Troubleshoot This

Status
Not open for further replies.
1

1911Tuner

Moderator Emeritus
Joined
May 22, 2003
Messages
18,549
Location
Lexington,North Carolina...or thereabouts
Okay gang...Let's troubleshoot one. Thinkin' caps on...One guess to a customer.

My ex-brother-in-law picked up a LNIB NRM Colt this past weekend.
The price was too ridiculous to pass up. He went to shoot it today
and there was a hitch in the gitalong. He knocked on my door with
the pistol still in the gitalong hitched condition and an expression of deep
concern on his cherubic face.

The slide had recoiled, extracted and ejected the spent case normally,
started to strip a fresh round and stopped about an inch and a half short of battery...and refused to move further.

It would move backward, but releasing it would stop it in the same place.
No matter how hard he pushed or whacked the back of the slide, it wouldn't budge.

It had happened once prior to the complete lockup, and he had gotten it goin' again by pulling the slide fully to the rear and letting it fly. The second
time, it was no go. (If I'd been a crooked so-and-so, I coulda bought the gun for even less than the ridiculous price that he paid for it. To say that
he was hot woulda been an uderstatement.)

The fix took 2 minutes and required replacing one inexpensive part. (It's usually somethin' simple)

What went wrong?

Luck!

Tuner
 
re:

Kaylee offered:

replaced the barrel link? perhaps it was put in upside down or was too long?

Nah...Way more simple than the link. First time I saw it happen,
it near drove me 'round the bend tryin' to figger it out. Seen it
happen exactly three times, not countin' this one.
 
Okay,

I was going with bbl link...but.

I'll say shock buff ripped/tore a piece and jammed into the bbl/lugs, etc.

How's that for not really knowing. :eek:
 
Buffed

.45 Auto said:

I'll say shock buff ripped/tore a piece and jammed into the bbl/lugs, etc.

Nope nope. It was a solid jam...Wouldn't budge a lick. Link and buffer
both good shots at it, though...

Here's another clue...Pullin' back on the slide sometimes corrects the problem and makes it tough to catch...and then it happens again.
Makes ya ------>:cuss: and----> :banghead:

Luck!

Tuner
 
teee.. Tuner told me the answer. You'd think having had the same problem myself with an ol' GI pistol I'd have figured it out immediately, but no.......

Have fun guys. You're gonna be smackin' yourself when it's named. :)

-K
 
hmmmmmmm........

goofy follower in magazine pushing up slide stop? Barrel bushing impeding slide movement?
 
Cocky Jeff

ROFL at Jeff...You GO bro!

The firing pin stop dropped just enough to catch the top of the hammer and stop the slide. Most of the time, it falls far enough that you'll either see it, or it will let the firing pin smack ya between the light orbs...but
sometimes the evil little gremlin will let it pop back into place when the slide is pulled back, and it's tough to catch.

This one had evidently done that a few times with the original owner, and he sold the gun in a panic...for half of its worth. Probably bought it used
from somebody else who had the same problem.


The crash had kicked up a burr on the right edge of the stop, and that burr
finally got deep enough that the stop wouldn't pop back up...and Steve
brought it to me. I told him to close his eyes...popped the stop in place,
let the slide go to battery, and had him completely mystified.

Knocked the burr off with a Swiss file, put a new FP spring in it, and that was it.

Lesson: It's the little things that getcha...FWIW, I've seen this happen on a new XSE Commander, straight out of the box. It would tie the gun up about once every 100 rounds or so.
:rolleyes:

Kudos Jeff mah fren!...but thinkin' back...Didn't we talk about this once
in a galaxy far, far away?:p

Cheers!

Tuner
 
Crap! I was just going to list every part in the gun. It would have taken me a while to get to that one. Stupid process of elimination!
 
blech. That would have been my LAST guess. You would think ANYONE could look at the pistol locked up and SEE the firing pin stop had dropped.:confused:
 
Where's the Stop?

Frohickey asked:

Whats the firing pin stop?

The square slug of metal on the rear of the slide that holds the firing pin in place?

Bingo! Custom smiths will usually use an oversized stop and massage it to a light press-fit to prevent this. Not really necessary as long as the firing pin spring is swapped out about every 5,000 rounds or so...but mainly
because it eliminates one more of those "Murphy" things.

Some of the recent Serise 80 Colts have a shortened firing pin spring, which will make it more lilely to happen. Not clear on why Colt elected to do that...but a standard spring is a drop-in replacement. At less than two bucks a copy, it's cheap insurance.

Cheers!

Tuner
 
Look!

Riley said:

That would have been my LAST guess. You would think ANYONE could look at the pistol locked up and SEE the firing pin stop had dropped.

When it falls just a tiny bit, it's hard to see...and especially when it
will pop back into place when the slide is pulled back...which is the next thing that most people will do right after tryin' to push the slide to battery.
Makes it a tough one to catch...Ask me how I know. :rolleyes: :D

Cheers!

Tuner
 
Stupid process of elimination!
Click to expand...

That's why I don't program in C anymore.

Real programers sit down at a computer with a plan, and start writing code to accomplish that plan.

I sit down at a computer with a plan, and start eliminating code that doesn't work.
 
A long, long time ago in a galaxy far, far away.....

Yes we talked about alot back then..... my master Tunerfish Yodabird :evil:
 
May de Farce Be wit you! Bill Bidwell used to put a plunger in the slide and firing pin stop to prevent this. It was a neat trick but I have never had that kind of a problem with my guns. I may do one someday just for giggles.
 
Bill Wilson, back when he did gunsmithing instead of manufacture, put a set screw under the firing pin stop. I have never had any trouble that way, without gadgets and "press-fit" stops, all I do is keep an eye on the spring.
 
We used the slide stop end of the plunger tube stuff and it really was neat. It was also easy to drill the holes with carbide bits. All we did was drill the small hole through the firing pin stop above the firing pin hole and into the slide, then jerk the stop out and go to the larger bit for the large end of the plunger into the slide and spring. We then assembled it and filed the end flat, and it was a done deal. I would rather fit an aftermarket one in tight. That way you also eliminate the extractor clocking and causing erratic ejection.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

1
  • Locked
It's Troubleshoot Wednesday!
Replies
22
Views
870
Frohickey
F
R
  • Locked
1911 slide not locking back after last round.
Replies
20
Views
10K
riverdog
R
S
  • Locked
Savage Model 1917 Locked Up
Replies
11
Views
3K
Jim K
J
1
  • Locked
1911 Clinic: Troubleshooting
Replies
10
Views
18K
1911Tuner
1
1
  • Locked
Recoil Springs-2: The Free Lunch
Replies
16
Views
1K
1911Tuner
1
Back
Top