1911 Feed Question

[El Bucho]

I have a Colt 1911XSE. A few times the other day the last round failed to feed. It ended up at like a 45 degree angle with the bullet stuck on the feed ramp. It wasn't stove-piped. Just didn't get pushed into the chamber. Anything I can do to keep this from happening? It was always on the last round in the mag too. Thanks.

EB

 

[Brian Williams]

What mags are you using and do they have dimples on the followers


paging Tuner, Fuff, Mr Sample

Stand by there will be quite a discusion and more than likely a fix or two!!!!!!

 

[El Bucho]

Just using the standard colt 8 rd mag that came with the gun....no dimples that I know of on the follower. Was just shooting Winchester White Box stuff too if that matters....that and some Remington UMC stuff.

 

[stans]

Just using the standard colt 8 rd mag that came with the gun....no dimples that I know of on the follower

A) the pimple on the follower does improve feed reliability, 1911Tuner has done a lot of research on this subject.

B) 8 round mags usually have springs that are lighter that those found in 7 round mags. Last round jams are almost always a result of a weak mag spring.

 

[Old Fuff]

The Old Fuff suggests that you try a 7-round magazine that uses a flat follower that has a little dimple in the middle of it. This may or may not solve your problem, but the magazines are usually inexpensive in relative terms and well worth the experiment. Colt no longer makes its own magazines, but purchases them from sub-contractors that may be good, bad or indifferent.

1911Tuner is currently running a thread on magazines. Find it and you'll learn a whole bunch of useful information.

It sounds like you are getting what is called a"push feed." The next time it happens when you're using the current 8-round magazine, keep the pistol pointed down range while looking through the ejection port to see if the base of the cartridge is in front of the extractor hook. If so, your problem is most likely magazine related.

 

[1911Tuner]

Last Round Jam

El Bucho said:

>a 45 degree angle with the bullet stuck on the feed ramp<
______________________

Howdy El Bucho, and welcome aboard.

Don't fret...The pistol is fine. The problem is magazine-related.

Next time it happens, look closely to see if this describes it:

Bullet nose up...case head down...bottom of breechface in the case's
extractor groove...bullet nose just inside the chamber at the barrel hood?

Bolt-Over-Base Feed. Magazine timing is too slow and the slide outruns it
as the last round comes up to feeding position...and instead of contacting the butt-end of the rim, it goes past the rim and catches it in the extractor groove. Butt goes down...Nose comes up.

Rx:

Needs a stronger mag spring to speed up the timing on the last round.
The smooth-topped follower can cause a different kind of problem, and for this reason I recommend that 8-round magazines with the split, Devel-type
follower not be used in a defensive pistol.

You can get Wolff magazine springs through Brownells. If you want to keep the 8-round capacity, you'll need the second one listed...I'll look up the part number and add itto this post in a bit. Gotta go watch my man
get his last two electoral votes.

Meanwhile...Call Metalform and order a couple of stainless, 7-round magazines with the flat followers and the Wolff spring upgrade. Say good bye to your magazine troubles. You can find'em online.

 

[deacon]

Had a similiar situation occur that I thought I would share and hopefully get some feedback. Have a NRM Colt GM that I can insert a mag w/one round in it into the pistol w/ slide locked back, pull back on the slide and let it go to chamber the round and the slide stop will catch in the takedown notch on the slide. The bullet is jammed nose up in the chamber with the case inside the extractor slot. I can push down on the slide stop and the round will chamber.

Any thoughts Tuner...anyone ?

 

[1911Tuner]

Stopped!

Howdy deacon,


Strange...The stop engages the notch before the breechface gets to the round. I'd hafta see that one...

Premature slidelock is usually caused by the bullet ogive making contact
with the stop's lug when the round comes past it on the way to feeding position, and pushes it up into engagement. Could be the lug's dimensions or geometry, but could also be the magazine.

Did the stop fully engage in the notch...or just on the corner?

 

[Old Fuff]

Also, a stronger slide stop plunger spring may do the trick. A thought occurs to me - exactly what make and model gun do you have, and are you using the manufacturer's magazine or something else?

 

[deacon]

Tuner....


The breechface has contacted the round and has pushed it into the chamber until the slidelock engages the notch. The engagement occurs on the edge of the notch....actually around one o'clock.

Sorry for the confusion.


Fuff.....NRM Colt GM Blued using Colt mags that came with it.

 

[1911Tuner]

Notch

Quote:

"The breechface has contacted the round and has pushed it into the chamber until the slidelock engages the notch."
___________________

Howdy deacon...That's the part that's confusin'. When the slide is far enough forward to contact the back of the cartridge, it's too far forward to
let the stop engage the notch. Where are you? I'd give a nickel to see
the gun do it.

 

[deacon]

The slidelock is engaging the takedown notch...not the slidestop notch.

If I pointed you to the slidestop notch I apologize....thanks.

 

[Old Fuff]

Ah so .... now we have a different story. I will have to think a bit ..

 

[1911Tuner]

Stop Burp

Ahhhhhhhhh so! Now we've defined our terms.

The slidestop is walking out of the frame and hanging up in the takedown notch. Since you mentined that it only happens under certain circumstances, we can probably rule out uneven bearing on the lowr lug.

I'm gonna take a WAG here and say that it's still related to the round making contact with the stop lug...just at a different place and time.
There alos may be an issue with the plunger spring strength...but probably not.

Since it only happens with one round in the magazine...and since the last round feeds at a slightly different angle than the rest...it's gotta be related to that feed angle, and maybe the length and shape of the stop lug too.

Does it do it with all magazines...or just the one?

Try this: Remove the recoil system and assemble the gun with the barrel and bushing in place. Load a dummy round in the magazine...or a live one if you're very careful...and push the slide to battery slowly and watch the stop to see the point that it starts to move. Doesn't matter which direction.
If you see it move, stop the slide and start looking in the port with a flashlight to see where the round is touching it. Remove the top end and check again to see the exact point of contact and report back...We'll stay with this one 'til we get it figgered out.

Standin' by...

 

[TarpleyG]

I use Chip McCormick 8 rounders and never have a problem with mine. 1000s and 1000s of rounds downrange. I used to use Wilson's but they suck. Plastic has no place on a gun. Also helps to stay away from those Colts too.

Greg

 

[deacon]

Followed your instructions Tuner, but sure could not see that the round was making contact with the stop.

So......I then insert a mag with one round in it, pull the slide fully to the rear and release....stop....same thing as before. Allright I says...let's establish the basics. I takedown the pistol,surgically clean off all the old lube and apply a somewhat liberal dose of tetra to all contact surfaces. Assemble and re-run my test. This time when the slide is released...chunk...it goes into battery slick as can be. Repeat 12 times and not a stoppage in the bunch. I happily wipe the pistol off and place it along with 200 rounds in the bag for a little range therapy this afternoon.....if everything goes well I plan on giving it a slurry bath to get things really slick and call it good.

Thanks everyone for your help and will report out soon.

BTW...Greg...I like the horsey on the mag...

 

[1911Tuner]

Notta Problem

Deacon...I'm thinkin' your problem was caused by one of those things that only God and the gun could explain...

You'd be surprised at the number of problems that can be solved by a good scrubbin'.

Cheers!

Tuner

 

[DBR]

1911tuner - Are you aware that there are a whole bunch of Metalform flat followers out there that have the "dimple" improperly formed? I have seen at least 3 dozen of them from Brownells. The milspec dimple is cone shaped and tapers smoothly into the flat part of the follower. The Metalform dimple is punched too deep and has a straight cylindrical section on it at the base that snags the rim of the round both when you load the first round into the mag and when the mag tries to feed the last round. It slows the slide so much that the "stem bind" or "override" feed failure occurs. Metalform is aware of this problem and says they are retooling to fix it.

 

[1911Tuner]

Bad Dimple

DBR stated:

1911tuner - Are you aware that there are a whole bunch of Metalform flat followers out there that have the "dimple" improperly formed?
_____________________

Didn't know that...Thanks for the heads up! I was plannin' on ordering a quantity of their followers as soon as I got to my annual "Bucks Up"
phase in January. Hope they've got it squared away by then. The dimples in all my beater mags are gettin' a bit long in the tooth and I need more!
Gonna go with the stainless followers for the replacements...They're harder than the carbon units and seem to last much longer. Just passin' that along.

Cheers!

 

[deacon]

200 round test drive resulted in no problems at all.

Boy...nothing like being humbled by a little (literally) grease...

This Colt is quickly becoming my favorite and it only took me a year to
even see one in person...they are hard to find ( was for me anyhow )
but I highly suggest giving them a look if you are in the market.

Thanks again all....