Need advice on ftf issues on new GI

[GuitarsAndGuns]

I have been wanting the OD Springfield GI for a while and I finally got one as a five year anniversary gift from my wife. Took it to the range today and had a number of failure to feeds. I cleaned and re-lubed it beforehand. I put about 200 rounds through it, a mix of Remington UMC FMJ and JHP, Winchester White Box FMJ, and Fiocchi Shooting Dynamics JHP. Magazines used were the stock 7 rd Springfield, Chip McCormick Shooting Star 8 rd, and a Colt 8 rd. The Springfield had a problem every time, the other two fed better but still had FTF's. The feed ramp had a lot of copper fouling, including the visible small copper shavings that were loose in the mag well and by the hammer. It did get a little better the more I shot it though. Several FTF's occurred when racking a fresh magazine. It occurred with all of the ammo equally. Now I am assuming the feed ramp needs polished. I have no problem doing some polishing by hand (cloth and polish), but I'm not about to take a Dremel and a buffing bit to it. I am wondering if I should send it in to Springfield and have them fix it, my local store will take care of it since my wife paid them an extra $19 for their warranty as well. I am including some pictures so you guys can take a look.
Here is the feed ramp, not a very good pic at all but there is a lot of copper fouling and in person there are obvious marks where the bullet was being battered on the ramp. Again, this pic doesn't show it very well but it's the best one I could get.


Here is a pic of the barrel. There is a tiny ding in it at the bottom left, it is visible in the pic. I am unsure if this occurred today or if it was there already and could be causing part of the issue. It is not a burr, but a tiny ding, look at around the 7 o'clock position.


And my last pic is of the barrel on my Colt XSE. It has a small ramp indention in the bottom, or actually the top as I am holding the barrel upside down in the pic. The Springfield barrel does not have this feature. Does this make a significant difference in feeding? If so I may just replace the barrel in the Springfield in the near future. As a side note the Colt has never had a single issue and has about 1200 rds through it so far.


Anyway, sorry for the long winded post, just trying to be thorough. I hope this post makes sense, I am still basically a beginning shooter. I will probably take it to the store on Monday, but I would really appreciate the advice of the experienced 1911 guys here. Thanks!

 

[BCRider]

The little ding is diddly. But the lack of the barrel ramp has me scratching my head. Out of the reading I've done the barrel ramp being in the right position to the frame ramp is a must. It's there so the nose of the bullet doesn't try to kick up prematurely and instead can be fed further into the chamber before being deflected down by the upper chamber lip.

 

[Full Metal Jacket]

well it could be several things.

SA will fix it for free, without question (they always pay shipping).

could be the extractor tension is too tight, which is a simple fix you can do yourself.

or, as you mentioned, the feed ramp might just polishing. might be a burr on it somewhere too, or the top of the barrel throat has too sharp of an edge and may need a little beveling. none of those are major issues.



copper fouling/shavings are normal.

i'd send it to SA.

 

[Full Metal Jacket]

The little ding is diddly. But the lack of the barrel ramp has me scratching my head. Out of the reading I've done the barrel ramp being in the right position to the frame ramp is a must. It's there so the nose of the bullet doesn't try to kick up prematurely and instead can be fed further into the chamber before being deflected down by the upper chamber lip.
__________________

the barrel throat needs to be at least 7/32" forward of the top edge of the frame ramp for proper feeding. if the frame ramp is angled too much, this can cause feeding issues. this is exceedingly rare though. (on SA's)

 

[.45Heater]

I'll bet it's because you sent HP's up the ramp before it was broken in. (Thus the chatter marks) Ball ammo for the first 300 rounds or so.

 

[Full Metal Jacket]

I'll bet it's because you sent HP's up the ramp before it was broken in. (Thus the chatter marks) Ball ammo for the first 300 rounds or so.

only reason fmj is suggested for break in periods is so you know whether any probs are attributed to the gun or the ammo. jhp's are perfectly fine for break in.

he did try WWB & UMC fmj too.

 

[Robert101]

I'm not one to suggest a lot of backyard gunsmithing on a new gun, but, boy that feed ramp sure could use a polishing. It looks very rough to me. I think the rough feed ramp is the major issue.

If the last say 7 & 8 rounds in a mag feed fine then I suggest the feed ramp. I say this because the first couple of rounds in a loaded mag tend to make the bullet hit almost horizontal straight into the ramp and the last couple of rounds are much more elevated and want to jump straight into the chamber.

 

[Oro]

The Springfield barrel does not have this feature. Does this make a significant difference in feeding?

A number of people believe it does. It's been around since about 2000 on Colts. It helps compensate for various bullet types and really helps with LSWC and FMJ rounds.

Check the extractor; a number of people report initial problems with SA extractors. Here's a source of help on that:

http://www.m1911.org/technic2.htm

 

[GuitarsAndGuns]

A number of people believe it does. It's been around since about 2000 on Colts. It helps compensate for various bullet types and really helps with LSWC and FMJ rounds.

Check the extractor; a number of people report initial problems with SA extractors. Here's a source of help on that:

http://www.m1911.org/technic2.htm

I am inclined to think it makes a difference too. As Full Metal Jacket said, copper shavings are normal. However, I have never had any in the Colt. Would a swap to a Colt barrel be a simple drop in, or would it require any fitting/adjustment before firing? I hope thats not a silly question, I have much to learn.
Thanks to everyone for the help, it is very much appreciated!

 

[Full Metal Jacket]

^^most parts require fitting for each individual 1911. you never know till you try though.

i would check the extractor tension first though.

 

[Lonestar49]

Send her in

...
double tap

 

[Lonestar49]

Send her in

...

I would send it back for SA to polish the ramp, making note of everything you mentioned in this post (i.e 7 o:clock dimple) and FTF with new loaded mag on FTF with first round, as well..

Call them, you'll be very pleased with their CS and as mentioned, they'll pay the shipping both ways, fix the problem/s, and you'll have your gun back in 2 weeks, give or take a few days..

One last thought: hopefully, that is just a shadow-effect within the breach chamber but, if not, they should clean that out to a nice smooth finish, as well.. Or what I'm seeing is a lot of spent powder residue inside and out, everywhere, ramp, etc., and such contamination (oil and powder mixing) from such a low round count does also add to feeding problems.. quickly And if so, then you should check/clean the mags interior walls, mag spring, and followers, as well, cause it's down in there as well..


Ls

Ps.. don't clean it, send it as is, or If you already have cleaned it, send the above pics for them to see and evaluate, as well.

Also, I agree with others about using only FMJ for 300 - 500 round break in, vs mixing JHP's at this point (but we're/you're already committed with 200 rounds/mix at this point), but ask the CS tech about break in ammo and verify.. OMMV

 

[TCOV]

You have a good warranty, use it. The Springfield should feed any 45 spec. ammo you feed it. I have had a couple older ones and the only problem was when a previous owner installed a shok buffer. I removed it and problems went away. Your gun is new and under warranty, I would not try to fix it myself, send it back, they will take care of any problems. My Springfied works fine with any magazine I use.

 

[GuitarsAndGuns]

An update for those interested. I just got the gun back almost 6 weeks later, but I think they experienced some flooding recently, so I didn't mind the wait. I was also having accuracy issues with the gun I forgot to mention, at 10 yards it was hitting the target about 12 inches low from point of aim. I sent it to Springfield and explained the ftf and accuracy issues. I guess I had a real lemon. They performed the following on it:

New Barrel
New Barrel Bushing
New Extractor
Polished Feed Ramp
Reamed Chamber
Trigger Adjustment

The barrel and bushing were replaced with stainless instead of the blued carbon steel it had before. I was pretty sure there was a problem with the barrel because of the accuracy, and the breach face was taking a beating every time I shot it, the bluing was rubbing off and scratching badly. The stainless bushing looks odd in contrast to the rest of the gun, but I am definitely not complaining as I will take a stainless barrel any day over carbon steel. The trigger adjustment job is great. It is considerably lighter and almost as smooth as the Colt when dry fired. Even though it took a while, I am happy with their service. They are very polite, and made the return very easy, plus I feel I got a few upgrades. They also sent a test target, showing just over 1 inch grouping at 25 yards. I will be taking it to the range Saturday and will be putting a couple hundred rounds through it. If it runs good I will be very happy.

 

[Sapper771]

I had a SA GI 1911 and it was very rough. The frame feed ramp had some serious tool marks on it. I took some light sand paper and cleaned the frame ramp up. Finished it off with 1000 grit sand paper. I took a rat tail file and put a little more throat to the barrel ramp. The breach face was also scarred up with tool marks, so I smoothed those out as well.
I could of sent it back to them, but I got the GI to use as a project gun, something to tinker with.

Sounds like SA took your GI up a notch or two, Good Deal! SA does have good CS. I had to use them on a minor issue I had with my TRP and was very impressed with their service.

 

[Jim Watson]

the barrel throat needs to be at least 7/32" forward

Good example of Internet Expert Advice to be cautious of.
The number is 1/32" or .030" in decimal. .79mm if you speak French.

Best to double check those reloading "recipes" too. I have seen some funny powder charges and strange OALs given out over the net.


Glad they fixed your gun, Guiutar. Been nicer if it had worked to start with, though. It is called statistical process control. They have figured out the balance between the cost of more care and QC in manufacture versus the cost of taking in returns. Plus the fact that a willingness to send out a defective product and do you the favor of fixing it gets them a reputation for "customer service."

 

[Shear_stress]

Glad you got the problem resolved!

I had serious accuracy issues with a Loaded model years ago and SA replaced the parked barrel with a stainless one, as they did with yours. Their warranty policy is excellent.

I am wondering if I should send it in to Springfield and have them fix it, my local store will take care of it since my wife paid them an extra $19 for their warranty as well.

Is there any way your wife can back the $19 that the shop pocketed? Springfield's warranty is one of the best in the business while that retailer warranty barely rises above the level of "scam". There's nothing the shop can do to resolve the situation other than sending it back to SA, which you handled just fine for free.