# 1911-380 grip safety



## Citroen (Dec 20, 2017)

I picked up my new Browning 1911-380 today. Haven't shot it yet but in checking it out, using a trigger scale to check the trigger, I experienced some problems with the grip safety. It appears that the "memory bump" on the grip safety does not project enough to disengage the hammer stop and allow me to shoot the gun - using the grip I have used for so many years, it is habit.

Two questions - has anybody else experienced this?

How did you "fix" it?

Thanks,
John


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## win231 (Aug 5, 2015)

I experienced similar difficulty disengaging the grip safety on a S&W 1911 but for a different reason. The problem was the firing pin safety was tied to the grip safety & the design of the two springs was so poorly thought out, it took so much effort, the web of the hand wouldn't disengage it unless I squeezed abnormally, which prevented decent shooting.

I quickly got rid of the gun & replaced it with a Wilson CQB. Regardless of how I gripped the gun--thumb up, thumb down, thumb resting on the slide safety, light grip, the gun always fired, but NEVER fired without touching the grip safety.


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## Steve M1911A1 (Feb 6, 2008)

All of my own 1911s have been modified to eliminate their grip safeties.
In the case of my two full-size competition pistols, they have been pinned, um, temporarily in their "off" position.
In my concealed-carry shortie, this conversion never had a grip safety in the first place. Its grip was too short to allow one to be functional.

The easiest way to disable a 1911-style grip safety is to detail-strip the pistol, hacksaw-cut the trigger-bar-stopping prong off of the safety, and then reassemble the gun. Without its trigger-stopping prong, the grip safety will move as it's supposed to, but it will have no effect.

The most workmanlike way to do the job is to install a short pin that sticks upward from the top of the mainspring (hammer-spring) housing, and to file a small groove into the very bottom of the grip safety that will catch the pin and thus keep the grip safety in its "off" position. At any time, the modification can be reversed merely by removing the pin.


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## Citroen (Dec 20, 2017)

Thanks, Steve - after 200 rounds at the range, and slightly modifying my grip and trigger finger placement, the gun ran flawlessly and the grip safety did not present any issues. Thanks for the suggestions and the how to do it.
Happy New Year
John


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