parts. The 1911’s locking system, based on locking lugs on the barrel mated to locking recesses on the ceiling of the slide, must be perfectly machined.
In reality, the Colt Browning system requires much more accurate and careful machining than most polymer framed guns so trendy today that use simplified locking systems. The mechanics involves few parts, and is therefore apparently and deceivingly simple.
In our opinion, its defects are its considerable weight, lesser firepower than all other semiautomatic handguns based on double stacked magazines, and its size.Įlaborating on the size, we must mention that the 1911 is a full size handgun originally designed for military open carry use. The Colt 1911 has many advantages: accuracy, a very effective caliber, reliability- once a competent tuning has been performed on the gun-, excellent ergonomics. The 1911 Government Series 80 completely disassembled