1911 Feeding Problems

[RGM]

I bought a used Colt 1911 recently. Series 70 I think. It looks "lightly" used to me. When feeding all lead round nose ammo and sometimes FMJ ammo the slide requires a little nudge to go into battery about every 6 - 10 rounds. It also seems to be throwing the brass a good distance away. I have not had any problems with jams of fired cases. A Colt a owned about 20 years ago would just about lay them at my feet which makes me wonder about the recoil spring. I am going to order a couple of new recoil springs. Probably a 16 and 18 lb and try these out. I would appreciate it if anyone had any advise to give as I have not fooled around with one of these pistols for quite a while.

[B Shipley]

Could be a tight chamber, but I'd replace the spring and polish the ramp and throat w/ a dremel felt tip and jeweler's rouge, or 600 and 1000 grit sand paper, before checking chamber dimensions. Gunsmiths generally only stone these areas, but I like the extra bit of smoothness and find no adverse functional effects. I do, however, just use a HF stone for the breechface.

Also, it might be a mag problem, so find someone with mags that work consistently in his gun and give'em a try in yours. I have found that Wilson followers make my Gold Cup a lot more reliable and would recommend them.

I'd also say a 70 series Colt is worth putting some money in. Beware the local "gunsmith," as many seem to need hearing aids and glasses, since they don't follow directions, written or oral, and give you an attitude when you question their work (like hammers following through and failures to feed after a throat and trigger job -- by supposedly the best smith in Kansas City). It seems best to send your stuff to a gunsmith with a reputation, who is out of state than deal with someone with some lathes and stones who hangs out a shingle.

[HS]

What Mr. Shipley said ! ;)
Also the extractor is the bane of many a 1911 owner...
Too tight, won't feed - Too loose wont feed
Cases get stove piped, thrown in yer face & sometimes even FORWARD...LOL
A Wolf 16lb spring will "probably" fix it though. :)

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"The Gun from Down Under !"
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[Brian Bilby]

It sounds like one of three things to me. 1)Too weak a recoil spring. That's why it's throwing the brass aways. 2)Tight extractor which will not allow the round to fully roll over in the chamber or 3)If it's a series 70, the collet bushing. This will keep the slide from fully closing sometimes as the bushing binds up on the barrel.

Brian

[Libertarian]

A friend of mine had that problem with his 1911. I turned out to be a small irregularity in the chamber (whatever the transition area from smooth to rifling is called). A smith poished it out and it noe chambers all factory rounds with no problem.

[KSLawman]

I've gotta go along with Brian on this one, partly because he's a gunsmith with a good reputation, so he ought to know what he's talking about, and partly because of my own experience in the past with Series '70 Colts.
Usually the problem was #3 on Brian's list.

Back in the early '80s, during my sinful days of gun-swapping, I had several Series '70 Government Models. Several times, usually after I'd been shooting for a while and the pistol was getting dirty, I had problems with the slide not quite returning to battery. I recalled reading in Chuck Taylor's articles that the collet bushing could cause problems, so I tried swapping the collet bushing for a solid one, and the problem went away.

If I could make a suggestion, have a good gunsmith in your area take a look at it. If you don't know anyone, I'll bet Brian can suggest someone.

Stay safe,
Good luck with yours.

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Roger Shambaugh
Ottawa, Kansas

"No man who's in the
wrong can stand against
a man who knows he's
right and keeps on
a-comin'."
Capt. Bill McDonald
Texas Rangers

[Sciri]

I'm having the exact same problem with my Springfield 1911. I get a fail to feed every 15 to 20 rounds with all brass cased FMJ. Fail to feed every 6 or 7 rounds with all aluminum cased CCI Blazer JHP. So far I've had the gun about a month and a half and have put through 750 rounds. My dealer says to wait for the 1000 round mark and, if it's still having problems, he'll send it back to Springfield for inspection and a ramp polish.

/Sciri/

[mamor]

I had the same problem but it was 1 round in seven not feeding.I checked the extractor tension and it was loose.Also polished the ramp.Check out WWW.1911.org (http://WWW.1911.org) for some good tips.Feel free to e-mail me.Im not an expert but I fixed it myself.

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"No weapon formed against me shall prosper" Isaiah 54:17

[HS]

Sciri - 1000rnds !!!!!!!!!
Yikes, that must be the most optimisic breakin period EVER ! ;)
Find another 'Smith. :(

------------------
"The Gun from Down Under !"
http://www.para1911fanclub.w3.to/
E-mail [email protected]
Alternate E-mail
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[RGM]

Thank you all for the advice. I took a good look at the magazine that came with the gun. It looks like a cheap no name with a flat chrome plated follower. Borrowed a genuine Colt magazine off of a friend and 75% of the feed problems disappeared. I also took a good look at the extractor as I suspected it was not slipping over the rim of the cartridge easily enough. It had some slight surface rust so I cleaned up the faces with 800 grit sandpaper. Ran about 100 rounds through gun at this point with only one round that needed a little nudge to lock up. I ordered a 16 and 18 lb spring and this may take care of the rest. I appreciate the help.

[Dave AA]

Sciri: it may need the chamber opened a bit.
1000 rounds?? ridiculous.