jessej Posted April 17, 2004 Share Posted April 17, 2004 Okay I took apart my p-16 to add more slide glide for this weekends up coming match. I rack the slide, hammer is cocked then as I put the safety on the friggin' hammer falls! What's going on? The ambi safety is a Wilson. I took off the grips to inspect the right side of the safety, it looks normal. Then after I put the whole thing back together I noticed when the hammer is down I can activate the safety but not all the way up into the slide notch, almost though. Is that normal? I've tried to duplicate the hammer falling down as I engage the safety but it does not seem to wanna do that now. I know this is very dangerous so if you guys can't help me I'm gonna skip this weeks match and solve this problem. Or buy a new limited gun!!! Thanks guys. J Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhino Posted April 17, 2004 Share Posted April 17, 2004 I'd have a competent smith take a look at it. They should be able to tell you very quickly if you have a problem and what it is, whether it's a bad fit of the parts, normal wear, or some kind of failure. If it only happened once ... who knows?! If it happens all the time, it would be a much more obvious problem and solution. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joshua Posted April 17, 2004 Share Posted April 17, 2004 JesseJ, something is out of spec if your safety will come up when the hammer is down. Inspect the pad on the sear and the contact point of the safety for wear or chip. Who fit the safety? josh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L9X25 Posted April 17, 2004 Share Posted April 17, 2004 JessieJ, Some hammer designs allow the safety to be partially activated while the hammer is down. This is not a safety function but really a function of the hammer manufacturer removing excess metal to lighten the mass. I recently replaced my hammer and the new one allows you to activate the safety (with the hammer down) while the old one did not. I also reommend that you have the gun inspected by a qualified smith. If a smith is not available, you should, at least, perform some of the basic safety tests to verify the safe operation of your safety. WITH AN UNLOADED GUN you should rack the slide and engage the safety. Pull the trigger firmly and the hammer should not fall. Next, while paying very close attention to the hammer, release the safety and watch what the hammer does. It should NOT move and certainly should not drop. I believe that, if your safety passes the aforementioned test, you may have merely had an incomplete hammer/sear engagement and the safety bumped the sear and dropped the hammer when you attempted to engage it. If the sear were fully engaged in the hammer hooks your safety (correctly fitted or not) should not be able to drop the hammer. If you are experiencing any other problems, you might check out the hammer hooks and sear tip to look for wear or damage. Good luck and be safe. Leo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jessej Posted April 17, 2004 Author Share Posted April 17, 2004 Thanks for all the replies. I really appreciate it. The ambi-safety was installed by a friend, then checked over by Mr. Tripp. My reset (over travel) is really short. I checked my pre-travel and my half cock is working fine. This trigger is about a pound and a half with a Koenig hammer and Brazos internals. I think it is set to be really sensitive. I took some rem-oil and sprayed the crap out of it. Maybe it was hella dirty...would that cause something like this to happen? Because my trigger feels better now. It feels more smooth and solid. W231 is really dirty I couldn't believe how dirty everything was. I just switched to Titegroup a few weeks ago. Unfortunately I live where access to a gunsmith involves me sending my pistol away. I preformed all the safety tests and all seems well. I'm going to the public range today to check for function. Now I understand why people have back up guns. It just makes sense. Thanks again for all your help guys. I'll report back to ya'll this evening after I get back from testing. J Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jessej Posted April 18, 2004 Author Share Posted April 18, 2004 Range report not good. I loaded two rounds into the mag clicked the safety on and gun fired. Hurt my thumb a bit too Friggin' safety was locked in the notch hammer down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duane Thomas Posted April 18, 2004 Share Posted April 18, 2004 Get thee to a competent pistolsmith immediately. Having "a friend" with no real pistolsmithing training install safety devices on your gun is a bad idea to start with, and you need to rectify this sad state of affairs soonest. Luckily neither you or anyone else has been seriously injured or killed. Let's keep it that way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jessej Posted April 18, 2004 Author Share Posted April 18, 2004 Thank you for the sound advice Duane. Lessons learned. I'm glad this happened when it did. I've always had a funny feeling about that safety. Now the question is where should I sent it to? J Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joshua Posted April 18, 2004 Share Posted April 18, 2004 Most definitely back to your friend since he has experience with it already, NOT! There should be plenty of talented pistolsmiths to name will be endless. Go with a known professional gunsmith. I work on my triggers, safety, sear and most of the bottom parts fitting. I've had an old Ed Brown ambi safety that's been fitted about 4 times to a new sear then last one was a new frame. I usually have to get the contact point spot weld just for a slight build up of metal then filed down for a correct fit, my uncle is a welder so I get good discounts. Can you send me a picture of your safety (contact point) to see just how it looks like? josh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
schmitz Posted April 20, 2004 Share Posted April 20, 2004 Do it!! I've altered several things on my S_V guns but safety, sears and hammers are for the professional gunsmith! DVC, Henny. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jessej Posted April 20, 2004 Author Share Posted April 20, 2004 Thanks for the replies and help fellow shooters The pistol got sent to Benny Hill yesterday afternoon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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