1911s don't like me.

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MagnunJoe

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I've shooting for over 20 years, I have seen everything, done everything, shot just about everything, Including 3 different brand new well lubricated 1911s that don't like me after shooting factory loaded ammo.

9 years I had and sold a Springer GI because after 4 years and 600 rounds I still had 2 or 3 FTF, FTE for every 100 rounds fired. Shot Winchester WB, Federal and Fiocchi.

Last year I gave Ruger and Remington a chance. Got me 2 brand new guns SR1911 and a R1 and guess what? The Ruger had 2 stoppages in the first 100 rounds of Winchester WB and the Remy had 3, same ammo. Same FTF/FTE issues. If i remember correctly, 1 of each. Or maybe 2 FTF 1 FTE.
I even used Wlson Combat mags, no difference.
All guns are well maintenned, clean & lubricated. I ordered 2 new MetlForm mags, maybe that will help.
I don't have any issues with ny other guns.
 
Most 1911s require some break in time. WWB, UMC, and other "practice" ammo is usually low on the power scale, and those two things don't play together well.

If you must use cheap ammo, change out the recoil spring for a lighter one. As the gun breaks in, it will loosen up.
 
ive never seen a new 1911 work either, springfield remington and ria all jammed as new. GI mags, and extractor fitting (filing not 'tensioning) fixed the springfield about 6000 rounds since the last malfunction, and fixed the remington, but that one is not shot much more than a few hundred rounds a year... the ria could not be fixed, was sold. But no its not just you. Ive seen many 1911's jam at the range "because of the ammo"... never seen a glock jam because of the ammo three times in one box. People are actually pretty surprised when we go out with my springfield and shoot 400 rounds without issue. I guess when you spend 1000 or more for a gun its pretty easy to make excuses for it.
 
Reminds me of my dog, he wouldn't eat collards for the first 30 days. But he eventually came around- - -after losing about 10 pounds!
Like my dog, 1911s have diet preferences!
Haha
 
There's a very specific 1911 blueprint. When manufacturers deviate from said blue prints, and then mix in out of spec parts, or specs that again deviate from the original, you really can't expect them to work properly, can you? They're not lego's, although even some manufacturers treat them as such.

This is why I believe the 1911 to be an "afficianado's gun".

You have to be able to put up with this stuff and be willing to either fix it or have it fixed if it does happen. If you love the platform, and it just fits you so good, you will. If you refuse to do that, then another platform is what you're looking for.

Most 1911's have parts that are at least in spec enough to work together. The "break in period" done need are for those parts that are just a little out of spec, but seem to come together with some friction, IE shooting it and letting the part wear "into spec".

Also could be getting some of that packing grease and dirt out that you missed in your initial cleaning!
 
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Gee. My Kimber CDP Compact, Sig STX and Smith 1911TA have all been superb with nary a malfunction. I'm glad no one told them that 1911s are jammomatic garbage.
 
osteodoc08 said:
Gee. My Kimber CDP Compact, Sig STX and Smith 1911TA have all been superb with nary a malfunction. I'm glad no one told them that 1911s are jammomatic garbage.
Click to expand...
Many of us have great affection for the 1911, but if I had to choose between a NIB 1911 (any make/model/mfg) and a NIB Glock 21 to bet my life on without any testing whatsoever.....well, the Glock is the winner.

I've owned, built, carried, and competed with 1911s since 1980. I've owned everything from recycled parts box specials to a Les Baer SRP, and worked on many more. The SRP is incredibly tight, extremely accurate, and fairly pricey. It's also functioned flawlessly for me. So has a stock Colt Series80 Govt Stainless. My Colt Series 70 that some idiot had ported would run fine for 100-150 rounds, then start jamming as it gunked up around the ports. That's why I bought it cheap. Fitted a new barrel without ports, and it shoots nearly as well as the SRP.
 
If I had to have a bet my life reliable firearm, it'd be my Sig P226 or Ruger P89. I've never ever had an issue with either one through thousands of rounds each.
 
The only trouble I had with my Remington R1S went away when I tossed the original magazines and springs.

As mentioned above, too many manufacturers think they know better than what the blue prints say.

Tom
 
I have only one 1911 and it's a 9mm. Cleaned and greased, it gave me some trouble on a cold day. Cleaned and oil, I've never had trouble with it since. Some magazines work better than others, but if everything is in spec the gun should run. There are plenty of good modern guns, but a 1911 should still run too.

Here's an interesting take on reliability excuses for 1911's.
http://modernserviceweapons.com/?p=4101
 
You need to buy a RIA 1911. Those things are garbage mouth 1911's they shoot any damn thing. I've rapid shot mine where it was so hot I could barely hold onto it. That pistol didn't come to anywhere near close to jamming up. I had more damn copper jacked bullets going one way and brass going the other. JMB would have been proud.:D
 
Although the OP's experience with various 1911s malfunctioning regularly seems to be much worse than the average 1911 user's experience, I agree that a 1911 (of any make of model) would not be my first choice for an out-of-the-box reliability test if my life depended on it.

I own a S&W 1911 Stainless government model, and it has been a great gun. But not perfect. The first few boxes of ammo through it resulted in many failures to lock open on an empty mag. Then when I started reloading, many of my loads failed in the 1911, when they worked fine in other guns (Sig P220). After playing around with some very expensive Buffalo Bore 255-grain lead +P rounds, I had consistent feeding failures. I tried extra power mag and recoil springs, without much improvement. Even just a week ago, I let my friend try out the S&W 1911, and he had an unexplained FTF with standard Remington 230-gr. UMC.

So, although I'll never sell my S&W 1911 (since it was the first gun I ever bought myself), I also can't completely trust it for SD duty. For that I have Beretta, Sig Sauer, Ruger, Kahr, and Glock semi-autos, plus revolvers. The 1911 will never go away because of it's history and charisma, crisp trigger and slim ergos, but it can be a finicky platform, sometimes for no good or obvious reason, and probably belongs in the hands of more experienced shooters rather than casual shooters or newbies.
 
I am a firm beleiver that they should work out of the box. I have a Dan Wesson and Colt that run flawlessly. I have previously owned a Springfield Loaded and S&W E-series and they both ran flawlessly. I purchased a Les Baer and it had failures about every 25 rounds. I kept trying to "Break it in" for about 800 more rounds. I sent it back to Baer and they said nothing was wrong with it. After about 700 more unsuccessful break-in rounds it found a new home. I had similar experience with an earlier model Sig GSR. I know that is only one sample and many probably run great. However, with a 1911 being the most expensive style of pistol on the market, I beleive not running right from the beginning because you have to break it in is just garbage excuses. My philosopy now is if it don't run right trade it in, because there are many that do. You shouldn't have to spend $500 on ammo to make a gun run they way it is designed to.
 
I enjoy and shoot 1911s on a regular basis and have had virtually no issues. When I did have a problem, I went to my long time gunsmith who corrected the issue for a nominal fee. I also shoot alot of S&Ws and just started shooting a Glock. Several of my revolvers have needed minor adjustments too as they are shot frequently. Anything man made can require adjustment or replacement of a defective part.
 
Pretty sure that inanimate object are incapable of feelings..

1911's are made by a lot of manufactures, ranging in quality from cheap knockoffs to $10,000+ customs. I certainly would not lump them all together.
 
Sounds like bad luck. I shoot 1911s almost exclusively and I rarely encounter problems. I had a stainless Taurus with over 6k rounds and it ran 100% all the time. I even shoot primarily SWC bullets in 45 and I still have no problems. Come over to my place and I'll put a 1911 in your hand that even you couldn't make malfunction.
 
I'm 0 for 3 on 1911s. A Para-Ordnance P12, SIG Revolution Carry and Colt Combat Commander (this was a used gun made c. the early 1990s but looked like new), all jam-o-matics. The SIG was so bad that (to their credit) they replaced it with a whole new gun ... and then that one broke. This is too bad, because no other gun quite matches its speed into action (from cocked and locked) and accuracy, they fit my hand perfectly and are also very slender and flat. I tried to work with them, but my patience only goes so far. The P-O also committed the unforgivable sin of eating a hole in my hand.
 
Oh, boy ... a James Yeager reference.

I've been mostly a revolver guy over the 40 years I've been shooting, at least when it comes to handguns. I bought an RIA 1911 Tactical from a coworker a few years ago. It had barely been shot when he decided to "upgrade" to a Range Officer. I have yet to get that thing to fail, either with WWB 230gr ball or my own 185gr XTP handloads. As Roadking mentioned above, it just eats everything. Maybe I'm just lucky, but my first experience with a 1911 has been 180° out of phase with everything I've always heard about them. Sorry to read that you've had so much trouble, MagnunJoe.
 
If it doesn't feed or extract or lock the slide back or fire correctly, believe it or not there is always a reason. If an owner takes the time to learn about the platform such mysteries that otherwise result in frustration or trade fodder simply become an adjustment, often one-time and a perfectly reliable firearm.

If I had to bet my life on any of my firearms, I would grab whatever was closest. I trust them all.
 
Skylerbone said:
If it doesn't feed or extract or lock the slide back or fire correctly, believe it or not there is always a reason. If an owner takes the time to learn about the platform such mysteries that otherwise result in frustration or trade fodder simply become an adjustment, often one-time and a perfectly reliable firearm.

If I had to bet my life on any of my firearms, I would grab whatever was closest. I trust them all.
Click to expand...

I guess that's the thing. I don't want to "learn about the platform" I want the gun to go bang every time I pull the trigger. And to the person that didn't like the Yeager comment, well, assuming he isn't lying and has been a part of thousands of classes I have to appreciate the data he's compiled on which guns seem to fail more than others. Your 1911 may run perfectly, but many don't. I had a close friend with a very high end Kimber, beautiful gun, felt fantastic in my hand but gave him all kind of trouble (yes different mags and ammo was tried).

Call me crazy but if I spend that kind of money I want the gun to run flawlessly and shouldn't have to tweak anything to get it going.
 
And to the person that didn't like the Yeager comment, well, assuming he isn't lying and has been a part of thousands of classes I have to appreciate the data he's compiled on which guns seem to fail more than others.
Click to expand...

I prefer people whom document rather than give anecdotal opinions...


The following person runs them till he doesnt feel comfortable as a Carry weapon.

Springer 1911(current Test gun)
49,999 rounds - 14 stoppages - 4 parts breakages

Past test guns.
Glock 17 gen 4
71,260 rounds - 19 stoppages (+1 w/non-LCI extractor) - 3 parts breakages

HK P30
91,322 rounds - 13 stoppages - 5 parts breakages


Endurance tests can be found by searching the below site.

http://pistol-training.com/


Its interesting none the less.

Like I said previously too many players to issue a blanket statement about an entire type of gun sucking..
 
I've been through 3 Gunsite pistol classes, 250 twice (second time was to accompany my daughter) and the 350 class. Each class of about 16-18 students is a week long and approx 1000 rounds.
In every class, I shoot my Glock 23 Gen 4 with factory remanufactured ammo.

My experience is that roughly half the students will bring 1911's, the other half run a mix of iron guns (HK, Sig, Beretta) and plactics (Glock, XD, M&P).

Without exception, the guns that have problems were 1911's. And these are typically quality guns like Les Baer, Wilson, Colt, et al. First time I attended Gunsite, my wife and I went, and as the ran two classes concurrently, we asked to be in seperate classes (married for 20 years, you learn what works!).

In my wife's class was Wiley Clapp and two gun execs, one from Colt, other from TALO. They were all shooting the new Wiley Clapp Colt Commander, TALO exclusive. They had serious fits with their guns and I heard the school Smithy spent several hours getting them to run right.

Not every 1911 had issues, but every gun that had issues was a 1911. Many 1911 shooters brought at least 1 spare gun for the class.

Some issues were magazine related, some were gun related.

At least one 1911 shooter from each class finished the class with a different gun than they started the class with.

I don't own a 1911, but I want one. After discussing with different Gunsite instructors, im looking hard at a Springfield. That seemed to be the flavor they saw the least problems with. Interestingly, another gun that was recommended was a Citadel, with the caveot that I replace all springs with a quality Brownells 1911 Spring Kit.

I don't know much about the 1911 other than it is a true American icon, and I love the way they shoot. But I am going in understanding they can be finicky...
 
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