Issues with my SA 1911.. HELP!

[Jermz1987]

Ok if this is in the wrong section please forgive me.

I am having some problems with my SA 1911 GI. I got it about 6 weeks ago. When I got it I also got 200 rounds of Blazer brass FMJs and around 100 rounds of various hollow points. Now the first issue I had happened while I was at the range. While shooting the magazine broke. Around 120 rounds into the gun and the magazine literally blew up, The spring and ammo went flying out of the bottom of the gun. So I purchased 2 Chip McCormick Shooting Star magazines. Which are these.http://www.midwayusa.com/viewProduct/?productNumber=697475


After getting the new magazines I loaded them up with the JHPs. Here is the second issue. The rounds wont cycle into the gun. Not only that, When I get the jammed round out, the bullet is pushed back into the casing. No matter what I do It wont feed anything. Everything gets stuck and the head of the bullet get pushed back into the casing. It even does this with FMJ ammo. I tried a different magazine I got from a friend and I am still getting jams.. At first I thought it was just the HP ammo, But it is doing this with FMJs as well. Not as much as the Hollow points but it is still happening. So should I send the gun back to Springfield? Its a shame because I truly love the gun. It is my first 1911 and when It was working I loved every second of it. What should I do?

 

[Lavid2002]

Eliminate as many factors as you can.


Its good that you tried your buddies mag too, but if its ****, it doesnt matter.


Get some quality magazines and some quality ammunition and try again.

I would love to help you more but honestly most of these FTF problems are magazine problems. Grab some quality ones and we'll go from there.

: )

-Dave

 

[roklok]

It sounds like a magazine issue, especially being that it was working with your original magazine, until it failed. I would try Wilson or Tripp Research magazines before doing anything else.

 

[Powderman]

The springs in your magazine are too weak for your recoil spring. I recommend (especially if you're using Shooting Star mags) some Wolff +5% power magazine springs. These will cure the feeding problems, unless I'm sadly mistaken.

 

[Jermz1987]

Thanks for the suggestions guys. I forgot to mention that when I only load 7 rounds it happens a little less. Oh well. I will just have to buy some more magazines and give them a shot.

 

[Kreyzhorse]

Around 120 rounds into the gun and the magazine literally blew up, The spring and ammo went flying out of the bottom of the gun.

That seems pretty odd unto itself. Couple the fact that the McCormick's don't work either and you might have an issue beyond the mags you are using.

If I were you, my first step would be to call Springfield about the issue and tell them exactly what happened so far. I use Chip McCormick's in my Springfield and they work great so I'd be surprised if they are the sole cause of your problem.

Springfield has great customer service and if they need to see the gun, send it back to them. If there is an issue, they'll fix it and you'll love your gun even more when it's working as it should.

 

[Coltman 77]

I think Kreyzhorse is spot on about you getting in touch with Springfield CS.

Talk with them. Hopefully they'll want to look at your pistol and give you a call tag for it.

That's an awful lot of bullet setback, sounds like the chamber in your barrel could be out of spec.

Good luck, keep us posted.

 

[velocette]

With respect, the first thing I'd do is field strip the pistol and give it a thorough cleaning and lubrication using good quality gun oil.
Look particularly on the frame just forward of the mag well where the barrel rests during feeding, look at the barrel link and under the feed ramp for dirt. Clean the bolt face carefully, especially along the sides. Another idea is to check the extractor for movement. If dirt or detritus has blocked its ability to move sideways when picking up the new round, you'll get the problems you have.
The pistol worked properly before your problem, so logically whatever happened to it was caused by the mag failure or perhaps the detritus from the failure.

I also suggest buying Jerry Kuhnhausens book on the govt. model. Something that every GM owner should have.

 

[Don P]

I doubt its the shooting star mags. Possible throat and polishing of the barrel. This is why I always recommend the Mil-Spec. Better sites, lowered and flared ejection port, flared mag well and a throated and polished barrel.

 

[Casimer]

+1 on calling Springfield. The set-back that you're seeing is potentially dangerous, don't attempt to fire those rounds again.

Where are the bullets sticking? - e.g. bottom or top of the chamber mouth

 

[greyson97]

is the gun new or used? and it seems your feed ramp might have issues

 

[Sturmgewehre]

Around 120 rounds into the gun and the magazine literally blew up, The spring and ammo went flying out of the bottom of the gun.

It "literally blew up" as in it blew the remaining rounds, spring, follower and floor plate out of the gun?

You had a kB! it sounds like. If that's the case, you might want to get the gun checked out before shooting it.

 

[demigod]

I've had two SA base model 1911s over the years and both were big disappointments/money pits.

Some people get functional guns right out of the box, but it's a gamble for sure.

 

[DBAR]

That seems pretty odd unto itself. Couple the fact that the McCormick's don't work either and you might have an issue beyond the mags you are using.

If I were you, my first step would be to call Springfield about the issue and tell them exactly what happened so far. I use Chip McCormick's in my Springfield and they work great so I'd be surprised if they are the sole cause of your problem.

Springfield has great customer service and if they need to see the gun, send it back to them. If there is an issue, they'll fix it and you'll love your gun even more when it's working as it should.

This is Sound advice....

It really sounds like you have bigger problems than a bad magazine. It sounds like you had some kind of kaboom, and there may still be something obstructing the chamber, like the brass casing that got seperated?

Either have a good gun smith look at it, or send it back to Springfield. Springfield has excellent customer service, and it won't really matter if your the first owner or not.

DBAR

 

[Casimer]

You had a kB! it sounds like.

That's what I'm wondering. The set-back may have been occurring from the onset, and resulted in the failure of the original mag.

 

[Leejack]

I would call Springfield without a doubt!

It's possible that the gun is not safe.

Everybody says they have great customer service.

Lee

 

[hdawson228]

Simple solution. Call SA today. Their customer service is excellent. You paid for their good warranty.

 

[SmokyBaer]

QUICK CHECK...

Highly recommend calling Springfield and following their instruction. In the meantime, while you wait for the RMA, you can check the headspace to see if you've got a ringer up in the chamber preventing the case from going all the way in.

If you have a micrometer check to see if you have, i think, .895 from the barrel face to bottom of chamber. I'm guessing that number from memory cause I'm not at home with my book so I could be off but it's close enough. Anyways, if the cartridge can't chamber all the way in, you'll have a blow out just like you described. Bad stuff.

Another way to tell is to field strip your 1911 and with the barrel in hand just drop a live round into the chamber and see if the rim sticks out more than the barrel hood. If it does you have a ring of brass or trash lodged in the chamber. Had some old reloads leave a brass ring in mine one time. Real head scratcher until you see how simple it is.

Hope this all helps. Please update the results!!

 

[crimsondave]

I highly doubt the Chip Mccormick mags are the problem. Add another to the call SA crowd.

 

[wingman]

With respect, the first thing I'd do is field strip the pistol and give it a thorough cleaning and lubrication using good quality gun oil.

I agree, see so many folks buy a pistol from the gun store to range without cleaning,auto's need lube to run, not saying that is the case here but all the automatic pistols I've purchased past 20 years function out of the box, some have had issues with mags or manufactured so tight they required break in but lube and cleaning is your friend, I use FP10 with gun butter on slides.