Troubleshooting a cranky Colt

[The Lone Haranguer]

The gun is a MK IV Series 80 Combat Commander, stainless (I think), purchased used, history unknown. It will rarely get through a single magazine without failures to feed, sometimes three or four times in a single magazine -- even frequently failing to load the top round of a full mag from slide lock -- despite cleaning, lube and three different magazines. (These are a Colt stainless 7-round with the dimpled follower to which I added a Wolff extra-power spring, a Wilson 47D and a Mec-Gar.) I have also replaced the recoil and firing pin springs with a Wolff 18 lb. (standard weight for a Commander) and the accompanying extra-power for the firing pin (it can't hurt).

At first the round was very low on the breechface, barely coming up under the extractor and angling sharply upward, what the troubleshooting guide (if I understand it correctly) calls a "rideover." Although the new recoil spring is much stronger than the one I took out, the extra-power spring in the Colt mag helped this. Now the round is higher on the breechface but gets stuck at the leading edge of the case on the barrel hood. Unfortunately, I neglected to look at the cases for any markings indicating "stem bind":banghead:. I did manually cycle rounds through the action and noticed dings in the very edge of the case mouths.

I am very suspicious of the extractor. When I remove the slide and push a round up under the extractor, it holds the round without too much effort, but the round swings up and down considerably, probably 15 degrees in either direction. For comparison I checked my SIG GSR (similar in design except the extractor is external), and it has less than half this movement. Looking at this picture of an extractor ...

... the forward edge of the claw appears to be sharp, clean and parallel all the way to the top. Mine is not; as best as I can tell without a magnifier, it looks out of square, perhaps even battered. This leads me to wonder if the round is swinging up too high and hitting the barrel hood when the slide runs forward. ??? The gun does extract and eject OK.

If I put a new extractor in it, what are good brands? I think I like the Cylinder & Slide one, as they specify it is made from a spring steel.

Is this gun really stainless? It appears to be, but some postings I've read elsewhere lead me to wonder. The serial number prefix is FC.

Recommended lubricants? I have on hand Mil-Comm TW25B grease, Tetra Gun grease, and Break-Free CLP oil in the squeeze bottle. I will entertain other suggestions. I like the idea of a light grease for a carry gun, as I know it will stay put.





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[1911Tuner]

What is the rating of the "much stronger' recoil spring?

A "Rideover" or Bolt Over Base misfeed results in the cartridge feeding edge of the breechface catching the case in the extractor groove...or even forward of it...causing the butt-end to take a dive and the nose to go up. Some are caught low in the well, while others almost escape, and resemble a stovepipe...except it's a live round stovepipe.

If you have an excessive stem-bind condition, or a 3-Point Jam...a stronger recoil spring will just jam it tighter.

 

[The Lone Haranguer]

I'm not sure of some of the terminology or descriptions used in the sticky. Also, this is ongoing over a couple of months. I could be misremembering or misidentifying some things. As I recall, at first the rounds were perhaps 25% of the way up on the breechface, now they are almost all the way up, but still catching on the barrel hood.

The new recoil spring is 18 lbs., which is supposed to be factory spec for the .45 caliber Commander. Uncompressed it is over an inch longer than the one I took out, and is noticeably stiffer to put back in. I have no idea how many rounds have been put through the gun.

 

[rcmodel]

I see no mention of what ammo you are trying to get it to feed.
Is this problem with Hardball, JHP, wad-cutter?
Factory ammo or reloads?

Now the round is higher on the breech-face but gets stuck at the leading edge of the case on the barrel hood.

I'm unable to understand this?
Is the nose of the bullet itself jammed upward into the barrel hood?
I can't see any way the case mouth of a loaded round could get caught on the barrel hood unless it is sticking straight up out of the ejection port like a stove-piped empty.

Or is the case mouth getting caught at the bottom, on the barrels feed ramp cut, not the barrel hood?


rcmodel

 

[1911Tuner]

First...I've tested dozens of new recoil springs as installed in NIB Colt Commanders....and I have yet to find one that even approaches 18 pounds.
Most run to about 15.5-16, give or take an ounce. Some few have tested at under 15 pounds...but most run a bit higher than that.

Second...If you dropped the spring in without checking for coil bind, there may be where the bug resides. Rack the slide briskly to full travel, and listen. If you hear a sharp, metallic sound...you're okay. If it sounds more like a dull "thud" or even a sort of "crunch"...you've got coil bind that is not only limiting slide travel...it's also very likely that the slide is damaged. If your barrel bushing looks a little warped...that's a clue.

Third...If the spring checks out okay, and you have a shock buffer in the gun...take it out and try again.

 

[The Lone Haranguer]

Gentlemen, thanks for the help

I fear I am just not able to explain the problem adequately. With pictures you could probably tell right away, but a camera with sufficient resolution would cut into my gun and ammo budget. I will keep you posted on what -- if anything -- eventually fixes the problem. I did order a new extractor for it.

 

[The Lone Haranguer]

Problem solved!

Yesterday I put the new C&S extractor in the gun, bent it to shape -- uh, I mean adjusted the tension -- per the instructions on m1911.org, very lightly polished the barrel throat, and put 100 rounds of Blazer aluminum and MagTech hardball through it this evening. I had difficulty hand-chambering the very first round, but after that, all the ammo fed like corn through a goose. Before, the malfunction rate was about 40%, so this is a vast improvement. The ejection was clean, consistent and fairly vigorous, with no cases thrown back at my face, although the case mouths were dinged a little. (The gun has a lowered and faired ejection port.)

Only time and a lot of rounds fired will tell for certain, but I am very pleased so far. Now to lose those ugly wraparound rubber grips. Also, some trigger work may be in its future, as the pull is fairly heavy and creepy, as well as having a plastic trigger shoe. I can live with it for now, though.