Depressor spring - Gold Cup Series 80

[Shakkari]

Well this is my fisrt posting . I replaced the drop in Beaver tail of my Gold Cup 45 Series 80 MKIV , no problems. Even grinded the old hammer for it to be accommodated in to the Beaver tail - did a pretty good job.

The mechanics of the trigger ,disconnector and the sear have always intriged me - so I did what I should not have done - I lost the tiny , tiny depressor spring. (this is what happens when one does refer to manuals ) .

I have reassembled the gun and it works like a charm ( fired about 200 rounds ). I realise the depressor exerts extra pressure on the sear when engaged to the hammer -

My question, is that gun now safe when cocked and loaded without that depressor spring ? Any advise on this will greatly be appreciated. ( so far ,no one has that spring in stock) Bye for now - David.

[1911Tuner]

Hoiwdy Shakkan,

The tiny little spring...I HATE those things...was used in Gold Cups because of the wider, heavier trigger in the guns. Its purpose was to add tension to the trigger to prevent it from moving backward and nudging the disconnect during a reload. It was necessary when they used steel triggers, but not so critical with the newer Series 80 aluminum triggers...UNLESS...the trigger pull has been tweaked for a lighter letoff that gets it below about 4 pounds. It's largely unnecesary with a stock trigger, but care should be taken to keep a firm grip on the gun and point it downrange whenever effecting a reload or initial loading in preparation to fire. Of course, that would apply to any pistol, regardless of the design and/or trigger action.

The mechanics are simple. When the slide goes forward at full speed and
chambers a round, it more or less slams to a stop...the level of which depends on how smoothly the top round chambers. When the gun jerks
suddenly forward, the trigger obeys Newton's dictum that objects at rest
tend to remain at rest. The disconnect gets a little nudge, and in turn rotates the sear away from engagement with the hammer hooks. If the force of the trigger is enough to overcome the resistance to movement, the hammer can follow to half-cock...and in certain circumstances, it can follow the slide all the way down. Sometimes it results in a slam-fire during a reload.

When the gun fired, and cycling normally, the trigger is held rearward with each shot. The disconnect is disconnected from the sear, and no hammer follow will occur unless there are other problems present in the fire control group. This is why the old match shooters held the trigger to the rear during a reload, but with today's lightened triggers and other parts within the group...along with improved methods of tuning the action...it's no longer widely practiced.

Look for a sticky thread titled "Function of the Disconnector" for a more detailed description of what happens, and exactly what the disconnect does, and this will make more sense.

Hope this helps!

Tuner

[Shakkari]

Thanks Tuner , for your detailed explanation which has definitely put my mind to rest - at one point I thought I had recked my gun. Yes, it does have an aluminum trigger and its pull is at about 3.5 pounds. Thanks once again - David.