Getting what you pay for - 1911 Ambi-safety

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yankytrash

New member
Picked up an ambi-safety for my "new" Springfield 1911A1 today at the gun show.

It was a dealer I've used fairly regularly in the past. I just knew I was going to pay $30 for a standard length blued ambi safety that drops right in with no modification to the grips.

I approach the dealer, and we search for the safety. None in stock, but he has these extended ambi's that are parked, which match the gun's finish. Looked neat, so I took it.

How much? $17!! Woooooohhhhooooooooo!!!

(almost....):(

Installed it, and it works a little tight. I figure, "aaa, it's parked - just needs breaking in..."

I sit here in the office and start working the safety. My thumb slips a couple times, and I'm wondering what the big deal is with these "extended safeties". Upon closer inspection, the "lefty" side is loose at the rear, and causes it to have close to 1/8" play from real safety. Heck, if it wasn't for the notched pion holding it in place, it'd fall right out.

No good. Deals that are too good to be true are just that - too good to be true.

It's goin back tomorrow, for a $30 one. Buyer beware.
 
I'm sure this sounds like a broken record by now, but anyway, get a Wilson! The one I put on mine required about 1/2 hour of careful work with a DMT diamond stone to get proper function. After that I had to inlet my right stock for the ambi's keeper tang. The two side fit together so tight I would have to pry it off. function is perfect. Guess I'll have to make fun of you tomorrow. Really nice parts.
 
Are you sure you need to put something else on the weapon? Are you a lefty? If so, it may be needed. If not a lefty, then I would advise against it.

Less is more. An ambi safety on a pistol is something else to get in the way, snag or malfunction.

/s/ Kirk the Minimalist, wearing brown robe and sandals.
 
I'm not able to visualize the alleged "play" in the safety lever. 1/8" of slop in which direction?

Also, are you aware that safeties usually need to be properly fitted to the sear? That's why it was tight.
 
dsk - The play I'm talking about is at the rear pin of the safeties, where the left and right safeties mesh together. Upon further fiddling, I found that the pin(s) is made of a soft metal. btw - The last safety I bought needed no fitting.

Navy Joe - I'm just going to spout off about how much nicer my chicom is, and how it doesn't need Wilson parts to function properly. I might even take the match barrel out of the Springfield and drop it into the chicom just to rib ya a little.:D (actually, I'm hopin you bring yours to the show tomorrow, so I can see how the Wilson fits. I had one in my hand to buy, but at $50 my el cheapo ways made me put it back down....)

KS - Yep. Southpaw.
 
My safety is the same way, as soon as I can Im going to my smith and have it remove and something else installed.(I dont need an ambi)
 
Got the $30 safety today, and the guy let me keep the bad one. Of course, he credited me, as all good dealers would.

The new safety works great. I have no qualms now about "mods" that may or may not have to be done to fit an ambi. This one only needed a little polishing of the lug and a quick cut on the grip with a razor-knife (rubber grips).

1goodshot - My dealer made a point you might want to remember - some smiths will just suggest "fixing" your bad safety. He said don't let them do that - they will only, usually, grab a pair of pliers and squeeze the female notch down tighter. It might feel great after that, and may work well for awhile, but it won't last. And you know when it'll fail - when you need it.

Why not just swap it out yourself? It's pretty easy.
 
Some people don't seem to understand why lefties such as I prefer ambi safeties on 1911s.

Look at it this way. With the commander style hammer and extended beavertail that's all the rage on 1911s now, it can be kind of awkward to thumb cock the hammer, right?

Well, holding the gun in your left hand, and try to reach your left thumb around to the safety lever. It can be done (though an extended beavertail makes it more cumbersome) and when your thumb is over there you have a very poor grip on the weapon, probably not even properly depressing the grip safety.

Would you want to try to do this under stress, when you have to draw to save your life, or someone else's? I wouldn't. Also, the awkward grip could make it easier for someone to take the weapon away. If nothing else, it makes disabling the safety quite a bit slower than it ought to be.

(The aggregate result of this would be similar to a 1911 with no thumb safety at all. If you can't use it properly, it may as well not be there.)

So, instead of inventing new methods of drawing the pistol to get around this problem, I, for one, choose to modify the pistol to suit me.
 
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