New 1911 Just Got The Hiccups

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RickB

New member
Has anyone but you shot the gun? It could be you! Seriously, I have never experienced an instance of "limp wristing" causing a malf, even when I've intentionally tried to hold the gun with a wimpy grip, but when I let a friend shoot, she had a failure on every other shot. There could be something weird about how you hold the gun, or how you react to recoil.
Is it possible that you are contacting the slide stop with your thumb? Maybe bumping it mid-cycle?
 
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Crazy88Fingers

New member
The thought of limp writing crossed my mind, especially when it started double feeding. But the malfunctions are consistently on the last one or two rounds in the magazine, so I don't think it's me. Plus I own a couple of other big bores; I'm no stranger to recoil.

Contacting the slide stop though may be a possibility. I'll have to double check my grip when I get home.
 
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RickB

New member
Double-feeds - two live rounds vying for a place in one chamber - just about has to be a mag issue. The round is getting out of the mag before the slide comes forward to pick it up. That the problem appears only with the last couple of rounds, when the spring is pressing upward on the rounds with the least force, is another indication that the mags just aren't retaining rounds like they should.
Do you lube your mags? If not, did they come with any sort of preservative in them that could be acting as a lube? I'd clean/degrease the mags thoroughly before the next range trip; a little oil on the mag feedlips or follower could allow the round to get out of the mag prematurely.
 
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polyphemus

New member
Just out of curiosity,what did Colt's Manufacturing Company do to your pistol?
Anything?They must have given you some kind of work order.
This is not your fault,something is out of whack,they know what it is,they have
been making M1911s for a hundred years and seen it all,they got to fix it.
Whatever you do please do not polish the feed ramp,send it back and again
until it shoots good,that is what you paid for.
 
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Crazy88Fingers

New member
The first work order had the words "polish" and "extractor" scribbled on it. So I'm assuming they polished the ramp (it does look a bit smoother) and tuned the extractor. The second work order didn't have any notes written on it. It seems they may have just fired it, looked it over, then shipped it back.

If it is the mags they should have caught on to that. Even if it is the mags, I'd expect them to last longer than a couple hundred rounds each. Interestingly enough there's another thread on this board proclaiming how great Checkmate mags are, and they supply Colt's mags. They don't have any lube or grease on them that I'm aware of.

If it isn't pilot error then the only other variable would be ammo. I took a micrometer to a few rounds last night and the ammo I'm using seems to be within spec. But I'll try to track down a different brand anyway.
 
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polyphemus

New member
Checkmates are finely built magazines but they work best with extra power
springs,I have a few and no complaints.Measuring the rounds would be
meaningful if you were shooting reloads,factory deviations are normally within
tolerance,you would be looking at the COAL's,since too long could affect feeding
but in your case magnum loads might cause the slide to cycle too hard and
the pistol to malfunction as you describe.So whether it is magazine,return spring or something else it is not you causing it,may be time to speak to a
higher up in customer service.
 
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RickB

New member
This is not your fault,something is out of whack,they know what it is,they have
been making M1911s for a hundred years and seen it all,they got to fix it.
Click to expand...


The first work order had the words "polish" and "extractor" scribbled on it. So I'm assuming they polished the ramp (it does look a bit smoother) and tuned the extractor. The second work order didn't have any notes written on it. It seems they may have just fired it, looked it over, then shipped it back.
Click to expand...

This is what has me leaning in the direction of "something" that the OP is doing, or not doing, is causing or contributing to the problem.
Colt cannot afford to keep not fixing a gun that they know how to fix. It is very possible that they get the gun, shoot it, can't really find a problem, and send it back.
They probably have a standard "fix" for certain functional issues - polishing the ramp and adjusting the extractor, to show that they "did something" - but did they ever actually say that they experienced the same issues that you did? If they know what kind of issues you are having, and it's a problem with the gun or the mags, then Colt would have suffered the same problem, maybe tried different mags, etc.
But, if they return the gun, with the same mags, then that would seem to indicate that they did not suffer the same problems that you've been having?
 
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Crazy88Fingers

New member
I asked the service rep how many rounds the technicians typically fire through the gun for testing and he said a magazine or two. The gun can make it through that many rounds, no problem. But when you fire 50-100 rounds then the problems start popping up.
 
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Tactical Jackalope

New member
EW... Just to debunk TFL's accusations, I'll be more than happy to. lol.. Saturday evening would be best, or Sunday morning? Guess we'll play it by ear.

I'll bring you my SIG P220 to run some rounds through to stir your emotions.

I'll bring my last 1911 Gold Cup if you want me to also. :D
 
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RickB

New member
I asked the service rep how many rounds the technicians typically fire through the gun for testing and he said a magazine or two. The gun can make it through that many rounds, no problem. But when you fire 50-100 rounds then the problems start popping up.
Click to expand...

So, you can fire six or eight or ten mags full with no issues, then it starts to double feed on the last and/or next-to-last round in almost every mag? If you stop shooting at that point, then will it function alright again the next time you go to the range, or does it continue to malf? That is, the gun is always cleaned and lubed when you go to the range, so it starts to malf as it gets a little bit dirty, or it always works when it's cold, and it starts to malf as it heats-up from use?
 
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qwiksdraw

New member
Just curious, have you had someone else shoot the gun? That would either eliminate user error or put it up for consideration.
 
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Crazy88Fingers

New member
It's cleaned and lubed after every range trip. The jamming seems to be sporadic. Lately it will jam an average of two times for every 50 rounds. Sometimes sooner than later. This last time it jammed on the second or third mag if I recall correctly. Either way, if it can't make it through a box of ammo because of filth or heat, something is very wrong.

This weekend I'll try a different shooter and different ammo. We'll see what happens.
 
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RickB

New member
Sporadic problems are real pain, as you don't want to have to shoot hundreds of rounds of ammo to determine if it's been fixed.
Beg or borrow some additional or different magazines.
Not that it really pertains to your problem, but I chased an "extractor issue" for over a year, adjusting, filing, polishing, etc. Then I watched a video of myself shooting, and saw that the problem was spent cases bouncing off my thumb (lefty) and back into the ejection port! I was getting one of these failures to eject every 100-200 rounds, and I sure didn't want to fire that many test rounds every time I tweaked the gun.

 
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g.willikers

New member
That's a great picture.
And like Rick says, there's all kinds of things that can mess with the operation of the gun.
Something as simple as a thumb rubbing on the slide can do it.
Have you tried it both one handed and two?
Are you trying to overpower the gun to control recoil, or letting the muzzle do its thing and rise and fall?
 
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g.willikers

New member
For an example of how a goofy thing can cause gun malfunctions:
I was ROing a fellow through a stage and he was having intermittent jams.
It turned out he was standing so close to the barricades that the ejected rounds were bouncing back and hitting his gun.
When he realized it and quit crowding the barricades, magically, the jams ceased.
 
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Crazy88Fingers

New member
I am shooting a bit low, but getting decent groups. So I'm probably pushing the muzzle down. But I don't think it's enough to be causing any malfunctions. At least I hope these guns aren't so sensitive.

Don't forget that the first 250 rounds I fired out of this gun were flawless and then it started jamming up on the last round pretty consistently with three different mags. After the first trip to the factory (extractor work and polish) the jamming cleared up a bit, but it's still there. This makes me lean toward the gun as the culprit.
 
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Rinspeed

New member
The problem in my opinion is the slide is traveling too fast for the last round to get set before being sent to the feed ramp. Stronger mag springs or a slightly weaker recoil spring should fix it. Pistols being sent out from the factory with the wrong recoil spring installed happens once in a while I'm sure. When you shoot with Constantine try the recoil spring from one of his 1911s and try a couple of his mags as well.
 
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