Hammer bite...ouch!

[Joel]

I hope this is the proper place on the forum to ask this question. If not, please forgive me and moderators move it to the right place.

I asked this question on the 1911 Forum also. I recently acquired a Springfield GI WWII .45. The standard spur hammer and grip safety bite me, especially when shooting hotter factory ammo.

The question is can I used a Colt Series 80 Commander hammer and Series 80 dished gripe safety SAFELY on the Springfield? I seem to remember a gunsmith telling me that the Series 80 grip safety can be used on a Series 70 style pistol. I don't recall him saying anything about the hammer.

Thanks in advance for your help.

Joel

[Johnny]

The Springer's hammer is a S80 already. They seem to go back and forth between the S70 and S80 hammers, even going so far as to create a hybrid hammer with a quarter-cock shelf and a half-cock notch.

All S80 parts, that will actually fit, will retrofit all previous models.

Oh, and another thing: Are we talking about an actual commander safety or a beavertail? The original commander safety really doesn't do anything to help hammer bite. A beavertail, however, would. A beavertail will require some machine work unless you go with a Wilson or King's "drop in" safety, and they're real ugly.

Pick your smith carefully. Replacing a hammer is well into "trigger job" territory, and that requires a careful touch. If you're doing it yourself, get some good instruction and do a bunch of reading before you go at it. The grip safety requires one easy adjustment, so dive right into that one but be real sure to test it out thoroughly before loading a live round.

[Mithras61]

You might also consider getting the hammer bobbed some (maybe take off the last 1/8th inch or so). It would be easier and wouldn't involve as much gunsmith work.