Rock River 1911 Problems

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carbine85

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I need some help guys. The 1911 is one that I'm not all that familiar with.
I have a Rock Island 1911 CS (compact)
Out of 50 rounds I had (2) fail to lock open the slide with an empty mag.
(3) Slide locking open with the slide catch activated in the middle of a mag. I'm confident that I didn't cause it.
(1) Fail to Eject.
The pistol is a thumper but I have a good grip and wasn't limp wristing.
I used Armscor 230 gr. ammo and factory mag.
I'm thinking I have a faulty magazine along with something else.
I traded for this pistol and suspect the guy had problems out of the box. From looking at it I'm guessing he didn't shoot it much at all.
What so you?
 
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Shoot it one handed and see if the problems go away.

I second getting a couple of good mags. Factory mags are often the cheapest a manufacturer can obtain and sometimes just won’t run.

BTW, I think you have a Rock Island Armory/Armscor pistol, not Rock River.
 
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My expereince with smaller than Commander length 1911's wasnt good. The couple I had (Kimber and Springield), were very finicky and malfunction prone. I rarely got through a mag without a stoppage.

Good mags, regualr RSA changes , any kind of ammo you can think of, didnt seem to help.

If any one thing seemed like it might be the right track, it was the RSA changes, but that didnt last long, and they always seemd to be much shorter lived than they were supposed to be.

I just think that you can only go down in size with them so far, before you get to that failure point.

The only way I know to figure it out, is to go throught he motions and try and troubleshoot it, and get it to work. Just dont be surprised if you put a lot of time, effort and money into it, and dont really get anywhere. May not be what you want to hear, and hopefully you get it figured out, but dont be too surprised if you find yourself in a deep and forever going rabbit hole.

I really like the way some of the smaller 1911's look, but Ive been burnt in the past, and Im just way to leary to waste any more time on them. I almost got sucked in on a little Para LDA in 9mm a couple of weeks ago. Glad I came to my senses. :)
 
You need to pull the slide off and reinsert the slide stop.. (while its out look for brass/copper kisses on the lug)
Check the slide stop lugs interface with the mags follower. Next try it with a loaded magazine. manually push the bullets through their cycle. to see if they are hitting the lug.

The failure to extract will be a different issue but tackle one at a time.
 
You need to pull the slide off and reinsert the slide stop.. (while its out look for brass/copper kisses on the lug)
Check the slide stop lugs interface with the mags follower. Next try it with a loaded magazine. manually push the bullets through their cycle. to see if they are hitting the lug.

The failure to extract will be a different issue but tackle one at a time.
If there is brass on the lug what does this mean?
If the brass is hitting the slide stop lugs would this be a problem with the magazine?
 
A copper trail on the inside lug of the slide stop (the portion that faces toward the right side of the pistol with the stop inserted) is an indication that the copper jacket of projectiles are sometimes dragging on the slide stop and holding it up inappropriately before the magazine is empty. Normally the follower of the magazine pushes up on the bottom of the lug when the magazine is empty. Nothing but the follower should touch the lug.

This could happen with an out of spec slide stop, but can also occur with an out of spec magazine. If you see a copper trail on the inside lug of your slide stop, I would still try shooting with other magazines first. If the problem persists you can start trimming the inside lug of the slide stop with a file little by little until the problem is solved. Do not trim the part of the slide stop that faces downward. This is the portion that gets pushed up by the follower when the magazine is empty. An out of spec magazine or a magazine with a weak spring can also cause a failure of slide lock when the magazine is empty. You might also check to make sure that the slide stop plunger is able to move freely within your plunger tube. This spring-loaded plunger is what is supposed to hold the slide stop in the unlocked, downward position until the magazine follower or your thumb pushes the external lever upward. You can check this with the slide stop out by pushing the plunger straight back into the plunger tube with the tip of some non-marring object.

You said you had a failure to eject. I am assuming this was a stove pipe. Failures to eject can be due to multiple potential causes, but one of the most common is due to an improperly-tensioned extractor, or an extractor with a poorly fit claw. Either can cause the extractor to lose control of the spent case before the case hits the ejector. Improper extractor tension is often seen even in brand new pistols straight from the factory. You can find videos on youtube on how to remove the extractor and check for proper tension.
 
Updated: I cleaned the pistol and lubricated and ran another 100 rounds through it. I compared the factory mag to a Wilson Combat and determined that the feed lips on the factory mag were spread out a little bit so I matched them up to the Wilson Combat mag.
The only issue now is the activation of the slide catch once in while after 3-4 rounds. It seems like the plunger spring is too weak.
Rock Island already sent me a shipping label but I think I'll run a few more rounds before I send it.
 
Ok. Maybe the plunger tube as you suggested, or it could be the slide stop. Have you looked at it with the slide off but with the slide stop inserted and a loaded mag inserted. I believe someone suggested that. You might try that and slowly push rounds out of the mag with your thumb, while observing the slide stop/plunger/mag interface. You might find the plunger is being pushed in too easily, allowing the SS to pop up prematurely. Could be a spring, OR the plunger tube may have been restricted when staked or by a bump in handling. If you suspect the tube, you could remove the thumb safety and see if the plunger and spring move freely in the tube.

Lots of options here...;)
 
The only issue now is the activation of the slide catch once in while after 3-4 rounds.
(3) Slide locking open with the slide catch activated in the middle of a mag. I'm confident that I didn't cause it.
How confident are you that you aren't the cause?

An easy way to eliminate "you" from the equation is to shoot the gun left handed.
 
How confident are you that you aren't the cause?

An easy way to eliminate "you" from the equation is to shoot the gun left handed.
Now that it is feeding, you should do this!^^^^^
 
Eyeball the dimple in the end of the slide stop that engages the spring.

With magazine out, if the slide stos is "easy" to flip on/off, that detent may not be doing it's job holding it closed until the magazine follower heaves up on it.
 
How confident are you that you aren't the cause?

An easy way to eliminate "you" from the equation is to shoot the gun left handed.
Pretty confident. That's one of the first things I considered. Shooting left handed isn't a great idea for me right now since I need hand surgery on the left, My grip is low left thumb almost at the trigger and the right thumb over the left. I can't actually reach the slide. This is the grip I'm accustomed to with my Berettas.
 
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Eyeball the dimple in the end of the slide stop that engages the spring.

With magazine out, if the slide stos is "easy" to flip on/off, that detent may not be doing it's job holding it closed until the magazine follower heaves up on it.
I can't feel or see a dimple.
 
OP;

If you are speaking of Rock Island. Please change thread title to avoid confusion for others visiting this thread.
 
I can't feel or see a dimple.
Then, like as not, you need a new plunger spring (you might need a new short plunger pin; the long one engages the safety).

The conical point on the plunger pin is meant to hold the slide sto in either its up or down position. Which requires a good spring behind it. Because the pin is conical, some manufacturers ut a dimple in the back. Which gives a way for the pin to grip the stop, which can be less machining than getting the fitment of the rear face of the slide to Goldilocks.

So, for 2¢, were it me, I'd get a new plunger tube spring, and a short pin.
https://www.brownells.com/handgun-p...blies/1911-plunger-tube-spring-prod26224.aspx

Now, wrestling that pin & spring out can be either easy or ugly.
Here's a video for all the springs:

Hope that helps
 
I got the pistol back from Rock Island today.
They turned it around in 3 weeks and paid the shipping both ways. That's pretty good service IMHO.
They replaced the recoil spring, main spring and "Tuned it"
The "tuning" looks like they polished up and adjusted the extractor.
I ran 50 rounds through it tonight and so far so good.
Thumbs up to their service.
 
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