Today's pop quiz: What internal component of a 1911 can be missing and still allow the gun to function completely normally?
I bought a new Springfield TRP in October, 2008. While I've field stripped it many times to clean it, I had never completely disassembled it until today. When I did, I saw that it had originally been assembled without the mainspring cap pin. (That's the pin that holds the mainspring captive in the mainspring housing.) Apparently, it had been assembled by forcing the MSH into the frame against the full force of the uncontained mainspring, which is what I had to do when reassembling it. I'm trying to imagine how this could happen in the factory. They ran out of cap pins and hoped the buyer would never take the gun apart? Somebody was too lazy to get up and fetch some more pins?
I sent an email to the folks in Geneseo. I'll let you know what happens.
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UPDATE: Never mind. I posted this on 1911forum.com and was immediately informed that this how all Springfield 1911s are shipped. It's explained in the owner's manual and has something to do with the Integral Locking System. They provide a pin that is inserted to hold the mainspring in place before the MSH is removed from the frame.
I bought a new Springfield TRP in October, 2008. While I've field stripped it many times to clean it, I had never completely disassembled it until today. When I did, I saw that it had originally been assembled without the mainspring cap pin. (That's the pin that holds the mainspring captive in the mainspring housing.) Apparently, it had been assembled by forcing the MSH into the frame against the full force of the uncontained mainspring, which is what I had to do when reassembling it. I'm trying to imagine how this could happen in the factory. They ran out of cap pins and hoped the buyer would never take the gun apart? Somebody was too lazy to get up and fetch some more pins?
I sent an email to the folks in Geneseo. I'll let you know what happens.
*************************************************************************************************
UPDATE: Never mind. I posted this on 1911forum.com and was immediately informed that this how all Springfield 1911s are shipped. It's explained in the owner's manual and has something to do with the Integral Locking System. They provide a pin that is inserted to hold the mainspring in place before the MSH is removed from the frame.
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