Posted: 10/20/2005 8:28:57 AM EDT
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I know I saw a thread about this problem recently, but I can't find it anywhere. Oh well. Here's the deal. I have an old Springfield 1911 pistol that has been essentially rebuilt. Before I sent it off to get serious work done, I had installed a Wilson "drop in" barrel. This actually took quite a bit of fitting and I did it myself. After doing this, it seemed to work fine and would cycle any type of ammo I fed it, but it would not feed empties. With the old barrel, it actually would. I then sent the gun off to have a bunch of stuff done to it. Here's the list of what was done: Ed Brown grip safety S&A magwell Wilson sights mag release (more on this in a moment) C&S hammer plus a great trigger job carry bevel flared and lowered ejection port refinish After I got it back, I found that magazines would not go in without considerable force. Also, the gun started jamming when fed my favorite hand loads which is a 200 grain Rainer flat point ahead of 4.1 grains of clays. I had fairly frequent failures to go completely into battery. Usually, this could be cleared by racking the slide, but every once in a while, the entire action was totally locked up. I literally had to jam the front of the gun into a 2x4 to unlock it. My first thought was to replace the mag catch. I theorized that the mag was too high in the gun and the rounds were popping out ahead of the extractor. I replaced the mag catch and the mags now go in and out with ease, but the feeding problem continues. My next thought was the recoil spring. I thought I was running an 18#, but when measured, it turns out its a 16. I could drop down to a 14, but I'm reluctant to do that. This is both my game gun and my carry gun and my carry ammo is considerably stronger than the target loads. Speaking of which, while I haven't fired a huge number of defensive loads, I have shot 25 of my favorite 230 Hydra-shoks and they fed flawlessly. I also shot 40 rounds of 185 grain factory Winchesters which also ran without hiccup. Normally, I'd say its the ammo, but this same load fed fine before the work. My next thought was the extractor. I have a friend who has an actual gauge for this. Its well within spec at 24 -28 ounces. Could it just be the ammo? Its done this with both Wilson and CMC mags in both 8 and 10 round versions. Is it the barrel? Anything else? |
Who said he messed it up? My hunch is that its the barrel, which is something I did. Its entirely possible that these problems would have cropped up in spite of the other work done. That's what I'm trying to figure out. Now, do you have anything constructive to add here? |
Sorry if I offended ya, it was not my intention. Next time find a gunsmith that "function tests" the pistols he works on. (as I'm certain you paid a pretty penny for the work and none of 1911 smiths I'd trust with my 45 would ever do that much work without making certain she ran before returning her to ya) Mike |
Thanks for the clarification. I guess I get riled pretty quickly. The 'smith actually did function test it, although I assume it was with regular 230 hardball. The problem only seems to be cropping up with my light handloads. He also said he looked at the barrel lock-up because I had mentioned my concerns about my home-fitting job on it. He said it was fine, but it still worries me. |
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It sounds like your reloads could be too large for the (presumably tighter) chamber. Some dies won't resize the case head enough on some rounds and the round can wedge itself into the chamber. I've had to beat my Glocks open like that due to their tight chambers. If this is the case, a Lee factory crimp die would take care of it. |
Hmmm... that makes sense. In fact, now that you mention it, I did take the mis-fed ammo and attempted to load it back into the gun from the top of a magazine and they would not chamber. That would indicate a fat case wouldn't it? That also explains why even light factory ammo will feed. I just got into reloading a few months ago and the brass I am using has now been loaded two or three times, instead of the once fired stuff I had before I sent the gun off to the 'smith. In the absence of other ideas, this one looks promising. I may order the die today and give it a shot. |
What is it about this place that attracts the humor impaired? |
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Here's a bit of an update. Last night, I measured the case diameter of my reloads. I first checked a couple of factory loaded rounds. The diameter measured .470" and I used that as a control. I then started measuring my reloads. Most came in at .470 with very little deviation. Then, I hit one at .476 and another at .480. In a tight chamber, I'm willing to bet this is enough to cause the problems I've been having. I ordered the Lee Factory Crimp die last night from Midway. This would sure be an easy solution to a problem that's really been buggin me. Thanks for the help (especially Ken Mays) and I'll keep you updated. |
It sure is sounding like that's the problem. When you get that crimp die, just screw that sucker in till it nearly touches the shellplate, then back out the bullet seating plug so it won't get near your bullet. I do my seating at the station prior to the factory crimp die, so all I want it to do is iron out the bottom half of the round. On a progressive such as the Dillon 550, the addition of the FCD can make things a little stickier than you're used to, so I like a light spray of Hoppe's Dri-Lube (teflon in an alcohol based aerosol) on the pile of empty cases prior to loading. It smooths things right back out and doesn't require you to clean it off the cases afterward. |
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Update!!! It works! I bought the Lee factory crimp die and all feed issues are resolved. I ran more than 200 rounds of my reloads through it, as well as about 300 factory loads and it took every one without a single failure of any kind. Its friggin' awesome! Thanks much for the suggestion. I just placed 2nd in CDP SS at the Virginia Commonwealth Cup IDPA match with this gun and I couldn't be happier. |
