2011 Grip Safety Solution: Three Methods for Competition Reliability
Welcome back to Jim's Armory. In this one, Jim tackles a topic he says he's gotten a lot of requests for: defeating the grip safety on competition 2011s and 1911s. Using three different guns on the bench, he walks through three distinct methods manufacturers and shooters use to render the grip safety non-functional for competition use, from a factory setup to a kitchen-table fix to a more permanent pinned solution.
Disclaimer First Before touching a single part, Jim is clear about what this video is and isn't. He's not advocating that anyone disable safety mechanisms on a firearm in general. This is specifically about competition guns - guns that are loaded and fired only in a range or match setting, then unloaded, flagged, and stored at home. Jim stresses this isn't a modification for carry guns or home defense guns.
Method One: The Factory Non-Functional Beavertail The first gun on the bench already comes this way from the factory - no pinning or modification required. Jim removes the slide to take pressure off the hammer, then pulls the mainspring housing pin to get the housing off. Inspecting the grip safety, he points out that the teeth sit much farther toward the back than on a normal functional safety. On a standard setup, the mainspring housing engages those teeth and pushes the safety forward automatically; here, the geometry and the missing tang mean the housing never fully engages it. It still rests against the spring, but does nothing functionally. Jim notes this factory-nonfunctional beavertail is becoming more common on competition guns as a stock option.
Method Two: The Kitchen Table "Wedge" Method Next, Jim demonstrates what he calls the shock-buff method - something he says almost anyone could do at home. The trick borrows a part Atlas is known for using on their guide rods: a shock buff, a small semi-rigid rubbery piece normally used to cushion the slide from slamming back too hard on a light spring or a hot load. Jim mentions this particular gun runs an 8-pound spring from the factory.
Repurposed here, the shock buff gets trimmed with snips to fit into the grip safety channel, sitting behind the little ledge that normally stops the safety from traveling all the way out. Jim trims it by eye, checking the fit against the hole where the hammer strut needs to seat, and isn't shy about showing the trial and error - cutting a bit, checking, cutting more until the shock buff sits flush without blocking the hammer strut's path.
Pro-Tip: When installing this piece, it always goes on the back of the parts stack, never underneath or behind them - get that wrong and you'll end up with a hammer that won't stay back or a trigger that won't pull.
Once positioned, the mainspring housing goes on partway to hold the spring in place, the shock buff piece is poked into position, and the housing is pushed home. With the grip safety pinned in place by the buff, the gun is ready to run without needing the grip safety depressed.
Method Three: The Professional Pinned Method The last gun uses a small pin engaging the grip safety's rear teeth to hold it permanently depressed. Jim removes the slide and lets the hammer down fully before pulling the mainspring housing pin, since even with the hammer forward the slide keeps some tension on the housing.
To place the pin correctly, Jim takes a measurement of the grip safety's rear engagement point, noting it comes out to roughly .255 thousandths on this measurement, though he acknowledges the angle makes it tricky to get an exact number. Since one side of the frame already has a pin holding the cap and mainspring in place, he's left with only one viable location for the new hole, leaving enough wall on each side of the frame so the metal isn't weakened.
Jim drills the hole using a drill press, starting with a smaller number bit and creeping up to the correct size for a 1/16-inch stainless steel rod he sourced from McMaster-Carr. He mentions he could have used a roll pin instead, but prefers stainless steel because he can remove it, store it, and reinstall it later if needed. After drilling, he test-fits the rod, trims it to length with wire cutters, and cleans up the rough edge with a small file and an oil stone before adding a dab of grease.
Pro-Tip: Test-fit the pin before final cleanup - Jim checks that the hammer strut seats with no unwanted movement before he bothers dressing up the pin's edges.
With the pin seated tightly - snug enough that he needs pliers to remove it - Jim reassembles the gun, lining up the hammer strut, remounting the magwell, and confirming the grip safety no longer needs to be depressed for the trigger to function.
Final Thoughts Three guns, three different approaches to the same competition necessity: a factory non-functional beavertail, a low-cost shock-buff wedge anyone can do at the kitchen table, and a more permanent pinned method for those comfortable drilling into the frame. Jim reiterates that none of this is intended for carry or home-defense guns - strictly for USPSA, IDPA, or range guns that go back in the bag or safe after use. He teases more modification and reliability content on the way, so subscribe and stay tuned for the next one.
