safari 45 User Guide

Safari Arms, In

and its subsidiary

Schuetzen

Pistol Works

.45

Automatic Pistols

Owners Manual

620-626 Old Pacific Highway SE

Olympia, WA 98513

[phone]

DISASSEMBLY NOTCH

MAGAZINE CATCH

INTRODUCTION

We understand how excited you are to have received
your Safari Arms handgun. NOW,

Don't pick

instructions and cautions in this manual.

An exploded diagram and parts list is included. For
those unfamiliar with the

design handgun, all instructions are accompanied by
step-by-step illustrations. Please refer to the illustrations
given and/or the exploded diagram for the part’s loca­tion.

When shooting, WEAR HEARING PROTECTION

it up until you have read and understood all

l9llAl

PUT IT

Government Model

DOWN.

‘ETY

I

and WEAR SHOOTING GLASSES. For hearing pro­tection you should wear ear muffs with a MINIMUM

25

noise reduction factor of
are LOUD and will damage your hearing if you are not
careful.

The Safari Arms pistol is the direct result of dedication to
the U.S. Government drawings and specifications. Safari
Arms manufactures virtually every part in-house, using
our own strict quality controls and rigid testing proce­dures. This guarantees you a custom pistol at production
prices.

decibels. These handguns

1911.45 PARTS LIST

1 Slide
2

LPA Adj. Rear Sight

3

LPA Front Sight

4 Extractor

5 Firing Pin
6 Firing Pin Spring

7 Firing Pin Stop

8 Barrel
9 Barrel Link

10 Barrel Link Pin
11 Barrel Bushing
12 Recoil Spring
13 Recoil Spring Guide
14 Recoil Spring Cap
15 Ejector

16 Ejector Pin

17 Disconnector

18 Sear
19 Hammer
20 Hammer Strut
21 Hammer Strut Pin
22 Slide Stop

23 Magazine Catch

24 Magazine Catch Spring
25 Magazine Catch Lock
26 Hammer Pin
27 Sear Pin
28 Plunger Tube
29 Slide Stop Plunger
30 Plunger Spring
3 1 Safety Plunger
32 Thumb Safety

Trigger

33
34

Grip Safety

35

Sear Spring

36

Mainspring Housing
Mainspring Cap Pin

37

Mainspring Cap

38

Mainspring

39

Mainspring Retainer

40

Mainspring Housing

41

Retainer Pin
Grip Screw

43
44

Grip Screw Escutcheon
Magazine

45

Barrel

46

36

BASIC NRA RULES FOR SAFE GUN HANDLING

1. ALWAYS KEEP THE GUN POINTED IN A SAFE DIRECTION.

2. ALWAYS KEEP YOUR FINGERS OFF THE TRIGGER UNTIL READY TO SHOOT.

3. ALWAYS KEEP THE GUN UNLOADED UNTIL READY TO USE.

4. ALWAYS TREAT YOUR GUN AS IF IT IS LOADED AND READY TO DISCHARGE.

LEAD WARNING

Dischargingfirearms in poorly ventilated areas, cleaningfirearms, or handling ammunition

may result in exposure to lead and other chemicals known to cause birth defects, reproductive
harm, cancer, and other serious physical injury. Have adequate ventilation at all times. Wash
hands thoroughly after exposure.

WARNING:

This product is classified as a lethal weapon. Failure to

read and properly execute the instructions and warn-

ings in this manual could result in serious injury,

death or damage to property

Do not attempt to practice loading or unloading with
live ammunition without a thorough understanding

of the safe operation of this pistol.

Always treat a firearm as if it were fully loaded.

Always store and carry this product empty, with the

hammer forward on an empty chamber. Failure to do
so could result in an unintentional discharge.

Keep out of reach of children.
When you squeeze the trigger, you must expect the

pistol to fire and take full responsibility for your
actions.

Read through the entire manual before attempting to
use this product.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Exploded View and Parts List,
Basic Rules for Safe Gun Handling, Lead Warning, Manufacturer’s Warning
Rules of Safety
Ammunition
Basic Description of Mechanism
How to Check if Your Weapon Is Loaded
Preparing Your Pistol for Firing
Safety and Gun Handling
Matchmaster “Captive” (single-pin): Disassembly, Cleaning and Reassembly
Matchmaster (2-Piece Guide Rod System): Disassembly, Cleaning and Reassembly,
Matchmaster (One-Piece Undrilled Guide Rod System): Disassembly, Cleaning and Reassembly
Big Deuce: Disassembly, Cleaning and Reassembly
Enforcer and Cohort: Disassembly, Cleaning and Reassembly
Manufacturer’s Warranty Instructions,
Tips from Your Pistolsmith

How to Determine Your Recoil System Type

The Safari Arms Matchmaster’” has been modified over the years, and has been produced with three
ferent recoil systems. Instructions are provided for all three.

n

1911 .45

ACP

15- 19
20 - 25

26 - 30

31-35

36 - 40

rl

3
4

6
7

10

11
11
13

41
42

dif-

A hex-head opening
means you have a
two-piece guide rod
system (page 20

).

A smooth guide rod end
means you have either a
captive or a one-piece

undrilled system, so...

move the slide back until the slide stop engages.
Look at the guide rod. If there is a tiny hole drilled
through it, you have a captive system (page 15

). If

there isn’t, you have the undrilled system (page 26).

RULES OF SAFETY

NOTICE: Safari Arms Inc., Olympic Arms Inc. and
Schuetzen Gun Works shall not be responsible for any
death, physical injury or property damage that is the

7
8

.
.

result of the proper or improper use of this product.

9

1.

Always treat this and any other firearm as if it were

.

loaded.

2

.

Never point this or any other firearm at anything you

do not intend to shoot. Keep muzzle pointed in a safe
direction.

3

.

NEVER take anvone’s word that a firearm is un­loaded.

Clear it yourself with your finger off the

trigger and the muzzle pointed in a safe direction.

10
11

12

.
.

.

Remove the magazine, lock the slide open and visu-

ally check to ensure that no round is chambered.

4

.

Always make sure the pistol is unloaded and the slide

13

is latched open before laying it down or handing it to

.

someone else.

5

.

Never carry this pistol cocked, loaded and ready to

fire.

This practice is dangerous, and can easily result

14

in an unintentional discharge.
Always make sure that this firearm is in top working

6

.

.

condition and that no internal parts have been dam-

15

aged as a result of corrosion, improper maintenance

*

or abuse. If evidence of these conditions is apparent,
have your pistol checked by a competent gunsmith
prior to use.

16

.

Neverleave a loaded pistol

unattended.

Make sure that your backstop is adequate to stop
your bullets prior to shooting.

Make sure all other shooters and bystanders are well
away from the ejection port. Empty cases are hot,
and are ejected with great force. They may cause
injury if someone is struck.

Obey all range rules at all times.
Always

wear adequate

hearing and eye protection

when using any firearm
While on the range, be sure to carry this pistol

cleared, with the slide locked open and the muzzle
pointed in a safe direction until you are ready to
shoot.

Always make sure that the barrel and action are clear
of obstructions. Shooting a blocked firearm can
result in serious injury, death and damage to the
weapon.

Never drink alcoholic b
to or during shooting

everages

or take

or handlingof

drugs prior

this or any

other firearm.
Seek a doctor’s advice if you are taking medicine

prior to engaging in any shooting activity
Keep the safety on when pistol is loaded and cocked,

until ready to fire. Immediately unload and clear this

pistol when shooting sequence has been completed.

.

17

Never shoot at any hard or flat surface, such as rock
or water. The resulting ricochets could result in phys­ical injury, death or property damage.

18. Never put your finger in the trigger guard until you
are ready to fire.

19. Always make sure your pistol is unloaded before

cleaning.

.

20

Never force a
round to expl

, This co

physical

uld cause a

injury and

damage to the

21

.

If a firearm fai1s to fire when th

e trigger

is pulled, as

AMMUNITION

a result of slow primer ignition (hangfire), keep
muzzle pointed downrange for a minimum of
seconds. If the round does not fire, remove the mag­azine, clear the weapon and examine the ejected,
unfired cartridge. If the indentation from the firing
pin is off center, light or absent, take the pistol to a
competent gunsmith. If the indent appears normal
compared to other rounds, assume the round is
faulty, separate it from the other cartridges, reload
and continue shooting.

22

.

Never use this pistol in any manner other than that
for which it was specifically intended.

23

.

Never indulge in

“horseplay” while holding any

firearm.

30

1. Use only high-quality, original U.S. factory-manu­factured ammunition. Don’t oil cartridges. Don’t
spray aerosol lubricants or cleaners directly onto
your cartridges, or where excess spray may flow into
contact with them. Lubricants or other foreign mat­ter on cartridges can cause potentially dangerous
ammunition malfunction. Use onlv ammunition of
the caliber for which your firearm is chambered. The
proper caliber is engraved on the barrel; never try to
use any other caliber.

2. The use of reloaded, “remanufactured:’ aluminum
cased, hand-loaded or other non-standard ammuni­tion voids all warranties. Reloading is a science and
improperly loaded ammunition can be dangerous.
Severe damage to the pistol and serious injury to the
shooter or to others may result. Always use ammuni­tion that complies with the industry performance
standards established by the Sporting Arms and
Ammunition Manufacturers’ Institute, Inc. of the
United States (SAAMI).

3. Firearms may be severely damaged and serious
injury to the shooter or bystanders may result from
any condition causing excessive pressure inside the

barrel or chamber during firing. Excessive pressure

can be caused by powder overloads, an obstruction
in the barrel, or by the use of defective cartridges.
Never use dirty, corroded or damaged cartridges
they can lead to a burst cartridge case and damage to
the firearm and to the shooter as a result of the
explosive escape of high-pressure propellant gases
within the firearms mechanism.

4.

Immediately stop shooting and check the barrel for a

possible obstruction whenever:

l

You have difficulty in, or feel unusual resistance in

chambering a cartridge, or

l A cartridge misfires (fails to go off), or
l The mechanism fails to extract a fired cartridge

l Unburned grains of powder are discovered spilled

in the mechanism, or

l A shot sounds weak or “funny”

In such circumstances it is possible that a bullet is
lodged part-way down the barrel. Firing a subse­quent bullet into the obstructed barrel can wreck the

firearm and cause serious injury to the shooter or
bystanders.

5.

Bullets can become lodged in the barrel

-

l If the cartridge has been improperly loaded with-

out propellant powder, or if the powder fails to
ignite. (Primer ignition alone will push the bullet out
of the case, but does not generate enough energy to
push it completely out of the barrel).

-

l If the bullet is not properly seated tightly in the

cartridge case. When such a cartridge is extracted
from the chamber without being fired, the bullet
may be left behind in the bore. Subsequent chamber-

ing of another cartridge may push the first bullet fur-

ther into the bore.

6. If there is any reason to suspect that a bullet is

obstructing the barrel, immediately unload the
firearm and look through the bore. It is not
sufficient to just look in the chamber. A bullet may be

lodged some distance down the barrel where it can-

not easily be seen. If a bullet is in the bore, do not

attempt to shoot it out by using another cartridge,
or by blowing it out with a blank, or a cartridge

from which the bullet has been removed. Such tech­niques can generate excessive pressure, wreck the
firearm and cause serious personal injury.

If the bullet can be easily removed with a cleaning
rod, (using hand pressure only, never “hammer” a

bullet lodged in the bore), clean any unburned pow-

der grains from the bore, chamber and mechanism

before resuming shooting. If the bullet cannot be

dislodged by tapping it with a cleaning rod, take the
pistol to a gunsmith.

7

.

Dirt, corrosion, or other foreign matter on a car­tridge can cause difficulties with chambering and
may cause the cartridge case to burst upon firing.
The same is true of cartridges which are damaged or
deformed.

8

.

Don’t oil your cartridges,

chamber clean of any oil

and be sure to wipe the

preservative

before
start shooting. Oil interferes with the friction
between cartridge case and chamber wall that is nec­essary for safe functioning, and subjects the pistol to
stress similar to that imposed by excessive pressure.

9

.

Use lubricants
firearm. Avoid

sparingly

excessive

on the moving parts of your
spraying of any aerosol gun

care product, especially where it may get on ammu-

nition. All lubricants, and aerosol spray lubricants in
particular, can penetrate cartridge primers and
cause misfires. Some highly penetrative lubricants
can also migrate inside carridge cases and cause
deterioration of the propellant powder. When the

cartridge is fired, the powder may not ignite. If only
the primer ignites, there is a danger that the bullet

may become lodged in the barrel.

you

10. 1911-style pistols were designed to function best

with bullets that have a smooth contoured nose,

seated to an overall length of

(1.270

is the maximum).

1.260

to

1.270

inches

Shorter, blunter ammunition, such as hollow points,

will normally function best if the barrel is throated

and polished, by a competent pistolsmith, specifical­ly for the bullet configuration most desired.
Throating and polishing are standard on all Safari
Arms pistols.

When cartridges fail to feed, check the following:
A. Substandard ammunition.

B. Magazine is poor quality, or feed lips are dam-

aged.
C. Cartridge overall length too short.
D. Bullet nose too blunt.
E. Slide is short-stroking. Ammo charge is not to

SAAMI specifications.

NOTE: 95% of all autopistol malfunctions are due to
ammunition or defective magazines.

SLIDE STOP

~

SLIDE

MAGAZINE

Q

BASIC DESCRIPTION OF MECHANISM

The 1911 .45 ACP has three main parts: frame, barrel
and slide.

The frame is fitted with guides in which the slide oper­ates. Its grip is hollow to permit insertion of the maga­zine, which is retained by the magazine catch.

EXTENDED

GRIP SAFETY

PORTED SLIDE PROVIDES

POSITIVE EJECTION

The slide mounts on the frame from the front end, and
the distance of its rearward movement is controlled by
the frame abutment, which prevents it from being
thrown off the frame.

The barrel has two transverse locking ribs on its rear
upper surface. They lock onto corresponding slots on
the inside of the slide when in firing position. The lower
rear end of the barrel is attached to the frame by a link
and pin. It can, in consequence, move a limited distance
lengthwise and downwards.

When the barrel and slide together are mounted on the
frame and the slide stop is in place, the slide stop pin
passes through the frame and the barrel link, locking
slide, barrel and frame together. The top of the slide
stop is serrated to provide positive traction for releas­ing the slide from the open position.

Remove the magazine by depressing the
magazine catch.’

Grasp the grip grooves on the slide and pulling the slide
to the rear as shown, open the breech. This will expose
the chamber at the rear of the barrel and the cartridge
feeding area behind and below the barrel. By looking
down into the opening in the slide ejection port and
into the chamber at the rear of the barrel it is easy to see
if the chamber is empty or if there is a cartridge
in place.

If there is a cartridge in the chamber,
UNLOAD THE GUN by pulling the slide all
the way to the rear. The cartridge will either fall
down the magazine well or be ejected through
the ejection port.
Ease the slide forward.

BE SURE THAT IT DOES.

/

PREPARING YOUR PISTOL FOR FIRING

Loading the magazine

Grasp it firmly in your left hand (see picture).
Press down the follower (or, after a round has been

inserted, the top cartridge) with your left thumb.
Insert cartridges with the right hand, pressing the base

of a cartridge down against the front end of the follow­er and slide backward in one smooth motion under
the retaining lips.

This is done with one cartridge after another until the
magazine is full. Each factory-supplied magazine’ has
holes in the body which will show how many cartridges
are in place. Having loaded one magazine, you can see
why owning several spare magazines is desirable and
also, how easily and quickly the pistol can be reloaded
when you have a supply of loaded magazines. Loading
a magazine is simple and becomes even easier with a
little practice.

Insert the magazine

Load the pistol this way:

Be sure it locks in place. There will be an audible click.

Load the pistol in this way, with the hand behind the
slide as shown, and the finger out of the trigger guard.
The effort needed to pull back the slide can be reduced
if the hammer is first cocked. Pull the slide completely
to the rear. When the slide is as far to the rear as it will
go, release it.

The slide, when released, moves forward, propelled by
the recoil spring. The breech face of the slide pushes the
first cartridge into the chamber, thus loading the pistol.
The slide should be pulled completely to the rear, and
released from the furthest-back position, allowing the
recoil spring to close and lock the pistol with no inter­ference from the hand. Be careful. At this point the

pistol is ready to fire.

ly shoot the pistol, engage the safety lock. The pistol is
fired by steady rearward pressure on the trigger; one

If you do not plan to immediate-

pull for each round until the magazine is empty. After
the last shot is

fired, thenistol

will remain locked open
ready for a freshly loaded magazine. It will be in this
position:

I

\\\\\\\\\\

This feature tells the shooter that his pistol is empty,

and permits rapid reloading. Press the slide stop down
out of its locking notch to allow the slide to move

for-

ward. If a loaded magazine is inserted and the slide stop

is pushed down, the slide will load a fresh cartridge
from the magazine into the chamber, and the pistol is
ready to fire.

SAFETY & GUN HANDLING

A gun is a lethal instrument. It is no safer than the per­son handling it. There are many rules about gun han-

dling, but the most important one is:

MUZZLE. Do not point it at anything you

WATCH THAT

do not

intend to shoot. Check every gun to see if it is loaded,

with your fingers off the trigger and the muzzle point-

in

a sate direction, every time you

ed
touch one. Watch what you shoot at

\

when vou are shooting. Keep the gun
pointed in a safe direction when you
do not intend to shoot it.

On a shooting range, lock your gun
in the open position whenever vou
are not firing it. This tells everyone
that you have a gun in safe condition.
Practice common sense and range
courtesy, and you will find yourself
welcome among shooters.

ASK YOURSELF: what will the

’

let strike after it passes through the

bul-

target? Safe gun handling also means

being certain of your backstop. If you are going to turn

all that firepower loose, you’d better be certain that
something will stop it.

Safari Arms pistols are provided with a positive

All
safety lock. When the safety lock is pushed into the
upward position (see second picture), it snaps into a
notch on the slide. At the same time, a stud on the inner
face blocks motion of the sear when in the full cocked
position. This safety can only be applied when the
hammer is cocked.

Safari Arms recommends that you carry your pistol