Wonder if some of you home gunsmiths can lend me a hand: I inherited a 45 auto from my dad who had a fondness for tinkering with trigger pulls.....sure enough, the first time I went to the range to fire the gun it went "full auto" on a fairly regular basis. Since I dont know how and what angles to stone on the sear and hammer, I simply ordered a new sear and hammer and put them in with no alteration. The gun works much better know but, I'm still getting ocassional two round bursts. Could it be that I also have to replace the disconnector?? Does the trigger bow have anything to do with this problem?
Thanks in advance for any advice.

Yes, the disconnector can be related to this. Possibly sear spring (I'm not sure)?You don't mention brand name on hammer & sear. Also, there may a frame or two around with holes in the wrong place (have only heard this allegation concerning one or two "off-brands"). This is really a gunsmith job, but if you want to do it yourself, you might check out the Jerry Kuhnhausen book on 1911's.

Recono: thanks for your reply. the pistol is an "auto ordnance". the replacement parts are "chip mccormick" which i got from the brownells catalog. i absolutely agree that this is normally a gunsmith job but.....i'm having fun researching this and putzing around with this gun. what the heck....its already on full auto....i cant make it too much worse!!

CGM
Is the trigger made out of aluminum or steel?
I once had a gunsmith swear that steel triggers were THE way to go. To make a long story short, The steel trigger was causing a condition called "trigger bounce". The steel trigger was rebounding when it was let off and causing the gun to double tap. I found a new gunsmith and installed a Videki trigger and all is well.
Good Luck with your 1911
ZM

Zeke: its steel. yes, double taps is what i'm getting now (before it was auto til the magazine was empty). tks...i'll look into this.

CGM Auto Ordnance pistols are very poor. Most parts are drilled off. Not seeing the gun i would say it could be the disconector. Does the mag drop out free. Look at the mag and see if ther is a waer mark on the top and rear. If the hole is drilled wrong for the disconector It will touch the mag causeing it to bind. You may get by with removing metal from the disconectot so it clears. This condition will also cause heavy trigger pull. Good luck most parts on a 1911 have to be fit.

You also might try the four-leaf Clark sear spring, which I believe is available from Brownell's.

Thanks to all for suggestions.

To get the angles right special jigs are used. For a one time thing you are better off just buying quality replacement parts. Get a hammer,disconnector,sear and pin and a sear spring. Drop them in and go.

CGM,

If you are interested in 1911's I'd heartily Recono's suggestion of purchasing Jerry Kuhnhausen's book on the 1911. Actually he has a 2 volume set now but I'd just say buy the first one and if you get a lot out of it then buy the second one. They are the best ones out there IMHO.

I'd also suggest a good online site is www.m1911.org. They have a good bunch of diagrams on disassembly if nothing else.

As fas as diagnosing the cause of the multiple discharges, it can be a couple of things, especially since it has been tinkered with in the past. How is the trigger pull now? If it is less than a couple of pounds see if the sear spring has been tampered with, that is the leaf spring type thing at the back of the grip. Also, check the disconnector, best way I've found is to mark the underside of the slide with a magic marker, then cycle the slide for a while, then check to make sure the disconnector has been rubbing where it is supposed to.

The simplest way I have found to check sear angles is to remove the slide,grips,hammer and sear, then lay the gun flat on the table, then put the strut pins from the gun through the holes in the hammer and sear and into the holes in the frame, that keeps everything aligned how it is in the gun. Brownells and others sells specially made pins that you can use to achieve the same thing, but I just use the pins from the gun.

It is always hard if not impossible to guess without looking at the actual gun, but since you've replaced the hammer and sear my hunch is that your sear spring might have been bent to get a lighter trigger pull. might want to just put a little more bend into it. Actually my suggestion is to just replace it with a stock sear spring, should be able to get one for a few bucks at almost any gun store. Later on you can get fancy with stuff, but right now just get it shooting safely. In addition for checking disconnector contact with a marker, check by holding the trigger down and moving the slide back and forth, look somewhere else for the exact measurement, but IIRC it is about 1/8"-3/16" before the disconnector operates, but find out the actual distance.

Hope this helps