1911 malfunction questions

nchunter78

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Hi

I am not a 1911 expert and have been very lucky with most firearms I have used.

I have a like new Springfield Armory 6" barrel 1911 (10mm) and with both magazines, using two different brands of ammo (FMJ 180 grain and a FMJ 200 grain), I have the following two issues:

1. Failure to return to battery. Across 100 rounds today, it had to have happened at least once per mag. It might happen once and then be fine for 10 rounds or it might happen 2-3 rounds in a row.

2. Every now and then, it did not lock back on the last round. I don't remember how often that happened because I lost track once I became preoccupied with the Return to Battery issues.

What I will probably do is simply send this back to Springfield and let them check it out, but for my own knowledge, what usually causes these particular issues?
 
Will it reliably chamber a round when you release from slide lock?
 
Oh nooooooo! I can hear the groans going up now! lol.
May your gun get fixed soon.

(Mine was failure to feed issues....)

Actually the first 20 rounds or so I tried were a week ago with Sig Hollow Points and I had failure to feed issues. I took it home and gave it a good cleaning, etc. I do not think I had any FTF issues with FMJ today in the 100 round session I had.
 
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Actually the first 20 rounds or so I tried were a week ago with Sig Hollow Points and I had failure to feed issues. I took it home and gave it a good cleaning, etc. I do not think I had any FTF issues with FMJ today in the 100 round session I had.
Billy will be by presently with his Ball Is All! He can probably tell you what you need to know.
 
1911' like a fair amount of lube to keep running most are tight tolerances to start life, keep slide lubed good for first several hundred rounds, locking back is often a mag issue, fwiw i'm not a fan of extended round mags with 1911's either.
 
remove the slide, wipe off any grease, lightly oil and hand cycle it a couple hundred times. Remove the slide, wipe off any oil, lightly oil and try shooting it again.
 
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When The Wife and I experienced similar issues with our new Springfield 911 .380, Springfield Customer Service requested that we shoot 300 rounds before sending the pistols back. After 300 rounds, the only problem remaining was intermittent failures to return to battery. Since the pistols were intended to be summer carry pistols, we sent them back. Springfield "recut and polished barrel ramp, reamed the chamber, safety check and tested".

On my pistol, Springfield also freed up the loaded chamber indicator which was stuck in the "loaded" position. Apparently a piece of tooth brush got stuck underneath it.

Note to self: These pistols are designed to be carried and after break-in, not shot so much. It is a shooter, though.

As with anything, your mileage may vary.
 
I think if you say simply, "I have a 1911," it should mean it's a 45.
If you have a 10mm 1911, call it a 10mm and then say it's a 1911.
If you have a 9mm 1911, call it a 9mm and then say it's a 1911.

Folks used to say that 1911s did not work well with a lot of lube. Now, like @Scari said, folks do the opposite.

If'n yer real lucky, @John Travis will chime in here... but mebbe not. The 1911 platform wasn't designed for 10mm, so he may just say send it back and see what happens.

10mm 1911s tend to have very heavy recoil springs. I don't know if that could cause the problems described. My Dan Wesson 10mm 1911 works very well. John Travis thinks it's recoil spring is way to strong! But it works, and I like it. ;)

If you want a 10mm that is designed for 10mm, get a Smith & Wesson 10X6. I have a 1026, which is an incredible 10mm.
 
As mentioned, Proper Lube.
and break-in.
 
also check the factory specs on the 10mm you are shooting as many of the common 10mm rounds are loaded 40 S&W specs and velocities. the gun may also just need a good 500 round break in
 
“1911 s don’t have malfunctions, they have malfunctioning owners”. I’ve heard that all my life and would love it to be true, but, every so often, they do malfunction and need sent back to the manufacturer for some love. As said before, failure to lock back on the last round is usually the magazines, not going into battery could be a host of things. Last of all, I shoot 230 grn Ball ammo as was designed to be shot in 1911s. You will have less trouble with that round than any other! 1911’s don’t usually like hollow points or any funny shaped bullets. Make sure the feed ramp is clean and smooth. I’ve had them be finicky as hell and I’ve had some that would eat anything you shoved down their throat. My history with them, (and I’ve had many!) is the more expensive the gun, the more finicky it is. They are usually finished to tighter tolerance and take a little longer to tune them to where you want them. A cheaper version will be a little bit looser and not as finicky about what it eats. Jus my .02. That and $1.59 will get you a coke somewhere.
 
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This may have nothing to do with it or it might be the cause of both your problems. Your grip may be causing both failures. If you are holding the pistol with the very popular two thumbs up grip and if you are gripping tightly in anticipation of heavy recoil from the 10mm, your thumbs may be contacting the slide and slowing it down enough that is does not go fully back into battery. I had that happen several times a while back when I was experimenting with different grips. I also had problems with the slide not locking back because my left thumb was keeping the slide stop/release/whatever pressed down. Modifying my grip a bit solved both problems.

I have had the same grip-related problem of the slide not locking back with other types of pistols. My Springfield XDs and my Sig 365 are bad about that if I am not careful how I grip them.

Your grip may have absolutely nothing to do with your problems. If they occur again, you can test with a low one handed grip to see whether they stop.

I have had several instances in which the magazines were the cause of failures to lock back.
 
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could you post the ammo make and product number if so I will try to look up the specs on them
 
Plunk and spin the ammo first and see if that’s the issue. Possible you got a short throat or it’s long or otherwise out of spec ammo. Next I’d check extractor tension to see if it’s too tight. Take the barrel out of the slide and insert a cartridge up the breech face under the claw. If it’s tight or difficult to do then that could be your problem. That’s where I’d start. Good luck. Hope you get it sorted out.
 
I don't have any experience with the 1omm version. Or actually 10mm at all. It kind of surprised me to see the bullet weights for 10 mm at 200 vs 230 for .45. Anyway, I do have experience with the .45 version and that thing has a VERY strong spring in it. Do you have less issues with the 200 grain ammo than the 180 grain? Maybe they make a spring that's a couple pounds lighter.
 
This may have nothing to do with it or it might be the cause of both your problems. Your grip may be causing both failures. If you are holding the pistol with the very popular two thumbs up grip and if you are gripping tightly in anticipation of heavy recoil from the 10mm, your thumbs may be contacting the slide and slowing it down enough that is does not go fully back into battery. I had that happen several times a while back when I was experimenting with different grips. I also had problems with the slide not locking back because my left thumb was keeping the slide stop/release/whatever pressed down. Modifying my grip a bit solved both problems.

I have had the same grip-related problem of the slide not locking back with other types of pistols. My Springfield XDs and my Sig 365 are bad about that if I am not careful how I grip them.

Your grip may have absolutely nothing to do with your problems. If they occur again, you can test with a low one handed grip to see whether they stop.

I have had several instances in which the magazines were the cause of failures to lock back.

This is first thing that popped into my mind. Have had that issue myself with 1911's with that tall slide profile. Used to the low slide profile of a CZ. And riding slide lock is pretty common.

The return to battery thing seems like it will break in a bit after 4-500 rounds maybe, of which I'd expect to have to do with a 1911.

<<<This guy is not a 1911 expert. So, grain of salt and all that.
 
American Eagle Handgun Ammunition 10mm Auto 180 gr FMJ 1030 fps 50/box FAAE10A
CCI Blazer Aluminum Handgun Ammunition 10mm Auto 200 gr FMJ 1050 fps CC3597
The American eagle 180 gr 40 s&w is 1000 fps out of a 4 inch barrel
the American eagle 180 grain 10 mm is 1030 fps out of a 5 inch barrel so in that case you are shooting a 40 S&W in a 10mm with the heavier 10mm recoil springs
Specs on the 180 grain sig elite ball 180 grain 10 mm are
AMMO TYPE FMJ
CALIBER 10mm Auto
GRAIN WEIGHT 180 gr
MUZZLE VELOCITY 1250 fps
210 FPS faster with the same bullet is a lot more recoil to operate the gun

the underwood 200 grain load is running 1250FPS
in my opinion the loads you are running are equal to a 40 S&W load and are slight underpowered until your gun is broken in
 
The American eagle 180 gr 40 s&w is 1000 fps out of a 4 inch barrel
the American eagle 180 grain 10 mm is 1030 fps out of a 5 inch barrel so in that case you are shooting a 40 S&W in a 10mm with the heavier 10mm recoil springs
Specs on the 180 grain sig elite ball 180 grain 10 mm are
AMMO TYPE FMJ
CALIBER 10mm Auto
GRAIN WEIGHT 180 gr
MUZZLE VELOCITY 1250 fps
210 FPS faster with the same bullet is a lot more recoil to operate the gun

the underwood 200 grain load is running 1250FPS
in my opinion the loads you are running are equal to a 40 S&W load and are slight underpowered until your gun is broken in

now that is interesting! I appreciate the input.
 
Is it all factory? Used? Know the history of it? People like to dink with 'em. Had anyone esle shoot it and seeif it repeats the issue?
 
Aluminum case.
The only case my CZ75 doesn't like, and it likes dang near everything. Could be a factor.
 
If'n yer real lucky, @John Travis will chime in here


Because you asked.

For the failure to go to/return to battery, it's likely a little too much extractor deflection. You may be able to correct it when it's that intermittent by taking a little tension off of it.

For the failure to lock on empty issue, drop down to about 18 pounds on the recoil spring. The spring's function is returning the slide to battery...period...not decelerating the slide. Every 10mm pistol I've handled was oversprung.

Cheers all!
 
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“1911 s don’t have malfunctions, they have malfunctioning owners”. I’ve heard that all my life and would love it to be true, but, every so often, they do malfunction and need sent back to the manufacturer for some love. As said before, failure to lock back on the last round is usually the magazines, not going into battery could be a host of things. Last of all, I shoot 230 grn Ball ammo as was designed to be shot in 1911s. You will have less trouble with that round than any other! 1911’s don’t usually like hollow points or any funny shaped bullets. Make sure the feed ramp is clean and smooth. I’ve had them be finicky as hell and I’ve had some that would eat anything you shoved down their throat. My history with them, (and I’ve had many!) is the more expensive the gun, the more finicky it is. They are usually finished to tighter tolerance and take a little longer to tune them to where you want them. A cheaper version will be a little bit looser and not as finicky about what it eats. Jus my .02. That and $1.59 will get you a coke somewhere.

Ya know, in the early 70s we were still qualifying with 1911s before the Berretta face smasher came out.

Those guns were so loose they sounded like a bucket of wrenches when you shook them.

They did always shoot though!

Sometimes they hit Charleston from Camp Lejeune though.
 
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