Magazine followers

[ken grant]

I have both Colt and CMC mags which are 8 rders. and have had numberous last round FTF.
Played with follower angles and made no difference
Installed +5% Wolf springs and still had problems of the same nature.
On Tuner's advice,I purchased Metalform flat followers for 7 rds. and tried them,but I left the +5% springs in the mags. Still had last round FTF's. He said that I may still have this problem.
Installed 11# Wolf springs and the problem went away,I have not had a FTF since.

 

[Black Snowman]

Glad it's working for ya.

Sounds like your Recoil spring might have be too strong not giving the mags enough time to get that last round up or if you're using a recoil buffer the shorter stroke might be having the same effect. Just a thought. Easier and cheaper to change out 1 recoil and 1 FP spring than all the mag springs you ever need in the future. Just a thought.

 

[ken grant]

Buffers

I don't have buffers in anything I own! Even remove shocks from my truck.
The recoil spring is the stock one that has been in the pistol for several thousand rounds.Can't believe it got stronger.
I have found that the stock 8 rd. mags seem to work fairly well in fullsized pistols but give last round feeding problems in shorter ones.
I also believe many other people have had this same problem and that's why most 1911 shooters say 7 rd. mags are more dependable than 8 rd. mags.

 

[Old Fuff]

It should be self-evident that if Browning thought he could safely squeeze in an 8th round he would have done it, but the available space in the standard box dictated 7 only. The issue of an extra round didn't come up until the gamers decided they needed it. Of course you can do it, but this requires some modifications of the spring and follower. The problems usually show up on the last round because that's when the spring is the least compressed.

Shorter then standard length slides may cycle faster because of their reduced weight, and usually lighter recoil springs. A heavier spring will slow the slide when it's going backwards, but speed it up going the other way. Combine this with a weaker magazine spring nd you should be able to see why there are sometimes feeding issues.

 

[sm]

Don't mind me, I'm just reading.
Still learning mind you, I grew up shooting Stock Guns and never learned to count past 6 for a K frame revolver, or past 7 for 1911 mags...

 

[Old Fuff]

Well in my day we never needed to count over six with a revolver or over 7 with a .45 ....

Of course some young whippersnapper will claim that I coundn't count any higher if both hands weren't free ...

 

[sm]

I couldn't get the hang of "new math" - until I shot a BHP . I must think more concrete than abstract.

Still think the math stinks , but my excuse worked real well on getting to shoot that BHP.

I am still not that smart. Don't mean I am totally stupid tho'.

 

[1911Tuner]

We Be Jammin'!

Howdy Ken,

Several times, I've had the following scenario to unfold.

Guy at the range, goin': :banghead:

"This POS! I'm gettin' rid of it!"

"Why?"

"It jams all the time! See? You want it? I'll take 2 hunnert dollers!"

"Try this first."

I hand him a magazine. 35 rounds later, he sez...

"Hmmm...Whatcha gotta have for that magazine?"

Good magazines...Good ammo...A good extractor...The tripod of reliability.
See to those three things, and about 98% of the functional problems with a 1911-pattern pistol will disappear.

Onward....

 

[1911WB]

Tripod of wisdom!

Darn, Tuner- if you would have written the "tripod" in one sentence before, I wouldn't have had to learn the volumes of material on the 1911 that I have! 1. New Wilson "Bulletproof" extractor, slightly tuned; 2. replacement Wolff (+ 11%) mag springs in all mags; reloads of proper oal & put thru Lee Factory Crimp die as final step.

 

[1911Tuner]

Tripod

Howdy WB,

Wish I had a nickel for every time I've written that in the last two years...

 

[sm]

Good magazines...Good ammo...A good extractor...The tripod of reliability.

What are you trying to do, put gunsmiths out of bidness?

I'll add my .01. This is true of any platform, handgun, rifle or shotgun. Bolt, Revo, pump...Makes no nevermind. Gun MUST feed and extract.

Chambers are important as well. Take care of these 4 and your gunsmith can go fishing.

 

[1911Tuner]

Chamber

sm just brought up an excellent point, and one that's becoming more and more
of an issue.

In fully a third of production 1911 pistols that I've had my hands on for reliability issues...mostly feeding, but sometimes extraction problems...I've noticed that the chambers are slightly tapered toward the shoulders. This can lead to sluggish return to battery, or even failure when the chamber starts to get hot and/or dirty. I drop a finishing reamer in the chambers and
invariably get chips...and they always come from the forward 1/3rd of the chamber...right at the shoulder. About half the time, a short leade into the rifling is also noted with tapered chambers. it takes about 3-4 turns of the reamer to clean things up, and the return to battery is MUCH smoother and
more positive.

Three GI Mil-Spec barrels that I was recently involved with have had chips
removed from the rear of the chamber area...just inside the hood...along with the tapered/undersized forward area. When the chambers were finish-rreamed, the feeding/return to battery problems went away.

 

[1911WB]

Finishing chambers

Interesting material as always, Tuner. Which finishing reamer do you recommend, and can the average hacker (me) do this without too much danger of disaster? WB

 

[cordex]

Wish I had a nickel for every time I've written that in the last two years...

Someone want to send Tuner a quarter?

Judging from your collection of 1911s, I guess you've taken a few of those lowball offers from frustrated 1911 owners, eh?

 

[1911Tuner]

Disaster?

Howdy WB,

Sure...No sweat. Hand ream and don't put linear pressure on the reamer.
You want to remove material from the circumference of the chamber without
making it any deeper...unless you're hand-fitting a barrel that has a semi-finished chamber and you're setting the depth to your own specifications.

I've found that it works better if you turn the reamer a time or two at about half-depth...advance the reamer about .050 inch and turn it again, etc. You should be able to feel the point that it hits the shoulder and stops. At that point, give it another couple rounds, or until it turns freely. You may be surprised to find that the chamber has high spots that puts the reamer in a bind, and releases it with just a little movement.

The reason for advancing it gradually is to keep the material removal to a minimum. That makes the reamer easier to turn by hand, and gives you more control. If you have to pull too hard to get it to turn, you may be sinking it deeper without realizing it.

Use a good cutting oil...Tap Magic or Kool Tool is good. If you can't find that,
plain honing oil is a decent substitute. When you get to the shoulder, remove the reamer and clean the chips off with a bristle brush before making the final cut. Remember to reapply cutting oil.

 

[1911Tuner]

Lowball Offers

Howdy cordex,

Yeah...I've got three or four that I picked up for about half-price after the owner got disgusted. I've always either offered to fix the guns or sell'em back
after the fix...for the same price plus a little for my labor and/or parts. Usually not more than 15 or 20 bucks, because most of the time, the fix didn't take more than a few minutes. Several didn't need anything more than a good scrubbin' to set'em right. Most take'em back when they see'em run, but some just won't trust'em any more...Those I've kept and shot and either still have'em, or traded'em off for somethin' of interest.

 

[Old Fuff]

While I agree with what's been said about reaming chambers, which is one reason I don't put match barrels in any pistol intended to be a weapon unless the chamber is checked and reamed if necessary - I would point out that you shouldn't ever ream a chamber if the bore has been hard chromed. Some USGI barrels (and copies thereof) have chromed bores, and of course Norinco's do too. So look before you cut. Otherwise you could ruin the reamer.

 

[1911Tuner]

Chrome, etc.

Amen to that Fuff...

If in doubt, try to scratch a non-critical area with a file. If you can't file it,
you can't ream it. You have to grind through the surface to get to bare steel.

Conversely...If you can file it...you can mill, drill, ream, turn, shear it or scrape it.

 

[Jammer Six]

Oooh, oooh, oooh!

[hand waving frantically]

I have a question!

How do you tell if the chamber is chromed?

Looks silver to me...

And dark. Unless I point it at a light, and then it's silver again.

And perusing my Brownell's catalog, I see chamber reamers for .45s that run $55, and I see reamers that run $190.

What's the difference?

 

[1911Tuner]

Reamers

Howdy Jammer,

Reamers are like any other tool....(Technically, they fall into the category of "tooling".) You can get different grades of reamers just like you can get different grades of files. A flea-market set of needle files cost 7 or 8 bucks.
A good set of needle files can run as high as 70 or 80. The cheap ones will do an acceptable job and last well enough for occasional use, while the good ones are for the pros...the guys who use them a lot, and want'em to be there for the long haul.

Expensive reamers are held to tighter tolerances than inexpensive reamers...
though chamber reamers pretty much have to be right. The more costly ones
are the ones that get used 8-10 times a month or more, while the others are used maybe 3-4 times a year. The more expensive ones also leave a little better surface finish, but you'd likely have to look at it on an electronic comparator to see it.

I have one of the 55 dollar finishing reamers from Brownells and have had very good results with it. No more use than it'll see over the next 5 years,
it'll do just fine. If I dive back into the bidness...I'll naturally order better tooling.

One final point on reamers...and drills too...is that they cut in one direction,
just like a mill file. NEVER turn a reamer counter-clockwise. It's also not a good idea to pull one straight out of a hole while it's not moving. If you're hand-reaming, back it out like you're unscrewing a left-hand thread. Turn and pull. If you turn it backward, you've pretty much ruined it...at least
as far as leaving a good surface finish. At the very least, you'll shorten its
useful life quite a bit...and it only takes about a half-turn to do it. They can be resharpened, but they lose a little of their diameter in the process, and don't cut the same sized hole. If the man doing the sharpening doesn't know his business, he may cut one or two flutes longer than the others. The reamer loses its concentricity and won't track straight...Your chamber could be catty-wampus or out of round, etc. Be good to your reamer and it'll be good to you.

Did I mention using plenty of cutting oil?