Loaded 2011 Won't Go Into Battery?

Handguns » 1911 Discussions

Site Notices

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Loaded 2011 Won't Go Into Battery?

Posted: 11/28/2018 2:42:17 AM EDT

So I picked up one of the Rock Island 2011s in 9mm. I scoured the country and finally found a place that makes a Clark/Para threaded barrel for it. When it arrived, it fit wonderfully. The gun is smooth as glass when it is being cycled empty, and I can't feel anything binding or rubbing. However, when I try and run a magazine, it fails to go into battery about every 2-3 rounds. I have tried multiple different handloads and factory loads that work fine in all other guns, and also gauged them to make sure it wasn't the ammo. Some rounds will go into battery and fire just fine with a remedial tap at the back of the slide. Some of them will completely jam up the gun. Not being a 1911 guy myself, I'm not sure where to even start looking as far as tolerance wise goes.

Ideas?

Posted: 11/28/2018 2:56:03 AM EDT

[#1]

Get a go headspace gauge.

Posted: 11/28/2018 8:58:27 AM EDT

[#2]

Barrel out of gun. Do rounds drop all the way into the chamber? All the rounds?

Posted: 11/28/2018 10:54:54 AM EDT

[#3]

Sounds like an extractor issue

Posted: 11/28/2018 11:13:22 AM EDT

[#4]

Pretty much any 2011 is going to need custom work right out of the box (STI included).

Send it and the magazines to Dawson Precision, or Brazos custom, or another 2011 tuner for tuning. Make sure to let the gunsmith know for the load / round you plan to use in it.

Posted: 11/28/2018 4:13:52 PM EDT

[#5]

It could be a barrel link timing issue or a feed ramp issue. For the sake of simplicity and internet troubleshooting, let's assume it's the latter.

Many ramped 1911 barrels won't feed reliably as they come from the manufacturer. There is often a sharp edge at the transition of the feed ramp to the chamber, and rounds will tend to hang up there and fail to roll over. I always put a light radius on that edge to encourage rollover.

It will also help if you can describe the position of the round after it fails to feed.

Posted: 11/28/2018 4:14:30 PM EDT

[#6]

Quote History

Quoted:
Pretty much any 2011 is going to need custom work right out of the box (STI included).

Send it and the magazines to Dawson Precision, or Brazos custom, or another 2011 tuner for tuning. Make sure to let the gunsmith know for the load / round you plan to use in it.

View Quote

It's not a 2011, it's just a 1911 that RIA calls a 2011.

Posted: 11/29/2018 12:25:41 AM EDT

[#7]

Remove barrel. Spend an evening dropping loaded rounds into barrel. Could be a short chamber or just tight. If they all drop in without bind then I got nuttin.

I had a similar issue with my Springfield 9mm Range Officer. It has a pretty tight target chamber and some reloads would not chamber completely. Factory ammo was fine.
Reloading range brass required a push thru sizer to get all to work. Your chamber just might be to tight.

Posted: 11/29/2018 12:29:10 AM EDT

[#8]

Shoot it with the factory barrel, could be an easy indicztor the chamber on the aftermarket is tight.

Posted: 11/29/2018 3:54:43 AM EDT

[#9]

Quote History

Quoted:
Barrel out of gun. Do rounds drop all the way into the chamber? All the rounds?

View Quote

Yes they do! The chamber seems to be just a little bit more snug that a sloppy combat chamber, but not anything unusual.

Posted: 11/29/2018 3:55:29 AM EDT

[#10]

Quote History

Quoted:
Sounds like an extractor issue

View Quote

My guess was that the extractor was too tight. But how do you even fix something like that? And if that was the case, wouldn't it also jam up with the factory barrel?

Posted: 11/29/2018 3:57:06 AM EDT

[#11]

Quote History

Quoted:

It's not a 2011, it's just a 1911 that RIA calls a 2011.

View Quote

I'm not sure that 2011 is a trademarked name. I consider any double stacked 1911 to be a 2011, for simplicity. But I could be technically wrong there too.

Posted: 11/29/2018 10:42:30 AM EDT

[#12]

Quote History

Quoted:
My guess was that the extractor was too tight. But how do you even fix something like that? And if that was the case, wouldn't it also jam up with the factory barrel?

View Quote View All Quotes

View All Quotes

Quote History

Quoted:

Quoted:
Sounds like an extractor issue

My guess was that the extractor was too tight. But how do you even fix something like that? And if that was the case, wouldn't it also jam up with the factory barrel?

Bend it slightly.

1911s have about 87 parts that all need to work well together. Sometimes the gun will work if a few are too tight and some are too loose. Sometimes no. 1911s are part science and part magic.

Posted: 11/29/2018 12:21:02 PM EDT

[#13]

Quote History

Quoted:

I'm not sure that 2011 is a trademarked name. I consider any double stacked 1911 to be a 2011, for simplicity. But I could be technically wrong there too.

View Quote

It actually is trademarked by STI, for what it's worth. "2011" refers to a two-piece detachable frame invented by Strayer and Tripp. They are usually double stack but we are seeing STI introduce a new single stack version... but it's still a 2011 because it still uses the two-piece frame and grip design.

There are several double stack frame designs and they are all different with little to no parts interchangeability. First you had Para, then Caspian, STI's 2011, and the BUL design (farmed out to Wilson and Kimber briefly).

Referring to them all as 2011s is about as accurate as referring to all AR-pattern guns as AR-15s.

Rock Island uses a Para-style frame for their double stack guns but confusingly, they use the 2011 name to refer to their railed guns only.

Posted: 11/30/2018 12:37:37 AM EDT

[#14]

Quote History

Quoted:
Pretty much any 2011 is going to need custom work right out of the box (STI included).

Send it and the magazines to Dawson Precision, or Brazos custom, or another 2011 tuner for tuning. Make sure to let the gunsmith know for the load / round you plan to use in it.

View Quote

Can't say I totally agree with that, although STI is definitely hit or miss. Been lucky with 3 of em, had one that needed tuning. Mags/ followers can be problematic. MBX mags were always GTG out of box. Nighthawks have always been solid for me. Wanting to try a Triarc 2011.

Posted: 12/1/2018 6:46:38 PM EDT

[#15]

Before going all crazy sanding and filing crap, do the simple stuff first. Make sure you cleaned it well. And on top of that it sounds to me like you need new springs, mainly a recoil spring. My 1911 of 20+ years suddenly stopped working well one day. Wouldn’t go into battery, rounds getting jammed upwards. I bought a complete spring kit and it worked like a champ after.

Posted: 12/2/2018 12:14:30 PM EDT

[#16]

On the barrel, is it a drop in or gunsmith fit, if it dropped in, most don’t
If it’s a gunsmith fit, did you fit it up and is it short chambered

One way to check feeding problems is to remove the recoil spring and guide and hand cycle dummy rounds thru it, that will show where the rounds are hanging up

Posted: 12/2/2018 1:18:21 PM EDT

[#17]

Quote History

Quoted:
Before going all crazy sanding and filing crap, do the simple stuff first. Make sure you cleaned it well. And on top of that it sounds to me like you need new springs, mainly a recoil spring. My 1911 of 20+ years suddenly stopped working well one day. Wouldn’t go into battery, rounds getting jammed upwards. I bought a complete spring kit and it worked like a champ after.

View Quote

You went 20 years without changing the recoil spring?

Posted: 12/3/2018 5:30:50 PM EDT

[#18]

Quote History

Quoted:
Make sure you cleaned it well.

View Quote

The typical coating on a new gun is NOT a lubricant.

It is a preservative grease designed to prevent any corrosion in storage.

Posted: 12/3/2018 6:09:49 PM EDT

[#19]

My RIA 2011 Para clone took a LOT of work to get it to run.... but now it is a sewing machine

1. Replaced extractor with Wilson Combat bulletproof
2. Dremel polish feedramp and chamber.
3. Dehorn ambi safety and reblue
4. Reshape slide stop to not engage with one round left in magazine.
5. Dimple slide stop to reduce unintended engagements
6. Tune magazine feedlips

Do you have the older version with traditional 1911 barrel, or the new one with integrated feedramp?

Posted: 12/3/2018 6:18:48 PM EDT

[#20]

Quote History

Quoted:
Sounds like an extractor issue

View Quote

I would tend to agree with this. Different pistol, but a buddy of mine bought a 1911 pattern pistol. Brand new he was having problems like the OP mentions. Pistol is buttery smooth, but fails to go into battery on almost every round and we did this for at least 100rds before we gave up. He sends it back to Sig and when returned they polished this and that, but they also noted the extractor was repaired or replaced.

Posted: 12/3/2018 7:23:14 PM EDT

[#21]

Is the 1911 brand new?

Mine binded up some when i first got it. But have had no issues since.

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Loaded 2011 Won't Go Into Battery?

Handguns » 1911 Discussions

Warning

Confirm Action

About AR15.COM

Stay Connected

Newsletter

Contact Us