1911 Question - hiccup in slide movement

[rbernie]

I recently purchased a Springfield Lightweight full size 1911. It looks to be in decent shape and shoot well with zero malfunctions. It does have one idiosyncrasy, tho - the slide 'hesitates' about 1/4" from the rear when hand cycling the slide and slowly returning it to battery. The hesitation is most noticable when the slide is on the return side of the cycle, and feels like a slight bind in the works.

What is happening at this point in the cycle?

 

[Jim Watson]

Well, on MY Springfield 5" lightweight, the hitch was the slide bumping over the disconnector. The disconnector was being held up harder than normal by a poor quality sear spring with high tension and a rough tip end. I just replaced the spring with a Colt part.
My gunsmith prefers the Nowlin searspring but I had the Colt on hand.

 

[1911Tuner]

Could be long-linked.

Point the muzzle straight up and let it return to battery slowly. The hitch should disappear. Point it straight down, and it should come back.

Hold the pistol upside down and rack the slide back/out of battery briskly. If the link is long, the slide should catch, or...in the extreme...even stop dead, refusing to move any further than a quarter-inch.

Many people long link the barrel in hopes of improving "lockup" and accuracy...and they wind up with a gun that's out of time and can do expensive damage if it will function well enough to shoot it...and the accuracy usually suffers.

 

[rbernie]

Point the muzzle straight up and let it return to battery slowly. The hitch should disappear. Point it straight down, and it should come back.

Hold the pistol upside down and rack the slide back/out of battery briskly. If the link is long, the slide should catch, or...in the extreme...even stop dead, refusing to move any further than a quarter-inch.

Interesting test, but in this case it feels the same either way - a hitch in the giddyup that is constant regardless of pistol orientation.

I guess I'll order a new sear spring and open 'er up next weekend.

ETA - I just noticed that the hitch is still present, but lessened, if I cycle the slide while holding the trigger to the rear. Dunno what that means, but it's another data point.

 

[1911Tuner]

ETA - I just noticed that the hitch is still present, but lessened, if I cycle the slide while holding the trigger to the rear. Dunno what that means, but it's another data point.

It means that it could be a disconnector problem. Holding he trigger keeps the disconnect in the frame and out of the way. That it's only "lessened" means that it's not getting far enough out of the way.

The only wild card is that it still catches a quarter-inch from going into battery. That indicates early barrel engagement into the slide, and the lug corners are contacting the slide's lug corners as it comes up. Like a 3-Point Jam without feeding a round.

Try letting the slide go to battery while you maintain a rearward/downward force on the barrel by placing the muzzle against the edge of a table. If that gets rid of the into battery hitch...check the link to see if the barrel is riding high on it.

 

[rbernie]

The only wild card is that it still catches a quarter-inch from going into battery.

I'm sorry, I must have been unclear - the catch is a quarter inch from the slide being all the way to the rear, not as it goes into battery.

 

[1911Tuner]

the catch is a quarter inch from the slide being all the way to the rear, not as it goes into battery.

Okay, then!

Does it grab as it's moving backward toward full stop...or as it moves forward toward battery?

If it's the latter, it's the disconnect, and probably normal unless it stops the slide completely.

 

[rbernie]

If it's the latter, it's the disconnect, and probably normal unless it stops the slide completely

That's the one. I may order a new sear spring for the halibut and see if that reduces the kink. I need to order a new guide rod anyway, to get rid of this multi-piece FLGR thingee that was on it when I bought it, so I might as well order the spring while I'm at it.

Thanks for the help, y'all.