Llama 1911 feed ramp...go to the gunsmith?

[dukefan70]

Llama IXB circa 1985. Fed FMJ fine from mag that came w/ it, but not HPs. Also would NOT feed FMJ from a 10 rd. Chip McCormack Power Plus mag. Polished the feed ramp down to 1500 grain auto sandpaper, now both mags feed FMJ flawlessly, but not HPs. I've done a little reading on 1911s and HPs, and it seems I have two options left.
1. Try the latest and greatest HP ammo (what I have now isn't ancient, but it ain't Hornady Critical Defense either).
2. If that fails, have it reprofiled by a smith or dont use it for SD and stick with ball.

Am I missing anythin?

 

[DammitBoy]

Easy fix with a little throating and polishing that feedramp. Keeping it clean and lubed will help dramatically.

 

[mljdeckard]

It may well be worth it to take it to a smith (WHO KNOWS HOW TO WORK ON 1911s) to see if it needs to be throated.

 

[1911Tuner]

Best leave the feed ramp alone.

 

[Drail]

Don't spend very many bucks trying to make a Llama work. It just barely worked when it was brand new. You're better off getting a new gun. Most smiths will just smile and walk away if you show them a Llama.

 

[Brian Williams]

Probably the first thing to check is the mags. The follower, lips and spring

 

[dukefan70]

Llama aside, I'm getting the idea that polishing the feed ramp on an older 1911 is about all you can do without surgery on it. Duly noted. Thanks guys.

 

[tarosean]

Don't spend very many bucks trying to make a Llama work. It just barely worked when it was brand new. You're better off getting a new gun. Most smiths will just smile and walk away if you show them a Llama.

Im sure there are more than a few that would take your money.

 

[1911Tuner]

Llama aside, I'm getting the idea that polishing the feed ramp on an older 1911 is about all you can do without surgery on it.

I've seen a lotta pistols wrecked with Dremel Dan's Double Throwdown Ramp'n'Throat Job.

 

[tryshoot]

Check recoil spring with mags.

 

[TonyT]

dukefan70,
I think you option of using a different pistol for SD maeks the most sense. Personally, for SD I prefer a psitol without any external hammers or safeties and thus opt for the Glock, S&W M&P and Kahr pistols - all I have to remeber between the different platforms is to draw and pull the trigger.

 

[dukefan70]

dukefan70,
I think you option of using a different pistol for SD maeks the most sense. Personally, for SD I prefer a psitol without any external hammers or safeties and thus opt for the Glock, S&W M&P and Kahr pistols - all I have to remeber between the different platforms is to draw and pull the trigger.

Yeah I already have a M&P for carry and I wasn't really planning on carrying the Llama on a regular basis. Completely agree with your statement about platform carryover. I just like to know the capabilities and limitations of every gun I have. Now for the Llama, I've got one more piece of data.

 

[DammitBoy]

Don't listen to the haters about llamas. I bought one used for $250 at a gun show and it would not feed any hollow points.

Polished feed ramp and a mild throat job by a good gunsmith and it has digested everything put in it ever since (as long as it was clean).

 

[dukefan70]

Don't listen to the haters about llamas. I bought one used for $250 at a gun show and it would not feed any hollow points.

Polished feed ramp and a mild throat job by a good gunsmith and it has digested everything put in it ever since (as long as it was clean).

I'm not worried. There's an excellent gunsmith near me. I could be wrong, but the way the HPs are jamming straight into the feed ramp even after I polished it, it's gonna take some professional reprofiling. I'll decide based on the cost.

 

[Jim Watson]

It isn't a 1911 and getting it to feed anything out of a 1911 magazine is a stroke of luck.

If it feeds hardball 100%, that was good enough for the US Army.

Me?
In my younger years I went many a mile with a Norma or Super Vel hollowpoint in the chamber and hardball in the magazine of my AA rework.

 

[Vern Humphrey]

Best leave the feed ramp alone.

I'd sell it and get another gun that works from the git-go.

 

[Texan Scott]

If it feeds ball reliably, leave it alone. Good range gun, not your primary ccw, no worries
(fwiw, I wouldn't feel underarmed with 7-8 rnds of GI ball.)

 

[DammitBoy]

It isn't a 1911 and getting it to feed anything out of a 1911 magazine is a stroke of luck.

This! Wow, I totally missed this was not the factory mag.

Jim is correct, if you get a 1911 mag to work in the llama, it is lucky. I had one out of six different 1911 mags work in my llama and it was a colt mag.

 

[saltydog452]

All JHPs, and mags, aren't created equal.

Unless you're willing to possibily sacrifice the LLama on the altar of knowledge, maybe it is something better left to speculation.

If you feel that you 'just gotta' do something, a dab of Simechrome, your pinky, an old tee shirt, and 5 mnts ought to satisfy your craving.

The mil-spec feed ramp angle is, if I remember right, is 31.5 degrees. Tough to measure out of hand, even tougher to guess at correctly.

salty

 

[Doc3402]

Llama IXB circa 1985. Fed FMJ fine from mag that came w/ it, but not HPs. Also would NOT feed FMJ from a 10 rd. Chip McCormack Power Plus mag. Polished the feed ramp down to 1500 grain auto sandpaper, now both mags feed FMJ flawlessly, but not HPs. I've done a little reading on 1911s and HPs, and it seems I have two options left.
1. Try the latest and greatest HP ammo (what I have now isn't ancient, but it ain't Hornady Critical Defense either).
2. If that fails, have it reprofiled by a smith or dont use it for SD and stick with ball.

Am I missing anythin?

Are you missing something? Heck yeah you're missing something. Use ball ammo for self-defense. It was good enough for our military for close to 100 years.

 

[wally]

I could be wrong, but the way the HPs are jamming straight into the feed ramp even after I polished it

I'd try new 11 lb mag spring first. The 1911 is a controlled feed design, the feed ramp is more of a clearance cut to let the rounds move forward so they release from the mag and get pushed up under the extractor for feeding.

If the HP nose is catching on the barrel at the gap with the frame then it might benefit from a throat job.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

I'm not worried. There's an excellent gunsmith near me. I could be wrong, but the way the HPs are jamming straight into the feed ramp even after I polished it, it's gonna take some professional reprofiling. I'll decide based on the cost.

If it were me I would keep that 1911 for range work and try to fine a used Springfield 1911A1 for carry. The Springfield is more friendly to HP ammo and if not you can at least get your money back out of the Springfield if you decide to sell in the future. I found a nice Springfield for only $375 OTD.

 

[C5rider]

Got a Llama X-IB as a pawn shop orphan. Picked it up for a song (at least half of what I see them going for at shows/shops around here). I read all of the forums about them, both good and bad and decided to go for it.

It has become my "Intro to 1911s" firearm. I've disassembled it several times and have done a little work on it since. When I bought it, there were signs that someone has done some "fixin" on the ramp. When I put a straight edge on it, you could see how it dipped in the middle. The surface wasn't even straight!

That's where the nose of the bullet would dig in almost EVERY time. I figured I have paid more for less education so, I started (slowly) to work on it after reading about angles and some of the possible problems with home-gunsmith fixes. Now, it feeds my reloads quite well, I've got a gun that I enjoy shooting at the range (not my carry weapon) and, I learned a lot.

Here's a photo of it after the plastic grips were replaced with a set that I made myself. My first attempt at grip-making. Not perfect, but I know that mom would at LEAST hang them on her fridge door and now, this relatively cheap gun is more personal to me and has taught me a few things. My son LOVES to shoot this gun. It'll probably wind up being his.

I know that 1911Tuner is probably getting a rash about now just because I wrote this, but I just wanted to let you know that somewhere between the meat-fingered home-smiths and the haters is a gun that WANTS to shoot properly, you just need to figure out exactly what it takes to get it there. If you decide to work on it, take your time. You can always go a few more swipes with the paper, but it's much harder to put metal back on! Polishing is just like filing, without all the commitment!

 

[Just One Shot]

If it feed ball ammo and you want to use hollow points just load it up with Cor-Bon Pow'R Ball ammo and you shouldn't have any more problems.

 

[TonyT]

I agree with sallty dog - well stated!