1911 is jamming

[JP1954]

I have been having a problem with stovepiping and/or not locking open after last round of magazine. I also noticed trouble extracting magazine. Upon investigation, I noticed when the malfunction occurred, the magazine spur(or whatever the part that engages the slide stop is called) somehow winds up on top of the slide stop spur (or whatever it is called.) I disassembled the gun and noticed that the "slot" in the slide stop spur is wider than the wall in the slide's slide stop notch. Also, while running through some extraction cycles with a spent shell casing, I noticed the times it failed were the times the slide stop was 1/2 - 1 mm out from flush against the frame. I think the slot in the slide stop is too wide and that is causing the problem. Has anybody else here had this problem?

 

[1911Tuner]

Jammin' Jenny

Howdy JP and welcome aboard.

The first suspect is the magazine itself, with the possibility that the slidestop lug geometry isn't correct. What brand...gun and magazine...are you using?

 

[JP1954]

It's an AMT Hardballer...I bought it 25+ years ago. Never shot it a lot and have had it stored for several years now.....recently caught the shooting bug again and took it to the range..The first time I thought it was the magazines so I disassembled them, cleaned them, and stretched the springs on a couple of them to make more tension. I had 1 factory mag, 1 Colt brand, and two no names. I tried to find AMT on the internet to sadly discover that they went out of business several years ago due to quality problems according to Wikpedia. I just bought three Wilson combat mags and they are having the same problem so I am confident it is not the mags. I have since completely disassembled the entire pistol. I looked at all the parts under magnification to see any burrs, deformities, or obvious heavy wear. I didn't find any. After reassembly, I verified that the trigger, half cock, grip safety, and thumb safety all functioned properly. I then performed some extraction cycles by chambering a spent shell casing, releasing the slide, then inserting an empty mag, and finally drawing the slide back hard and fast. The first several cycles worked fine. Casing flew out and magazine locked on all mags. Then it jammed. Upon close inspection I noticed the slide stop was not flush against the slide. I was able to push it back snug and I was also able to push it back out about 1/2 - 1 mm when I pushed on the pin protruding from the right side of the pistol. I removed the slide stop and the slide and upon close examination I noticed that the slot in the slide stop is much wider than the wall thickness of the slide in the slide lock notch area. What is puzzling me is that the slot in the slide stop does not look worn. It looks like it was machined that way. Perhaps this is an example of what Wikpedia was talking about?

 

[DogBonz]

Haven't shot it in 25 years

First things first try another mag. If it still happens, here is my theory, based on some thing that happened to a gold cup that i had. Check the spring in the mag catch assembly. It is probably rusty or corroded. What happens is during recoil, that bad spring is letting the mag catch move around and the mag is moving just enough.

 

[1911Tuner]

re:

Because the magazines are new...or because they're name-brand...is no guarantee that it's not the mags. That said...because the stop shelf jumps the stop lug with all magazines, and because the stop itself is being pushed to the left...I suspect that the geometry of the stop lug is angled and acting as a cam to force the stop and the follower shelf apart.

Try a new slide stop.

 

[JP1954]

Thanks for the help. I have scrutinized the slide stop and noticed that where it contacts the plunger rod it is flat. Using the contact scuff as a guide I used my dremel tool to create a depression which allows the plunger rod to seat into and hold the slide stop snug against the slide. I then ran 5 extraction cycles on each of my 7 mags (35 cycles in all) using a spent shell casing. I did not have any malfunctions and the slide stop was still snug against the slide at the end. I guess I won't know for sure if that fixed it until I go to the range again, however, I am cautiously optimistic. Thanks again for your input.

 

[JP1954]

It took me awhile to get back to the range but I did go today........None of my 7 mags failed to lock when empty. I had no stovepipes and all of the mags came out easy when empty. Apparently the dremel job fixed the problem. Thanks again to everyone for the info you provided me.