JohnnyT

Had a little time on my hands, and thought I'd rattle a few cages. Things commonly believed, but not necessarily rooted in fact.

Myth:

The .45 ACP Cartridge was designed to approximate .45 Colt ballistics.

Fact:

The .45 ACP cartridge was intended to match the ballistics of the .45 Schoffield cartridge...230-grain lead round nose at 810 fps. It's listed as 750 fps...but those numbers were obtained when the round was fired in the longer .45 Colt chamber, which provides a lot of freebore...lowering the velocity. When fired in its own gun, the velocity is 810 fps...the ACP's ballistic twin.

Myth:

The disconnect prevents the 1911 pistol from firing out of battery, with possibly disastrous consequences.

Fact:

Although the disconnect will prevent the gun from firing when the slide is .050 inch out of full battery, that's incidental and it's not the disconnect's function.

It's mechanically impossible for the 1911 to fire far enough out of battery to blow up. Can't do it. With the slide .100 inch out of full battery, the link is just starting to tug on the barrel. The upper lugs are still in full vertical engagement, and if the gun fires, the slide and barrel are locked horizontally in opposition and the breech can't open...even if it could fire...which it can't. Not even if the disconnect is worn to a nubbin.

When the slide is .100 inch to the rear, the hammer is blocked by the bottom of the firing pin stop, and it can't hit the firing pin. If the firing pin stop has the original 5/64ths radius on the bottom...it will block the hammer at .090 inch out.

Myth:

The thumb safety locks/blocks the hammer.

Fact:

The thumb safety prevents sear movement. It does not lock or block the hammer. If the sear were to instantaneously disintegrate, the hammer will fall, and it'll wipe the safety off on its way down faster than you can with your thumb. The "Locked" part of Cocked and Locked refers to the slide...not the hammer or the sear.

Myth:

The grip safety prevents the gun from firing unless held in a firing grip.

Fact:

This one is partly based in reality, because it does block the trigger unless the gun is gripped in the hand...but its purpose was to prevent discharge in the event that the gun is dropped from the back of a horse...possibly landing with the muzzle pointed up...with the trigger's momentum bump-firing the gun. The half-cock notch was a backup plan.

Myth:

The (captive) half-cock notch isn't a safety and was never intended to be a safety.

Fact:

The (captive) half-cock was and is a safety, by design and intent. It's referred to as a safety position in the original 1910 patents by the man himself. With the later addition of the thumb safety...aka "Manual slide-locking" safety...the use of the half-cock as a safety was made irrelevant...but it still functions as a safety.

I'll think of more as my feeble mind wanders. Stand by.

retDAC

Thank you very much John. Doesn't the manual safety lock/block the sear when everything is in spec?

JohnnyT

Yes. The manual safety blocks sear movement. It wouldn't do a thing to stop the hammer if the sear were to shatter into a million pieces...but that's unlikely in any event.

4thHorseman

Great post. Thank you for posting the info.

Alabaster

Unless you use MIM parts........

cohee

JohnnyT, you need another hobby. You have too much time on your hands. When Wild bill was around, you could jerk his chain a little but most of the rest of us don't have a clue what you are talking about.

I do remember three ways to open a beer bottle with an unloaded GI 1911. Re-connector, what is that?

Aguila Blanca

Some of us do ...