Kimber 1911 hammer doesn't always stay cocked

[SilverTauron]

People,lets quit playing Slide Lock Fundamentalism here.

No one's changing their mind or setup based on a forum post, so we all may as well get that established right off the bat.

Remember that speaking for civil self defense, the odds of having to shoot just 1 round are rather low. Shooting to slide lock and reloading? Lotto-odds unlikely. If you go to slide lock and there's still combat capable armed bad guys hanging around for a long duration shootout, its time to GTFO the area and let LE with your tax dollar funded AR15s deal with the situation. Leave the Die Hard theatrics for Hollywood.

IMO we have more important things to consider as citizens than reloading methods.

[POINTMANDDT]

User error, your limp wristing it....


Just kidding, I had to try and be one of those guys, I will send I back.

[razr]

Cause its a kimber

[AAShooter]

Cause its a kimber

[Josh Smith]

every now and then when I lock the slide back with the slide catch, then release it with the slide release the hammer will fall into the half cocked position.

This is called sear bounce and should not be done! It'll ruin the sear and possibly make things quite unsafe...

However, it is a safety check and won't hurt things if done once-in-a-while: Holding the Trigger Back While Loading an M1911 Pistol

Have it checked out.

Josh

[AAShooter]

Adding a trigger shoe to your trigger can also cause such behavior. It doesn't sound like that is your problem.

[razr]

Kidding aside it could be the shape of the hammer or the sear spring adjustment or sear might be too long. Hammer is bouncing, grab the far left leaf and bend it in forward slightly until it stops letting the hammer bounce . And dont buy a Kimber next time.

[razr]

Oh BTW, if you are not comfortable doing this have someone do it for you.

[Kruzr]

As said, you shouldn't be dropping the slide on an empty chamber other than to function check the gun when doing action work or after a full disassembly.

You are more than likely getting trigger bounce where the trigger "bounces" back from the slide slamming forward and moves the sear enough to clear the primary hammer hooks.

If you want to check to see if this is the case, hold the trigger back and while still doing that, rack back and lock the slide. With the trigger still being held back, release the slide stop to let the slide go slam into battery. If the hammer doesn't fall to half cock, then your problem is trigger bounce. This is fixed by adding tension to the middle finger of the sear spring.

[negolien]

huh

This is called sear bounce and should not be done! It'll ruin the sear and possibly make things quite unsafe...

However, it is a safety check and won't hurt things if done once-in-a-while: Holding the Trigger Back While Loading an M1911 Pistol

Have it checked out.

Josh

What are you talking about lol. Using the slide lock to lock the slide back has nothing to do with the sear. Am I wrong here or did I miss something? Trying to let the hammer down with your hands instead of dry firing IO understand but ya lost me there.

[JTROKS]

What are you talking about lol. Using the slide lock to lock the slide back has nothing to do with the sear. Am I wrong here or did I miss something? Trying to let the hammer down with your hands instead of dry firing IO understand but ya lost me there.

I think he meant letting the slide slam into battery without holding the trigger back.

[AAShooter]

There should be nothing magical about releasing the slide using the slide stop to see this behavior. You should be able to run the slide by grabbing it and running it to the rear and releasing it to see the same behavior.

Then the question is what is causing the hammer to drop. One is that your are getting enough movement in the trigger to cause the hammer to release. This is common in guns that put heavy shoes on their trigger. This is what people are calling "trigger bounce". I suspect this is not the issue since this is a new modern 1911.

To get this out of the equation, you trap the trigger to the rear while running the gun/slide. If the hammer does not drop/follow-down, it is most likely the trigger issue. If the hammer continues to drop/follow-down with the trigger trapped to the rear, it is a sear engagement issue.

I find it easier to demonstrate this behavior by pulling the slide to the rear and releasing it rather than the just using the slide release but either should show the problem. Either way, the manufacturer should make it right. The problem is, unless the dealer picks it up, you have to ship the gun to the manufacturer to have the repair done. This can be pricey for a warranty repair.

[Josh Smith]

I think he meant letting the slide slam into battery without holding the trigger back.

This. Thanks for catching it.

Josh

[Dokbrick]

Apparently, the chambering of a new round into the chamber for a magazine slows the slide down enough to make releasing the slide safe in this manner.

[AAShooter]

. . .

NEVER EVER release the slide with the slide release on a chambered round with a Kimber, it will cause a slam fire. (Yes, I tested this in a safe proper manner before sending it back to Kimber for free repair.) Kinda scary. . .

I don't do it to often but never found it to be a problem. Are you saying the hammer follows down and strikes the firing pin?