2011 Grip Safety Solution: Three Methods for Pinning Your Grip Safety
Welcome back to Jim's Armory. In this one, Jim tackles a topic he gets asked about often: defeating the grip safety on competition 2011s. He walks through three different guns that each solve the problem a different way — a Stealth Arms Platypus, a Staccato XC with a Cheely grip and Atlas trigger, and a MasterPiece Arms pistol — showing the factory method, a kitchen-table fix anyone can do, and a more involved pinned approach for a permanent, professional result.
Disclaimer First Before getting into it, Jim is clear about the context. He's not advocating that anyone disable safety mechanisms on a carry gun or a home defense gun. These modifications are specific to guns that are loaded and fired only in a competition or range setting, then unloaded, chamber-flagged, and stored at home.
The Factory Non-Functional Beavertail Jim starts with the MasterPiece Arms gun, which comes from the factory with a grip safety that simply doesn't function. After pulling the slide and removing the mainspring housing, he points out that the teeth on this grip safety sit much farther toward the back than normal, and it lacks the small tang that would otherwise engage the mainspring housing's spring. Because of that missing tang and the rearward tooth placement, the mainspring housing automatically pushes the safety forward and holds it out of the way — no rubbing needed. It's a fully intentional, non-functional design straight from the factory.
The Kitchen-Table "Wedge" Method Next up is the Atlas Apollo-style gun, defeated using what Jim calls the shock-buff method — something he says almost anyone can do at home. He uses a shock buff, the same small rubbery piece Atlas normally puts on guide rods to cushion the slide against hard use with light springs or hot loads. After pulling the slide and taking pressure off the hammer, Jim trims the shock buff down with snippers until it fits into the ledge behind the grip safety's teeth, filling the gap and holding the safety fully depressed.
Pro-Tip: When trimming the shock buff, leave enough room for the hammer strut to seat in its hole — don't cut it flush to the point where it blocks that channel.
He reassembles by setting the trimmed piece behind the safety's teeth (never underneath or behind the hammer strut components, which Jim warns will cause the hammer to fail to stay back or make the trigger impossible to pull), sliding the mainspring housing up just enough to hold the mainspring in place, then lining up the hammer strut with the cup before pushing everything home.
The Professional "Pinned" Method The Staccato XC gets the more involved treatment. Its grip safety uses a small pin that engages the rear teeth and holds it fully depressed permanently. To replicate this, Jim removes the magwell, slide, and mainspring housing, then examines where the teeth engage to figure out where a new pin needs to go. He takes a measurement on the mainspring housing depth — landing around 255 thousandths — to help locate the hole, keeping the hammer strut centered so it doesn't bind.
Since one side is blocked by the pin that retains the mainspring cap, Jim's only option is the opposite side, leaving enough wall thickness so the metal isn't weakened. He drills a 1/16-inch hole using a drill press, working up from smaller number bits since his 1/16 bit was broken, and fits a length of 1/16-inch stainless steel rod purchased from McMaster-Carr.
Pro-Tip: Use a straight edge against the drilled hole to confirm the rod is going in straight before you commit to the final size.
After test-fitting the hammer strut cup and confirming there's almost no play, Jim cleans up the rough-cut edge of the rod with a small file and an oil stone, adds a dab of grease, and presses it into place. He notes it fits tight enough that it takes pliers to remove — a good sign it won't walk out on its own. Reassembly follows the same order: hammer strut aligned with the cup, magwell back on, and a function check with the slide back on to confirm the grip safety stays fully depressed.
Summary Across all three guns, Jim demonstrates a clear spectrum of solutions: a factory-built non-functional safety with no modification needed, a simple and reversible shock-buff wedge anyone can do at home, and a more permanent pinned setup that takes shop tools and careful measurement. Each achieves the same goal — a grip safety that stays out of the way for competition shooting.
Final Thoughts Jim reiterates that these are competition-specific modifications, not something to apply to a carry or home defense gun. Whether you go with the low-effort shock-buff trick or the more precise pinned method, the underlying goal is the same: consistent, predictable trigger function for USPSA, IDPA, or range use. Jim says he has more of these competition-focused modification and reliability videos planned, so stay tuned — and subscribe so you don't miss the next one.
