Posted: 11/13/2011 9:01:40 AM EDT
|
I have a mustang that I was given a while back that has a couple of issues. One is that the hammer, when cocked, doesn't allow the safety to be engaged. You have to depress it a bit more and then the safety can be lifted and engaged. The other issue is failure to fire about 75% of the time. Usually it looks like a light primer strike.
My instinct is that the two problems are tied. The hammer being slight forward doesn't achieve enough velocity to cause primer detonation. Thoughts? Why wouldn't the hammer be able to be fully cocked? I had a pistol smith look at it and he said that it's normal. Not sure I believe him. |
|
Step One...... Find another gunsmith.
Any firearm that requires the hammer to be pulled farther to the rear to engage the safety is defective and UNSAFE. Step Two......Send the gun in to Colt to be repaired. They'll look it over and send you an invoice stating what's needed to repair it and the price. If it's a factory defect, they will probably repair it free. The most likely cause of the problem is that someone attempted to do a trigger job and botched it. The "usual" is they cut the sear or hammer notch to try to improve the trigger pull and this causes the hammer to sit too far forward. With the hammer forward, it's past the point where the safety can engage. |
As said above send it to Colt. I bought a Colt Mustang pocketlite 9 months ago and it had a safety issue and also found out Colt had a recall on the Mustang. I live in CT so I called Colt first and they had me come up to the factory and bring the pistol to be serviced. Got a letter in the mail stating what needed to be done and the cost if I wanted them to work on it. It was a free charge and they fixed her up. They did a function test and detailed cleaning. Got a call about a month later that she was done and ready for pick up. If you look in the magwell and half way up the backside you should be able to see if there is a yellow clip on the sear spring, if there is the recall has been done to the gun. Here is the recall notice and just give Colt a call and tell them about the recall and any other things wrong with the gun. Hope this helps  Love my lil Colt, she get's used alot !!!!! 
COLT 380 AUTO CALIBER, SEMIAUTOMATIC PISTOL RECALL: We are incorporating a safety improvement on all Colt 380 semiautomatic pistols that we are now manufacturing. We are offering this same opportunity to all owners of Colt 380 semi-automatic pistols free of charge. It has come to our attention that the sear spring may be bent in some Colt 380 autos. Where this occurs there is a possibility that the sear spring will become unseated from the base of the receiver which could result in accidental discharge. To hold the sear spring in place, Colt will send you a 380 Auto improvement kit, which includes a spring clip and instructions for attaching the clip to the sear spring. Once the spring clip is installed the sear spring cannot come loose. This is a simple but effective safety modification. This important message applies to all Colt 380 autos in the current series first introduced in 1982. If a spring clip has already been installed, it will appear in the magazine well as a yellow piece of metal attached to the sear spring. To obtain the spring clip we ask that all owners of Colt 380 semiautomatic pistols contact us now by calling our special toll-free number below, available Monday through Friday between 8 AM and 5 PM, Eastern Time. Colt will send you a spring clip and complete instructions for quick, easy installation. There is no charge for this service. In the meantime we urge that you do not use your Colt 380 auto until you make this change. Colt endeavors to manufacture firearms of the highest quality. We also continue to serve our motto, A tradition of safety. CALL TOLL FREE 1-800-533-0380 |
|
Problem with the Colt 380 is it hasn't been around for awhile and those that are familiar with it are few and far between. I have it's bigger brother the Colt 380 Government model. The safety works with the hammer both cocked and not cocked. The thing I like about the Colt 380 compared to it's much bigger brother the 1911 is that you can operate the slide with the safety on (yes, that is normal). For those of us who just can't bring ourselves to carrying one in the chamber I can have it cocked and locked (safety on) and in unholstering cycle the slide without taking the safety off to put one in the chamber. I know this is more information than you originally asked, but because of the lack of parts and those who know these pistols I have had to do a considerable amount of research on them as well as fabricate parts (doesn't seem right to pay $25 for a safety plunger because you let it fly across the room). The good news is, Colt has brought back the Colt 380 Mustang and with that means eventually part will once again be available for these fine handguns. It also means that those that call themselves gunsmiths (I actually have one that specializes in them who helps me with my own modifications and checks them out for me) will once again be more familiar with this platform.
|