Safari Arms Enforcer - info/help needed!!!

[ORCA72]

Hello once more everybody,

I am quite new to this forum and the reason for this thread - that I first postet in the other 1911s cathegory! - is that I recently acquired a used stainless steel Safari Arms Enforcer pistol at a local gun auction here in Vienna/Austria.

The gun is in a overall very good/excellent conditon, BUT there's "something wrong" with it's currently installed recoil spring setup.
It has a (the original?) full length guide rod complete with end screw and plug but only ONE (remaining) captive recoil spring - a very weak one! I suppose it's the innermost/smallest one of the original triplex recoil spring setup?!
Upon reading different threads I stumbled across the one of Stephan from Germany, who had a very similar problem with his gun in 2005.
I already have contacted Olympic Arms, but it is not that easy and not very fast to get answers and support.
And I also contacted Wolff gunsprings, but they don't seem to have the proper springs in their programm.

I would also love to learn more about the history of my gun - date of manufacture, etc. It bears the serial# S4649, is stainless steel with LPA adjustable sight, black widow etched smooth wood grip panels.
Any helpful information and input is really appreciated!

Maybe someone can help me with getting a set or two of the three neccessary springs (or a complete recoil spring assembly?) ASAP?!

I am planning to use the gun as my EDC gun. Currently I am carrying a Glock 19C, but want to switch to this beauty as soon as it will run smoothly and reliably. By the way, I also own a (original) Detonics Combat Master and the Enforcer and the Combat Master form a formidable couple.
I will try to post some pics in the future, but for now I am hoping for competent help with my problem.

There is one more question/issue, that I would want to bring up:
My gun has an adjustable LPA rear sight and a ramped, staked on front sight.
If I would want to turn my gun into a "night fighter" and install tritium
night sights, what would be your/Ricks recommendation? Brownells offers a
Champion adjustable tritium rear sight made to fit LPA sight cuts, so it
should fit. But for a accompanying tritium front sight, which one should I
choose? Novak's or Heinie's or...? What hight - Brownells offers Novak's
tritium front sights for Goverment Models and Officer's Models dovetail
cuts, with hight ranging from .160 to .215. Any help concerning the best
sight option would also be greatly appreciated. Maybe only install a tritium
front sight and retaining the original black rear sight... hmmm???
Enough for now!

Thanks a lot in advance!
And special thanks to Steve for your fast reply and kind offer!!!

With my very best regards from "Good Old Europe",
Christian

[wichaka]

To everyone who reads this thread, I've helped others who in the past have had problems with their Safari Arms type 1911's.

Christian has emailed me, and am getting him fixed up.........

[ORCA72]

The story continues...

Thanks to the efforts and help from Steve, I finally received a new triplex recoil spring system for my gun. I went to my local gunsmith to have it installed. It needed a little fitting-the guide rod had to be properly shortened-but that was no problem at all.
I was eager to find out whether the gun would work and how well it would eventually shoot.
After acquiring a reasonable supply of ammo-CCI Blazer 230grs FMJ-I went to the range for the first time on December the 18th to fire some initial 200 rounds.
The result was, let's say, mixed:
The gun is very accurate and handles well, BUT I frequently experienced failures to feed!:-(
The gun originally came with one 6 round magazine from Metalform. That one worked best. I also tried Wilson Combat magazines, one 7 round mag for Officer's size guns and two extended 8 round mags for the Officer's model. I was not able to even once run the gun through an 8 round mag loaded to capacity without a failure to feed. Most common with the first and/or the last round. Loading only seven rounds helped but did not solve the problem.
I was quite dissappointed by the total lack of reliability. That is not acceptable in a carry gun for self defense! And it was ball ammo!!!
Two days later I went back to my gunsmith and we discussed the issue. They checked the gun and found that the chamber was too tight and irregularly shaped. So they widened the chamber slightly and did away with the irregular shaping. This helped to a certain extent and really facilitated feeding, but it did not solve the problem.
Now I have fired 400 rounds through the gun and am not willing to give up! As a next measure I will have my gunsmith check the internal parts of the gun, smoothing and polishing where necessary. I refuse to accept that this gun simply can't run reliably!
I am also not sure about the role the magazines play?! Maybe I should only use 6 round mags, maybe from another manufacturer??? Normally my Wilson mags are the most reliable ones...
There is also no real difference, whether one uses the slide stop lever or retracts the slide with the support hand to load the first round into the chamber chances are one get's a "nose dive" of the round against the front of the mag or the "feeding ramp". The bullet is hammered back into the casing!

In any case, I am not going to give up easily and will continue trying to get the beauty up and running! Any helpful information and/or suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

MERRY X-MAS AND A HAPPY 2008 to all readers!

Best regards from Austria,
Christian

[niemi24s]

Your problem with the bullet being pushed back into the casing is due, in large part, to the use of CCI Blazer ammunition - if it has brass casings. Of all the ammunition I've tested, CCI Blazer Brass with 230gn FMJ has the most "setback". I have not tested any CCI Blazer ammunition with aluminum casings, so don't know anything about that type.

The top round in a full magazine is the one most likely to nosedive into the frame's feed ramp because the magazine spring is under the most compression. This pushes the cartridge rim up against the magazine feed lips with the greatest force. When contacted by the breechface/disconnector rail as it is stripped from the magazine, the contact point with the casing rim is above the rim/lip contact point. This causes the nose of the cartridge to pivot down and nosedive against the feed ramp.

Some of this tendency to nosedive can be overcome by polishing the magazine feed lips where the casing rim slides along. But, I don't think nosediving can be totally eliminated - seems to just be the nature of the gun.

When nosediving causes bullet setback in the casing, problems can occur because the nose end of the cartridge does not glance off the feed ramp as well as it should. It is getting set back and not glancing! Unfortunately, I have not found a successful method to reduce bullet setback in CCI Blazer Brass ammunition. Strange as it seems, even crimping the case mouth into the bullet did not help!

8 Round magazines are notorious for causing problems, but I am not sure why. A search of this forum should give the reasons.

Magazines can cause problems if their followers do not have a "dimple", and there is a sticky dealing extensively with this.

I've no experience with Safari Arms products, so please defer to Wichaka for any specific information. I do, however, suspect your problems with the gun are due mostly to the ammunition and the magazines. Cheers

[RickB]

I'm interested in the shortened guide rod? If the part is correct for an Enforcer, why would it have to be shortened? The Enforcer guide rod has the same head configuration as the Detonics Combat Master, seating against the slide stop pin, rather than the frame; did you get the correct part? I have had guide rods that didn't fit properly, interfering with proper barrel movement, and that could certainly cause function problems.

[wichaka]

Rick, they changed the design of the guide rod in the 90's, because the barrel at the muzzle is different. Some bull barrels had a flat machined on the bottom of them, while others did not. They also changed the overall length of the barrel as well.....not by much.

Christian try some regular GI type mags. Maybe obtain some from Checkmate Industries. If you're having problems on the first and last rounds, it's a mag problem.

If you would like to try some of the above mags, I can obtain some for you and ship them over.

Also, were having this problem before the new recoil system was installed?

[ORCA72]

@niemi24s:
Yes, the CCI Blazer has brass casings. The Wilson magazines don't have any dimples on the follower since theirs' are not metal but polymer. They are the most reliable 1911 mags I know of. We will see...

@RickB:
The guide rod just had to be fitted and is no cause for problems.

@wichaka:
Thanks once more!!!
We will see about the mags, but for now we will see what can be done by polishing and smoothing in the first place.
Before the new recoil system was installed I did never shoot the gun! I got it in September at a gun auction and it came with this much too weak "ballpen" spring installed. So I did not dare to (ab)use it until I got the proper springs. I don't think the gun was ever shot much in it's former life by any former owners either. But certainly at one point in it's life someone replaced the original spring setup for the unusable "ballpen" spring. Maybe at the same time when the original spring plug was replaced because it showed a crack. But there is nothing more I know about the story of my gun before it came to me.
I just really hope that the feeding/reliability problems can be completely solved because I would love to carry this beautiful, impressive little 1911. If the internal problems can be solved I will have it dehorned-especially the edges of the fingerhook, the thumb safety and the rear edges of the slide, since they are rough on the hand. I think I will replace the extended slide stop for a short, "standard length" one or have the original one shortened slightly. Then I finally might have tritium night sights installed.
In any case I will keep you informed about my progress and the outcome of my project.
Still any input concerning enhancing reliability, magazines, ammo, etc. will be greatly appreciated!

Best regards,
Christian

[1944Colt]

Orca, our resident 1911 expert claims the most reliable magazines are not Wilson, but rather the type found in the 7 shot Checkmates available through this forum.

Wichaka generously offered to send you some. You should take him up on it. It's worth a try.

Try reading some of Tuner's stickies on magazine function at the top of the magazine forum.

[wichaka]

I've been a hard core Wilson 47D fan, but after Checkmate came out with their 8 rounders with the standard follower, I'm hooked.

Over a 1,000 round in each of the test mags I got, and no problems.

[ORCA72]

@wichaka:
THANKS for your kind offer to help with getting proper mags! There is one not too insignificant question though - are they only available in Government/Commander length or also in Officer's size?!
Because if they are really that good and reliable, I would want/need "some" of them, say, about 5 pieces or more.
But I would still want at least one flush fitting (6 rounder?) for carrying in the gun and the others could as well be standard configuration 1911 mags.
Maybe you could provide me with the neccessary info or tell me where to look it up?!
Ahm... found it! Just looked on the Check-Mate Industries website and found 'em!;-)

Dear Steve,
I guess I would maybe opt for
2x CM45-6C-S-RB (6rd Compact, Stainless Steel, Dimpled Follower & Removable Base) plus
4x CM45-7C-S-RB (7rd Compact, Stainless Steel, Patented Bull Nose Follower & Removable Base) and
2x CM45-8-S-RB (8rd, Stainless Steel, Patented Bull Nose Follower, Removable Base)
if possible???

Or do you think there would be an other, better choice-for example omitting the 6 rounders??? I think I would want stainless steel mags to fit my stainless steel gun and would prefer removable bases for cleaning and maintenance purposes. What would be the "better" follower-"dimpled" or "Bull Nose"??? I guess one could order all mags with the better follower configuration? Maybe you could tell me about the total costs via PM or e-mail? I couldn't find any prices on the Check-Mate site.


Thanks again,
Christian