1911 problems

[sleepyone]

I'm trying to figure out what is wrong with a 1911 my friend owns. It has a Colt Governenment Model slide with a SA lower. The slide won't stay locked open with the magazine in and it also won't eject shells during firing. I'm new to the 1911 world. Another friend of mine is letting me use some books and one of his 1943 Colt 1911 A-1 .45 ACPs to learn how they work.

The first problem I'm having with the broken .45 is taking it down. It has a muzzle break on it, and I'm not sure if it is threaded or welded on. That is not what is keeping it from disassembling though. This one does not have a Recoil Spring Plug, and I also don't see a barrel bushing to turn to free up the Recoil Spring Plug and spring. The Barrel bushing could be hidden by the muzzle break. Below the barrel is a rod that is inside a sleeve and the sleeve moves back and forth over the rod as you work the slide. The end of the rod appears to have a hex thread. When you have the slide locked back, the rod spins freely inside the sleeve, but I don't see a way to remove it. Any ideas?

 

[sleepyone]

OK. so I found out it has a full length guide rod assembly. I also figured out that I need to put a paper clip in the rod after I lock the slide open, but it looks like the muzzle break does need to come off to get the slide all the way off. Are these muzzle breaks threaded? I really can't tell.

 

[Dr.Mall Ninja]

This should be in the gun smithing forum.

 

[Demitrios]

Sounds like it could be two different problems. The slide stays open because the follower in the magazine puts pressure on the slide catch and keeps it up. If the spring in the magazine isn't strong enough, the slide catch is worn or too tight in the barrel link, the follower is damaged or the magazine isn't fully inserted into the pistol then slide may not stay open. Try a new magazine, if the doesn't work then swap out your slide catch and/or barrel (obviously only if they're the same caliber).

As far as the ejection, or lack-there-of, goes that could be a number of things as well. Like your take-down problems those are a bit out of my realm of expertise, but I'll venture a guess. You're missing an ejector or your extractor is weak or busted. You could test those out for yourself but if you're new it might be more prudent to take the pistol to a gun smith.

Good luck and I hope this helped you.

 

[Rinspeed]

Here's a link on how to check the extractor tension.


http://forums.1911forum.com/showthread.php?t=73565

 

[EddieNFL]

I'm not aware of a barrel attached compensator that has to be removed to field strip a 1911. There is a version that replaces the barrel bushing.

Good advice above, but it does sound as if you're new to the 1911. May want to seek qualified help.