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DoubleJ wrote:so, the Series II Kimbers are susceptible to this. they don't have a newer series, and you can't necesarily get a series I brand new, so whaddya'll recommend?
I am in desperate need of a 1911. and I was thinking Kimber, cause, that's what all the cool kids have. price, extras, all that leaned that direction.
now ya'll got me questionin' mahself! GAR!!!

frankie_the_yankee wrote:

KBCraig wrote:I believe the purists' argument goes like this: "If the trigger has to do anything other than trip the sear, the secondary function(s) introduce travel and slop."

On a practical level for most shooters, we're still talking about a single action 1911 trigger. Compared to DA or partially pre-cocked systems, it's practically an instantaneous "bang" switch.

Bullseye shooters, I'm sure, can tell the difference. They're an odd subculture of the shooting sports, so attuned to every nuance that they probably pay attention to latitude so they can adjust for the earth's rotation.

FWIW, I'm a long time bullseye shooter (around 20 years) and I can't detect any "feel" from the Series 80 hardware in my Commander.

I'm not saying that nobody can. Just that I can't.

I think that the reason Colt adopted the Series 80 setup is because with the original design it is possible for the firing pin to fire the chambered round through inertia, without anyone having pulled the trigger, if the gun is impacted from certain angles.

Another way for an impact fire to occur is for the sear to bounce off the hammer hooks on impact. If the hammer isn't caught on its half-cock step, the gun fires. A weak (or incorrectly adjusted) sear spring, a worn sear or hammer, or a crudely done "trigger job" can allow this to happen. (Also, if the sear spring simply breaks.)

Note that I'm saying merely that it is possible. By "possible" I mean that I can construct a dynamic free body diagram that will evaluate out to the firing pin having enough impetus to overcome the force of the firing pin spring and hit the primer hard enough to make it go off without anyone pulling the trigger.

In other words, it's "physically possible."

I am not familiar with the case history of the 1911 and do not know (for sure) if such a thing has ever happened but I suspect that it has.

With the introduction of the Series 80 plunger design, the firing pin is mechanically locked. If the trigger isn't pulled all the way back, it can't move forward even if the sear or spring fails, the hammer falls, etc.

My own feeling is that approx. 50% of the griping about Series 80 guns derives from the fact that it is a little bit of a pain in the butt to completely detail strip a Series 80 compared to an original design.

I like the Series 80 design myself.

KBCraig wrote:I believe the purists' argument goes like this: "If the trigger has to do anything other than trip the sear, the secondary function(s) introduce travel and slop."

On a practical level for most shooters, we're still talking about a single action 1911 trigger. Compared to DA or partially pre-cocked systems, it's practically an instantaneous "bang" switch.

Bullseye shooters, I'm sure, can tell the difference. They're an odd subculture of the shooting sports, so attuned to every nuance that they probably pay attention to latitude so they can adjust for the earth's rotation.