Requesting help with weird mag issues with RIA 1911......

[MIL-DOT]

Hi guys, I recently picked up a Rock Island Armory 1911 Tactical that is used, but very clean and apparantly low miles.
I disassembled and inspected it, gave it a cleaning (that it didn't need), oiled with Rem-oil and greased the rails with Bel-Ray waterproof grease (as is my habit with semi-autos).
I have 3 mags for it, the 8-round Armscor/ACT mag that came with it, and 2 mags left over from the only other 1911 I ever owned and have since traded, a nearly new-condition military issue mag, and an 8-round stainless McCormick Shooting Star.
I loaded all 3 mags with Speer (alu) Blazers and went to a buddy's shooting range (i.e. dirt hill at the edge of the yard). The McC and the factory mag functioned perfectly, and so did the mil-issue mag, except when the slide locked open after the last round, the mag was FIRMLY stuck in the mag-well.
I had to tap (hard) on the protruding portion of the mag base with another magazine to get it loose. After that, it went in and out with no problems, but it's a mystery to me what happened.
Next day, I walked over with the 3 mags loaded, and had no issues (also shooting some Remington UMC now). Then today, I went out with the 3 mags, and when I inserted the factory ACT mag (with slide locked open), one round popped out of the ejection port, and onto the ground (as I recall, this happened once on the previous shoot).
So, I dropped the mag and replaced the ejected round, and re-inserted the magazine. This time, the top round moved forward and down , and locked everything up completely. I mean TIGHT. Round wouldn't feed, mag wouldn't drop, slide still locked back. Nada.
After screwing with it a while (in the blazing friggin' sun), I decided to disassemble the mag from the base. After pulling the spring, follower and ammo, the mag body was still stuck and needed some prying, but I got it out.
I went back and shot a couple more mags using the McC and the mil-issue, with no problems.
Sorry for the lengthy post, any help, info, advice,etc. is much appreciated......

 

[rcmodel]

Check the Armscor mag carefully for a crack in the back at the seam, or at either corner next to the back edge of the feed lips.

Also check inside the grip frame for overly long or protruding grip screws.

If it does it again, look inside the ejection port and see if the mag follower popped above the slide release projection.
If it is a flat steel follower, you can bend the tab slightly further to the left to stop it from happening again.

Other then that, if two aftermarket mags work, and the Armscor mag doesn't?
There is something out of spec with the mag.
Trash it.

rc

 

[Steve C]

Mags for the 1911 are plentiful and relatively inexpensive so when one gives me trouble and I can't figure it out and repair it, it will go in the trash. Anymore I have little patience with a poor magazine.

 

[mgmorden]

I'll agree with Steve - if a single magazine is giving you trouble just toss it.

If a single brand of magazine (ie, ALL ACT magazines) is doing so you may have an actual issue.

 

[dogmush]

I generally agree and toss mags as a wear item if they malf.

That said, the OP fairly clearly says that he had similar (mag sticking in the gun) problems with TWO different mags in the same gun. That would lead me to look elswhere then tossing 66% of his magazine supply.

OP: You have an interesting issue. The two malfunctions are similar, but not actually the same. As far as the mag body sticking in the pistol, check for protruding grip screws, or anything else in the magwell that could be grabbing the mags. I would think that anything that grabs the mags as hard as you describe would leave some kind of mark on the mag. So a close inspection might provide a clue. As to something pushing the top round forward and down with the slide still locked to the rear? Maybe an out of spec ejector? The slide stop is in that area, I guess it could be out of spec and grabbing rounds. But those are just guesses.

Honestly we'll need some more information. See if you can recreate the faults with both mags and then take pictures of them.

 

[MIL-DOT]

Thanks dogmush, I think you have the idea. The mil-issue mag only malfunctioned the one time, it just stuck in the magwell after the slide locked back. But it wasn't hard to tap free.
The ACT mag has been consitently weird. I shot them all again today, the McC and the mil-issue mag ran fine, but the first time I popped the ACT mag in, the top round popped out and onto the ground, again. I pocket the round, and shot the rest w/o incident.
I then reloaded the ACT (both times with only 7 rather than 8 rounds), and then popped it into the pistol. This time, the top round came loose again, but not completely, it was angled upwards (rather than downwards like an earlier event) and was jammed into the slide just above the chamber, and the magazine was again VERY firmly stuck.
After messing with it a bit, I found I could pull the slide rearward a tiny bit, and that was enough to tap the errant round downward, and shake it out of the pistol. I then shot the rest of the rounds wwithout incident.
I get the impression, this mag doesn't like to be slammed into the pistol. I looked closely at everything in the sunlight yesterday, and there appeared to be no cracks or split seems, and the grips screws are not even close to being an obstruction. I fully loaded the ACT mag and slid it in and out a couple times without issue, but I noticed some serious abrasions on one side of the mag, near the opening, and the mag seemed to swell in width near the opening, when fully loaded.
I've posted this issue over on the 1911 forum, and a couple of the guys seem to think ,"the follower jumped past the slide stop lobe". But, everyone is in agreement it's best just to retire the mag.
Thanks again to all for the replies.......

 

[rcmodel]

I've posted this issue over on the 1911 forum, and a couple of the guys seem to think ,"the follower jumped past the slide stop lobe".

I think I mentioned that possibility in post #2 here on THR yesterday.

rc

 

[bikerdoc]

I find act mags to be hit or miss. they are standard on R I and Taurus.

 

[MIL-DOT]

I think I mentioned that possibility in post #2 here on THR yesterday.

rc

Yep, you're right RC, my bad for missing it. I may take a closer look at the ACT mag, and try a little fine tuning, but I may just write it off.

 

[BSA1]

Shooting Star magazines work fine.

ACT doesn't.

Unknown brand mil-spec sticking in mag-well.

Answer seems easy enough.

 

[Big Shrek]

Never, Ever trash a bad OEM mag. Call the company, send it in for replacement.
RIA has AWESOME customer service, they'll make it right.

Heck, even if its an aftermarket, call the offending company.
The only way they know they're screwing up is if People hold their feet to the fire and make them FIX the mistakes.

Much like faulty motorcycle/car parts, Follow Thru.