John Farnam on Firing Pin Blocks
July 22nd, 2006 by Syd
As originally designed and produced, John M Browning’s 1911 pistol had no mechanical interlock that prevented the firing pin from going forward when the pistol was dropped on the muzzle or when the slide went forward in the normal loading procedure or during the normal cycle of operation. These two theoretical circumstances through which the pistol could conceivably fire unintentionally (or even go full auto) were considered so astronomically unlikely, Browning was unconcerned.
History has proven him correct! I, for one, have been training people to carry and shoot 1911â??s since 1968 and have had thousands of 1911â??s come through classes, including many that were manufactured during and before WWII. My students have loaded them, unloaded them, performed chamber checks on them, shot them, and even dropped more times than I can count. In those thirty-seven years, I’ve never once personally witnessed a 1911 slam-fire, a 1911 go full-auto, or a 1911 discharge as the result of being dropped. Maybe these things happen, but they have never happened in front of me. Yes, like all of us, I’ve heard many third-hand stories, but my experience causes me to believe Browning was right, as we have discovered over the years that he usually is! â?? John Farnam