slide lock releases when I insert magazine 1911

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xmanpike

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I am fairly new to pistol and in the last year I bought a colt full size 1911. Lately when I have been shooting, I will eject a magazine after firing all rounds and slide is locked back. When inserting the new magazine, the slide lock releases and a round is chambered. I dont remember it originally doing that. Is this supposed to happen? It makes for very fast reloading and shooting, but I just have to stay very aware of the fact that once I run the mag home, gun is hot again.
 
Hi xman, i can think of two reasons I've seen this happen, and others maybe will chime in with more.

1) The recoil spring is weak/worn/broken, and it is not holding the slide under full tension. Normally you'd see cycling problems with this, though, also.

2) The tube on the magazine is bent or out of spec and it is encountering the slide stop and jarring it loose enough to let it fall free.

3) The slide stop is out of spec enough now that it is not engaging fully upward. Is it all the way in the slide stop notch after your last round lock-back?

What exact gun is it, and what caliber? Round count total? This is more common with non-.45 calibers. Does it do it with all magazines, a particular brand, and what kind?
 
Ok, so this isnt normal then.

I would be surprised if anything is worn out or out of spec. The gun is a brand new < 1yr old less than 500 rds, Colt Gold Cup Trophy SS .45 ACP. I am using both 7 and 8 rd mags, Colt, Kimber, and Chip McCormick
 
It's not normal, but as far as problems go, it's relatively common. When it happened to me it was on a pistol I used primarily for IDPA, and it was consistent enough that I came to rely upon it as a function of the pistol.

Since your gun is so new, it may be worth contacting Colt for their take.
 
Likely reasons:
1. Weak magazine spring not fully engaging the slide look. Replace the spring.
2. Bent mag follower. The little whipperbill that engages the slide stop on the last round. You can bend it up more with a pair of needle-nose pliers to get full engagement.
3. Damage to slide stop or notch in slide. Replace or repair as necessary.
4. Bent slide stop pin causing the SS to hit the frame opening window before full engagement. Replace SS pin.
5. Some bullet profiles may hit the slide stop as the come up in the magazine. This usually results in premature slide lock before the mag is empty. But I suppose it could also jar the slide stop off when the mag is inserted if it was not fully engaging in the first place.
6. Weak or gummed up plunger spring & pin not putting full pressure on the slide stop. Clean & lube as necessary. Replace plunger spring if it is weak.

Try this:
1. With the slide off, insert the slide stop into the frame in it's normal position and try inserting a full mag. See if the bullets are hitting the slide stop inside the mag well somehow.

2. Try the same thing with all the empty mags and see if the followers are pushing the slide stop up all the way every time.

If all the above checks out and you are getting full engagement, you can fix it by cutting a shallow demple for the plunger in the rear face of the slide stop.


You need to get to the bottom of this, as it is not normal, it shouldn't be common, and if the slide stop is barely engaging the slide stop cut, it will cause damage to the slide if it hasn't already.

rc
 
Yeah, it has gotten so consistent that I am used to it, andif I am reloading a new mag, it is because I plan on shooting immediately, so it works out just fine. I am glad to hear it is not uncommon. Contatcing Colt is a good idea. Anyone else have the issue and figure out how to fix it?
 
Thanks RC, I will look at all of the mags when I get home, and see if they or the bullets are hitting the slide stop. I have watching very careful for damage and have yet to find any.
 
One thing to add to my previous post, for the gun I had it happen with, it was a used beater HK USP 9mm. I agree with RC that it's important to get it figured out sooner rather than later to prevent damaging the gun, and because, hey, having bought the thing new it's a fair expectation from you that it should function properly.
 
I'm trying to figure out what would have changed. Same ammo, same spring, etc. But it did not happen originally
 
Break-in and things getting slicker & easier to operate.

More I think about it, after insureing you are getting full engagement, I'd pay special attention to the plunger tube, plunger, and spring.
Could just be dirty and not putting full pressure on the slide stop.

rc
 
Is there an easy way to clean the plunger tube? I have never messed with that at all other than putting oil on it when wiping down my gun
 
YOU NEED TO FIX THIS NOW!!! A friend of mine who is also a member of this forum (who will go nameless unless he chooses to identify himself) had this problem with his 1911 a while back when we were at the range. Although it didn't cause any problems while we were at the range, I told him "that ain't normal" and that he should get it fixed as it was probably an issue with the slide stop release.

A few weeks later he was in his car and slipped a mag into his 1911 (thank god he had it pointed at the console) and when the slide released the hammer also fell putting a hole in the console of his car. :eek: Obviously more than just the slide stop release was an issue, but the larger point is if your firearms isn't functioning the way it it supposed to, FIX IT!!!
 
Also, this doesnt seem to happen if I slowly insert the mags, empty or not. I slam my mags home fairly hard since I do not have butt plates on them, and have in the past gone to chamber a round only to find that the mag was not fully inserted. Do I need to just be a bit gentler?
 
Thats one thing I was worried about, but I havent had any issues like that yet.

My advice to you would be don't wait until you do. My friend was lucky, but Murphy will trump luck every time. I personally wouldn't shoot the weapon until the problem was fixed.
 
I won't! I am looking forward to getting to the bottom of this. It seems to me that the slide is not locking fully enough since if I am more gentle it doesnt do that.
 
RC pretty well covered some of the potential problems. IN addition any changes or modifications you made to the pistol is suspect.

Some other causes can be: Aftermarket recoil buffers or anything that prevents full slide travel when shooting. The shooters thumb or finger could touching the slide stop and inhibiting its movement. A change in grips could be touching the stop.
 
No changes or mods were made to the pistol. For awhile early on the slide was not staying locked after last round of magazine fired. Do these all sound like magazine issues or a problem with the slide lock itself?
 
Well, cross your fingers and hope it is the magazine.
It could be a weak magazine spring or a poorly shaped follower, either of which is not fully engaging the slide stop.

Next time you shoot the gun, before you hurredly reload, look to see if the slide stop is all the way up in its notch. If it isn't, see above. If it is, something has gotten rounded off that shouldn't have and will be a more expensive fix.

Rcmodel has a longer list of possibilities and checks. Have you done them?

I know a lot of Glockshooters who have come to depend on the slide closing when a magazine is firmly inserted, it saves them time on the reload in IDPA. But I don't consider it normal or desirable in a 1911.
 
Cougfan I am curious as to how the hammer fell when the guy ran his mag home? I have a grip safety as well, I was under the assumption that unless the grip safety was held and the trigger was pulled simultaneously, that the gun could not go off.
 
Cougfan I am curious as to how the hammer fell when the guy ran his mag home? I have a grip safety as well, I was under the assumption that unless the grip safety was held and the trigger was pulled simultaneously, that the gun could not go off.

Good question! I didn't even think to ask him. I suppose you could grip the gun so as not to engage the grip safety, but why would you? All I can atest to is the hole in his console that I saw and what he said.

Now you have me curious. I will ask him. Anyone out there know what if any issues might enable the gun to fire even if the grip safety is engaged?
 
Are you slamming the mag in hard? If you do sometimes you can accidentally jar the slide stop loose too. I have had it happen on every gun I slammed a mag into... Maybe I am just unlucky but if I slam a mag into my G19 it still does it and mine is brand new and mag springs are as stiff as they get. If the slide is locked back there is really no reason what-so-ever to slam the mag in there like there is no tomorrow.

If you are barely even sticking the mag in there then yeah that could be a bad problem.

Another question for the hole-in-the-console guy... Why was he loading his gun in the car anyway? Shouldn't it have either already been done, or been holstered when he got in? The slide locked back while putting a magazine in the gun is odd to me too... I have only seen people do that at the range... myself included... The main reason is so when people see me with the gun they KNOW it is unloaded. To have it locked back in a car makes no sense to me when you could just shove the mag in, rack the slide, take it out and put a round in the mag if that is what you wanted to do.
 
I'm slamming the mag fairly hard yes, but that was kind of a habit I got into since I dont have butt plates. I had a few instances where I put in a mag and went to load a round only to find that the mag wasnt fully seated. B/C of this I kind of got in the habit of putting it home kind of forcefully. Myabe I need to get some buttplates and lighten up a bit on the gun :)
 
Coming in late here -

It is also possible to have a round "jump" out of the magazine partially if you slam the magazine home too forcefully with the slide back. Some magazines do this, and some don't. It can cause a feed problem, so it's something to watch for.

I ended up with thin (1/4") rubber base pads. These not only provide reliable seating, but they keep my palm from getting pinched. :)
 
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