14Sept05

The 1911 Pistol and the Swartz system

As originally designed and produced, John M Browning's 1911 pistol h ad no mechanical interlock that prevented the firing pin from going forward when t he pistol was dropped on the muzzle or when the slide went forward in the norma l loading procedure or during the normal cycle of operation. These two theoretical circumstances through which the pistol could conceivably fire unintentionally (or even go full auto) were considered so astronomically un likely, Browning was unconcerned.

History has proven him correct! I, for one, have been training people to carry and shoot 1911s since 1968 and have had thousands of 1911s come throug h classes, including many that were manufactured during and before WWII. My students have loaded them, unloaded them, performed chamber checks on them, shot them, and even dropped more times than I can count. In those thirty-seven years, I've never once personally witnessed a 1911 slam-fire, a 1911 go full-auto, or a 1911 discharge as the result of being dropped. Maybe these things happen, but they have never happened in front of me. Yes, like all of us, I' ve heard many third-hand stories, but my experience causes me to believe Browning was right, as we have discovered over the years that he usually is !

Today, nearly all major manufacturers of pistols, other than the 1911, have

trigger-activated firing-pin locks, standard on all their products, and have

had this feature from the first gun they produced. In the 1980s, Colt adde d a trigger-activated system to their version of the 1911, and all Colt=80 s 1911s have come with it ever since. A trigger-activated firing-pin lock makes it mechanically unachievable for the firing pin to reach the primer of the chambered round without pressure being applied to the trigger.

Other modern-day 1911 manufacturers, specifically Kimber and S&W, instead use a version of the "Swartz System," which is a grip-safety -activated firing-pin lock. The Swartz System was designed specifically to address th e drop-safety issue only. It does not address the slam-fire issue, as the pi stol is properly gripped (depressing the grip safety) when it is loaded. Since mos t pistols don't have grip safeties, the Swartz System is found only o n 1911s.

Kimber makes the "Warrior" model, which has neither a grip-s afety nor a trigger-activated firing-pin lock, and that is the one currently being purch ased by the USMC. My Detonics too has neither of the above.

I became concerned with this system when I witnessed several female student s shoot my S&W Scandium Commander one-handed last week. On several occasions , S&W's version of the Swartz System worked only too well! The hamme r dropped all the way forward as the trigger was pressed, but the pistol, to the astonishment of the shooter, failed to fire. The primer on the chambered r ound, upon examination, was unmarked. I'm persuaded that this failure wa s due to the fact that the grip safety was not fully depressed. It was depressed fa r enough to allow the hammer to fall but not far enough to fully unblock the firing pin. The phenomenon was not observed with shooters with bigger hand s, nor did it happen when my female students held the pistol with both hands.

Upon examination of the firing-pin stop itself (a spring-loaded plunger), I

could see that it had been battered by the firing pin hitting it. A friend

who also owns a S&W 1911 observed that the firing-pin stop on his pistol was badly battered too. He sent his back to S&W, and they, of course, replaced

the part, but he, and I, are concerned that eventually that part (the firing-pin stop) will batter itself into incompetence.

S&W has a good product here, but I am concerned about these occasional failures to fire. When I get a chance to talk with gunsmiths at S&W, I'll report back.

/John