How to disassemble your 1911 pistol

The article below will explain how to disassemble your 1911 pistol for routine maintenance purpose. This type of pistol is actually quite simple and you don’t need too much tools for the process.

Make sure you always check if the gun is empty before you start taking the pistol apart as a safety precaution.

You can check by removing the magazine, pull the slide back and then lock it in the open position. The barrel’s chamber should be empty.

You should release the slide manually and wait for it to slide forward. Press the recoil spring plug inwards and the barrel bushing will be free to be twisted clockwise. The recoil spring plug will be uncovered completely. The recoil spring is under strong pressure so you must keep it pressed while twisting the bushing to avoid it from flying away.

After that, you should remove the recoil spring plug and spring. Make sure to cock the pistol’s hammer to its full-cock position. Do not cock the hammer to half-cock position because you would be in a dangerous situation. Pull the slide until the slide release lever end is aligned with the circular notch.

The axis of slide release lever should be pushed towards the left side of the gun. And then just pull the lever completely from the gun frame to remove the recoil spring guide.

After that, you can twist the barrel bushing anticlockwise to pull it away. The barrel link should be moved forward towards the muzzle, and then you can remove it from the slide’s front opening.

We can continue and remove the remaining items that are still on the slide. This next instruction will be different depending on the gun model that you’re using.

You can push the Firing Pin Lock Plunger up and inwards with a punch if your gun has the Colt Series 80 safety. After that you can release the Firing Pin Lock Plunger and the Firing Pin will stay inside its opening. For guns without the Firing Pin Locking mechanism, you can just push the firing pin using a punch within its opening.

Pull down the Firing Pin Stop using punch to remove it. Use your thumb to cover the Firing Pin and you can press Firing Pin Lock Plunger to release it.

The pressure from the Firing Pin Spring will allow the Firing Pin to move back. Remove both of them.

Later on you should push the Firing Pin Lock Plunger inwards and pull the extractor backwards. Make sure you pull strongly to remove the Firing Pin Lock Plunger from the slide’s bottom.

And then you can remove the extractor completely.

The next step, you should grab the hammer with your left hand and release the trigger. Release it slowly to avoid the hammer from falling forward. That might destroy your gun.

Next, we should remove the mainspring house and press the grip safety until you remove the thumb safety.

You will need to use punch and hammer to take out the Mainspring Housing Pin. Don’t use too much force because you might lose the pin if it flies out of the housing.

Safety Lock can not be removed when the hammer is uncocked. You need to hold the grip safety and cock the hammer to move the Safety Lock upwards. Make sure you pull it out of the frame in the same time.

The Grip Safety can be removed after you remove the Safety Lock.

Next, the 3-prong Sear Spring at the grip’s bottom can be removed by lifting the hammer strut first.

To remove the Hammer, you will need to push the Hammer Pin to the right. Just push the pin gently.

Now you will have to push the Sear Pin to the left side of the frame to remove it.

This will enable the Sear and Disconnector to be removed. You will have to turn the pistol upside down so that the parts will fall into your palm.

After that you can remove the Magazine Catch Assembly with the prongs from the Sear Springs.

You need to push the Mag Catch Assembly and turn the small screw about 90 degrees counterclockwise.

The spring will lose its tension and you can remove it by pushing the Assembly to the right side.

You can remove the Trigger by pushing it from the back of the gun.

Pull the Safety Lock Plunger slowly to get the Plunger Spring and the Slide Release Plunger away from the Plunger tube.

Finally, get a screwdriver to unscrew the 4 stock screws on your gun. Make sure you use the right size to avoid scratching the surface of your screws. You might need to use plyers to hold the bushing and unscrew the stock screws.

Do not remove the plunger tube and ejector from the frame. This completes the whole process of disassembling your 1911 pistol.

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