I have an older Colt 1991 compact. Essentially an officers model. It's ready to go out to the gunsmith for a specific problem. It will consistantly jam on the last round(propably 6 or 7 mags out of ten). I have two colt mags and a brand new Kimber mag. The Colt mags jam and when they dont they wont hold the slide open. The kimber mag will hold the slide open but will still jam the same way. The jam is always on the last round. The last round is jammed up at an acute angle with the nose of the bullet pressing into the top of the chamber. This is a horrible jam to clear as you have to completely remove the mag to get it out. The only mod's this thing has is a full length recoil spring guide rod from wilson combat and a chip mccormick carbon fiber trigger. The pistol has never been 100 percent reliable and has somewhat soured me on Colts. My friends Commander took alot of custom work to be reliable. I would sell the bastard but I wont because I happen to shoot it better than any of my other handguns. No shit... I have an HK USP 45 that I would have better luck throwing at a bad guy but that little Colt put's em right where I want them!!!Any suggestions. The guide rod spring combo has been in there for a while and this type of jam is fairly new but it's been happening the same way for like the last 300 rounds or so.

Tell us more about the   full length recoil spring guide rod from wilson combat

I would put the stock Colt guide rod back in, for starters.  

So all the stoppages present themselves as failure to feed, but not with a fired case still in the chamber, right?  

(What brand, bullet profile, and weight is the ammo?)

If yes, remove the extractor (clean the tunnel where it lives with a worn .223 brush, while you're at it).

Does the pistol still have failures to feed with 1 round in the mag?

It it will feed OK with no extractor, you likely have an extractor tension or clearance issue.

If it won't feed with the extractor removed, using quality ball ammo, the possibilities are:

1/bad magazines (use Wilson, nothing else)
2/burr at the firing pin hole in the breechface.  Gently chamber it with a drill bit, by hand.  
3/breechface dimentions out of spec
4/burr in chamber
5/some other issue - gunsmith should be able to figure it out.

This should be a pretty simply fix if you have someone who knows what they are doing look at it.  Don't let it sour you on Colts, as they are excellent guns.

Know however, that the shorter guns are less reliable than the full size ones.  This is due in part to the altered timing of the cycle of operation (sped up), the heavier recoil springs, and the lessened stroke of the slide.

The shortest semi-auto handgun I carry is 4".

You mag need to catch up with your slide. Get a stronger mag spring from Wolff.

Gently chamber it


should read "CHAMFER"

Another possible issue: the recoil spring may be too strong and/or too long.  Ensure you have the correct one.

If you are using a shock buff, don't.  Doesn't allow enough slide travel in the short guns.

Put the original recoil system back in.

Get some stronger mag springs.

ONLY use metal mag followers with the dimple.

Then check back with us

AKsRule is right about the dimple follower. I forgot to mention it. Remember the 1911 is a controlled feed gun.

Thanks for all the help. The wilson recoils spring guide is designed for the 1991 compact. The problem didn't start with the change of springs/guide rod but somewhat afterward. I probably need better mags to start with. I'm going to send it to a gunsmith anyway but might buy a commander or new 1911 in full size!!Funds are a little tight right after christmas! It is an awesome little package for sure and I love how concealable it is. I will try hand feeding the last roud too. Thanks all.

I hope thats what it is. I will buy three new wilson mags as soon as I free up some funds. I need to be put on a list of under ammo'd people and get some charity. Maybe I'll just ask for ammo for christmas next year!!!