Could it be this simple? (1911 problem)

[NWcityguy2]

So long story short I bought a Dan Wesson 1911 at the start of this year with a lot of problems. The big one was constant 3 point jams with the factory barrel which went away instantly with a $50 aftermarket barrel.

So after about 3-4k rounds down the tube of the aftermarket barrel I decide to throw on the factory barrel just for kicks and giggles. The first thing I notice is how tight the bushing is on the barrel. I literally couldn't turn it without the aid of a bushing wrench. So I take the barrel off and notice it is enlarged at the end I assume to provide tight lock-up. So much so that with the gun assembled if I stop the slide before closing the last little bit the recoil spring can barely get it into battery. Since the barrel is basically dead to me I get out the sanding paper and reduce the size until the bushing can freely move around it. After that to my amazement I can hand cycle all my ammo through it no problem, even very slowly. I take it to the range and it goes through 300 trouble free rounds which is amazing for a gun that used to choke up almost every magazine.

Has anyone ever seen something like this before? The extractor hasn't been touched since giving up on the factory barrel and the timing in the same as well.

Any thoughts?

 

[Alland]

A bushing that is too tight on the barrel will certainly cause jams. When the slide goes foreward to feed, the bushing pulls the barrel foreward and the link then pushes the barrel up and stops the slide.

 

[NWcityguy2]

Interesting, never though of the bushing affecting it like that. After I got the gun I sent it back to Dan Wesson for service and they tuned the magazines for reliability, whatever that means, and sent it back just as bad off as it was before. I'm just happy I finally have the gun I thought I was getting when I bought it.

 

[Alland]

A too tight bushing may run for a couple shots, then the barrel heats up and expands enough to lock it up.

 

[Drail]

Ideally you want about 1 to 1.5 thous. in. clearance between barrel and bushing - AND the bushing has to be relieved inside at the top rear and lower front to allow the barrel to pivot when it links up and down. Watch the barrel as you slowly let it go into lockup. See the rear move up? If the bushing is not relieved for barrel swing it will string shots vertically on target and as you described will hang going into full lockup. This is known as barrel springing. Keep some oil inside that bushing. On a barrel with a larger dia. at the muzzle don't try to turn the bushing while the slide is forward. Back it off of the enlarged part and then turn it. You won't usually need to use a bushing wrench that way. The link pulls the barrel down out of lock up. That's all it does. The bottom barrel lugs lift it up when they hit the slide stop pin. In lockup you don't want the barrel supported by or riding on the link. The bushing does not pull the barrel forward. The breechface pushes the barrel hood forward and causes the barrel's bottom lugs to ride up the slide stop in and engage the upper lugs in the slide.