Ed Brown 1911 Owners Manual

							Ed Brown Products, Inc.
P.O. Box 492, Perry, MO 63462 - (573)-565-3261 - FAX (573)565-2791
Internet Address: www.edbrown.com
  email: [email protected] 
Ed Brown 1911 Owner’s Manual
WARNING: YOU MUST READ AND FOLLOW THESE INSTRUCTIONS BEFORE USING THIS FIREARM!
This firearm is a dangerous weapon, and it is potentially LETHAL.  Improper or careless handling could cause an
accidental discharge, leading to injury, death or property damage.
Introduction
This manual contains important information on safety, handling, lubrication, slip-fit fixed sights, recommended ammunition, and
maintenance of your Ed Brown firearm. This is a custom made firearm intended for experienced users.  Your safety, as well as the
safety of others depends on your constant use of safe firearm handling practices.  Seek further assistance if you are unfamiliar with
firearms, or unsure of your ability to handle this firearm safely in any way.  Safe handling courses are run by local gun clubs, approved
NRA instructors and similar qualified organizations.
Disclaimer of Liability
Ed Brown Products, Inc. will not be responsible for injury, death, or property damage resulting from either intentional or unintentional
discharge of this firearm.  Ed Brown Products, Inc. will not be responsible for this firearm’s function when used for purposes or
subjected to treatment for which it was not designed.  Ed Brown Products, Inc. will not honor claims involving this firearm which
result from careless or improper handling, unapproved alteration or parts replacement, corrosion, neglect, the use of incorrect caliber
ammunition, the use of ammunition other than an original high grade commercially manufactured ammunition in good condition, or
any combination thereof.  Ed Brown Products, Inc. will not acknowledge claims involving this firearm for any reason or cause when
such claims are made by the second or subsequent owner, or any other person or organization.
Before this firearm left Ed Brown Products, Inc; it was carefully inspected, tested and packaged.  Ed Brown Products, Inc. cannot be
responsible for product handling after it leaves the factory, therefore, please examine the firearm carefully at the time of purchase to
insure that it is unloaded and undamaged.  This is your responsibility.  The dealer can assist you in making this examination and
answer any further questions you may have.  If you have specific questions concerning the state of the firearm when it left the factory,
call Ed Brown Products, Inc. immediately.
Keep this instruction manual with your firearm at all times.  It should be transferred with the firearm upon change of ownership.
We hope you enjoy your Ed Brown firearm, safely.  Read this manual and follow the instructions for your safety and the safety of
others.
Safe Handling Procedures
1.  Always keep the firearm pointed in a safe direction.
2.  Handle every firearm as if it were loaded.
3.  Always check to be certain the firearm is unloaded - never take anyone’s word for it.
4.  Always keep and carry your firearm empty, with the hammer forward, except when you are ready to shoot.
5.  Do not place the hammer or allow the hammer to remain in the half-cock notch.  This is not a safe carrying position and any effort
to engage the hammer in the half-cock notch may result in the hammer perching on the lip of the half-cock notch.  This is extremely
dangerous.  If the hammer is in this position it could fall forward and discharge the pistol, thereby risking injury, death or property
damage.
6.  Do not drink alcoholic beverages or take drugs before, or during, any shooting activity.  Your vision and judgement may be
seriously impaired, making your firearm handling unsafe.  If you are taking medication, seek a doctor’s advice to assure that you are fit
to shoot and handle firearms safely.
7. Before beginning target practice, make sure your backstop is acceptable to stop and contain bullets.  This is to ensure that you do not
hit anything outside the shooting area.
8.  To reduce the chances of an accident, place a knowledgeable and responsible person in charge to maintain safety control when a
group is firing on a range.  Always obey his or her commands.
9.  Always wear and encourage others to wear ear protection when shooting, particularly on a range.  Long-term, permanent hearing
loss could be the result without hearing protection.
10.  Always wear and encourage others to wear protective shooting glasses for the eyes.
11.  Always make sure your firearm is clean.  The barrel bore, chamber and action should be clean and free from obstructions.  Clean a
fouled pistol immediately so that it will function correctly and safely.
12.  Use only clean, dry, original, high grade commercially manufactured ammunition in good condition, appropriate to the caliber of
your firearm. 
						

							13.  Always carry your firearm open and empty while on a range until preparing to fire.  Keep it pointed toward the backstop when
loading, firing and unloading to eliminate the risk of injury, death or property damage.
14.  Always keep yourself and others clear of the ejection port.  Injuries can occur because spent cartridges are ejected with significant
force, and they are hot.  The ejection port must be unobstructed to insure safe ejection of live rounds.  Never place your fingers in the
ejection port, they could be burned by hot metal and/or powder, or injured by the slide moving forward.
15.  Never put your finger inside the trigger guard or squeeze the trigger until you are aiming at a target and ready to shoot.  This will
prevent you from firing the pistol accidentally.
16.  Always be sure of your target and the area behind it before you pull the trigger.  A bullet can travel through or past your target up
to 1 ½ miles before it stops!
17. If your firearm fails to fire, keep it pointed towards the target or a safe open area and wait at least 30 seconds.  If it is a
hangfire (slow ignition) the round will fire within 30 seconds.  Although it is very rare, you need to be aware of and prepared for
this possibility.  If the round does not fire, remove the magazine, eject the round and examine the primer.  If the firing pin indent is
light, off center, or non-existent, have the firearm examined by a professional gunsmith.  If the firing pin indent on the primer appears
normal, assume faulty ammunition, separate the misfired round from other live ammunition and empty cases, reload and carry on
firing.  Dispose of misfired rounds in accordance with the ammunition manufacturer’s instructions.
18.  Never use your firearm if it fails to function properly.  Never force a jammed action because a round may explode causing serious
injury or death, and severe damage to your firearm.  Before each shooting session, and before loading, give the firearm a quick safety
check and visual inspection.  If you find something that seems incorrect, do not load or fire.  Ask a professional gunsmith for help, or
call Ed Brown Products, Inc. for specific questions.
19.  Never leave your firearm cocked.  This position is extremely dangerous and the firearm could be easily accidentally discharged,
causing injury, death or property damage.
20.  Never shoot at a hard surface such as a rock or liquid surface such as water.  The bullet could ricochet, hitting you, another person
or unidentified object, causing injury, death or property damage.
21.  Never fire your firearm near an animal that is not trained to accept the noise.  It could startle the animal, causing injury or an
accident.
22.  Horseplay should be forbidden while holding a pistol.  It could accidentally discharge, causing injury, death or property damage.
23.  Never follow a companion with your firearm cocked ready to fire, out of its holster, or with the hammer in any position other than
forward on an empty chamber.  When hunting, hold your pistol so that you can always control the direction of the muzzle, in case of an
accidental discharge.
24.  Never leave a loaded firearm unattended.  Someone may accidentally fire it, causing injury, death or property damage.
25.  Always make sure the firearm is unloaded before cleaning, storing, or traveling.  The magazine should be removed with the slide
latched open before laying it down or handing it to another person, so that it cannot be fired accidentally.
26.  Always store your firearm and ammunition in separate, locked containers, out of the reach and sight of children, or
anyone else who should not handle the firearm.
27.  Always instruct children to respect firearms.  When teaching children to shoot, teach them to treat and use the pistol properly and
responsibly first.  Always supervise children closely and stress safety to prevent injury, death and property damage.
Safety Features
Grip Safety
The grip safety is located on the upper rear part of the receiver.  The grip safety is automatically applied by a spring action to prevent
rearward travel of the trigger unless the pistol grip is firmly and properly grasped.  The front of the grip safety (inside the pistol frame)
contacts the rear of the trigger to prevent its rearward movement.  When the pistol grip is positively grasped, the grip safety is rotated
out of contact with the rear of the trigger to allow trigger movement.
Disconnector
This safety device prevents a round being fired before it is in the chamber with the slide and barrel locked.  When the slide is not fully
forward the disconnector is depressed, its lower part disengages the sear, so that the hammer cannot be released if the trigger is
squeezed.  However, when the slide and barrel are locked, a spring pushes the disconnector up into a recess in the slide, this links
trigger and sear so that the pistol can be fired by squeezing the trigger.
CAUTION:  Never attempt to check or demonstrate the disconnector function with a loaded firearm.  Pushing on the muzzle with your
hand or any other portion of the body is extremely dangerous, and could result in accidental discharge causing injury, death or property
damage.
Firing Pin
The firing pin, which is shorter than it’s housing, is held to the rear by a spring and cannot protrude through face of slide unless the
force of a blow overcomes the spring pressure and the inertia of the pin.  This will occur when the hammer falls normally or could
occur by a blow on the muzzle of front of the firearm.
Slide Lock Safety, or Thumb Safety
The Slide Lock Safety is located on the left of the pistol just below the back of the slide.  With the hammer fully cocked and the slide 
						

							lock safety applied, the upper part of the slide lock safety engages the slide lock notch to prevent rearward movement of the slide,
while an internal cam surface engages the sear to prevent the hammer from moving forward when the trigger is squeezed.  This safety
device can only be applied when the slide is fully forward and the hammer is in a fully cocked position.  To apply the slide lock safety,
point the pistol in a safe direction.  Do not touch the trigger and pull the slide fully to the rear and allow it to return gently forward,
leaving the hammer in the fully cocked position.  Press up on the slide lock safety until it fully engages the slide lock notch.
Half Cock Notch in Hammer
The half cock notch is an automatically operating fail-safe device which will engage the sear in the unlikely event of a primary sear
notch failure.  This will prevent the hammer from falling fully forward unintentionally and will insure against uncontrolled automatic
fire.  It also prevents the hammer from striking the firing pin should your hand slip from the slide while cocking the pistol, provided the
hammer is rotated past the half cock notch.  The half cock notch is not meant to be engaged by hand.
CAUTION:  Never place or allow the hammer to remain in the half cock notch position.  This is not a safe carrying position.  Any
effort to engage the hammer in the half cock notch may result in the hammer perching on the lip of the half cock notch.  This is
extremely dangerous.  If the hammer is in this condition it could fall forward and discharge the firearm, thereby risking injury, death or
property damage.
Function
Ed Brown firearms are ready to fire when a loaded magazine is inserted into the firearm, the slide is pulled back to cock the hammer,
and released to travel forward and feed a round from the magazine into the chamber.  Final forward slide movement locks the barrel
and slide together and deactivates the disconnector.  When the pistol stock is grasped, the grip safety is released so that the trigger may
now be squeezed.  When the trigger is squeezed, the sear disengages from the hammer which pivots forward under the force of the
mainspring to strike the rear of the firing pin.  The firing pin is driven forward to strike primer in the base of the cartridge.  The energy
imparted to the primer ignites it, the primer ignites the main powder charge which, in burning, rapidly generates extremely high gas
pressure to drive the bullet down the barrel.  Rifling grooves in the barrel impart a stabilizing spin to the bullet so that it will follow a
more accurate path to the target.
Force rearward on the slide breech face starts the slide and barrel on their rearward travel, however, the slide unlocks from the barrel
only after gas pressure is reduced to a safe level.  Rearward slide travel depresses the disconnector, carries the spent cartridge rearward
on the extractor until the base of the cartridge is struck by the ejector to propel it through the ejection port.  Slide movement continues
under the momentum to fully cock the hammer.  If the last round has been fired, the magazine follower will activate the slide stop to
hold the slide to rear, but if a round remains in the magazine, the slide will move forward to feed and lock the next round in the
chamber.  To fire the next round, the trigger must be released and squeezed again.
Loading
To load a magazine, use only high grade ammunition commercially manufactured in good condition.  With the open end uppermost,
grasp the magazine, appropriate to caliber, in one hand.  Place a round on the magazine follower with the base just forward of retaining
lips.  Press round down and back until base of round touches rear flat edge of magazine.  Place next round of top of previous round and
press down and back.  Repeat until magazine is fully loaded.
CAUTION: To minimize risk of unintentional discharge, load live ammunition into pistol only when you are about to shoot.
To load a pistol, remove the empty magazine from pistol, (after placing your hand under the magazine to prevent it from falling) by
pressing the magazine catch (located on left of pistol behind trigger guard) to release and eject the magazine from the magazine well. 
Hold the firearm by the stock with one hand, and keeping the other hand clear of the ejection port, grasp the serrated finger grips on
both sides of the slide.  Pull the slide back slightly and look in the chamber to ensure it is empty.  Allow the slide to return forward.  If
the slide was fully to the rear, release the cocked hammer by squeezing the trigger after ensuring the chamber is empty.  Insert the
loaded magazine into the magazine will with bullets pointing forward.  Push the magazine fully home until the magazine catch is heard
to click, locking it in place.  It is important not to strike the base of the magazine to drive it home, just push it firmly into the pistol. 
Otherwise, you could damage the magazine and injure your hand.  The safest way to carry your pistol is with an empty chamber and an
empty magazine.  However, if you wish to carry the pistol with a loaded magazine installed, keep the chamber empty, slide forward
and hammer down. 
WARNING: When a round is in the chamber, the firearm may discharge accidentally if it is dropped or receives a blow.  This can
occur regardless of the position of the hammer or any of the various safety devices.  Do not put a round in the chamber until the pistol
is in your hand and you are ready to shoot, and clear the firearm immediately after shooting.
When you are ready to shoot, grip the slide and pull it fully to the rear to cock the hammer.  Release the slide to feed a round from the
magazine into the chamber.  The firearm is now loaded and ready to fire.  Apply the slide lock safety to hold the slide forward and
prevent the hammer from falling forward if the trigger is moved.
CAUTION: Never leave the firearm cocked ready to fire without the slide lock safety applied, as this is the fire condition and is
extremely dangerous.  The firearm could easily be accidentally discharged, causing injury, death or property damage.
Unloading
CAUTION: Always unload your firearm immediately after use and prior to cleaning and storage to minimize the risk of accidental
discharge.
To unload the firearm, keep the pistol pointing in a safe direction.  Do not touch the trigger and keep hands away from the muzzle and 
						

							ejection port.  Place your hand under the magazine to prevent it from falling and press the magazine catch to release and eject the
magazine.  If the slide is fully rearward, the next steps do not apply.  With the thumb of your right hand, press the slide lock safety
down out of engagement with the slide.  Using the serrated finger grips, pull slide sharply rearward to extract and eject a round from
the chamber.  If the magazine is empty after firing, the slide would already be held to the rear.
CAUTION: Look into the chamber to ensure it is empty and see that the magazine has been removed.  Allow the slide to gently return
forward on an empty chamber and squeeze the trigger to allow the hammer to fall forward.  If the slide is held to the rear by the slide
stop, pull the slide back slightly, then let it down easily, do not release it causing the slide to slam shut as this is very hard on fine
trigger pulls.  Remove the remaining live rounds by sliding them forward out of the magazine.  Collect the live ammunition for safe
storage and spent cartridge cases for disposal.
Firing
Before firing your Ed Brown handgun, practice your stance, aim, rhythm, and breathing for steady aim, with your firearm unloaded. 
Practice firing on a range before going hunting or using your pistol for any other type of shooting.
CAUTION:  Always wear and encourage others to wear ear and eye protection when shooting.
Load the firearm as previously described.  Grasp the firearm by the stock and with your index finger resting along the outside of the
trigger guard and take aim.  (Aim by aligning the target with the front and rear sights.)  Release the slide lock safety by pressing it
down out of engagement with the slide lock notch.  Keeping steady aim, place your index finger on the trigger and squeeze gently until
the hammer falls.  Don’t jerk the trigger as you will disturb your aim and spoil your accuracy.  To fire the second and subsequent
rounds, just release the trigger and squeeze it again after every shot until you have completed firing.  This is a semi-automatic firearm,
and is immediately loaded and ready to fire again after each shot until the magazine is empty.  Release the trigger, remove your index
finger from the trigger, and apply the slide lock safety by pushing it up into the slide lock notch.  However, if you have fired the last
round from the magazine, the slide will stay to the rear to the slide lock safety cannot be applied. 
If your firearm fails to fire, keep it pointed towards the target or a safe open area and wait at least 30 seconds.  If it is a hangfire
(slow ignition) the round will fire within 30 seconds.  Although it is very rare, you need to be aware of and prepared for this
possibility.  If the round does not fire, remove the magazine, eject the round and examine the primer.  If the firing pin indent is light,
off center, or non-existent, have the firearm examined by a professional gunsmith.  If the firing pin indent on the primer appears
normal, assume faulty ammunition, separate the misfired round from other live ammunition and empty cases, reload and carry on
firing.  Dispose of misfired rounds in accordance with the ammunition manufacturer’s instructions.
CAUTION: Keep firearm pointing in a safe direction, and unload as previously described.  If you cock your firearm but do not fire it,
apply the slide lock safety until ready to fire.  If you lose the opportunity to fire, unload your pistol as previously described. 
Remember, if a round is in the chamber, there is a risk of accidental discharge.  Never leave a firearm cocked and ready to fire.  The
fire condition is very dangerous and the firearm could easily be accidentally discharged, causing injury, death or property damage.
WARNING:  When a round is in the chamber, the firearm may accidentally discharge if it is dropped or handled in a way that it was
not designed, regardless of the position of the hammer or any of the various safety devices.  Do not put a round in the chamber until the
pistol is in your hand and you are ready to fire the firearm.  Clear the pistol immediately after shooting.  We do not recommend
carrying this firearm with a cartridge in the chamber.  Remember that ALL safeties on this firearm are mechanical devices and
they CAN FAIL.  YOU SHOULD NEVER DEPEND ON A SAFETY DEVICE.  Instead, depend upon safe firearm handling
procedures, many of which are described in this manual.
Proper care and maintenance of your Ed Brown 1911
Lubrication, Maintenance and Slip-fit Sights
Keep the pistol well lubricated with any high quality oil.  Lube all parts that move against each other, especially in the barrel fit area
and slide to frame fit area.
Replace recoil springs every 3000 rounds.  Ed Brown firearms ship with an 18 pound spring for 5 slides, and a 20 pound spring for
4.25 slides.  Ed Brown Products, Inc. supplies these recoil springs.
Shock buffs are not necessary and not recommended in Ed Brown pistols, as our frames and slides are sufficiently hard to withstand
the impact without damage.
Custom “slip fit” sights - the following instructions apply to fixed sights only, not Bo-mar adjustable sights:
When you are ready to permanently sight the gun in, get a good rest and a target at a set range of about 15 yards.  Remove the rear
sight set screw using the included 1/16 allen wrench.  Verify that you can indeed move the sight easily left-to-right with finger
pressure, or a light tap with a plastic hammer or plastic screw-driver handle. When you are ready, fill the screw hole with the included
capsule of red #271 Locktite.  Reinstall the screw and tighten, but just barely snug - no more.  Fire a group of three, and observe the
results.  If the sight needs adjustment, loosen the set screw slightly, adjust the sight using finger pressure, or at the most a very light tap
with a plastic hammer or plastic screwdriver handle, and re-tighten, just snug - no more.  Repeat until the gun shoots dead center, just
for you. Shoot several groups to be sure you’ve got it just the way you want it.  The Locktite will begin to set up in about 15 minutes,
so don’t delay. When the gun shoots exactly where you like, torque the screw down tight using the provided 1-16 allen wrench. Do not 
						

							over-tighten, as the small screw can be easily stripped by overtightening. The Loctite will hold the sight; it does not depend on the
torque of the screw. You now have a custom 1911 sighted in perfectly for you.  No special tools, no headache, and no damage to your
slide or sights.  That’s it,  the Ed Brown “slip-fit” sight system!
Handling
Never slam the slide shut without a round being fed from the magazine.  Slamming the slide shut on an unloaded gun is hard on the
frame, barrel fit, and especially the hammer/sear engagement surfaces.  Also never drop a round into the chamber and drop the slide on
it.  This springs the extractor out of position.  Always feed rounds from a magazine.  Some recommend keeping the trigger pulled to
the rear while loading.  This is an effective practice because it prevents the hammer from bouncing on the sear angles.  However, I
have long preferred to simply retain my grip on the slide while it is traveling forward and keep my finger out of the trigger guard.  It is
simple to see if the slide is all the way home because the thumb safety wont go on if it isnt.
Recommended Ammunition
We recommend high quality Federal or Winchester ammunition, and nothing else.
Disassembly Instructions
NOTE: Safety glasses recommended. 
1.  Remove magazine and unload gun.
2.  If the gun is equipped with a two-piece guide rod, loosen the front end of the guide rod with a 5/32 hex wrench and remove.
3.  Pull back on the slide and pop the slide stop about 1/8 out of the frame when the slides take-down detent is lined up with the stop.
4.  Control top of gun while removing slide stop pin completely.  CAUTION, recoil spring is under tension, control with a closed hand
and carefully remove top half of gun from frame.
5.  Remove spring and guide rod back completely from the slide.
6.  With a bushing wrench and turn the bushing fully clockwise so the spring plug can come out of the slide.
7.  Turn bushing fully counterclockwise and remove.
8.  Remove barrel.
Reassembly Instructions
1.  Install barrel assembly and turn bushing fully clockwise.
2.  Install Recoil Plug below barrel in its position and straighten bushing.
3.  Assemble spring onto Guide Rod back and cram the spring down into place inside the recoil plug.  Hold spring into place while
reassembling slide onto frame.  Try not to bend up the spring.
5.  Hold the slide fully to the rear and reinstall the slide stop.
6. If the gun is equipped with a two piece guide rod, reinstall the front end of the guide rod through the muzzle end and tighten.
Additional copies of this manual are available free of charge at www.edbrown.com
 
Any questions or concerns about the information in this owner’s manual should be addressed to:
Ed Brown Products, Inc
43825 Muldrow Trail
PO Box 492
Perry, MO 63462
573-565-3261
[email protected]