Ruger SR1911 problem

[JC98]

Hey all,
So I just purchased a new Ruger 1911. Previously all I have owned are glocks. This is my first foray into the 1911 world so maybe this is normal or I need to break it in or something.

When I put a new mag in the gun and press the slide release the rounds seems to nose dive into the feed ramp and the gun won't go into battery. I have to eject the jammed round and usually the second round will chamber fine. Bad mag, user error, not how you load a 1911... Help please?

WWB 230 gr ball ammo if it matters. Have only put about 60 rds through the gun so far. Waiting for my dies and bullets to come in to start making my own ammo. .45 is expensive lol.

 

[Smokey Joe]

Nosedives...

JC 98--Good choice on the Ruger 1911. The 1911 is a masterpiece of design. IMX, nosediving cartridges are most often caused by a magazine spring which was put in facing backwards, i.e. the top loop on the spring is to the rear.

The cure with a 1911 mag is to remove the bottom plate of the magazine, remove the spring, and turn the spring around so that the top loop of the spring is toward the front of the magazine. Then replace the bottom plate of course. Then as the top cartridge is pushed forward by the closing of the slide (and pushed nose-downward at the same time) the top loop on the magazine spring is where it needs to be to resist the downward pressure.

A relatively weak magazine spring can also allow this nosediving, but if your pistol is new, I imagine that your magazine(s) is/are new as well, so this shouldn't be the problem.

Good luck with this maddening problem!

And, BTW, we need pix and a range report on your new weapon!

 

[5-SHOTS]

What happens if you slingshot it rather than using the slide release to chamber the first round?
And what happens during live shooting?
Have you tried to shoot it at the maximum capacity (7+1 or 8+1, I don't know the capacity of Ruger magazines)?

 

[Drail]

First step - try someone else's magazine. If it feeds that first round you know what your problem is. As stated above the magazine spring may be inserted backwards. Or the follower may have been dented before it was installed. It's also possible that you got an out of spec mag catch and it's not holding the magazine quite high enough in the frame. CMC Shooting Star, Wilson Combat and Tripp all offer very good magazines. Most production 1911s will need some tweaking but it's usually small easy stuff.

 

[kcofohio]

And easy way to see if your magazine is misaligned. With the gun disassembled, insert the magazine into the well. With or without bullets, you should be able to see if it looks true side to side.

 

[JTQ]

When I put a new mag in the gun and press the slide release the rounds seems to nose dive into the feed ramp and the gun won't go into battery. I have to eject the jammed round and usually the second round will chamber fine.

I suspect you are using an 8 round mag. Load the mag, let is sit for several days to let the spring take a set.

Previously all I have owned are glocks.

It is much like the issue of not being able to load 17 rounds in a G17 mag when it is new from the store. It takes a while to break in the spring before you can comfortably load 17 in the mag.

You can speed up the process with your 8 round 1911 mags by loading and unloading them by hand many times.

 

[JC98]

5-shots if I slingshot the slide the round will chamber.

Kco- mag appears to be aligned properly.

Sounds like I need to break the mags in a little bit. I will try loading and unloading them or see if I can borrow someone's well broken in magazine. It runs fine after the first round so that makes sense.

Thanks for the help guys.

 

[MedWheeler]

I have a similar issue with a .22LR pistol made by FEG (rimfire version of PA-63.)

If I load the magazine to capacity (eight rounds), I cannot chamber the first without a nosedive. But, if I load only seven, I can. Once I do so, I can then replace the two rounds missing from the magazine so that the mag and chamber are both full, and fire away.

Will your Ruger manually chamber from a less-than-full magazine?

 

[JC98]

Yes if it's one less than full just releasing the slide chambers the next round fine.

 

[juk]

If you keep having issues with it, call Ruger and send it in. They have some of the best customer service in the industry and will get you fixed up. Mine has been absolutely flawless with FMJs, plated bullets, and hollowpoints. My factory mags have been good to go, too. Overall, I love mine and plan to shoot the wheels off of it.

My neighbor did bring a barrel bushing over the other day and fit it on my SR. He said it was a chamfered bushing off of a Nighthawk. I don't really know who made it, but the black bushing looks awesome and it significantly reduced my group size.

 

[JDR]

I only use Wilson 47D mags in mine; try a known good mag & if it still chokes, take it to a gunsmith or send it back to Ruger, unless yours has a trigger job like mine; Ruger will replace altered parts in a gun you send them.

 

[seastrike]

Get better magazines. I've got around 5000 rounds through my SR1911. The factory mags will cause headaches.
Get some good quality mags and be happy.
In my case McCormicks are working great.

 

[Drail]

8 round single stack magazines have a long history of causing problems in some guns. Just load 7 or use an extended 8 round magazine so the spring has some room in the bottom of the mag. Trying to cram 8 rounds in a flush magazine wads the spring up really tight and "can" stress it enough to lose its temper. I have always had perfect feeding with Shooting Star flush 8 rounders but with only 7 rounds in them. When the last round starts to misfeed replace the mag spring. I have worn out a bunch of mag springs but those old Shooting Stars don't seem like they'll ever die. Wilson 47 mags were a good design but they are way overpriced and followers wear out too fast because they're plastic.

 

[JDR]

Wilson 47 mags were a good design but they are way overpriced and followers wear out too fast because they're plastic.

I can get 47D Wilsons for around $30 bucks, and the spring follower kits will set you back $8 bucks. It's all I use in a .45 ACP 1911.

 

[StrutStopper]

I haven't had issues with the magazines that came with my SR1911, but a friend of mine has. It got to the point where his gun could not get through a magazine without issues. I loaned him a Wilson Combat magazine and his gun performed fine. He went and bought some Wilson Combat mags and the SR1911 is now working reliably.

 

[mljdeckard]

I never had any issues with my Kimber mags. I bought Wilson 47Ds anyway, and they have been flawless. In all fairness, I might try some Tripps too.