Pulling the Trigger How a Gun Protects The Safety Trigger Control Safety or Safety Control? The Double Action Cleaning the Trigger Guard Trigger Pin and Hammer Trigger Bar Spring and Hammer Safety Selectors Trigger Control Cleaning the Trigger Guard Cleaning the Trigger Pin and Hammer Trigger Bar and Cleaning Spring and Hammer Cleaning Safety Selectors Trigger Control Trigger Control Cleaning The Double Action Trigger Bar Removal Cleaning the Hammer Spring Housing Removing the Barrel from the Hammer Shank Barrel Removal Barrel Replacement Tips Replacing the Barrel and Cleaning The Hammer Spring Housing Hammer Springs for Hammer Removal and Installation Spring Cleaning Removal and Installation Steps The Safety Selector Barrels Removing the Safety Selector Barrel Cleaning the Barrels Cleaning the Sights Trigger Control How to Trigger Control a Military 1911-A1 Model Sporter How to Trigger Control a Police Model How to Trigger Control a Revolver Model Parts of the Trigger System A Typical Trigger Hammer Spring Housing Trigger Pin and Hammer Trigger Bar and Hammer Hammer and Trigger Bar Cleaning # Introduction One day, while working in the gun store, I was cleaning a pistol and couldn't remember whether it was a Military, Police, or Revolver. I called someone who had worked there at one time and asked if he could identify it. To my surprise, the man told me that I was cleaning a Military and not a Police. This had never happened before. For several reasons, many gunsmiths tend to generalize things like this. To be fair, the majority of civilian police officers have a more serious interest in firearms than do the officers of the American military. However, the truth of the matter is that police officers have military experience and many police officers are career soldiers, as was the case in both England and Japan during World War II, and the United States before World War I. Now, you may think that a military gun is a completely different animal from a civilian gun, but this isn't true. These two different types of guns, Military and Civilian, are more like brothers than they are at war with each other. They are both very precise and highly engineered machines with many internal parts, which can be very complicated and difficult to service. In truth, a lot of the same gunsmiths who service military weapons do a lot of work for civilian law enforcement agencies, and a lot of civilian military weapons go to the police. This is all because the gun laws for civilian military weapons and law enforcement agencies are similar in the way they are written. These guns are quite similar in function. Therefore, gunsmiths who service civilian Military weapons need to know how to service Police and Military weapons, just as gunsmiths who service law enforcement agencies need to know how to service a Civilian Military weapon. The gun you are holding in your hand is just such a weapon. This book will show you how to service it, and you will be amazed at how much of it can be put back together with just a few simple tools. # 1 Prewar Guns Most guns will have a serial number on it or will have markings such as "P" for the 1911 Government Model or "Military" on it. This tells you that the weapon is a Military gun and may date from the 1910s. It also tells you that these guns have one of four different safety systems—P-hammer, P-hammer with double-action trigger, S-hammer with a half-cock notch, and S-hammer with "target sights." This book will give you a description of each of these safety systems, which have been in use since the late nineteenth century. The only thing that varies in a given weapon between two different models is the internal components, which means that it is possible to service the same gun at a later date and use the same parts in order to service the gun as a different model. Many of the parts on these guns are very small and delicate and are prone to getting bent or crimped if you are not extremely careful. Because you cannot see the interior of these guns, it is important to use extreme care while cleaning them. Even though they may have been used many times, there is still the possibility that they may be contaminated with oil or dirt and might require a lot of work to make them look good once again. It is true that this book will work on all three types of guns (Military, Police, and Revolvers) with very little adjustment. I believe you will have a better understanding of each type of gun and its construction when you understand all three types. I will tell you about the different safety systems on the individual types. Once you know this, it will make you much more comfortable in knowing how to service all three types. This is because you will understand that the basic methods of repair are the same in all three cases. When you first start to look at guns, a lot of what you see on the outside may not have much meaning to you, but as you begin to work on and clean these guns, you will learn that each small system is very important to the function and safety of the weapon and to the gunsmith who uses it. # What's in the Box? You can buy an inexpensive gun case that will keep your gun safe and secure while it is stored at home or in storage or while you are at a shooting range. Many of the firearms you are most likely to use—handguns—come with a box that has a flap that opens from one side. The case I use for guns comes with a Velcro strap that fits across the box and covers the open flap. You can lock the top and bottom of the box together with screws or tape, but if you do not need to lock it, you can also leave it unlatched. There is a flap of thin material at the end of the box for securing the box when it is closed, and this should be used every time the gun is placed in the box to keep dirt and debris from entering the interior. # Cleaning Your Gun Although firearms cleaning is one of the most important things you can do to maintain the value of your gun and protect it from damage, many people have never cleaned a firearm and don't even know how to do it. You can clean your gun the same way you clean other household objects. To clean the gun properly, start by wiping it down with a clean cloth and a little soap and water, getting into the crevices. To clean the barrel, you can put your finger over the end of the muzzle and use a brush to get into the corners of the barrel and clean them out. Do not get the cleaning liquid into the barrel or action housing as this will cause rust and corrosion. Always wrap a cloth around your cleaning brushes so that you don't accidentally scratch or damage the gun. Remember to keep the lint-free cloth and cloth for cleaning the firearm separate from the cleaning cloths you use to clean your hands and use a washcloth on your hands only when you can't wash them immediately after you have used your gun. # Clean Your Gun There are several things you can do to keep your gun from collecting dirt and debris. One thing you can do is keep the gun and magazines in a safe place that is accessible to you, and do not keep magazines with loose cartridges in them loaded. I have a large wooden box for storing guns, ammo, and cleaning supplies. I keep them in my gun room but in a different room from the other things in the house and far enough away from the children. Although I keep them in the same place, I keep the ammunition separate from the guns and ammunition that is more secure. I will tell you what to do with each type of gun, but remember this: The first rule of gun cleaning is that you should keep all of your guns in your gun room, and out of sight. You should not store a gun in a glass display case, or any other object that allows dust or dirt to settle on it. Keeping your gun room clean is critical to your firearms' condition. Make sure the air in the gun room is clean and circulating. # Your Most Important Tool The tool most often used to clean a gun is a dry soft brush. Dry bristle brushes should be used for cleaning the gun. The idea of using dry, soft, lint-free brushes is so that all the dirt and debris is removed and nothing is left behind to turn into rust and make your gun dirty and stained. You can either pick a brush that has very soft, soft bristles and wash it before you use it or wash the bristles with shampoo and cold water and wrap them in a wet cloth to make them soft. The key is that these brushes have soft, lint-free bristles that will make the gun shine and the rust particles slip off them. I use dry nylon brushes for all of my guns, and I dry them between each use and keep them clean. If they are dirty, I replace them with fresh ones. I recommend picking a dry, soft, lint-free brush to use for cleaning, either a lint-free dry nylon brush or a terry