New 1911 Just Got The Hiccups

[Crazy88Fingers]

A couple of months ago I treated myself to a new Colt 1911 (or 1991, whatever they call it these days). It's their base Government model, and for the first 200 rounds, it ran flawlessly. In fact, I was already starting the holster shopping. Within the last 50 rounds, however, it started acting funny. Occasionally, the last round in the magazine will chamber, but the slide doesn't move all the way forward into battery; it sticks about a 1/4" back and the extractor doesn't grab the rim of the casing, so it's a bit of a pain to clear. In fact, it seems the extractor getting stuck behind the casing may be what's gumming up the works, now that I think about it.

It's done this with two different magazines (an 8-round Chip McCormick Shooting Star, and 7-round factory Colt) and with two different types of ammo (Federal hollow-point and Freedom Munitions ball). I'm pretty sure it isn't the ammo. The magazines may not be top-quality, but I find it odd that they would both develop the same problem with the last round at the same time.

The gun has about 250 rounds through her, which isn't a whole lot. So is this a symptom of the gun breaking in, or has something gone awry?

Appreciating my revolvers a bit more tonight, that's for sure.

 

[ozo]

Gotta love the appreciation for the revolvers.......I love em.
Don't sound like anything is broken....clean the 'B' up and go again.
Check for debris or [yuck, some mis-alignment] on the extractor.
Sounds like some funk in her somewhere. Hose her down, clean the nasty b up, lube her down for a good ride and wipe her off good before firing.
Some like it wet, some like it dry. 250 is too soon to tell. The only shame is ammo availability.....I hope you load for it.
It won't take much funk in a new one to stick like that. Even though it's a new Colt, it is still a good Colt and the tolerances are tight.
Clean her good. Lube her good. Let her sit.
Wipe her down really good, put her back together, go shoot her undies off.

 

[kahrguy]

Are you using a different ammo or maybe a different lot of ammo as some brands QC is not so good . Try another make and see if it runs. Then after the cleaning and lube job if it runs fine go back to the old ammo. besure the feed ramps shinny too.

 

[dahermit]

You would be best served by visiting the 1911Forum. They are specialists in the workings of 1911's and will be more likely to diagnose and solve you problem. Their website is here:
http://forums.1911forum.com/

However, there is at least one 1911 specialist with the credentials to actually deal with your problem that posts here. His handle is: 1911tuner. Private message him and see if you can get him to weigh-in about your problem and post here...I am sure he will have the answer.

My instincts tell me that it could be (1) Despite the fact that it involves two different magazines, they still are an issue (weak spring in the 7 rounder, no "dimple" on the 8-rounder). (2) Extractor not tensioned correctly, clocking, or dirt in the tunnel, chipped extractor nose, etc. I suspect, too tight...if it were too loosely tensioned you would more likely get failure to ejects with the empty casing crammed straight ahead into the ejection port.

 

[expendable]

I think dahermit is on the right track with the magazines.

It sounds like the last round is popping out of the mag before the extractor can
catch it, could be weak spring or if they are new maybe they have too much
lube on them.

Kurt

 

[polyphemus]

If you could post a picture of the malfunction it would be appreciated.
The extractor being behind the round is unusual.
Having said that this is a new firearm and should be returned for repairs,any
modifications at this point may affect your warranty.

 

[Smit]

I had a very similar issue with my 1911. Bought quality magazines and ammo and had the same result. I even purchased a new recoil spring so I could play around with the weight, etc. My advice: Clean and lube well, keep everything stock on the pistol and just keep shooting her. After a little while all the kinks I had worked themselves out and now I have a great shooter. If the problem continues to persist though do not hesitate to call Colt and report the issue.

 

[dahermit]

I think dahermit is on the right track with the magazines.

It sounds like the last round is popping out of the mag before the extractor can
catch it, could be weak spring or if they are new maybe they have too much
lube on them.

But then again, problems with a no-"dimple", 8 round follower, one would expect the round to jam upright, not chamber as it does in his case. I am leaning more toward the extractor.

 

[James K]

That little hump in the magazine follower is probably the least understood feature of the 1911. It is there to keep the last round of the magazine from jumping forward when hit by the slide and getting ahead of the extractor instead of rising up under it. (In the first rounds, the resistance of the rim in the extractor groove of the next round serves that purpose.)

Having the round jump ahead can be due to the hump being missing, misplaced or not high enough, or to a weak magazine spring that doesn't exert enough force on the follower.

Jim

 

[Crazy88Fingers]

The gun only has 250 rounds through it, and each magazine only a fraction of that. From what I've read I would lean toward the extractor being the culprit. Like I said, it seems odd that the mags would work fine and then develop the same problem at the same time, different brands and all. Of course it could be a combination of the extractor and mags. I'll give her a good cleaning and try again this weekend; as well as snap some pics if it persists. If you guys have any other ideas I'd love to hear them. Thank you for the input thus far!

 

[qwiksdraw]

You've got to find the bright side in all this, you are getting a lot of malfunction practice!

If it was an extractor problem this would happen on other rounds in the magazine not the last one.

Beg, borrow or steal some other mags and check it out. I have the same model and after a few times shooting with the factory mags, I noticed they were no functioning as well as my name brand mags (MecGar, Wilson Combat, Chip McCormack). I will keep the original mags if for nothing than for malfunction practice.

 

[Wreck-n-Crew]

The Slide not going to battery on a 1911 only on the last round....sounds like the mag is bent out of spec. Usually opened a little too wide.

If that takes care of the problem adjust your extractor.

A misadjusted extractor will cause a partial feed issue during firing and the next round to follow tweaks and opens the magazine a little too much.

When it is open a little too much the last round nosedives when stripped from the mag and often slows the slide return enough to not return to battery fully.

 

[dahermit]

If it was an extractor problem this would happen on other rounds in the magazine not the last one.

Sounds logical.

 

[KyJim]

First thing you need to do is disassemble the mags and clean the spring and inside of the body with a powder solvent. A lot of folks forget to do this. A dirty mag interior/spring can hamper proper functioning. If the mags have welded bottoms, depress the follower and insert a small nail or something like that through a witness hole to catch the magazine spring. Then jiggle till the follower comes out the top. Remove the nail with hand over top of mag body and catch the spring and take it out.

BTW, I am not a fan of the McCormick Shooting Star mags.

 

[WVsig]

90%+ of the time when a 1911 does not feed it is a magazine problem. Not feeding the last round leads one to believe that it is a weak mag spring causing a bolt over base failure to feed.

Does the round end up nose up? Is it caught in the slide like this?

Does the brass have marks on it like this?

OR...Is it a simple failure to go to/return to battery...and bumping it on the back of the slide finishes chambering the round like this?

From what you describe it sounds like a failure to go to battery. If this is the case IMHO you have an extractor problem even though it is happening on the last round. If the round is ending up nose up then that would lead one to believe that you have a weak mag spring which results in a bolt over base malfunction.

It sounds like the round is chambering but the slide is failing to return to battery. Look at the extractor. Is it clocking in the channel? Is the breachface dirty? Any debris or excessive crap in there? Remove the extractor and clean is with a brush and solvent.

Good luck

 

[expendable]

This is a photo I copied from a thread on the 1911 Forum of a inertia feed, that's what they are calling it.
The opinion there is that the recoil of the slide causes the last round to pop out of the mag because of the force of the slide slamming rearward.

Possible causes are too light of a recoil spring, weak mag spring or over lubricated mags.

Kurt

 

[Wreck-n-Crew]

I would definitely check the top of the mag where your follower is for being tweaked out of spec.....just seen it so many times.

As the mag empties each round keeps the one above it inline enough until you get to the last round. with no round below it and the top of the mag opened just a little bit more than normal, it will definitely cause the last round to feed wrong.

Many times people mistake it for a weak mag spring .Any time someone brings me a 1911 with feeding problems, the mag is the first thing I check.

 

[45Gunner]

My very first guess at problem solving would be to field strip the gun and remove and clean the extractor and the hole it lives in. So much of today's ammo seems to be dirtier than in prior years.

My second step would be to disassemble the mags and give the interior and spring a good cleaning with a mag brush.

Third and final step would be to try a different brand of ammo. My Colts will eat whatever I feed them but I do have a friend that has a gun that will not eat some brands.

 

[Crazy88Fingers]

Picture time!

I put a round straight into the chamber and let the slide forward. This is what it's doing at the range. Round fully seated in chamber with the extractor stuck behind it.

I clean it after every range trip and don't see any excess gunk anywhere. The magazines have also received a scrubbing.

What exactly is "clocking" for the extractor? And how do I get that thing outta there?

I think I'll take a friend's advice and order a Wilson mag or two, and see what happens. But I'm not completely ruling out extractor issues just yet. Thank you again for all the feedback. Hopefully the photo helps a bit.

 

[polyphemus]

What exactly is "clocking" for the extractor? And how do I get that thing outta there?

"clocking" is excess rotational play by the extractor and is caused by an out of
specs firing pin stop.
Field strip the pistol,while holding the plunger in push the firing pin all the way
using a thin punch and release the plunger,this holds it back.Now slide the stop
out and using your thumb to prevent the pin from shooting out depress the
plunger,once the firing pin and spring are out push the extractor about an 1/8"
this releases the plunger and its spring and now you can take the extractor all
the way out.
Please send your pistol back to Colt,they have to repair it and they will.