[Dr. Marneaus]

Well,

I took my Springfield 1911 (basic GI style) out this week and was having a bunch of issues with failing to feed.

The slide would stick with the round halfway into the chamber. If i gave it a slight (literally, very slight) nudge on the back of the slide it'd pop into place. this probably happened on 10 out of 24 rounds. I'd shoot it, it'd work for 1 or 3 shots, then fail to feed correctly, then it'd work for a few, then not.

I was shooting the Winchester white box FMJ stuff, 235 grain I believe. I've had this happen once or twice in the past, but never like this.

Mag problem? Using the chip mccormic shooting star mags.

Maybe an increased power recoil spring? Like I said, it just took a slight nudge, maybe it just didn't have enough oomph to get it up there? If so, what spring rating would be heavier than my stock one?

Maybe a combo of the 2?

any help would be good!

[Dillinger]

I am thinking you need to polish the feed ramp first. If you are talking slight pressure to get it to go into battery, your recoil spring is probably plenty strong enough. If you had to "thumb it" into battery like you would do with a shell going into a magazine, then you might have a spring problem.

A lot of 1911's are claimed to need about 200 or 300 rounds through them to "work them in". I have never experienced this problem, but I also have purchased more higher end 1911's from the get go.

What's the feed ramp look like? Does it look like a mirror with no visible problems, edges, or surface scratches? If so, then maybe you have a spring issue, but I am better a polished feed ramp would fix your problem.

You have good mags and from the sounds of things it takes VERY little pressure to get it to go into battery. That sounds like very slight resistance of the nose of the bullet on your feed ramp to me... of course I can't see it, so I am only guess....

JD

[Dr. Marneaus]

It's polished to a damn near mirror shine. It WAS covered in tool marks, so i went to work on it very gently with some 400 grit sand paper then polishing compound. You can still see some of the marks (i didnt take it down too far) but it's smoother than glass and has a high polish.

I guess I should have phrased it different, I do have to tap it with my thumb. I dont have to shove it with y thumb, but it requires a nudge. This is what's leading me to believe it's the spring.

Any idea of what the weight of the bring that came stock with it would be? I'm not sure what I'd need to upgrade to.

[matt g]

You might be lip wristing it just a tad, Marn.

Did you and Terry go out? Anyone else shoot it?

[Dillinger]

If you already did the feed ramp, then I am inclined to agree with Matt, you might be limping it a bit BUT, I believe the normal weight spring is around 12 to 14 pounds.

I changed out mine to 18 Pounds before I ever fired them in my full size guns to handle +P loads, direct from the manufacturer's recommendation. My T3 came with a +P rated spring kit already.

Do you have any other reports from someone else shooting it with the same results?

[SGT-MILLER]

I have to say that I have yet to see a 1911 fail to function because of a limp wrist.

I willing to bet that the spring might be the culprit. Take the pistol and cycle the slide very slowly (unloaded of course, and with no magazine). If the slide just stops short of going back into full battery, then the spring is bad for some reason. I know this works for other sidearms, so I assume that the same test will work for the 1911 platforms.

Good you get it up and running right.

[Dr. Marneaus]

Originally Posted by matt g

You might be lip wristing it just a tad, Marn.

Did you and Terry go out? Anyone else shoot it?

Originally Posted by Dillinger

If you already did the feed ramp, then I am inclined to agree with Matt, you might be limping it a bit BUT, I believe the normal weight spring is around 12 to 14 pounds.

I changed out mine to 18 Pounds before I ever fired them in my full size guns to handle +P loads, direct from the manufacturer's recommendation. My T3 came with a +P rated spring kit already.

Do you have any other reports from someone else shooting it with the same results?

I went out, not with Terry this time, but with some other folks, one of which has been shooting all his life.

I've never had it act like this, to this extent. It happened when all 3 of us shot it this time. Like I said, it's happened a few times in the past, but not as bad, odd that it happened AFTER I polished the feed ramp. Faily positive i'm not limp wristing it, only time i ever had an issue with that was shooting it 1 handed with my non-dominant hand, and then it still functioned perfectly, just kept launching brass at my face, haha.

Thanks for all the advice so far. I love the gun, just funky that it's doing this. It could be the ammo I suppose? I know the WWB stuff is super popular range stuff, but maybe my pistol just doesn't agree with it?

I'll probably be making a parts order before to long (next week or 2) and might as well pick up a spring if i cannot figure it out...they're cheap atleast.

[Dillinger]

You have more than just one magazine right? And does it do it with more than just that one type of ammo?

[Dr. Marneaus]

Originally Posted by Dillinger

You have more than just one magazine right? And does it do it with more than just that one type of ammo?

I'v only ever fed that white box crap through it, and white box JHP's. Those were a little worse, but got better after i got new mags. I have 2 shooting star mags and 1 nondescript (stock?) mag. The stock one always sticks on the last round because of the pimple on the follower, it seems like maybe the gun hasn't had enough "return" power the entire time I've owned it, now that I think about that mag...It should be able to overcome that little bump on the follower, i'd think.

I can get pics of stuff when i get home.

Only modification i can think that would have ANYTHING to do with it would be the barrel bushing i installed this weekend, however, it fit almost EXACTLY the same as the stock one, right out of the box.

[CA357]

Please don't take this the wrong way, since I don't know you or your habits.

Did you lube the slide really well? I lube the outside of the barrel slightly and the inside of the barrel bushing a wee bit as well. I like to run my 1911's a bit wetter than my other pistols.