Oh boy, the safety on my 1911 broke... :(

[Kabloosh]

Yeah, did not think that was a thing, but the safety on my 1911 will not disengage. I can press it down but it pops back up essentially keeping it engaged.

I believe it has something to do with how I held the thing. I'd rest my right thumb on the thumb safety and I guess during shooting that caused it to get jacked up. I'm wondering if anyone else ever had this issue before and if there is a possible quick fix so I don't have to have a gunsmith or send the poor thing off to Smith and Wesson to get it fixed.

The fortunate thing is this gun is not my carry gun, but I think I may need to consider holding it differently in the future.

[twency]

Forgive me if this is too soon, or I'm being "that guy", or whatever, but this is one of the reasons I don't like manual safeties on carry pistols. It's one more mechanical thing that can go wrong in a crisis situation.

[Deleted]

Forgive me if this is too soon, or I'm being "that guy", or whatever, but this is one of the reasons I don't like manual safeties on carry pistols. It's one more mechanical thing that can go wrong in a crisis situation.

So that leaves... revolvers and TDA's like the P series Sigs?? Can't think of anything else without some sort of mechanical safety.

[Grey Bearded One]

I'm not a gunsmith but I can't think of a reason that 1911 safety would pop up on its own. It's not like there is a spring that pushes it up. Springs in the 1911 are limited to mainspring, firing pin spring, detent spring, recoil spring and sear spring. The only two that could do anything to the safety would be the detent spring and the sear spring.

Have you detail stripped the gun and inspected the internal parts?

[Yoder]

I leave my thumb on the safety all the time. I've read books that recommend it. I don't think that caused it. Did you take the slide and grips off and see if anything obvious looks wrong? I can't remember how that works exactly, It's been a while since I've taken mine apart.

[Gunsnwater]

Are you really getting it to the off position or just down but not all the way? You didn't harm anything by riding the safety. More like a hammer / sear broke. Wilson parts have always dropped in for me and never failed.

[JoshIronshaft]

No more manual safety? One step closer to Glock perfection...

[Grey Bearded One]

No more manual safety? One step closer to Glock perfection...

If Glocks were truly perfection, there would be no improved models.

[Kabloosh]

I leave my thumb on the safety all the time. I've read books that recommend it. I don't think that caused it. Did you take the slide and grips off and see if anything obvious looks wrong? I can't remember how that works exactly, It's been a while since I've taken mine apart.

I haven't taken the gun apart for fear I likely won't know how to put it back together so outside of just a basic field stripping I haven't gone that far.

They are rather complex pistols and I've yet to detail strip any firearm I've owned. My gun smithing skills are quite limited. :/
It's quite an expensive pistol too so I definitely want to get this thing working. I fortunately don't use it for carrying. I'll stick to my Nano, and my new CZ P-01 for that role. Both of those do not have manual safeties.

I kind of dislike the safety as it is. It is an ambi safety too. I've been tempted to have it replaced though since it is a bit sharp and has bit me in the palm. It's Smith and Wesson's E series bobtail model with the scandium/alloy frame. Very pretty, and very light so recoil is pretty fun... And harsh on the hands.

[bluetrane2028]

If Glocks were truly perfection, there would be no improved models.

Any generation or model of Glock if properly cared for (and heck even if abused to Hell and back) will be perfect for what it is, a reliable defensive pistol. Most "improved" Glocks lose some measure of reliability over stock. Now, is the Gen4 better than the Gen3, 2 or 1? IMHO, yes. Doesn't make the old ones suck though, not by any means at all.

Want your Glock to be a knock the balls off of a bumblebee at 50 yards every time during a competition pistol? Aside from training a TON, you might need to futz with the trigger and a bunch of other stuff, but it's the same deal with any other manufacturer.