1911 Sear, Safety, or Reassembly Problems?? - The Firearms Forum

Joseywales3 · 10-06-2006, 07:17 AM

OK. Here we go. I bought a Caspian framed 1911 in 9mm. The gun was custom built (not for me) and was sold basically as new to me. My problem with the gun is that I'm experiencing hammer follow. It happened over 2 dozen times in just over 100 rounds. The gun never fired on the follow and the only reason I went that many rounds with the issue was I was having difficulty with mags (Wilsons) and I thought it might also be a "lazy" slide due to still being in the break in period.

In an effort to resolve the hammer follow, the dealer suggested that I remove the sear spring and slightly bend the left finger forward. There’s no real way to test if it worked, because I followed the testing instructions BEFORE removing the sear and couldn’t duplicate the hammer follow. So I can’t really tell if it worked. I would take the gun out for test, but now there’s a second issue.

With the safety ON and hammer back, I tried to dry-fire the gun – to test the safety and my reassembly. The gun did not fire, but the hammer moved a hair and clicked. This was just enough to lock the safety and the only way to release it was to go to full cock. I don’t know if this is due to my reassembly or if the hammer follow damaged other parts. I’ve reassembled it several times with the same result.

Any thoughts will help, though I most likely will send it back to the dealer for repair. He swears by the maker, but is disappointed that he didn’t test fire it himself before shipping it out. I have read that Caspian frames sometimes require a longer sear spring and perhaps that started this mess. I will say this, the gun was put together very well and when I picked it up I could tell that it was not your average 1911. It’s possible the safety or sear spring have issues, but I think the maker did a nice job. I bought a Ruger Blackhawk from one of the world’s most renowned single-action smiths. It had only minor work done before I found it on his site and out of the box could not get the gun to even load, let alone fire it! $hit happens for sure.

polishshooter · 10-06-2006, 08:29 PM

How many slots does your backstrap have for bottom end of the sear spring to fit into?

My AMT frame actually has TWO, one about 1/16" above the other, and I am forever forgetting which one the "hook" on the bottom of the sear spring is supposed to fit into, I invariably on reassembly pick the WRONG one and when I try to dry fire it it kinda sounds like what yours is doing, so I always have to remove the mainspring housing and reposition the sear spring...and when I put it back together RIGHT and it works again, I get the SAME thought I've gotten EVERY time I've done this over the past 20 years or so...."Way to GO Numbnuts, you forgot to mark the right slot AGAIN!"

Joseywales3 · 10-06-2006, 09:54 PM

I honestly remember just one. But I will certainly check it tomorrow. The dealer is expecting the gun back, as is the builder. The dealer has been very good about it and said the builder (whose name you might recognize, so I'll leave it out), is very good. It's possible the sear spring is bad or the safety was not fitted properly.

10-06-2006, 07:17 AM	#1
Joseywales3 Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 4	1911 Sear, Safety, or Reassembly Problems?? OK. Here we go. I bought a Caspian framed 1911 in 9mm. The gun was custom built (not for me) and was sold basically as new to me. My problem with the gun is that I'm experiencing hammer follow. It happened over 2 dozen times in just over 100 rounds. The gun never fired on the follow and the only reason I went that many rounds with the issue was I was having difficulty with mags (Wilsons) and I thought it might also be a "lazy" slide due to still being in the break in period. In an effort to resolve the hammer follow, the dealer suggested that I remove the sear spring and slightly bend the left finger forward. There’s no real way to test if it worked, because I followed the testing instructions BEFORE removing the sear and couldn’t duplicate the hammer follow. So I can’t really tell if it worked. I would take the gun out for test, but now there’s a second issue. With the safety ON and hammer back, I tried to dry-fire the gun – to test the safety and my reassembly. The gun did not fire, but the hammer moved a hair and clicked. This was just enough to lock the safety and the only way to release it was to go to full cock. I don’t know if this is due to my reassembly or if the hammer follow damaged other parts. I’ve reassembled it several times with the same result. Any thoughts will help, though I most likely will send it back to the dealer for repair. He swears by the maker, but is disappointed that he didn’t test fire it himself before shipping it out. I have read that Caspian frames sometimes require a longer sear spring and perhaps that started this mess. I will say this, the gun was put together very well and when I picked it up I could tell that it was not your average 1911. It’s possible the safety or sear spring have issues, but I think the maker did a nice job. I bought a Ruger Blackhawk from one of the world’s most renowned single-action smiths. It had only minor work done before I found it on his site and out of the box could not get the gun to even load, let alone fire it! $hit happens for sure. -->

10-06-2006, 08:29 PM	#2
polishshooter Advanced Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2001 Location: Indiana Contributor Posts: 7,859	Re: 1911 Sear, Safety, or Reassembly Problems?? How many slots does your backstrap have for bottom end of the sear spring to fit into? My AMT frame actually has TWO, one about 1/16" above the other, and I am forever forgetting which one the "hook" on the bottom of the sear spring is supposed to fit into, I invariably on reassembly pick the WRONG one and when I try to dry fire it it kinda sounds like what yours is doing, so I always have to remove the mainspring housing and reposition the sear spring...and when I put it back together RIGHT and it works again, I get the SAME thought I've gotten EVERY time I've done this over the past 20 years or so...."Way to GO Numbnuts, you forgot to mark the right slot AGAIN!" __________________ The problems we face today are there because the people who work for a living are outnumbered by those who vote for a living.

10-06-2006, 09:54 PM	#3
Joseywales3 Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 4	Re: 1911 Sear, Safety, or Reassembly Problems?? I honestly remember just one. But I will certainly check it tomorrow. The dealer is expecting the gun back, as is the builder. The dealer has been very good about it and said the builder (whose name you might recognize, so I'll leave it out), is very good. It's possible the sear spring is bad or the safety was not fitted properly.