Springfield 1911 safety switch. Can it be put on the opposite side?

S

supergunnut

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I have a question for all you Springfield 1911 lovers. I am left handed and just bought a Springfield 1911 and was wondering can the safety switch be changed from the left side to the right side with out much work? The guy at the gun shop said you could put the switch on the right side but when I look at the gun I don't understand how you can switch sides as the left side has a notch on the slide into which the safety switch gets pushed up and into the notch. There is no notch on the left side so I don't understand how you could change it to the right side.
 
You can buy an aftermarket ambidextrous safety...

It will give you a safety lever on both sides of the pistol. The left side lever will be designed to not hit the slide.

You may need a different set of grip panels, as the design of many ambi safeties have a small section/tab that swings into the area of the grips. Grip panels designed to work with ambi safeties have a relief cut so the safety lever is free to move. Google 1911 ambi safety, or just 1911, and look for pictures of the left side lever.

Most grips are made to work with ambi levers just to simplify things, but it's possible a set of factory grips may not have that relief cut.
 
An ambi safety can be installed by any gunsmith. Well worth it as a lefty. You will likely need new grip panels as well.
 
There are a handful of different designs that are retained in different ways. The usual style is retained by a slot in the right side grip panel, as others have mentioned. Generally speaking, there are 3 other variants:

-Right side retained by a modified hammer pin (Kimber makes and sells these, I believe SIG 1911s use a similar setup but you can't buy a kit from SIG).
-Right side retained by a modified sear pin.
-Wilson Combat Bulletproof style, which doesn't involve modified hammer or sear pins, but costs about 2x as much as other ambi-safeties.

The standard style that's held on by the slot in the grip panel works just fine and several manufacturers use the style (Springfield comes to mind). Personally, I went with the Kimber style on my SR1911. It took a bit of fitting, but I'm happy with the final result. You're really going to just need to look at what's out there and decide which one you want to go with.

Bonus pic of my SR1911 with Kimber ambi-safety (among other things):

2015-01-25%2015.11.43.jpg
 
Just to clarify a bit. With an "ambi" safety, the right side thumbpiece does not engage the sear; it only operates the regular left side safety through the pin. The left side safety continues to block the sear and be the actual safety.

There is no practical way a true right hand safety can be put on a 1911 that is set up for a left hand one, though there have been "mirror image" guns with the safety, slide stop, extractor, ejector and ejection port all reversed. I know of none in production today.

Jim
 
I stand corrected in that there is at least one "mirror image" 1911 in production. The price of $5,750 would seem to make an ambi safety a somewhat more attractive option.

Jim
 
Ambi safety fitting

When I had to put on a new safety, got it from Brownells, it needed a little fitting. My old one failed after I think it got stepped on while laying by the bed.

Hint: file a very little then test fit. If you file off too much you get to weld it up or get another new one.
After you get used to the ambi safety you will like your 1911 a lot better.
 
I just put a Springfield ambi safety on Springfield pistol that didn't have one originally, and the installation was pretty easy.
Essentially no fitting necessary between the safety and the sear - the important part - but quite a bit of fitting of the safety lever on the left side to the plunger.
There's supposed to be a detent in the face of the safety, for the plunger to lock into when the safety is in the off position, and there was no detent. The on-off action was weak, and it required some work with a drill to get it working satisfactorily.
Even though the gun didn't have an ambi safety, it did have grips cut for an ambi of the kind used by Springfield, so you might not have to buy new grips.
The Kimber ambi is a nice part, though mine didn't see much action before I sold the gun, so can't speak to the durability.
 
James K said:
I stand corrected in that there is at least one "mirror image" 1911 in production. The price of $5,750 would seem to make an ambi safety a somewhat more attractive option.
Click to expand...
I believe the Cabot is currently the only mirror image 1911 being made. Dlask in Canada used to make one, as did Olympic/Safari Arms in Washington. Both ceased production, and I think Cabot actually bought out their remaining parts a couple or three years ago.

Interestingly, one went through the shop at the range where I shoot. The range owner is a lefty. He tried it, and he said he couldn't use it. He's so accustomed to running a 1911 "backwards" that his muscles couldn't adapt to having the controls in the "correct" locations.

It was a thing of beauty, though.
 
Not to take away from this post, but anyone ever done the opposite? Taken an ambi safety off and put just a left side on? RIA tactical has a terrible edge on the right side of their ambi safety. All that needs to be done for fit is slight filing to make it clear the sear and hammer?
 
Yes. I deleted the ambi from my SA Ultra Compact. A Wilson "tactical" fitted right up.

I trimmed the right side lever on the full size SA that I shoot IDPA ESP with. You occasionally make a weak hand start so the ambi comes in handy every once in a while, but I reduced the outboard lever so it would not get bumped on when I didn't want it to.
 
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