surprise_i'm_armed wrote:Anyone:
In some previous discussion on the forum, someone mentioned
that a 1911 in Condition 1 may appear dangerous to some,
with the hammer cocked back.
But that a striker-fired weapon with one in the pipe is essentially
in the same ready-to-fire condition, but without the strong visual
cue as the 1911.
Can anyone please comment on the "safety" mechanisms involved
in a 1911 manual safety vs. a manual safety on a striker-fired
firearm? Are they each as effective at preventing the weapon
from firing?
Thanks in advance.
SIA
A series 80 1911 has a firing pin safety plunger which must be released by trigger action before the firing pin can strike the cartridge's primer. Most modern striker fired pistols (e.g., Glock, Springfield XD, etc.) have a similar mechanism. When operated as designed, they will not fire unless the trigger is moved fully to the rear. This action moves the safety plunger to a position where the striker or firing pin can move past it to strike the primer.
A series 70 (original firing system) 1911 does not have a firing pin safety plunger, but it does have a grip safety that must be depressed before the trigger can be pulled, and a manual thumb safety as well. It is possible to drop one of these guns in a way that causes a cocked hammer to slip off the sear, break the secondary hammer catch designed to prevent discharge in this case, and fire the weapon. It can also discharge by inertial movement of the firing pin against the primer if dropped straight down on a hard surface. An extra power firing pin spring can go a long ways toward minimizing this possibility.
With all guns, the primary safety is always the shooter who keeps his finger off the trigger until he has made a decision to fire upon an intended target with a safe backstop.