# Need help with taurus 1911 thumb safety



## seabreeze133 (Mar 11, 2016)

I have a new Taurus 1911, serial # NGY45xxx 45 ACP and am having issues with the amb safety right side backing out. Gunsmith at my dealer told me it is a common issue w/the pistol and that the pistol is not milspec so changing to an aftermarket safety would require machining which he would not recommend.

So... am I the only one afflicted or is the issue real? Plus if it is real, did the earlier 1911 series have a standard, not amb, safety that could be installed. Or can an aftermarket safety be a drop in and work? Or... is this just something I have to live with? Otherwise, I like the pistol.

This happened after the first 50 or so rounds and the smith pressed the rt side back in place so it may work for awhile.

Thanks

seabreeze


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## Shipwreck (Jan 26, 2006)

First - find a better gunsmith. A thumb safety can be easily fit, but it isn't a drop in part. It is true that the specs on a Taurus 1911 may be "off" a bit. But, a good 1911 gunsmith can easily fit a new one to your gun.


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## seabreeze133 (Mar 11, 2016)

Thanks Shipwreck.

No such thing as a good gunsmith where I live. Taurus sent me a UPS return sticker and I suppose I will send it back tomorrow and keep the Mini 14 in the BR. 

Thanks for the reply.

seabreeze


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## Steve M1911A1 (Feb 6, 2008)

I neither have, nor have access to, a Taurus 1911 clone, but maybe I can help anyway. I am operating upon the assumption that the Taurus 1911 clone has an ambidextrous safety that is constructed like those on other 1911s.
In most 1911s, the right-side safety lever is retained in place by an extension of the right-side safety-lever's base which fits underneath the top-rear of the pistol's right-side grip panel. There is a thin section taken out of the underside of the grip panel, and the safety-lever's thin extension slides up and down within that cut.

If the cut is made too deeply into the grip panel, and the right-side safety lever is a loose fit, the right-side safety lever can wiggle out. It may even disengage from the left-side's safety lever, and cease to function.
The same thing will happen if the right-side grip panel is loose, pulls away from the pistol's frame, and allows the safety lever enough wiggle room to come at least part-way out.

If something like this is happening, here are some relevant fixes:
1. Get a new set of grip panels, and take a thinner cut out of the upper underside of the right-side panel to match the right-side safety-lever's extension and its movement. That'll keep the right-side safety lever from wiggling out.
2. Buy four O-rings that just barely fit on the threaded portion of the grip-panel screws, and very slightly widen and deepen the grip-screw countersinks in the grip panels to accommodate the O-rings. The O-rings act like lock washers, only better, and they'll keep the grip-panel screws from loosening, the grip panels from pulling away from the frame, and, therefore, the right-side safety lever from wiggling out.
3. Do both of the above.

Please let me know whether or not this advice was helpful.


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