1911 slide release problem

Another thing is that whenever I insert a mag it catches on the mag release on the inside. So I have to slam it in everytime. Is that normal?

Click to expand...

Common. Depress the catch button a little before you insert the mag.

^i wouldn't.

prob just needs a break in. shoot it.

(make sure you oil the plunger too)

Did you put a shok buff in the gun?

The shock buff won't let the slide travel back far enough to push down the slide stop.

The buffer to me isn't a necessity, I just thought it'd be fun to try out.

Click to expand...

Well, now you know.

Yeah, about the only tangible change you get from using a buff is a 75% chance you can't slingshot the slide anymore and a 50% it will shred to pieces and jam up your gun with little bits of plastic. I'd just take it out. If you shoot high volumes of hot 230gr ball and you're worried about your frame, just use 18.5# springs and change them often.

Running an 18.5 lb. recoil spring in a 5 in. 1911 is adding a problem and not solving the original one. It's going to slam the slide forward harder than it should. The barrel lugs will get pounded going into battery and the muzzle will dip lower in recoil. You want to slow the rearward slide movement without increasing the return stroke. Using an EGW firing pin stop with a square bottom edge works much better. As for shok buffs I have used them for over twenty years in very hard use competition guns and have never had one shred. So have a LOT of other people. Ask Bill Wilson how many he has sold and continues to sell since he introduced them. While you're at it ask him how many cracked frames he has seen. They are not a gimmick. The correct way to release the slide is to depress the slide stop. There is a reason the pad is checkered or serrated. Slingshotting it to release serves no purpose. Your mag catch can be adjusted so a mag will slip past it without having to "slam" it in. Relieve the sharp edge on the mag lip and file and polish the angle on the catch so the mag lip pushes it aside instead of hitting it dead on.

As for shok buffs I have used them for over twenty years in very hard use competition guns and have never had one shred.

Click to expand...

Maybe it depends on the brand you use. I've seen some that go 3000+ rounds and almost look pristine, and some that turn to confetti in less than 500. They were never my guns so I was never aware what brand they were.

The Wiry Irishman said:

Maybe it depends on the brand you use. I've seen some that go 3000+ rounds and almost look pristine, and some that turn to confetti in less than 500. They were never my guns so I was never aware what brand they were.

Click to expand...

Wilson Shock Buffs are made from a reinforced material. The knock-offs are simple plastic and fall apart rather soon.

When I did use shock buffs I never had one come apart and I never had a problem dropping the slide, slingshot or (correctly) using the SS. Your recoil spring may be too long.

There is nothing wrong with his recoil spring. This happens on all Kimbers.

I had a TLE Pro with one of the out of spec slide stops that would hold the slide back on a loaded mag while firing. I just called Kimber told them I was past the 500 round break in period and was still experiencing the problem. They sent me a new "modified" slide stop no questions asked and the best part was I didn't have to send the original slide stop in to receive the modified version.

Doesn't happen on my Kimber, nor the others I have had.

Click to expand...

Nor mine or any of my friend's. The only guns I've heard of this being a consistent problem with are Baers before they're broken in.

The mag release will work itself to being ok. Call Kimber and tell them your having a problem with the slide release and they will send you a new one for free. Some Kimber slide catches were cut at an incorrect angle. The new one they send might look different than the one you have. It sure did for my Ultra Carry II.

The buffer to me isn't a necessity, I just thought it'd be fun to try out.

Click to expand...

there's your problem. take that buffer out. they're useless anyway. nice way for wilson and other companies to make money from useless upgrades.....kinda like the glock grip plugs

Yep.... take that damned shock buffer out of your gun.

If the slide and frame are really battering each other, there is far more wrong with the gun than a shock buffer is going to prevent or solve. Generally, the gun makers really do know what they're doing. If they thought a buffer was necessary, they would have installed one in the gun, specified in the owner's manual that it must be replaced every X number of rounds as it is a wear item, and perhaps even provide a small supply of them with every new gun.

The gun makers don't install a buff in their guns because they're assuming that the owner is going to use standard pressure ammo and shoot maybe a couple hundred rounds a year. In the real world many people feel it's necessary to push the envelope with +P rounds and hot handloadings and many thousands of rounds per year. I use to shoot a thousand rounds of Major power handloads every Saturday for three or four months when I was competing. If you hate the idea of a shok buff, don't use them but please don't go on the internet and tell everyone that they're worthless and hazardous and will screw up your gun. They do serve a purpose and they have saved a lot of guns from an early death. If you install a buff in a 1911 and start having function problems it is because the gun is OUT OF SPEC and is probably on the edge of short stroking and malfunctioning without the buff. Any 1911 should run perfectly with or without a buff in it. If yours won't don't blame the buff.