Grip Safety - how much slack?

[gc70]

How much slack or play should there by in the grip safety on a 1911?

The grip safeties on some of my 1911s stick out well past the MSH and rattle around like rocks in a tin can. The grip safety on my most recent 1911 moves freely and positively, but the bottom doesn't stick out hardly any past the MSH and it has no slack or play in its movement (and it certainly doesn't rattle when I shake the gun).

[John]

Well, I have no measurements to offer, but the trick is that the grip safety should come out enough to completely block the trigger, and at the same time allow you to deactivate it, when you grab the pistol in your hand. If it does not protrude enough above the MSH, it will not allow you to press it enough to deactivate it.

Rgds

[gc70]

Thanks, John.

The grip safety blocks the trigger just fine; I've tested it several times. And the safety functions positively because the web of my hand engages it well above the junction between the bottom of the grip safety and the top of the MSH.

I guess I am mainly curious as to whether most grip safeties have a lot of useless travel before they reach the point of releasing the trigger.

Below are pictures of the grip safeties on some of my 1911s; the newest one is on the bottom.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v408/gc70/grip_safeties.jpg

[stans]

As long as it functions correctly, it doesn't matter. Often the amount of protrusion is based on how much metal was milled off during the manufacturing/fitting process. Kimber safeties stick out further than Colts, but it is just the amount of metal remaining on the back of the safety.

[SAWBONES]

The necessary points are:

when at rest, the grip safety must reliably block the trigger;
when squeezed, the grip safety must reliably release ("unblock") the trigger, with no contact at all between the trigger bow and the grip safety arm.

In between these two conditions, there is a lot of potential "slop". If your hands and firing grip are such that the GS is always thoroughly released, good. If not, you need to fine tune things a bit. My own experience is that I need a fairly "sensitive" GS, that is absolutely reliable as a passive safety, but that comes off with only about a 1 1/2 mm of travel. A built-up GS pad helps too.

If your GS rattles at rest, bend the GS spring arm (rightmost of the three as seen from behind) out a bit, but be careful, as these are heat-treated, or maybe get a whole new spring.