Smith & Wesson 1911 Instructions Manual

							11
AMMUNITION
GENERAL PRINCIPLES•A firearm and ammunition are a system and must work 
together. Their performance is closely related. There are 
different types of ammunition for different types of firearms.
Your firearm has been designed for ammunition of a 
specific type and a specific caliber. It is important to select 
the proper ammunition for your firearm.
Different combinations of bullet velocity, bullet weight and firearm
weight can have major impact on felt recoil.
For example:
• Gun Weight: lower gun weight increases felt recoil.
• Bullet Weight: higher bullet weight increases felt recoil.
• Bullet Velocity: higher bullet velocity increases felt recoil.
To acclimate yourself to higher levels of felt recoil, consider the
following:
• Use a firm twohand hold on the grip when firing.
•Always start your shooting experience with the lowest bullet 
velocity and lowest bullet weight available for your firearm.
Some examples are as follows:
 Use .38 S&W Special in place of .357 Magnum
®loads.
Use .44 Special in place of .44 Magnum®loads.
 Use “midrange” or “target” loads rather than loads 
designated “high power”.
• Ask your firearm dealer to suggest the lowest power,
lowest velocity, lightest bullet weight for your firearm.
• You can also consider changing your firearm’s grip
configuration/composition to better fit your hand’s 
specific size and shape.
WARNING: NEVER USE AMMUNITION NOT SPECIFI
CALLY DESIGNATED FOR USE IN YOUR FIREARM.FAILURE TO USE THE CORRECT TYPE OR CALIBER
OF AMMUNITION MAY CAUSE THE FIREARM TO
JAM, FAIL TO FIRE OR EVEN GENERATE EXCESSIVE PRES
SURE WHICH CAN DAMAGE OR EVEN RUPTURE YOUR
FIREARM, CAUSING PERSONAL INJURY, DEATH OR PROP
ERTY DAMAGE.   
						

							FIGURE 1
12
AMMUNITION  CONT’D.
•You are responsible for selecting ammunition that meets 
industry standards and is appropriate in type and caliber for 
this firearm.
•Locate the caliber designation 
marked on the handgun. This 
information indicates the ammunition 
caliber that should be used in this 
firearm. (See figure #1).
HANDLOADED OR RELOADED AMMUNITION
WARNING: NEVER USE NONSTANDARD, RELOADED
OR “HANDLOADED” AMMUNITION WHICH  HAS  NOT
BEEN SUBJECTED TO INTERNAL BALLISTIC PRESSURE
TESTING. RELOADED OR HANDLOADED AMMUNITION,
MAY HAVE MANY MANUFACTURING AND QUALITY VARI
ABLES (SUCH AS THE TYPE AND AMOUNT OF GUN POW
DER). ANY AMMUNITION THAT IS IMPROPERLY MANUFAC
TURED, EVEN IN THE SLIGHTEST DEGREE, MAY FAIL TO
FIRE OR MAY GENERATE EXCESSIVE INTERNAL PRES
SURES WHICH CAN DAMAGE OR EVEN RUPTURE THEFIREARM,CAUSING PERSONAL INJURY OR DEATH TO THE
SHOOTER OR THOSE IN THE IMMEDIATE VICINITY.
•
Use only commercially manufactured ammunition with
internal ballistic pressures which are in strict accordance 
with the specifications of the Sporting Arms and 
Ammunition Manufacturers’ Institute (SAAMI). If you are 
uncertain, contact your ammunition supplier for verification.
AMMUNITION SPECIFICS•Use only ammunition specifically recommended by
Smith & Wesson for your firearm.
•Never mix ammunition.
•Never use a cartridge not specifically designated for use in 
your firearm. Pressure from the wrong type of ammunition 
may exceed the capability of your firearm and may damage 
or even rupture your firearm.
•Whenever rimless pistol cartridges are used in the cylinder 
of a Smith & Wesson revolver, (except M547) full or
halfmoon clips MUST be used to both position and
extract such cartridges. Failure to use ammunition clipswithrimless cartridges may result in malfunction of the 
revolver.     
						

							13
AMMUNITION  CONT’D.
•Additional ammunition calibers can be fired from the
following list of select calibers.
Caliber on Barrel
Can also Fire  .45 Colt .45 Schofield, .45 S&W, 
.45 S&W .45 Schofield
.45 ACP .45 Auto Rim (in revolvers only)
.44 Magnum  .44 Special  
.357 Magnum  .38 Special, .38 Special +P  
.22LR   .22L, .22 Short, .22CB, .22BB 
(in revolvers only) 
•In some cases, a round of ammunition not specified on your 
handgun may fit into the chamber or cylinder. Firing 
ammunition not specified on your handgun may cause it to rupture and cause serious injury or death to you or others.
•Always inspect your ammunition before using it. Never use
dirty, corroded or damaged ammunition which can lead to a 
burst cartridge which may cause damage to the handgun 
and personal injury or death.
•“PlusP” (+P) ammunition generates pressures in excess of 
the pressures associated with standard ammunition. Such 
pressures may affect the wear characteristics or exceed the 
margin of safety built into some revolvers and could 
therefore be DANGEROUS. This ammunition should not be 
used in Smith & Wesson medium (K frame) revolvers
manufactured prior to 1958. Such pre1958 medium
(Kframe) revolvers can be identified by the absence of a 
model number stamped inside the yoke cut of the frame.(i.e., the area of the frame exposed when the cylinder is in 
the open position.
•“PlusPPlus (+P+) ammunition is not recommended for use 
in Smith & Wesson firearms.This marking on the ammuni
tion designates that it exceeds established industry 
standards, but the designation does not represent defined 
pressure limits and therefore such ammunition may vary 
significantly as to the pressures generated.
•In the Model 940 revolver, some brands of 9mm parabellum 
ammunition may cause difficulty in extracting spent 
cartridge cases from the cylinder. If this situation occurs, thoroughly clean the cylinder charge holes with solvent.If 
this condition persists, we recommend changing to another 
brand of 9mm parabellum ammunition.
•Smith & Wesson has found wide variations in primer
sensitivity between some brands and types of .22LR
ammunition. Smith & Wesson recommends that before you 
put your .22LR handgun into regular use, that you fire
several boxes of your brand of ammunition through it to 
determine reliability of ignition.If “failure to fire” occurs, try 
different types of brands of .22LR ammunition until a
reliable loading is found.
  
						

							FIGURE 3a
MODEL NUMBER
IDENTIFICATION
The serial number and the model number appear here on your
pistol.
FIGURE3c
Trigger Guard
TriggerGrip
MagazineMagazine
Release
Front Sight
Rear Sight
Hammer
Frame
Slide
Slide Stop
NotchSafety Lever
Ejection
Port
Slide Stop 
Slide
Stop PinBarrel
Front Sight
Barrel
Bushing
Recoil
Spring 
Guide Rod
Grip
Safety
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 3b
Take Down
Notch
Recoil Spring
Retainer
14         
						

							15
INSPECTING YOUR
PISTOL
When you inspect your pistol, you should first check for yourself
to ensure that it is unloaded. To do this, grasp the pistol with
your finger off the trigger and outside the tr
igger guard.Point
the muzzle in a safe direction and depress the magazine release
and remove the magazine (Figure 5). Depress the safety lever
into the fully down “fire” position (Figure 6).
With the muzzle still pointing in
a safe direction, grasp the
serrated sides of the slide fromthe rear with the thumb and
fingers as shown in Figure 7,
and briskly draw the slide fully
rearward in order to extract any
cartridge from the barrel
chamber and clear it from the
pistol. Do not obstruct theejection port because doing so
can interfere with ejection of a
cartridge and thereby creates
the risk of exploding an
unchambered cartridge and
causing possible injury or death.
Lock the slide in the open
position by allowing the slide to
move slightly forward from the
rearmost position while pressing
the slide stop upward. You must
verify the barrel chamber and
bore are free of any live roundsor obstructions. You must follow
this procedure every time your
firearm is inspected, cleaned,
handed to another person, transported or stored. Unload the
magazine by holding it with the bullet end of the cartridge point
ing away from you and pressing each cartridge forward and out
of the magazine. Pick up and secure all live rounds.
Familiarize yourself with the safety lever on your pistol. When the
safety lever is fully down as shown in figure 6 (notice NO
engagement betw
een saf
ety lever and Safety Engagement
Notch), it is in the fire position;when the safety lever is fully up,
as shown in Figure 4 (notice FULL engagement between safety
lever and Safety Engagement Notch), it is in the safe position.
It can only be placed in the “safe” position when the hammer is
fully cocked (Figure 4).
FIGURE 5
FIGURE 4
FIGURE 7
FIGURE6
DO NOT BLOCK EJECTION PORT!!!
SAFE POSITION
FIRE
POSITION
SAFETY
ENGAGEMENTNOTCH
SAFETY
ENGAGEMENTNOTCH         
						

							LOADEDCHAMBER
INDICAT O R
INSPECTING YOUR PISTOL  CONT’D.
When it is in the “safe” position, the slide is also locked in place
and cannot be moved rearward. Notice how the safety lever
looks and feels in each of the two positions of its extreme travel
 fully up for safe and fully down for fire.
WARNING: IT SHOULD BE NOTED THAT WITH THE 
HAMMER IN THE AT REST (FULLY FORWARD) POSI
TION, THAT THE SAFETY LEVER CAN BE PRESSED
UP SLIGHTLY. NEVER CONFUSE THIS WITH THE
FULLY UP “SAFE” POSITION AS THE SAFETY HAS
NOT BEEN ENGAGED.
There are three hammer positions on your 1911 Series pistol:
AT REST(fully forward), FULLY COCKED(fully rearward), and
HALF COCK position.
AT REST(FULLYFORWARD)position is when the face of the
hammer is resting on the firing pin.
FULLYCOCKED (FULLYREARWARD) is when the hammer is
pulled to the second click point. This is the fire position.
HALFCOCKED POSITIONof the hammer functions as an
automatic safety position. It will prevent the hammer from falling
fully forward unintentionally.Never attempt to fire the pistol from
the halfcocked position.To remove the hammer from the half
cocked position, keep your finger off the trigger and out of the
trigger guard, then draw the hammer to the fullycocked position.
From this position, the pistol may be fired or decocked. The
halfcocked position is not a manual safety. The hammer shouldnever be left in this position. Never carry the pistol in the half
cocked position.
WARNING: TO PLACE THE SAFETY IN THE FULLY UP
“SAFE” POSITION, THE SLIDE MUST BE FORWARDAND THE HAMMER MUST BE IN THE FULLY COCKED
POSITION.ATTEMPTING TO PLACE THE SAFETY IN
THE UP POSITION WHILE THE HAMMER IS NOT FULLY
COCKED WILL ALLOW ONLY PARTIAL MOVEMENT OF THE
LEVER AND WILL NOT ENGAGE THE SAFETY. FAILURE TO
FOLLOW THIS WARNING MAY RESULT IN SERIOUS INJURY
OR DEATH TO YOU OR OTHERS.
WARNING: NEVER RELY UPON THE LOADED 
CHAMBER INDICATOR ALONE TO VERIFY THE PRESENCE OR ABSENCE OF A ROUND IN THE 
CHAMBER. THE SUREST METHOD TO DETERMINE 
THE PRESENCE OR ABSENCE OF A ROUND IN THECHAMBER IS TO VISUALLY CHECK THE CHAMBER 
OF YOUR FIREARM BY PULLING AND LOCKING THE
SLIDE TO THE  REAR.
16       
						

							WARNING:SMITH &WESSON 1911 SERIES PISTOLS
WILL FIRE WITH THE MAGAZINE REMOVED. KEEP
YOUR FINGER OFF THE TRIGGER AND OUTSIDE OF
THE TRIGGER GUARD UNTIL YOU HAVE MADE THE
COMMITMENT TO FIRE.
• Do not load the pistol until you are ready to fire. Keep your 
finger off the trigger and outside the trigger guard until you 
are ready to fire.
• Only use Smith & Wesson magazines specifically
manufactured for your particular model of pistol. Do notinterchange magazines from one model pistol into another model pistol.
• Smith & Wesson has provided you with a magazine 
designed to operate in your specific model of pistol. While 
your magazine may be able to be inserted into another 
model pistol, it will only function properly in the specific 
model for which it was designed.
• Follow instructions in this manual and any other specific 
instructions which may be marked onto, or accompany,  a
magazine. Failure to use the particular type of Smith & 
Wesson magazine specified for your model and caliber of 
pistol may result in a malfunction.
•Load the magazine by pressing a cartridge head (rear of 
cartridge) downward on the forward portion of the magazine 
follower (or downward on the case of the previously loaded 
cartridge) and sliding the cartridge fully under the lips of the 
magazine until the cartridge head is against the rear wall of 
the magazine. (Figure 9)  Repeat the procedure for the
number of cartridges you wish to load, up to the magazine 
capacity. Do not attempt to load your magazine with more 
than the specified number of cartridges because doing 
so can cause a feeding failure.
17
LOADING
LOADED CHAMBER INDICATOR  CONT’D.
WARNING: ALWAYS TREAT EVERY FIREARM AS IF 
IT WERE LOADED AND WILL FIRE IF THE TRIGGER IS
PULLED. A LOADED CHAMBER INDICATOR MAY HELP
DETERMINE WHETHER THE CHAMBER IS LOADED OR
UNLOADED. THE AMOUNT OF LIGHT, CLEANLINESS OF THE
PISTOL, DISCOLORATION OF THE AMMUNITION AND OTHER
FACTORS MAY LIMIT THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE LOADEDCHAMBER INDICATOR.
Smith & Wesson 1911 Series pistols
come with a loaded chamber indica
tor. This indicator can be observed at
the top of the slide/ejection port 
by observing an opening at the rear
of the barrel hood (Figure 8). By
looking into this opening, you can
observe whether or not a round is in the firearm’s chamber. If a
round is in the chamber, you should see the actual brass or sil
ver colored rim through this opening. Never rely on the loaded
chamber indicator alone to verify the presence or absence of a
round in the chamber. The proper method to verify the presence
of a round in the chamber is to follow the directions in the
“Inspecting Your Pistol” section of this manual.FIGURE 8       
						

							LOADING CONT’D.
• To make sure that the magazine is fully and securely
inserted, apply some removal pressure to the exposed 
portion of the magazine butt plate.
WARNING: UPON RELEASING THE SLIDE FROM THE
SLIDE STOP, THE SLIDE MOVES FORWARD WITH
SIGNIFICANT FORCE AND SPEED.TO AVOID
INJURY BE SURE NO PART OF YOUR BODY IS IN
THE PATH OF THE SLIDE’S TRAVEL.
• With the muzzle still pointing in a safe direction, grasp the 
serrated sides of the slide from the rear with the thumb and fingers as shown in figure 10, and briskly draw the slide fully 
rearward and release it.This strips a cartridge from the 
magazine and seats it in the chamber of the barrel and at the 
same time, fully cocks the hammer.
WARNING: THE PISTOL WILL FIRE IF THE TRIGGER
IS PULLED!
•With the muzzle pointed in a safe direction and your finger 
outside the trigger guard, place the safety lever in the fully up
“safe” position  (Figure 11).
FIGURE 9
FIGURE11FIGURE 10SAFE
POSITION
• Hold the pistol in one hand with the muzzle pointing in a safe 
direction and with your finger off the trigger and outside the 
trigger guard. Insert the loaded magazine into the magazine 
well of the pistol until it is locked in place.
WARNING: DO NOT USE EXCESSIVE UPWARD FORCE
WHEN INSERTING A LOADED MAGAZINE INTO THE 
PISTOL. EXCESSIVE UPWARD FORCE COULD CAUSE
THE SLIDE TO MOVE FORWARD, CHAMBERING A
ROUND AND MAKING THE PISTOL READY TO FIRE.
18             
						

							DECOCKING
WARNING: ALWAYS KEEP THE PISTOL POINTED 
IN A SAFE DIRECTION.
WARNING: YOU MUST BE CERTAIN THAT THE
CHAMBER IS UNLOADED. FAILURE TO VERIFY 
THE CHAMBER IS UNLOADED COULD RESULT 
IN THE PISTOL ACCIDENTALLY FIRING IF THE 
HAMMER SLIPS DURING DECOCKING.
If you decide not to fire and your handgun is in the fully cocked
position, you must follow these instructions to safely decock thehandgun.
•Remove your finger from the trigger and the trigger guard.
(Figure 12).
FIRING
WARNING: NEVER ATTEMPT TO CARRY YOUR 
PISTOL WITH THE HAMMER DOWN ON A LIVE 
CARTRIDGE. THIS WOULD  REQUIRE YOU TO
DECOCK THE PISTOL WITH A LIVE ROUND IN THE
CHAMBER. DECOCKING THE HAMMER OVER A
LIVE ROUND SHOULD NEVER BE ATTEMPTED. TO
DO SO COULD RESULT IN SERIOUS INJURY OR
DEATH TO YOU OR OTHERS.
• With the pistol pointed in a safe direction and your finger 
off the trigger and outside the trigger guard, depress the 
safety lever fully down into the fire position. Check to make 
sure that the hammer is fully cocked. If it is not, cock it by 
drawing it fully back with the thumb of the shooting hand.
• To ensure proper firing control and to fully depress the grip 
safety, the pistol should now be gripped firmly with theshooting hand.
• Squeeze the trigger fully to the rear. This releases the
hammer and fires the gun. Upon firing, the slide moves 
rearward thereby extracting and ejecting the spent 
cartridge case and returns the hammer to the fully cocked position.
• The slide then returns forward feeding the next cartridge 
from the magazine into the barrel chamber and the hammer 
has been recocked. This sequence can be repeated until the last round has been fired at which time the magazine 
follower exerts upward pressure on the slide stop causing it 
hold the slide in the open position.
WARNING:UPON FIRING THE PISTOL,THE SLIDE
MOVES REARWARD OR FORWARD WITH SIGNIFI
CANT FORCE AND SPEED. TO AVOID INJURY BE
SURE NO PART OF YOUR BODY IS IN THE PATH OF
THE SLIDE’S TRAVEL.
19         
						

							20
DECOCKING CONT’D.
• Place the safety lever in the fully up “safe” position.
• Remove the magazine from the firearm.
• Place the safety lever in the fully down “fire” position.
• Draw the slide back and eject any chambered round. You 
must verify the barrel chamber is free of any live rounds or 
obstructions (Figure 13). Release the slide allowing it to 
move fully forward.
• Place your finger on the trigger and place the thumb of 
your opposite hand on the hammer. (Figure 14)
• Pull the trigger to the rear and hold it while lowering the
hammer to the forward position with your thumb and then 
release the trigger. (Figure 15)
FIGURE 12FIGURE 13
FIGURE14FIGURE15
DONOTBLOCKEJECTIONPORT!!!
CLEARING MISFIRES
WARNING: ALWAYS KEEP YOUR PISTOL POINTED
IN A SAFE DIRECTION. ALWAYS KEEP YOUR
FINGER OFF THE TRIGGER AND OUTSIDE THE
TRIGGER GUARD.
• If during firing, a cartridge fails to fire, the chamber must be
manually cleared.Always keep the handgun pointed in a safe
direction.Wait ten seconds.Keep your finger off the trigger
and out of the trigger guard. Release the magazine and
remove it from the pistol. Grasp the serrated sides of the slideas shown in figure 13 and briskly pull the slide fully rearward
to eject the misfired round. Do not obstruct the ejection port,
and do not attempt to catch the round by placing your hand
over the ejection port (Figure 13). Lock the slide back by
applying upward pressure on the slide stop and visuallycheck to make sure the chamber is empty. Remember that
any time you release the slide while a magazine containing
cartridges is in the pistol, you will have reloaded the 
chamber. Pick up and secure all live rounds.