Warning... Cracked slide Springfield Armory Champion..

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std7mag

New member
I have an earlier model of the Springfield Armory Champion.

I was going to shoot it today. While loading a magazine into the gun, I thought I saw a hair on the slide. Wiped it off, and still there...

Slide is cracked, on both sides, almost up to the top of the slide, about 1 inch from the front end.

I would load a picture, but don't know how to resize to fit the forum.

My Champion is stamped FI Brazil and has the straked in front dot sight. No light rail on the bottom of the frame.

I have about 1000 rounds through it that I have shot, bought it used. Just put a new Wolffe 22lb recoil spring in. (supposed to be the stock weight spring).

Calling Springfield tomorrow, see where it goes...
 
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peggysue

Moderator
Springfield has great customer service and they will take care of you. Keep in mind it is Holiday time so make take longer.
 
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Skans

Active member
A cracked slide as described by the OP is a big deal. I'd consider this a warning that the Springfield Armory Champion may have an inherent defect that could deserve watching.

I'm going to google "Springfield Armory Champion Cracked Slide" and see if anything pops up.......

A quick search found a couple of reports of slide cracking on this gun, but that's about it. I checked and as far as I can tell, the slides are made by IMBEL out of Brazil, not Taurus.
 
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RickB

New member
The OP says it's an "earlier model", so you'd think if it were some sort of epidemic of defective slides, it would have become obvious before now.
Is the crack in line with any sharp machining inside the slide; an inch back from the muzzle end wouldn't seem to correspond with anything but the smooth slide bore?
Further back, it might involve the lugs, and further forward it might involve the recoil spring tunnel, but this sounds like it's in between.
 
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g.willikers

New member
Does that model have a full length recoil spring guide rod?
Just a guess, but a rod that's not straight and true could maybe cause grief??
 
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Fishbed77

New member
The thread title says "Warning"

What's the warning?
Click to expand...

Sounds like a warning that you should always visually inspect a firearm when possible for any potential problems prior to use.

Sounds reasonable to me.
 
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std7mag

New member
Well, the "Warning" was for any owners of the Springfield Armory Champion, and to inspect your firearms. Glad I caught it before I shot, as a slide to the face would not have been a good day for me...

Customer Service is 8am-4:30pm CST... Of course I was busy at the shop today and couldn't call before they closed. I left a message, and sent an email.

The crack starts about 1/8 of an inch behind where the bevel is at the bottom front of the slide. Right inline with the flat surface where the link and spring pass through. Don't know really how else to describe it...

And no, there is not full length guide rod. Mine is only about an inch long. Luckily it isn't one of those that takes the silly clip, to disassemble the gun.
 
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WVsig

New member
All poodles are dogs... not all dogs are poodles...:rolleyes:

The OP has a bad slide SA will fix it. Life will continue. A single occurrence of a cracked slide a "warning" does not make. IMHO YMMV
 
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Aguila Blanca

Staff
WVsig said:
The OP has a bad slide SA will fix it. Life will continue. A single occurrence of a cracked slide a "warning" does not make. IMHO YMMV
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I agree.

Especially since it was bought used. There's a fair degree of likelihood that a previous owner might have replaced the recoil spring with one that's too long, resulting in the spring "stacking." If there's a warning in this anywhere, IMHO it should be to check any used semi-auto for recoil spring binding.
 
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j357

New member
OP also joined over two years ago and has contributed more than 500 posts. 'Warning' may be a strong word at this point, but let's see how this plays out w/ SA before laying out a wake for the owner or his habits.
 
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Red-5

New member
This is a pretty well known failure mode on a run of Springfield 1911s
Click to expand...

I must have my head in the sand, as I have not heard anything about a bad run of slides.

Can you post some reference to this?
 
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Slopemeno

New member
Here's one:

My understanding is that Springfield will simply replace the slide, no questions asked.
 

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FrankenMauser

New member
I know someone that has cracked more slides than most of us can imagine - most of them on 1911s or 1911-based pistols.

In all instances, it came down to:
1. Aftermarket parts. -Either parts that don't get along, or the wrong parts for the application. (I.e. wrong recoil spring.)
and/or, (usually and)
2. Hot loads. -"Holy crap! These reloads are SMOKIN'! Well, I loaded 800 of them. I don't want to pull all of those bullets, so I'll just shoot them..." Or, "Whoa! This Cor-Bon ammo is pretty stout. Let's see what 500 rounds of it will do." (Only to find out there was a recall ... :rolleyes:)


The fact that you bought yours used and recently replaced the recoil spring makes me doubt that this was a faulty slide. My money would be on high round count, abuse, and either incompetence or neglect (by the previous owner).
I don't have all of the information, but that's the call that I'd make with what I've been presented.
 
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TMD

New member
A 22# recoil spring? IIRC the standard weight spring is 16#. A 22# may slow the slide down some when firing buy sure will come forward a lot faster and beat the hell out of it.
 
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Aguila Blanca

Staff
TMD said:
A 22# recoil spring? IIRC the standard weight spring is 16#. A 22# may slow the slide down some when firing buy sure will come forward a lot faster and beat the hell out of it.
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16 pounds is the accepted standard recoil spring for a 5" Government model 1911, but the Springfield Champion is a 4" slide and barrel. I believe they used the same recoil spring as the Colt Officers ACP, which indeed was 22 pounds.
 
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