05Oct05

The Word on firing-pin locking systems on 1911 pistols, from Master Pistolsmith, Jim Garthwaite:

"Firing-pin locking systems on autoloading pistols are designed to p revent firing-pin-inertia-engendered, unintentional discharges as the result of thr ee circumstances:

1) The pistol falls on a hard surface, striking directly on the muzzle

2) The pistol is loaded normally, and the slide springs forward, chambering

a round

3) The pistol goes full-auto during normal firing

In the early 1900s, it was the opinion of Browning himself that all of the forgoing events were so unlikely that the addition of a firing-pin-arrest system on his new pistol was unnecessary. However, in the intervening deca des, trigger-deactivated, firing-pin-arrest systems have become standard on nearl y all other reputable, modern, serious pistols. Some current makers of 1911 pistols have also decided to add such a system. Others have not. Some, li ke Colt, make the pistol both ways!

Among current manufacturers, two firing-pin-arrest systems are employed, on e trigger-deactivated (Colt System) and one grip-safety-deactivated (Swartz System). The Colt System addresses all three circumstances listed above. The Swartz System address only the first, as the grip safety is normally depressed when the pistol is loaded and when it is fired. In addition, the Swartz System will only work on 1911 slides with an external extractor.

The Colt System employs two, trigger-activated levers that lift a spring-loaded, firing-pin block, thus allowing the firing pin to move forwar d. Problems with this system abound with the addition of an after-market, over-travel limiter that limits the rearward movement of the trigger. This can allow t he hammer/sear to disengage (allowing the hammer to fall forward) but fail to provide enough lift to raise the block and release the firing pin. The eff ect is that the trigger is pulled; the hammer falls normally, but the pistol fa ils to discharge. Trigger over-travel limiters, of any kind, are thus not recommended on any 1911 pistol that is used for serious purposes.

Another shortcoming of this system is the location of the hole in the slide

that accommodates the firing-pin block. It is located beside and to the re ar of the disconnector hole and can allow the slide to peen from contact with the hammer. This is especially true in 9mm/.38 Super/9X23 slides that use a wide cut for the added width of the ejector.

The version of the Swartz System employed by S&W is less complicated. It features only one lever in the frame. Pressure from the grip safety unlock s (lifts) the firing-pin-block in the slide, deactivating it. Kimber=80 s version uses a plunger in the frame and a collar that fits around the firing pin.

The most common problem with the Swartz System is the fitting of the parts from the factory. Timing must be such that the firing-pin-block is deactivated BEFORE the grip safety releases the trigger bar, allowing the h ammer/sear to disengage. If that sequence is reversed, the hammer may fall before the

block is deactivated. The result is that, when the trigger is pressed, the

hammer falls normally, but the pistol fails to fire.

Both systems have obvious shortcomings. Many believe neither contributes positively to the original Browning design. However, I recommend, if you o wn a Kimber, S&W, or a Colt Series 80 1911 pistol, that you don't remove the firing-pin-block. Both the Colt and the Swartz Systems can be made reliabl e, when they are not that way already, with attention from a competent pistols mith. Owning a pistol which is absolutely drop-safe is important to many gun carriers. When you want a drop-safe 1911 pistol, you have your choice! =9D

Comment: Additional "features" invariably involve additional moving parts and other engineering compromises. All who carry the 1911 need to decide h ow important absolute drop-safety is to them.

/John

05Oct05

Reply with regard to training American Women, from one of our female instructors:

"Like you, I have been plagued with the frustration of how to =98fix' things, so that our female students can think in terms of being warriors, or to at least develop a determined resolve to protect themselves. Are we successful ? Sometimes, but not always. All we can do is guide them to the knowledge. W e cannot force them to become part of the fabric of knowledge unless they want to be.

Most men operate from a position of logic. Most women operate from a position of emotion. Neither operating system is right or wrong. Emotion, such as the fear of personal attack, must provide the positive motivation to advanc e and learn. However, if there is only fear, but no emotional involvement in

preserving her own life, she is not motivated. She doesn't have an emotiona l interest in preserving her life, only an emotional involvement in fearing f or her life. You can't force a change. She has to want to change. Your logic

is not lost on her. What is missing is the emotional involvement in herself . We have often heard women say, 'I'll put up a good fight, but its o kay if they kill me.' That makes no sense to you, but it does to her. And, there is no way you will ever see it as she does.

I try to separate the physical skills of learning to operate a handgun from

the philosophical discipline of using a handgun for self-defense. I see women struggling, unsuccessfully, to do both simultaneously. Their minds flounder, not focusing on either.

Women come to me for different reasons. Some are highly motivated. Some ar e there only because someone else brought them. Some are terrified. We reac h some and see blossoming warriors. We plant seeds for thought in others. W e enlighten some to things that have never entered their minds before. We watch some merely go, half-heartedly, through the motions, and we fail completely with others.

You remember the nurse, who was so frightened on Friday night, yet by Sunda y was thinking of what new gun she would buy. That was one of those wonderfu l moments of enlightenment. But, she had to first lose her fear of guns and firmly believe that she was capable of handling them correctly before she c ould think of using one to save her life. She was accustomed to saving lives, bu t not of thinking of her own as being important. She had a tool in her possession but was so frightened of it that she couldn't think of using it.

This is the key: We took away fear of the tool first. Then, she was able, for the first time in her life, to look at her options rationally. Finally , she was ready to invest her emotions in the concept of defending her own li fe. We woman can't understand how you guys are able to casually quarantine emotions and rarely talk about them, Our emotions are with us all the time and color everything in our lives. We can't isolate them as you do. W e are not emotional because we are weak. Weak people don't bear children! M odern women have to mentally adjust to becoming their own protectors, as well as their own providers.

Its okay that it doesn't all make sense to you. It may never make sense. Its okay that you can't fix it all. You are the needle; they are the thread ."

/John

05Oct05

Don't wait. Don=80=99t hesitate. Always call their bluff.

Bad calls are as important as good calls. Decisiveness and audacity always

come with risk attached, but there is always greater risk attached to hesitation and vacillation.

Mike Caro, AKA "The Mad Genius of Poker," makes an interesti ng point in a recent lecture:

"If you don't lose most of the time when you call, you =99re actually costing yourself money! Anybody can win most of the time they call. If fact, if y ou want to be really choosy, wait until you have perfect hands. Then, you =99ll nearly always win. But, think of all the money you'll be loosing by not calling with hands that would win often enough to be profitable... The pot is usually much bigger than the cost of the call, so you don't have to win anywhere near half the time to make a profit by calling... There is nothing that sticks in the mind of an opponent as much as getting caught bluffing... Ther e is money in making your opponents believe you can't be bluffed!=80

When you're in life, as in poker, for the adventure and achievement, not just the money, you'll develop an audacious, daring, fearless demea nor. When confronted, allies and opponents alike will sit back and let you take contr ol.

Happy is the army where even ill-timed boldness occurs frequently. Blunder s are annoying weeds, but their occasional eruption indicates richness in the

soil. Even foolhardiness is not always to be despised, for it stems from daring.

/John