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Thread: Gunsight Model

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  1. #1
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    Gunsight Model

    I am a new kid on the block & new to 1911,s. I don,t know much about S&W 1911,s or any 1911 for that matter. So I am trying to get as much input as I can from different areas on this forum as possible before I buy a 1911. So here goes. I have been looking at a like new S&W 1911 Gunsight Model 45 ACP. It is one of the original hand fitted ones. It has a Scandium slide & it looks brand new. I would like to know how they hold up, accuracy & if there are any inherent problems with them. What should one like this cost with all the original factory packaging and paper work?
    Thanks

  2. #2
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    Quote Originally Posted by MARKS MAN
    I am a new kid on the block & new to 1911,s. I don,t know much about S&W 1911,s or any 1911 for that matter. So I am trying to get as much input as I can from different areas on this forum as possible before I buy a 1911. So here goes. I have been looking at a like new S&W 1911 Gunsight Model 45 ACP. It is one of the original hand fitted ones. It has a Scandium slide & it looks brand new. I would like to know how they hold up, accuracy & if there are any inherent problems with them. What should one like this cost with all the original factory packaging and paper work?
    Thanks
    Actually, it's "Gunsite," the shooting academy near Paulden, AZ, founded by Col Jeff Cooper in 1976.

    Respectfully,

    Walt
    PS I'd think something around 1500-2500 as a quasi-educated guess.
    PPS The only "problem" with the S&W would possibly be the same problem I had with both of my SW1911s, which caused me to sell them off and switch to Ruger: the grip-safety-actuated firing pin block. I could never be 100% sure that the grip safety would unlock the firing pin when I grasped the pistol. This is unacceptable to me.
    Author, The M1911 Complete Assembly Guide,
    The M1911 Complete Owner's Guide, NEW The 10/22 Complete Owner's and Assembly Guide,
    The M14
    and M1 Garand Complete Assembly Guides
    and The AR-15 Complete Assembly and NEW Owner's Guides

  3. #3
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    Grip Safety

    Thanks for getting back Walt. I am not sure but are you saying that the grip safetys on both of the S&W,s you owned were defective or just to hard to release when you squeezed the trigger. I don,t own any 1911,s but have you found any other people with the same complaint and is there any way to loosen it up? Should I stay away from the S&W,s
    “Good night, Chesty, wherever you are.”

  4. #4
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    S&W makes good guns. I've not heard any systematic issues with the grip safety-actuated firing pin block, except for the early pistols. Mine were early.

    The problem is that grip safety in this type of pistol (not limited to S&Ws) has two safety functions to perform. First, its "arm" blocks the movement of the trigger until the point that grasping the grip safety pivots the grip safety arm up an out of the way of the trigger bow. When I build a pistol, I generally like to have the arm up and out of the way of the trigger bow at about half the full travel of the grip safety, i.e., the travel you see when you idly push the grip safety in and let it back out. Half that travel.

    The second safety function is that as you press n the grip safety, it also pushes up on a lever which pushes up a plunger (visible when you look at the bottom of the slide). This plunger is the firing pin block. The grip safety has to pivot far enough that the plunger is pushed up far enough to unblock the firing pin.

    So, what's the problem? The problem is that the grip safety and the firing pin bock linkage has to unblock the firing pin just before the grip safety unblocks the trigger. If the timing is off, the grip safety can allow the trigger to be pulled and the hammer fall when you grasp the pistol, but the grip safety hasn't quite gotten far enough in to lever the firing pin plunger up out of the way of the firing pin. Thus, you get a "click" when you expect a bang.

    The firing pin plunger performs a laudable service; it prevents the firing pin from moving forward under inertia should you drop the pistol. There are conditions where the firing pin will have enough energy from inertia, combined with the rebound of the pistol as it strikes the ground, to discharge a chambered cartrdige.

    I became wary of attempting to adjust matters so that the firing pin block reliably (that is, 100% of the time) was disengaged before the trigger was unblocked. A recall by the factory failed to correct matters to my satisfaction, so I sold the pistols and moved to the Ruger SR1911.

    Keep in mind that my experience may be quite rare (though it was with two, albeit first production, pistols), and your mileage will quite likely vary. Do not interpret my remarks as a recommendation to avoid SW1911s. They are simply a report of my personal experience with a very, very small sample.

    Best regards,

    Walt
    Author, The M1911 Complete Assembly Guide,
    The M1911 Complete Owner's Guide, NEW The 10/22 Complete Owner's and Assembly Guide,
    The M14
    and M1 Garand Complete Assembly Guides
    and The AR-15 Complete Assembly and NEW Owner's Guides

  5. #5
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    Grip Safety

    Thanks Walt,I think I understand. Maybe down the road I will know the internals of the 1911 as well as you.
    “Good night, Chesty, wherever you are.”

  6. #6
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    No sweat. Keep in mind none of us was born knowin' this stuff. I do have a 52-year head start on you!

    Very best regards,

    Walt
    Author, The M1911 Complete Assembly Guide,
    The M1911 Complete Owner's Guide, NEW The 10/22 Complete Owner's and Assembly Guide,
    The M14
    and M1 Garand Complete Assembly Guides
    and The AR-15 Complete Assembly and NEW Owner's Guides

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