I've got a bargain 1911 here. It runs like a champ on ball ammo but it just isn't interested in feeding hollow points. It there a resource to follow?

ETA: Gun is finally running perfect! Thanks for all the help gang!

Yes.

But it is all but gone now; I break it down (there are several parts, I through IV to be precise):

http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_5_4/153931_ATI_Philimander_PART_V.html

You may try different hollow points. Ones closer to a RN profile. The length of the cartridge can be a challenge. The longer the better. This gives the nose of the bullet less opportunity to dive into the frame. You may also try a heavier recoil spring. A little slide speed can sometimes overcome the issue as well.

I have read your series. Well done. It is one of the reasons I sprung for a 1911. My "Phillimander" (not the same make or model) feeds 230 grain golden sabers pretty well with the Mec-Gar mags I have purchased. It even feeds gold dots 7 at a time from 8 round mags. It refuses to feed Magtech 230 gr hollow points at all though.

I was hoping for something in depth on the feed ramp/barrel interface and how to modify it for happy feeding of any hollow points.

So you already have polished the feed ramp, barrel, and slide where it strikes the disconnector?

The Wilson 47Ds should feed anything, and it is the only magazine I would bet my life on (I have tested and ran 8 of them all loaded with 8+1).  

It might be worth the $30 to try it with your particular brand of ammo.

Good luck

Step 1) Buy a RIA.

Step 2) Enjoy your 1911 that eats everything including babies & dogs off leash.

Adding a drop of oil on the feed ramp will also help. Doesn't cost anything & can make a nice difference, IMO.

I borrowed some Wilson mags and they feed the same as the Mec-Gars I have. I will get a new Wilson anyway to make sure.

I hesitated when it came to modifying the firearm. Everything seems pretty smooth as is. I don't like the way the feed ramp interfaces the barrel but, I'd be reshaping it instead of polishing it to change that and that isn't where the rounds hang up usually anyway. It will usually hang the nose of the round against the bottom of the feed ramp when it fails to feed. It seems to me like the bottom of the feed ramp should be closer to front of the magazine but, I'm not sure. If that is the case, I think I'd be making things worse by polishing the feed ramp.



I tried oil and grease. The oil didn't help. The grease did but, it wipes off quickly.

To the person that suggested RIA, I've had the problem as well.  The primary problem is the 8 round mags that come with the guns from the Phillipines.
I would definitely shine up the metal before you remove any.  Also, running through at least 300+ rounds will go a long way.  

I can understand your hesitancy, but my feelings are the following.  
I bought a -$300 1911 that I would not even bet on as a trunk gun unless it had 230 grain ball, and was downloaded 1-2 rounds.

After doing what I did (and learning a great deal), I know have a gun that will run 100% with 9 rounds of high end hollowpoint ammo (have not tried every brand, but IMHO used two of the best) for 100+ rounds w/o cleaning or oiling.  And it all just required a little sand paper, flitz, and the Wilson mag.  And remember, when you ware examining

First try here:



Then try polishing here:


Then add some oil here:


Then hit these two spots:




If the gun refuses to feed after all this, then it might be something wrong with the extractor, or you will just have to live with a certain type of HP round, download the mag 1/2 rounds, send it to a professional, etc.

Good luck

No gun is going to feed every bullet profile even a glock! This is why everyone says to test your defense load before carrying it. Find a few loads that do run and the. Stick with them. Trying to get any gun especially a 1911 to feed everything will be a very expensive exercise in chasing your tail

What ammo are you using?

Ive honestly never had a problem with 1911s feeding hollowpoints.

I exclusively use gold dots however

What is this budget gun? RIA? RIA stands behind their products and should give it a full tune up for free.
When you pull the slide back and the barrel sits on the barrel seat, does the barrel sit further back than the feed ramp? That is a place to hang up if it does. The only feeding problems I ever had was do to a week recoil spring. Try that first.
I own 3 RIAs all GI style, they have not had a single malfunction at all with any ammo/any mag.

Thanks again from the detailed pics TexasTony. I guess I will go ahead and give the polishing a try. I may try a stiffer recoil spring as well, the OEM one seems a bit soft. I don't mind doing a little work on it, it was very attractively priced.

It is an ATI FX45K. It has 250 rounds of ball ammo through it with zero malfunctions of any type so, the gun runs and should be broken in(ish), it just doesn't like hollow points. I have tried Remington Golden Saber, Speer Gold Dot and Magtech Guardian Gold (all 230 grain). All of them have similar types of feed jam issues in this pistol, some more often than others and mostly with a full or nearly full magazine.

ETA: It usually hangs the nose of the round on the bottom of the feed ramp just as it starts off the magazine, not at the barrel/ramp interface. I can almost always lock the slide back and drop the mag out with all of the rounds still in it when it jams

Careful on the polish. Mag wheel polish on a qtip or on a rag and your finger are safe. Dremel is trouble. You might also do the underside of the disconnector rail.

Don't change angles or try to get the ramp and the barrel to line up. That is a sure ticket to ruined gun.

Will it load if you pull the slide all the way back? Do you ever have an instance where it doesn't quite go all the way into battery, like you have to push the slide forwards a little? Those are a few symtoms I was having on a 1911 I built. Turned out to be a crappy recoil spring. Is your gun a full size? You can grab a S&W spring from Midway pretty cheap. The slide really has to go forward fast to get rounds to feed right. I fired 300 rounds trying to figure out what was wrong with my gun. Sometimes it would shoot a whole mag fine, then next mag would have jambs, nose dives, ect.

My relatively unmolested SA TRP has fed over 15 different styles of bullets so far.  Still yet to find one that wont run in my gun.  Hell, she even eats empty cases 5 out of 10 times.  1911's can be picky but a good smith who knows what he is doing can make a gun run.  Cheaper guns just take more work to get there.

Do not use a Dremel.  If you have to, something is wrong.

I will repost the series here (originally was in General Handgun)

I'm not dremeling anything. It was a cheap pistol but a downright ripoff for a doorstop!

I probably will not get around to it until the weekend. I'll report back when I do.

Topic reposted in it's entirety:

http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_5_49/155523_.html&page=1

Um, maybe I've been lucky, but I've got this sweet little SA "Loaded" 1911 A-1 that thus far, eats EVERYTHING I've fed it so far, including several lead cast bullets I've launched through it.  I can't seem to find anything in .45 acp that it doesn't eat. It's a pig, I tell ya.  I've stuffed HP's that look like trashcans through it, and bangity bang bang still!

Weird. Mine feeds Winchester HPs just fine. That's the only brand I've tried in it. Come to think of it, that round has fed flawlessly in my ATI FX45K, RIA 1911 GI and tactical models, and Girsan 1911 GI.

In 95% of cases, the problem is that the extractor tension is too high.  Read up on how to properly tension your extractor and get back to us.  The description of the failure sounds like an extractor that is too tight and preventing the cartridge from caming into the chamber.

In the other 5% it's often bad/cheap magazine geometry.  Like most folks above I like Wilsons. Otherwise, something is seriously out of spec, but the extractor is almost always the issue.  I wouldn't touch any of the metal until the extractor is right.

Many of the hollow points have been designed to try and have the same 'touch points' as the RN.
That is the shape for the semiwadcutters also.

Well, I've got the feed ramp smooth as a baby's butt. I used mag wheel polish, microfiber towels and my pinkie finger. It seems like it hand feeds better now but still not perfect. I'm going to try to get to the range during the week and shoot some of the Magtech hollow points, the worst offenders.

Does anyone think this should be a sticky?

If not I will let it die.

Cratex points and a Foredom tool.

Have you considered upping the weight of your recoil spring.  I did this on a buddy of mine's GI style 1911 and it fixed his no HP feed issues.

This also is common issue.

You should own this book!

http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=kuhnhausen+1911&tag=googhydr-20&index=aps&hvadid=17260136727&hvpos=1t1&hvexid=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=2711384613290163347&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=b&hvdev=c&ref=pd_sl_6u0c5n9tk1_b

I like it and I appreciate the general help it provided me so far. I'd like a little more detail on what specific fix to apply for what specific problem though. In that regard, here is my experience so far:

I agree with step one being to toss the factory magazine in the trash. The cheapo magazines will nose the first few rounds way down as they are pushed off the feed lips by the slide. Not even the best pistol would cycle reliably with that. If your 1911 feed jams and the round is nosed down on the ramp, shitcan that crappy magazine as step one! I found Mec-gar to feed just as reliably as the super pricey Wilsons though. A good anti-tilt follower looks to be the key feature.

Polishing the feed ramp seems to be the secondary fix for rounds nosing into the bottom of the feed ramp, if you still have that issue after switching to quality magazines. I can't induce that jam if I try anymore, and that is all I have done. That was my major stumbling block to this point so, I'm anxious to get back to the range and shoot the thing some more in order to see if it is all good or has further issues.

Glad to here it is working out for you 'Moss

Many suggest a heavier recoil spring-but that can wear out a gun quicker (though this does help feeding a bit) because part of the feed problem is slide velocity to overcome drag and friction (this is also why some "high speed" folks prefer "sling shot-ing" the slide.  It gives it that extra 1/4 inch of slide spring tension and slide velocity.  It is also why I never tested it that way, and always worked from slide stop (as a "worst case" scenario).

Adding a heavier spring will give you that boost, but can batter the gun (especially the 1911) in the slide stop area (not a good place to batter).  

What we are fighting is a tolerance issue, drag induced friction that causes a stoppage; each one slows the slide a bit to much, compunded with the angle of a cheap mag, and it overwhelms the gun.  

Click not bang.

I still strongly recommend the oil in the disconnector and the beveling of the upper slide where it strikes it (if I had the skill to take the gun down to that part, I would polish the disconnector plug and chamber till it was glass).  I feel this is one of the major cruxes to a smooth, fast, slide return and it is a far better choice than a heavier spring.

FWIW, if you slow cycle the Wilsons they  will "nose dive" too.  It is just delivered in a superior manner than the factory mags, and less likely to stop the slide's progress.  Please note this nosedive occurs before the extractor is even engaged, so the initial problem is not that (though may compound it a millisecond later in the feed cycle).

Unfortunately I did not take a picture showing where the extractor is in relation to this jam, and I can' duplicated it anymore due tot the fact my gun will NOT JAM during even the slowest of hand cycling.
It is obviously a problem very early on in the feeding though.



I am NOT a 1911 expert, but I have researched this, put my money where my mouth is, and fixed the problem.

I can't get my 1911 to jam with hollowpoints now (not all just the brands I mentioned) when handcycled.

Finally got back to the range with this. I'm happy to report that the original problem is 100% fixed. 40 rounds of Magtech guardian gold with no ramp jams. Also sent 100 rounds of Fiocchi ball ammo downrange for the fun factor.

I now have 2 new problems.

First new problem:

It will randomly feed jam at the base of the barrel now. I think this may be the extractor tension some of you mentioned as the extractor has a very firm hold of the cartridge at this point, making the jam difficult to clear. I will work on extractor tension and see where that gets me. ETA: 3 of the 40 rounds of hollow points did this. Ball ammo still flies out of this thing like that is what it is made for.

Second new problem: The tennis racket sized, pot metal thumb safety snapped off. I'm kind of happy this happened. I hated that ridiculous thing. Can some of you point me in the direction of a good quality, smaller thumb safety that will fit an ATI FX45K? It'd be a bonus if it had a matte black finish to match the gun.

http://forum.m1911.org/showthread.php?100542-What-we-need-to-know-to-help-troubleshooting-a-1911

Click on link and scroll down to the picture.  

I ordered Wilson "bulletproof" safety and extractor, along with sear, slide release and disconnector for this thing. I have them here now and have to fit them to the gun, they are not drop in fit, aside from the slide release. Should be fun! I will update again when I have that and another range trip done.

RAMP ANGLE.

So what kind of 1911 is this?

How should I check that?



As stated on page 1, it is an ATI FX45K.

Aaaah.  Sorry I missed that.  I'm not really familiar with those.  Although I think I've seen some posted here before.  I'm thinking I remember a .22 or something like that.

It is a commander size Philippino 45 ACP with a rail and a threaded barrel.

Success!

It took me forever to hand fit the Wilson Combat "bulletproof" thumb safety and extractor but I did it right and the ATI FX45K ate a whole box of Magtech Guardian Gold 230 gr +P and a whole box of Speer Gold Dot 230 gr. Zero failures!

I made it run, with the help of afrcom! Thanks guys!

Most of the time this problem is corrected by a quality magazine and/or an adjustment to the extractor.

Tripp Research mags are the shiOt!