I bought a near new Springfield 1911 GI model yesterday. This is Springfield’s lowest cost 1911 but it’s still a very well made pistol. Finish is perfect, no tooling marks, no rattling, etc.

I only had my lunch hour to work with today and I used it to head to the range and put a box of hardball through my new toy.

Unfortunately the pistol jammed three times, always on the last round in the magazine.

The brass extracted and ejected just fine but the slide would close about halfway with the nose of the cartridge apparently in the chamber (it was hard to tell for sure.) I don’t think it’s a recoil spring problem as a gentle tap on the slide didn’t cause the round to chamber. It felt like it was genuinely stuck.

This exact same malfunction happened three times out of 50 shots, always with the last round in the magazine. Ammunition was commercial 230 grain FMJ.

Anyone have any idea how to fix this?

(My initial thoughts was that the magazine had a problem. Come to think of it I can’t even guarantee this is the original magazine… There are no markings, and two holes in the non removable floor plate.)

Does the follower have a pimple/raised bump on it?  Try better quality mags, the problem will probably disappear.  Wilson works for me. HTH

Just add a 11# Wolff mag spring, That should clear up you mag problems.

mag problem.

Get some Wilsons, . . . . or atleast CMC's.

Yes, the follower does have a pimple… Was it catching the rim of the cartridge or something?

I don’t think the magazine can be disassembled (it looks to be crimped) so changing springs and followers isn’t an option.

Everyone seems to love Wilson mags. In fact I don’t think I’ve ever heard anything bad about them. Guess I need to order a few.

Thanks everyone.

Of course you can change the spring in the mag.
1. remove mag from gun
2. load mag with 3 rounds
3. put a piece of STIFF wire through the hole in the side of the mag [where you count the rounds] UNDER the follower.
4. Remove the ammo [tip upside down]
5 remove the follower [it will come out]
6. remove the wire and wiggle out the spring remembering which way it came out. I just put a dab of  white paint at the top front of the spring. Dont have to remember anything that way.
7. reassemble the same way
8 Or just buy some wilsons as I am not fond of the cheapo SA mags.

Quoted: The brass extracted and ejected just fine but the slide would close about halfway with the nose of the cartridge apparently in the chamber

If I am reading this correctly the extractor is dropping the empty on the way out before it contacts the ejector and the slide is returning to battery trapping the empty between the face of the slide and chamber mouth.On the previous 6 rounds there was another round in the magazine that fuctioned as an impromtu ejector tumbling the spent brass out the ejection port. Either the extractor tension is wrong or the firing pin retaining plate is sloppy letting the extractor "clock" and drop the empty. Ed Brown Bulletproof firing pin plate and new extractor should fix your problem

ETA Are you saying that it is failing to feedthe last round in the magazine or it is hanging up on ejection of the last round?

New GI-45's are notorious for bad extractors and recoil spring problems.

Remove extractor, put a little more bend in it, file the hook a tiny bit to clean it up and sharpen it and try again.

A Wolff recoil spring could help too.

Lotsa info availbe on the specialized .45 forums on-line.

How many rounds thru your pistol, has it been broken in, polished the feed ramp at all (be carefull) or try other mags?

It's got a lot of MIM parts that are often replaced. The Ed Brown or Wilson Extractors are favorites. It probably has it's stock ILS Safety Lock and Titanium Firing Pin. An Ed Brown 9mm/38 spl Steel Firing Pin for Springfield, along with an extra power Wolff Firing Pin Spring will help along with a Colt Steel Firing Pin Stop. If you're up for a little work, replace the ILS and MSH with all regualr mil-spec Colt parts and an S&A MSH in your choice of finished..ribbed, smooth or checkered. An EGW sear can make a big difference too. Endless possibilities!

You're not alone!

+1 Good Advice!

It’s not an extraction problem. The empty brass goes bouncing off the top of my head like it’s supposed to. It’s the last remaining live cartridge that’s failing to feed. It’s getting hung up halfway between the chamber and the magazine.

The pistol only came with one magazine so I’ll buy more anyway and I plan on getting Wilson.

I understand that the previous owner only put about 50 rounds through it. Since it looks brand new I believe it. I know that means it needs a few hundred more rounds before it’s broken in good. A couple friends of mine who are former Marines have kindly volunteered to help me with this task.

As long as I’m ordering some magazines from Wilson I’ll probably get a set of 1911 springs from them too. Even if I don’t need them now it sure won’t hurt to have some spare parts around.

Thanks all for the help.

Is it possible that the lips on your magazine are bent open a bit? That will cause malfunctions.

Try a new mag and then if the new (quality) mag works, see if you can see any differance in the lips.

The Problem is most people dont know what a Quality Magazine is.

It AINT Necessarily a $50 , chrome plated , self lubricating polymer follower mag with Kryptonite
springs.

The Colt 1911 made its reputation for reliability (over 50+ years) using a
blued steel , 7 rd mag with a split follower with dimple , and a good  steel spring.
(the original mags  issued to our armed forces)

At least two companies still make these.

www.metalformmagazines.com/Magazine.asp

www.mec-gar.com/product.html

If your pistol doesnt work with one of these, the problem is with your gun or ammo.

I had the same exact problem and posted this:

http://www.ar15.com/forums/topic.html?b=5&f=49&t=24747

maybe it'll help.

In my case the problem went away after another clean and lube.  My opinion is that your gun it so new it needs a few hundred rounds to break it in.

good luck.