Colt XSE barrel and mainspring very different from other 1911s

[sleepyone]

I wonder if some other Colt owners or 1911 guys can shed some light on two very perplexing issues with my new Colt XSE SS Government model.

1. There is a notch on the barrel feed ramp that I have never seen on a 1911. I have a friend who has been shooting 1911s for 40 years and he has never seen a feed ramp like this one either. Pics are below.

2. I was comparing my hammer pull of the Colt to my Dan Wesson and noticed the DW is much, much easier to pull. So, I took the MSH out and compressed the spring by hand using a punch. Also comparing it to a few other 1911s that I own or have access to I would say it is twice as hard to compress .

I discovered these two things while we were trying to resolve a feeding and jamming issue it was having with an Ed Brown SS MSH I installed. I had fired 200 rounds prior to swapping out the MSH with no problems and have run about 50 rounds with no problems since going back to the nylon MSH. Same internal parts in both MSGs. That is another mystery.

I know that 1911 manufacturers often make "improvements" to their 1911s and not every barrel feed ramp looks the same, but I can't figure out why the notch is there. Do other Colt XSE owners have these same two designs. The mainspring is really strange. The hammer pull is very stiff. About twice as stiff as my Dan Wesson. I first thought I had done something wrong when installing the Ed Brown MSH, but the hammer pull is the same with the nylon installed.

I will probably call Colt to ask about the purpose of the feed ramp notch and if the mainspring is supposed to be that way or if they gave me a defective one but wanted to run it by here first.

 

[Auto426]

The notch in the feed ramp is there to improve feeding. I believe it's currently in use on all .45 caliber models except the reproduction guns. It's something that Colt started doing a few years back, and from I can tell it works pretty well. Both of my recent production Colt's have it, and they both fed hollowpoints right out of the box with nothing more than a cleaning and lubing.

As far as the mainspring being too heavy, that's the first I heard of it. I don't find mine hard to cock or rack at all. As far as I know Colt still uses standard 23 lb mainsprings in their Government and Commander sized guns. You can always buy a Wolf spring kit and replace them.

 

[The Lone Haranguer]

I will take a guess and say the notch is to keep the edge of a hollowpoint cavity from catching on the throat. (The feed ramp is actually in the frame.)

If it works, which it seems to be, take yes for an answer.

 

[rklessdriver]

As said the "dimpled" barrel feed ramp is a COLT innovation and comes on all new COLT 1911's (except the repro's).

It allows reliable feeding of modern defensive ammo without cutting away a large amount the chamber support like an old style "throating" job does.

No idea on the mainspring. I've never noticed a difference in any of mine but I own mostly COLT 1911's.
Will

 

[dom1104]

Thats 100% normal.

I have 3 XSE Colts, they all have that barrel.

I shoot my guns the way they come from the factory, and if they run, I dont bother with what the spring rates are personally.

Maybe thats why I dont have any issues....

 

[sleepyone]

Thanks for the feedback! Sorry about the misnaming of parts. I said feed ramp but was thinking throat. All the 1911s I had to compare with were not Colts, so I was unaware of this design. That being said, I have ben able to shoot various brands of HPs without any problems (once I went back to the stock nylon MSH. I still would like to know why the mainspring is so much stiffer than other makes.

 

[sleepyone]

in my previous posts, I was calling the hammer spring the main spring. I think most of you guys were able to figure out what I was trying to say.

 

[9mmepiphany]

The spring that is in your MSH is the Mainspring...that was correct.

I'm not sure why they would increase the tension of the mainspring. Two things come to mind.
1. More reliable ignition
2. Helping to retard the slide

It really shouldn't affect how you run your pistol, unless you are having a problem racking the slide to chamber your first round

 

[1911Tuner]

I said feed ramp but was thinking throat.

You had it right. It's a barrel ramp. The throat is forward of the chamber. Also known as "leade."

 

[sleepyone]

It really shouldn't affect how you run your pistol, unless you are having a problem racking the slide to chamber your first round

You are correct. The slide is not hard to rack. The reason I was concerned is that stiff of a hammer pull would also make the trigger harder to pull, so my thought was I could improve the trigger pull by simply reducing the spring tension. However, Colt may have a reason for that stiff of a spring. Does it have something to do with their Series 80 firing system? I'm just throwing ideas out there at this point since Colt refused to even tell me what pound the spring is. I need to call back and get through the wall of pretty sounding women who just read from scripts.

I hear some people call it a hammer spring and others call it the mainspring.

 

[9mmepiphany]

It has nothing to do with the Series 80 FPS. That has it's own coil spring and is actuated through levers as the trigger is pressed to the rear.

 

[larryh1108]

If you use the same internals on the original MSH and the Ed Brown MSH then my guess would be that the length of the housing may be shorter than the original one which would make the spring stiffer. It could be a Brown design or just a faulty drilling. Try another MSH and see if it's the same thing. Is it possible that the Ed Brown MSH has a shorter spring well and they use a lighter spring? I don't know, just wondering why it would be different.

 

[sleepyone]

the tension is the same with the original MSH. That is what had me calling Colt to find out why it had so much more tension than other 1911s that I and my friend own.

 

[larryh1108]

Sorry, I misread your post. By any chance, have you measured the hammer strut? Wouldn't a longer strut make it a harder compression?

 

[sleepyone]

You know I have not checked the hammer strut yet, but I noticed the tip is completely different from my DW. I was going to swap out MSHs between the two and see how it affected the hammer pull on each, but the struts are so different and the mainspring caps are also totally different.

 

[funnelcake]

My guess(s) regarding the mainspring:

-In my observations at least a few manufacturers appear to use lighter (19lb maybe) mainsprings and attempt to offset using a heavier recoil spring. Probably in pursuit of a lighter trigger pull. One thing to remember is the whole shebang is a system - changing one part impacts another/ others. I've run a few both ways & everything else being equal can't tell the difference. IMO, its not worth the potential comprise on reliability and battering the gun.

-The Colt is new.

Funnel

 

[sleepyone]

good point Funnel. The parts don't operate in isolation. Like you said, a lighter mainspring will probably require me to make changes elsewhere, so I'm going to sit tight until I have about 1,000 rounds throughout and only make changes in response to a problem. I have left the recoil spring plug and recoil spring guide that replace the stock FLGR and have reinstalled the stock nylon MSH.

 

[1911Tuner]

You know I have not checked the hammer strut yet, but I noticed the tip is completely different from my DW.

Colt's redesigned strut is the strongest, most durable in the industry. The original...likely what you see in your DWA...was deliberately sized for use as a punch and slave pin to align and hold the sear and disconnect in place for easy reassembly following a detail strip.

Now that the option of completely disassembling the pistol without tools isn't a critical factor the way it was for the US Army in 1912...some of the parts have been altered. The thumb safety was the first to fall with the "improved" tear-drop thumb pad.

On the spring question:

Over a hundred years ago, the premier firearms design genius of the last 200 years, along with a team of Colt's top engineers wore out a bunch of pencils in determining the best spring rates in that pistol. Might be a good idea to at least consider the possibility that they knew what they were doing.

 

[sleepyone]

Over a hundred years ago, the premier firearms design genius of the last 200 years, along with a team of Colt's top engineers wore out a bunch of pencils in determining the best spring rates in that pistol. Might be a good idea to at least consider the possibility that they knew what they were doing.

Amen to that. John Browning was as influential and as much of a genius as Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, Alexander Graham Bell etc... It is sad that he is little known outside the circle of the firearms and military communities. John Browning's inventions helped to ensure that we could drive Henry Ford's cars in a free country, communicate freely on Bell's phones and watch movies on Edison's projectors.

 

[George44]

Sounds like a case of if it isn't broke don't fix it.

 

[9mmepiphany]

a genius as Henry Ford

You do realize, that what Ford did was introduce assembly line production to the auto industry?

 

[fastbolt]

Back in the Colt Model O Pistol armorer class we were told the then-new barrel ramp notch had been added to improve feeding, including the more common hollowpoint loads favored by LE users.

Yep, it does look weird at first glance (and even second glance ) ... but it seems to work just fine.

It was supposedly the result of a computer design effort to achieve optimal feeding. Computers don't care about aesthetics unless programmed to do so.

The mainspring in the Colt is the result of a lot of years and experience with the design. I see no need to fiddle with what they put in their guns.

I can't say what other companies & major makers may feel about how they spring their various 1911-style pistols.

Folks just seem unable to resist the urge to fiddle with good quality 1911's. Some folks like to try and "fix" their 1911's until they're broken. Resist the urge.

Congrats on the XSE.

I've got one from when they were using the duck-bill grip safety. I actually kind of liked that early extended grip safety design, so I left it alone. It doesn't bother me during my draw-stroke, and it actually seems to let me have more resistance between the safety and the web of my hand. Feels more controllable during rapid shot strings. Weird, but there you go. Different strokes.

However, the vendor-supplied ambi safety assembly they used at that time was one of those that was apparently poorly cast. The left side paddle snapped off and fell to the ground when I depressed it within the first 200 rounds fired, during the first range session. :banghead: The back of the lever had been filed in 3 places so it could be used on that gun, which didn't seem to speak well for the production and fit of that specific part. I replaced it with a single side part (as I don't particularly care for the ambi parts, anyway).

When I examined the hammer and sear I saw they were pretty much textbook in their cuts, angles and engagement. Excellent trigger break, in the 5-5 1/2 Lb range, which is where I like to have my "working" 1911 triggers). Better than average practical accuracy with an assortment of different JHP's I'd used for duty over the years. It fed & fired all the factory hollowpoints I tried.

Enjoy the XSE.

 

[sleepyone]

You do realize, that what Ford did was introduce assembly line production to the auto industry?

Yes sir. I stand by my statement. Read the biography "John Browning, American Gunmaker" by his eldest son, John Browning and Curt Gentry.

 

[sleepyone]

Enjoy the XSE.

Thanks for the information. I plan on enjoying it for years to come. It is indeed a fine pistol. Lights out accurate and Slide-to-frame fit is the best I have seen on a non-custom shop Colt.