How do I take the mag release out of a 1911?
I have Ed Brown's manual, and have been trying to take the mag release assembly out of a Springfield compact. I push the release in slightly, but I cannot get the screw to turn as instructed by the manual! Any tips?
Press the button all the way in, and slowly release with the screwdriver under mild tension. I believe the screw moves anti- clockwise.
It is not a screw but a slotted pin with a tit on one side.
Depress the magazine catch until it is close to flush with the left side of the frame, using a thin bladed screw driver turn the pin counter clockwise about 90 degrees. Do not force it. If the pin does not want to turn "fiddle" with the depth you depressed the mag. release.
Re-install in reverse order...
What Jim V said sounds right, although I can never remember the correct direction without trial and error. What is going to happen is that you have to rotate that "tit" as Jim called it, into the groove that goes cross-ways. When the tit is finally in the groove completely, the spring should help to push it out, toward the side where you used the tool. Be warned, the spring is fairly tiny and if you let it drop to a hard surface, like the floor (mine rolled off my bench), it can bounce amazingly far and be nearly impossible to find. I crawled around for an hour with a flashlight before I found mine at the other end of the garage.
Oh, and Jim V's "fiddling" is accurate as well. After you have done it once, it will seem real easy. How all of it works may not be readily apparent until after you get things apart and then you will wonder why it was ever that difficult for your first time.
Once the mag catch lock is locked into the catch for removal, there is no spring tension on the catch and the catch should drop out. The assembly can then be handled as a unit. The spring will come out only if the lock is unlocked from the catch, then both the retainer and spring can be lost if one is not careful.
(BTW, the magazine has to be removed to remove the mag catch.)
Look at http://www.m1911.org or http://www.sightm1911.com for lots of 1911 information. And stop by http://www.1911forum.com for lots of discussion on the same subject.
Kimber done the same?
I've got a Kimber Ultra Carry with a hex head "screw" in the mag release... do ya think it will work the same way?
I would think so, There is only one way for a 1911 style magazine release to come out/go in. Remember, don't "reef" on the Allen wrench.
Folks, thanks for that. I got the Kimber's mag catch out, cleaned, inspected, and back together in a couple of minutes...
I love knowing more about the care of my little "Bouncing Baby Blaster."
A lot of guns really are pretty easy to disassemble, assuming you know what you are doing. The mag catch is one of those features that does not come apart in an intuitive fashion.
I had a heck of a time trying to figure out how to field strip a WWI Luger. Nothing I could do would get the gun apart. I finallly found a web site that described the process. It seems that the barrel had to be depressed into the frame about 1/2 inch and then a little side plate could be removed and then the gun would come apart quite easily. In just looking at the gun, I had no clue that the barrel would need to be depressed or that the side plate needed to come off.
FYI, the new type (see below) 1911 mag catch lock was designed so that the grip safety limb of the three prong spring could be used as a screwdriver to take out the mag catch.
BTW, in case you ever encounter a very early 1911 with a dimple in the mag catch lock instead of a screw type slot, DO NOT MESS WITH IT. There is almost no way to take it out without marring the frame.
Heck, there are lot of magazine catches that have the slotted pin that are buggered up because the owner thought it was a screw and tried to force it.
Jim, you're right.
The lock in device is a lug arrangement with a slot showing to engage or retract the lug.
I called it a screw because it looks like one from the outside and I couldn't remember the right word.
(I have to start sleeping before I post stuff.)
Archie, I was not even thinking about you calling it a screw in your posting. I was only making a general comment about the lock getting buggered up by people that think it is a screw. It looks like a screw head so it is a screw head. Sometimes you can use the buggered up lock as a bartering point. "Look, you really messed up the magazine release screw, it's gonna take me a long time to fix that. How about taking $250.00 instead of the $300.00?" LOL