Why Flat Mainspring Housings???

[Ksail101]

First off I just want to say to everyone, All my fellow Rangers and those of you I havent had much of a chance to correspond with yet, Hello. Sorry I am not on very much the last few months, I do come on here still all the time and read the forums but I just dont have the chance to reply and follow up on those replies. New job, injury, and family craziness (any free time is spent at the range or sleeping) has kept me from here. I am hopefully going to start making more time to visit with my other family here...

Anyway I have a question for all you gurus and longtime shooters, and maybe the newbies that know more than me, Why and how did the 1911 evolve to a flat mainspring housing? I got to shoot a Springfield GI at the little indoor range that is by my house this last weekend and found it way more comfortable to me cause of the Arched Mainspring than the standard flat. The 1911 seems to me, and many others, a very comfortable, easy (easier) to shoot accurately than many others, but I found the Arched mainspring fill my hand better than the standard (as of the last 15 years) flat, and helps me get back on target quicker.

All other guns, well most poly guns anyway, Glock, XD, M&P, FN FNP, they all have an arched back strap. Even the first pistol that I learned to shoot the Beretta M9 has a simi-arched back-strap. If I shoot my Kimber and then move right to my Glock I will shoot my Glock, high. So I have been thinking if I switch my mainspring out, they would be more similar than the polar opposites that they are now.

What are your thoughts to this? And if you know the reason for the flat mainspring please chime in. I heard Mr. Bane speak briefly on the podcast about this, which was odd cause it was something that I was thinking about.

[ellis4538]

Good to have you back Ksail...

Most of the plastic pistols have interchangable BS now to help them fit more shooters.  I'm not sure why the 1911 MSH was changed but I do know, that for my small chubby hand the flat works best (short trigger too).  If I knew how to post pictures you would be able to see that my CCW LW Colt OM has had the memory bump of the grip safety built up to 2 or more times the original height so that I can deactivate it with my high thumb hold - UGLY but effective for me.

FWIW

Richard

[Timothy]

From the History of the 1911 Pistol....It was flat in the original design by John Browning.

After World War I, the Army's Ordnance Department evaluated the Colt .45's combat performance. They recommended the following changes:

1. Wider front sight to develop "Patridge-type" of sights, allowing the shooter to quickly align both front and rear sights under various lighting conditions.

2. Longer hammer spur. Both changes 2 and 3 work together to prevent the web between the thumb and the forefinger being pinched between the hammer and the safety spur when the gun is fired.

3. Longer grip-safety spur.

4. Arched spring housing fills the shooter's hand and checkering backstrap provides a better grip.

5. Relief cuts in the frame around the trigger allowing easier access to the trigger.

6. Shorter trigger with knurled face to avoid the trigger finger from slipping.

[Bidah]

I have both an arched and a flat.  I find that overall I shoot better with the arched one. Some prefer one over the other, and I believe that is more about your hands.

As to why it was changed... I have no idea.

-Bidah

[Michael Bane]

Darned interesting question!

And one that I've been pondering for a while. When Bill Wilson and I wrote THE COMBAT .45 AUTO back in the dawn of freakin' time, we said a flat mainspring housing and long trigger fit more hands than the 1911A1 config of an arched mainspring housing and short trigger. Remember, the first 1911s had (I think I remember this correctly) a flat mainspring housing and a long steel trigger. At the military's request, an arched mainspring housing/short trigger were substituted on the 1911A1 (the military thought the flat/long pointed "low").

I believe it was Col. Cooper who started the stampede the other way. I shot Cooper's LW Commander, his last carry gun, at the Col.'s request just before he died, and it had a flat MSH/long trigger.

My experience over the years has been that there's not a heck of a lot of difference between the two. If anything, I find the arched/short tend to point a little faster. The flat/long combo definitely looks cooler, and hey, what counts?

Michael B

[Sponsor]

[PegLeg45]

Hey, Ksail, good to hear from you. You have been missed.

Like Timothy posted, JMB originally designed the flat housing.
I think the A1 design changes were mostly 'ergonomic' for what the military thought was best for the average soldier's hands.

I'm with Richard.
For me, a flat housing with short (maybe medium) length trigger works best. They are usually the first things I change on a 1911.


 

[Timothy]

Here's the deal...John Browning designed the gun with a flat mainspring housing.  The military decided to f*@k with something that wasn't broke.  Engineers and the government are always doing that...trying to "Fix" something that ain't broke!

It's as it was meant to be....flat! 

Nuf said.....I qualified "Marksman" in the Navy with an 1911A1, I re-qualified "Expert" with a tricked out Colt with a flat MSH.  I would suggest I liked em flat myself...

[PegLeg45]

Here's the deal...John Browning designed the gun with a flat mainspring housing.  The military decided to f*@k with something that wasn't broke.  Engineers and the government are always doing that...trying to "Fix" something that ain't broke!

It's as it was meant to be....flat! 

Nuf said.....I qualified "Marksman" in the Navy with an 1911A1, I re-qualified "Expert" with a tricked out Colt with a flat MSH.  I would suggest I liked em flat myself...

I thought I sensed a little bit of a bias there, Tim.    

[Timothy]

I thought I sensed a little bit of a bias there, Tim.    

Maybe!

Actually, I've been working with engineers for thirty years now and might have met 5 that could wipe their own butts with out getting poop on their hands....and the military ain't much smarter, that's why I left after one hitch....that and the abject poverty!

[PegLeg45]

Maybe!

Actually, I've been working with engineers for thirty years now and might have met 5 that could wipe their own butts with out getting poop on their hands....and the military ain't much smarter, that's why I left after one hitch....that and the abject poverty!

I hear ya...I hear ya...been there and done that.......
My last boss was an EE (damn good man, but clueless about the arena he was in). I did all of my job and half of his. But he had the good sense to know it and left me alone.