STI 2011 9mm issues

Try a lighter recoil spring...sounds like the gun is tuned for 9 Major.

Can't help much, mine is fine.
But I got it second hand so maybe it was "broken in".

No point springing an iron sight 9mm for major, but who knows. Does it have the multi-spring Recoilmaster setup?

Might try some stouter ammo, the agency issue or "NATO."

Ammo is Win white box 115 gr fmj.

Click to expand...

Jim Watson said:

Might try some stouter ammo, the agency issue or "NATO."

Click to expand...

That seems to fix problems with a lot of new guns featuring fresh and strong recoil springs.

Cheap, lightweight 9mm ammo seems to lack the "oomph" to cycle the slide on a variety of guns from HK's (P30, VP9), to at least the early Gen 4 Glocks (may still be an issue).

From Post#1. Does that mean the new hire failed the qualification and now has nothing to carry for whatever type of work the qualification was for?

I totally agree with sending the user back to put more rounds through the gun, if not more, before considering carrying the firearm for serious/work/use.

The old 10-8Performance/10-8forums had a 200-round rule of thumb minimum with zero malfunctions for any 1911-type gun to be reliable enough for use. Four hundred is even better, but the user must record/track round counts, if only to know when to change the firearm's recoil spring or any other parts for preventative maintenance.

Win white box, enough said. Try it again with some decent ammo or run a reduced power recoil spring.

You'll need an exorcist to cure that abomination! ;p

Use full power ammo. Winchester White box is weak, it choked my Wife’s P320, and my VP9 when new when other non anemic ammo ran fine.

If he can afford a 2011, I’ll bet he can afford a box or two of Speer Lawman training ammo, or some other full power training ammo.

If better ammo doesn't clear it up it could be an extractor issue.
My new 9mm 1911 had the same symptoms and they all went away when I fitted a new extractor.
Now it cycles everything including light target ammo.

Here's the thing about gamer guns - they are mostly sold to gamers. Reliability is extremely important to gamers. Reliability OOB is not important to most gamers. Gamers shoot a cr@p-ton of ammo. Gamers tinker with their guns. Gamers are interested in peak performance (which includes reliability), not ability to digest milsurp or WWB. So a gun coming slightly too tight to run reliably, or magazines that need to be cycled a few times and dry-lubed to run 100% - these are simply no big deal to a gamer. They're going to work through those issues in a few weeks of practice - and will change other stuff while they're at it. It's just a totally different mentality than the consumer-goods/duty-weapon mentality, where the assumption is that the gun is as good as it will ever be after the first magazine.

When you buy from a company whose real market is gamers, you have to expect them to have brought that mentality along. I'm a big fan of Tanfgolios (EAA imported), but I've steered a few folks away from them because I suspect they will be frustrated with this aspect of them. I know STI also markets to the tactical crowd, but, realistically, their "cred" is based on USPSA/IPSC, and custom-built guns for that game is how they got started.

So. The OP's report first needs to not panic or freak out. Bumping up the power factor of the ammo is a good idea. Dropping recoil spring weight may be helpful; some would suggest simply locking the slide back and storing it that way until the spring softens a bit. A bajillion dry-fire-and-rack-repeat cycles may also help.

He also needs to recognize that 2011-ish mags are not Glock mags. They do require some attention. If all 3 mags are presenting the same issues, we can move this down the list of suspects a bit, but it's always something to pay attention to. If it persists after a longer break-in period, the next most likely suspect would be the extractor, followed by breech face or feed ramp roughess, and go from there. But at any of those levels, it would be wise to call STI.

My STI Trojan 9mm 1911 was real picky with 115gr ball ammo until I put in the Wilson Combat 14 lb flat wire recoil spring with the full length 1/4” guide rod & plug. The gun shoots everything I load it with now but I don’t shoot WWB in it. I would try 124gr Fed American Eagles with it. A new STI 2011 could also have mag issues, might be worth a call to STI, but they might also warn you against using WWB.

I bought my STI 2011 from Dawson Precision, they had replaced a few items including the recoil spring assembly after receiving it from STI. It has worked perfectly from day one, no problems with any of my reloads, mostly 124 gr plated bullets over 3.5 gr of Bullseye. Not exactly a hot load.
I would recommend two things to do to the pistol, tune the extractor and put a standard recoil spring assembly in with a 12# spring.

I'll chime in with WWB is not the ammo to use. My Canik requires NATO spec ammo for break in.

WWB 115 gr is at the bottom end of the 9mm power scale. As a matter of fact I've not used the stuff in many years. The Remington/UMC bulk pack ammo is much better ammo.

I do question your qualification using different ammo than duty ammo. Do you do a function check with the duty ammo?