Ahh... the 1911 MilSpec woes continue...

[enichols]

Just had to rant a bit, and ask for a bit of forum advice.
I bought my Springfield 1911A1 MilSpec because I wanted a bare-bones, basic model 1911. My first range trip with the pistol, it started having a problem with hammer follow-down. IE I would thumb the slide release and the hammer would follow the slide into its half-cock position. Not a safe condition, so back to the factory she went. Fixed, returned, all was supposed to be well.

Then, it started having issues with entering a 3-point jam on the last round of the magazine. This problem always occurred with magazines with a dimpled follower, and then with smooth follower magazines as well. I tried cleaning the extractor channel, checking the extractor tension, testing different magazines, cleaning my magazines, all to no avail. I tried different ammo, and the problem occurred with every type of 230-grain FMJ ammo I tried. Note that I ALWAYS clean and lubricate my guns after any range trip, so it's not like I was leaving the thing dirty or anything like that. Called Springfield, back to the factory she went. Fixed, returned, all was supposed to be well.

On Friday I went to Angeles with my girlfriend. We took the 1911 and my CZ75B. I'm all excited because according to Springfield, my pistol was fixed, they replaced and tuned the extractor, and polished the feedramp and barrel throat, and I was ready to have fun. First magazine through the 1911, guess what happens? 3-point jam on the last round of the magazine.
I tried my other two magazines (both OEM Colt 7-rounders), and... 3-point jam on the last round of the magazine.
At this point, I say, "We are not going to waste any more expensive .45 ammo", pack the 1911 up, and proceed to finish the range day with my CZ75b (a gun which, FWIW, has given me ZERO problems in almost 1000 rounds in three months). The CZ saved the day from being a complete wash.

So, I'm a bit fed up with my 1911. I LOVE the platform, LOVE the ergonomics, shootability, and accuracy. I am frustrated beyond belief that my gun has had two trips to the factory and still doesn't work right, and will probably need yet another trip to Springfield. I am going to call them on Monday to get their advice. I feel like my gun is a complete lemon, and want to ask them simply to replace my pistol with a new one (don't know how well that would go over).

Do you guys have any other advice? Please don't say "get a Glock/Sig/HK". I don't like any of those guns and happen to love the 1911 platform. I just want mine to work!

OK, rant off.

 

[SureThing]

Well, I myself just got my first 1911. They can be picky boogers for sure.

I think it still my be the extractor. But I'm new to these things. IMO the Extractor is the weak point of 1911's, unless they have newer external ones.

 

[conan]

Make sure to hold a firm grip through out the whole firing cycle. That helped me, may not apply to you, but it's the cheapest fix that worked for me.

 

[gc70]

Take a look here for a thorough discussion of 1911 feeding and extraction problems and here for a specific discussion of 3-point jams.

 

[Candiru]

You may not have a strong enough spring in the magazine. When you mention Colt OEM magazines, do you mean the ones with the "hybrid" tapered feed lips?

 

[MICHAEL T]

Try a different brand Like a Colt I have several all relieable . I heard this story on Springers several times.

 

[enichols]

Yes, the magazines I'm using were Colt OEM 7-rounders made my Checkmate with the "hybrid" style feed lips. I was also using one Checkmate-branded magazine of the same type.

 

[Yo Mama]

Call them again

Springfield needs to cover cost of shipping, and should know you're not pleased.

Tell them monkeys to get it right this time.

 

[The Lone Haranguer]

IMO the Extractor is the weak point of 1911's, unless they have newer external ones.

That is no guarantee either. The hook broke off my SIG extractor after about 300 rounds.

 

[capttom]

SureThing said

Well, I myself just got my first 1911. They can be picky boogers for sure.

How times have changed! I remember, coming relatively late to pistols, learning on Colt Government Models and Combat Commanders back in the 70s. They worked the first time, every time, right out of the box. None of my instructors, good men all, probably gone to their rewards now, talked about break in periods, fluff and buff, or the other kaca de toro we hear about now. Granted, that was mostly shooting FMJ ammo, but I also burned lots of powder behind factory target wadcutters and reloaded target lead bullets. And I wasn't shooting 1000 rounds a week, more like 400 a month.

Also, Colt was what you got. Now there are all sorts of choices. I hear horror stories about Colt quality control, but the last Colt I had, an 80 Series Gov'ment was as good a shooter as I'd remember the older ones. I'd still have it today, but some darn young fool just offered me too much money for it. So life goes.

 

[Ringtail]

I've had the same problem with a Colt series 70 and a SA Inc. 1911-A1. I sold the Colt years ago. The 1911-A1 went back to SA twice and the problem still presisted. I heard all of the usual explanitions ie; limp wristing, bad magazines and what not. I wound up sending the gun to Wilson Combat and it now feeds everythig flawlessly, including ball, hollow points and lead SWC reloads.

I recently bought a used Kimber TLE II and it is almost as reliable, but it won't feed reloads that are slightly over sized. No big deal.

I've asked several knowledgable people why the 1911 was highly regarded as a reliable combat weapon in WW I, WW II, Korea and Vietnam when modern ones sometimes won't even feed ball ammo. The answer I got was the 1911s in the srevice were either built loose or became very loose from use. Which is why the service issue 1911s had a reputation for being inaccurate. In these modern times, people are focused on accuracy and group sizes so gun makers build to tigher tolerences, hence sometimes we get one that just won't feed right.

This seems to fit my experence. Of the four 1911s I've owned the one that fed most reliably right out of the box was an Auto Ordinance that was a loose, sloppy piece of junk otherwise. But it feed every round I put in the magizine, including shot rounds.

 

[ljnowell]

Hmmm, I have a taurus that is nice and tight, holds great groups and feeds anything. Send that thing back again. Tell them if they cant get it right to send you a new gun.

 

[ZombieKiller]

I have a taurus PT1911, but it has problems extracting/feeding. still trying to figure it out... i thought that springfield 1911s would be much more reliable, but i guess not

 

[enichols]

Guys,
Sent the pistol back to SA this morning. Will report back once I receive my pistol back from their service dep't. Fingers Crossed that they fix it right this time!!!!

 

[Eric F]

because your getting the jam on the last round I am inclined to say your mags are bad. Buy a high quality wilson metal form chip mccormick or other brand name mag. Give that a try when yoiu get the gun back if it still has the problem. I am willing to bet the guys at the shop use one of the mags I listed to test fire and function test the gun. Which could be why they are sending it back to you, because they are not getting the feed problem you are.

 

[enichols]

Eric, I had originally assumed that the gun was just magazine sensitive, so I tried a whoooooole bunch of different mags. Here is a list of the mags I've tried in the gun thus far:

1) Springfield Armory OEM 7-round magazines, with the dimpled follower
2) Colt OEM 7-round magazines, with the dimpled follower and "hybrid" style feed lips
3) Checkmate Ind. 7-round magazine, with the dimpled follower and "hybrid" style feed lips
4) McCormick Shooting Star 8-round magazines with the smooth follower.
5) Wilson 47D

All of the aforementioned mags have given me the same problem, the Wilson with considerably less frequency than the others. I figure that this HAS to be a gun related issue if my mags have all given me similar problems.

The guys at Springfield said that they test with their magazines. If the gun has problems with OEM 7-round mags, I would tend to suspect a gun problem.

 

[Eric F]

Well I guess so thats a good mix bag of mags there. It was just a thought, but still strange its just the last round.

 

[enichols]

Yeah, I know, it seems like such a strange malfunction. One suggestion I received was that perhaps the magazine catch is out of spec and not holding the magazine high enough or at the correct angle. That seems like a logical possibility.
I guess we'll see what SA says...

 

[Richard]

I am all thumbs and what I would do is find a good 1911 mechanic in your area. A 1911 mechanic is a gunsmith that knows how to get/keep your 1911 running. It isn't unusual to have teething problems with a 1911 but they should be easy for a mechanic to fix. Regards, Richard

 

[cjw3cma]

Richard is 1000% correct - you need a good 1911 mechanic (gunsmith) to look over the gun and make all of the "corrections" that he/she can find. The basic 1911 Gov't. model should work out of the box like they did back in the day; but with fast paced manufacturing even a high quality manufacturer can let a "goof" get by and out to the public.

If Springfield will fix it right for you then "go for it" - but they need to know exactly why you are sending it back to them - telling them in the most BASIC terms exactly what the "problems" are and you should also include a couple of your magazines for them to test out.

Check out this article - 1911 Reliability Secrets - where you can learn more about extractor tuning and the need for it.

 

[combatantr2]

Dont give up yet...

try borrowing another 1911 from a friend and run your magazines thru that gun. If it works fine your mags are okey. Check breechface, could be rough. Ammo could not be the culprit since you said they were FMJs. Its impossible to jam a 1911 due to FMJ ammo regardless of brand, especially if its FMJ.

 

[jerkface11]

Maybe you should just try a new mag catch. I bet it didn't occur to Springfield to even look at it.