A few of us went to the range at lunch the other day.  One of the guys has a Taurus PT 1911 and after a few strings he leaned around the side of his lane and asked me to help him with a problem.  While not an armorer I am pretty familiar with the weapon (I carry a Kimber and have loved the 1911 since I was a kid) and I figured I'd have whatever it was sorted out pretty quick.  I come around the divider and he tells me his hammer won't drop.  Sure enough, point it downrange, pull the trigger which seems to depress fully, there's a slight click and the hammer moves a little but doesn't fall as designed.  I ask for his hammer key (a fundamentally stupid design IMO), turn the key back and forth a few times to make sure it's not engaged, depress the trigger again but no joy.  I'm initially thinking there's some kind of problem with the sear or the hammer lock.

After we leave the range we completely disassemble the receiver and inspect all the parts.  Other than normal wear on the sear, upper sear, disconnector, etc. all looked fine.  We both suspect at this point that there's something wrong with the hammer lock and reassemble.  After doing so we perform a standard function check and she works fine.  Chalk it up as FM.

Now I've been thinking about this since it happened and I know that this is not just his primary defensive firearm but his only firearm.  I suspect this problem is going to surface again and Murphy would dictate that it'll happen when he needs it.  He's planning to replace the hammer and hammer strut but given that we don't really know the cause I'm questioning if this will prevent a recurrence.

I'll see if he can provide photos but for the time being does anyone have any ideas?

E-95

Grip safety or leg of spring. [no/to little tension]

Grip safey.

That's what I'm thinking.

trigger set-stop screw?

clown

Thanks for the replies guys.  I checked with him today and he's already come up with a whole list of parts he's ordering from Wilson.  I think once he's done there will be just about nothing left of the Taurus but the receiver, slide, and barrel.

I thought about the grip safety but the sear spring and beaver tail both looked normal so we assumed it was functioning properly.

E-95

grips saftey can be functioning normal, your shooter may not be pushing it in far enough with his grip. Not a uncomon problem.

Should of just purchased a better part

With all respect I'd like to ask why you bought a Taurus in the first place and if you'd buy another?  

I didn't buy a Taurus and I'm guessing like you I wouldn't buy one now or in the future.  My friend bought one because it was a 1911 he could afford.  A Kimber, Wilson, Colt, or Springfield was what he preferred but they were out of his budget.

E-95

Very common for the trigger set screw to self tighten and stop an otherwise normal gun for firing.

That would be the first thing I'd check.



 

My Taurus PT1911 AL has run fine thus far and I would buy another...especially at the prices they seem to sell for on sale...Taurus has a lifetime warranty and turnaround of late is short IF you have a warranty repair...many issues with people who futz with them or just get turned off by MiM or cast internals...(not saying OP friend did this)...I would look at the set screw (so many think this should be adjusted for trigger travel to do a "trigger job") and the grip safety...my grip safety is pretty firm like my Kimber...good luck with changing everything out...hope it works after that...

Bill

I made it a little bigger so you won't buy a bunch of parts that don't fix the problem.  If it is a carry gun remove the screw completely.  It happens so frequently it's covered every few weeks on this board.

OP, you realize all those parts have to be properly fitted.  If you can't diagnose the original problem I have reservations about "improving" the pistol by installing new parts w/o some professional help.

I've passed on the excellent advice that everyone here has given but he's convinced it isn't the trigger set screw.



I also advised him to take it to a competent armorer for diagnosis and repair but I think his high intelligence is getting the best of him.  You can lead a horse to water . . .

E-95

Don't remove the overtravel screw from the trigger.   Without it, in some guns, it's possible for the trigger to move back far enough to lift the left leg of the spring off the sear, resulting in hammer follow or worse.  

It may be possible to remove the screw if it can be verified that the trigger won't do this.

Bought mine when they first came out.  Been 100% reliable, decently accurate, nice trigger.  Perfectly happy with mine.

My money would be on the fact that the safety on the Taurus is so light it was probably still on.  The hammer lock doesn't operate when the hammer is cocked.  The fact you were able to operate it while it was cocked would also suggest that it may also be the cause of this particular malfunction.  Lastly I would have to go with grip safety...just because that's what everyone else voted!