M1911 Manual – Page 53

AUTOMATIC PISTOL, CAL..45, M1911 AND M1911A1 will remain up when a strong pressure is applied to the trigger. Q. Show me how you test the half-cock safety device. A. I half cock the pistol, grip the stock, and see if the hammer remains at half cock when pressure is applied to the trigger. Then I take my finger off the trigger, pull the hammer back almost to full cock, and let go of it to see if it stops at half cock as it falls. Q. Show me how you test the disconnector. A. I cock the pistol and grip the stock; then with my left hand I move the slide to the rear a quarter of an inch; I then apply a strong pressure on the trigger and release the slide to see if the hammer will remain up. I also pull the slide fully back until it is held in place by the slide stop; I then grip the stock, apply a strong pressure on the trigger and release the slide by pressing down the slide stop with my left hand. The hammer should remain up after the slide moves forward into place. Q. If the hammer does not remain up after the slide moves forward into place, what does it indicate? .4. That with ball ammunition the pistol would continue to fire automatically as long as pressure is maintained on the trigger, which is very dangerous. Q. If any of the tests of the safety devices fail at any time, what should you do? A. I should report the matter at once to my platoon or company commander. Q. What is this (indicating a sighting bar) ? A. A sighting bar. Q. What is it used for? ,4. To teach men how to aim. Q. Why is It better than a pistol for this purpose? A. Because the sights are much larger and slight errors can be seen more easily and pointed out. Q. What does this represent? ,4. The front sight, Q. What does this represent? A. The rear sight, i Q. What Is this? A. The eyepiece. Q. What is it for? A. To make the man hold his head in the right place so that he will see the sights properly aligned. Q. Is there an eyepiece on the pistol? A. No. A man learns by the sighting bar how the sights look when properly