1911 slide not locking back

[fiver49]

New here. Thanks in advance. I have a completely stock Dan Wesson Panther 1911. I have been using Chip Mccormack magazines. The problem I am encountering is this. When i test the gun, by that I mean; I put an empty magazine in the gun, pull the slide back and it locks back just fine.

Live fire = Last round it does not lock back. When that happens, the magazine does not drop freely.

What is going on? How do I fix it?

 

[Hunter0924]

I believe it is the magazine.
Have you tried any other magazines in the pistol.
Welcome to the forum.

 

[fiver49]

I have. One type works, the other two I have tried don't. If it is the magazine, what can I do (short of buying five new magazines) to make these work?
See, there is a little bit of urgency here. I have been carrying a Sig P220 on duty (I am a Deputy Sheriff) for the past 6 years and am switching to the 1911. Reasons for that swap are many and varied, and not really relevant.

 

[spencerhut]

If you happen to have a shock buffer in it, get rid of it. The buffer can prevent the slide going far enough back to lock.

If you carry for any reason get some Tripp research mags. Their is no substitute for them. Wilson, Chip, etc. are all in my range bag and stay there. My wife and I shoot a bit and we trust our lives to Tripp mags. Don't own stock in the company or anything like that either.

http://www.trippresearch.com/

 

[VHinch]

You can try replacing the magazine springs with Wolff extra power springs.

It's entirely possible that your gun just doesn't like the McCormick magazines. It happens. If I were relying on the gun for carry, I would do some testing and evaluation of several 1911 magazines and see what worked best in my gun. I realize this probably conflicts with your time frame, but the gun obviously needs to work. I would certainly try the spring solution first, the n go from there.

 

[10X]

McCormick mags don't work well in all guns and their springs can be weak. A weak mag spring will not allow the mag follower to rise quickly enough to push up the slide lock in time to keep it open on the last round.

Look up gunsprings.com That is Wolff. Order some of their springs under the 1911 section for the McCormick shooting star mags. They are easy to install and are the best quality.

 

[rcmodel]

Regardless of if the slide locks back or not:

If the mag won't fall out of the gun, the mag follower is riding up over the slide stop projection and holding the mag in place.

Sounds like you need a new slide stop, new mags, or both if you want duty carry 1,000% reliability.

rcmodel

 

[AndyC]

If it's not the mags, then look at the weight of the recoil-spring; it may be too strong for the ammo you're shooting through it (or, looking at it another way, your ammo is too weak for the weight of the spring) - the slide is not going all the way back.

That said, check what rcmodel mentioned about the follower and slide-stop.

 

[rcmodel]

That won't keep a mag from coming out when it's empty!

rcmodel

 

[AndyC]

I read too fast and didn't see that part until I re-read it - already edited my previous post before posting this

 

[fiver49]

Wow. Thanks for all of the responses. The question is... where do I start? I think I will try some different ammo first (like in a half an hour or so). Then new mag springs. That seems the cheapest way to go without compromising reliability.
No shock buffer installed, but thanks for that advice spencerhut.

If there are any other suggestions, I am more than willing to give them a whirl.

 

[fiver49]

OK. So I just got back from the range. Shot different ammo. Same result. I was talking to the guy behind the counter, told him of my problem. He looked at my set up. Took a slide stop from one of his rental guns from behind the counter, took mine out and replaced it with that one, loaded five of my mags up and told me to try it.
I did. It worked. My new slide stop will be here in a week.
Thanks again to everyone.

 

[dmazur]

Looks like you solved the problem.

I had occasional trouble with McCormick magazines a while ago, similar to what you're describing. I measured the magazine tubes and found them to be very uniform, as Mr. McCormick claims. However, I could not get his "trick follower" to work reliably.

I substituted Pachmyer "round top" followers and Wolff springs. This made 8rd questionable magazines into dead-reliable 7rd magazines.

(Oh, and for IDPA, I put some 1/4" thick Pachmyer rubber pads on the bottoms, to make seating more secure.)

If you're ever bored one weekend and want to build magazines, this is one route to take.

 

[Hunter0924]

I myself prefer the Checkmate Hybrid Lip 7 round dimpled follower magazine.
Out of all I have tried they seem to work the best and other than the hybrid lip are of the original design.

 

[Triphammer]

Your follower is slipping up past the tab on the inside of the slide lock. Usually happens if the follower is too narrow. try prying SLIGHTLY the lower leg of the follower away from center. This may break the follower on some mags. You can also try replacing the slide lock if, when your new follower comes if IT doesn't seem to work everytime. No garantee there either , as they're not listed like that.

 

[JDGray]

OK. So I just got back from the range. Shot different ammo. Same result. I was talking to the guy behind the counter, told him of my problem. He looked at my set up. Took a slide stop from one of his rental guns from behind the counter, took mine out and replaced it with that one, loaded five of my mags up and told me to try it.

Great customer service! Glad your fixed

 

[loop]

Slide stop, try an EDW oversized. Locks up tighter and will reduce probs immediately.

Only mechanical problem goes back to slide stop. Groove in stop may not be wide enough to fit over relief in slide. If mag is pushing stop up, then stop is not slipping into place.

If you have other 1911s try the stop out of another.

If not spend $25 and find out if that is the problem.