1911 jams... could it be the magazine?

[Dorrin79]

ok, so the wife and I were shooting yesterday.

she was going through minimags in my MKII like popcorn, I was blasting away with the new 1911.

And it jams...

arrgh...

it did it three times, all with the same mag.

The jam was a failure to feed, with the bullet (a 230gr fmj) nosediving into the feed ramp and flipping up into the ejection port, which then kept it from returning to battery.

the third time it happened I was barely able to get it cleared.

so, irritated, I switched over to the 7rd mag that came with the gun. 35 more rounds with no jams.

Later, I took a good look at the problem mag (a Chip McCormick 8rd Shooting Star)

it seems like the follower is messed up - it slides back and forth with almost no resistance, as much as 1/2 inch.

Is it supposed to do that? My 7rd factory mag doesn't.

Thanks,

 

[CWatson]

I have several of those mags and the followers have 2-3mm if play,not a half inch.Did it always have that much play?If so see if the mag spring is in right,backwards ect..CW

 

[Sean Smith]

Sounds like a bad mag to me.

 

[45auto]

If it was the last round in the mag that was malfunctioning all the time, I'll guess the magazine as well.
I'd try a new mag spring.

You can order them for $4.00, I believe from CMC, shipping included.

 

[1911Tuner]

Jammin with the 'leven

That's a classic Rideover Feed...The technical term is Bolt over base,
and it usually happens on the last round. What's happening is that the
slide is outrunning the magazine, and the breechface catches the cartridge
in the extractor groove instead of the back of the rim.

The spring in that 8-round magazine is likely the culprit. The room for
that extra round has to come from somewhere, and the spring and
follower are the two areas that get shortened. Shortening the
follower reduces the number of spring coils on the leg, and results
in less stability for the last two or three rounds, and lets the follower
rock forward. Nosedives occur with some pistols.

The shortened spring provides less tension on that critical last round,
and it shows up as a Rideover Feed. Many 7-round magazines will do the trick when their springs get tired, especially if the recoil spring is too
heavy, which produces not only higher slide speed as it returns to battery, but a little less "hang time' when in full recoil. The magazine can't keep
up.

A fresh magazine spring may cure it for a while. Best bet is to go to
a 7-round follower and spring.

Good luck!

Tuner

 

[Southern Raider]

Later, I took a good look at the problem mag (a Chip McCormick 8rd Shooting Star)

I'm not impressed with the follower design on the McCormick mag because it can roll forward quite easily and nose dive the round into the feed ramp. A cheap fix is to buy Wilson retrofit kits that put their follower into the mag. They also include a new spring.

 

[Dorrin79]

thanks all. Sounds like it is definitely the mag.

Any suggestions on which mags to use instead? Anything I can do to my current ones to make them work better?

 

[1832]

I agree with the Wilson kit.

I've never had a problem mag - 7 or 8 round -that wasn't cured by putting in a Wilson follower and spring.

 

[standingbear]

yes,you have a bad mag.i had the best luck with gi mags and factory mags.