Bought my first 1911 today

[Ryano]

I picked up a new Springfield Loaded in black/OD green today at Buds. I really liked the fit and finish for the money, and I have an affection for most things Springfield. I put 50 rounds through the two factory mags and two wilson combat mags at Buds range and it performed flawlessly as I would expect it to.
Problem is after I got it home and cleaned it thoroughly, the slide tends to hang on the edge of the barrel but only if I ride it down. Doesn't do it every time, but enough to concern me. Also, it will not feed the first round from any of the 4 mags. The round seems to nosedive and jam just below the feed ramp and only chambers after racking again. I tried gold dot jhp, Corbin dpx jhp, and wwb fmj.
This is my first 1911, and I'm wondering if I should put a few 100 more rounds through it before contacting Springfield. Is this typical for a new gun like this? I have owned several polymer pistols and never had problems out of the box.

Thanks in advance.

 

[skipsan]

Not going all the way into battery when riding the slide, is not relevent in my view, as it's not a normal operation. A couple of my new 1911s required a little encouragement into battery even when using the slide release or slingshotting, but that went away after a few dozen rounds.

As far as not feeding the first round, if this is occuring when the slide is being ridden home, that's irrelevent as well. If it's occuring with a normal slide release (slide stop or slingshot) then something is amiss, but I'd get a couple hundred rounds under my belt before calling 911. It's assumed that quality ammo and mags are being used.

 

[Ryano]

Thanks for the reply. The issue of going into battery does not occur with a normal slide release (slingshot or slide release). The ftf does however happen with a normal release. They do seem to cycle correctly manually after the initial ftf.

 

[PT92]

Hopefully you will get the kinks worked out. I too bought my first 1911A1 on this the 100th anniversary of perhaps John Moses Browning's greatest design and arguably the greatest design in the history of handguns.

-Cheers


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NRA Life Member

 

[skipsan]

None of my Springfields works reliably with Wilson magazines, but I've never had an issue with Springfield factory mags used in a Springfield 1911.

Are you loading the mags to capacity (7 or 8 rds) when the ftfs occur? Did you try loading the mags one or two rounds less than full capacity? By "re-racking" do you simply mean pulling the slide back and slingshotting without dropping the magazine? Did you try hitting the back of the slide with the heel of your hand? I've had new pistols fail to completely feed and with a little pursuasion fed properly. That went away with a little (100 rds or so).

My guess is that a few more rds through the pistol is gonna make the problems go away. I'd stick to "simple" ammo (WWB for example) until the issue gets better defined. If you end up contacting SA because the problems don't go away, your case will be stronger if you can tell them the pistol doesn't work even with basic fmj ammo.

 

[Zerodefect]

Allways let the slide sling bacdk into battery on it's own. Never ride it. With most autoloaders I'll hammer fist bump the back of the slide to make sure its completely into battery before holstering, but with 1911's I just turn the safety on.

The failure to feed the first round may be just the feed lips of your magazine. I allways recommend Tripp Cobra mags even if you have no 1911 problems. You may be able to see a sticky point on the lips you can polish or bend.

Most autoloader failures I've witnessed are after the first shot when the slide is loading the top round from the mag, or after a reload. Probally close to 90% of the failures I've seen in comp.

 

[Hondo 60]

Ryano:
You didn't say what ammo you're using.
If it's a 230 gr round nose (RN), then FTF is a big problem.

If it's a semi-wad cutter (SWC) or hollow point (HP), it could be the feed lips on the mag,
or the feed ramp on the gun.

I have 2 elcheapo $5 - 7 rd mags & 1 ACT-MAG. All 3 feed my American Classic II flawlessly with RN ammo.

I haven't tried any SWCs or HPs yet.
(Just bought it at the beginning of July)

Hope this helps a bit! Good Luck

 

[jmstevens2]

The tighter it is built the more likely it will need to worn in a little. Shoot a couple of hundred rounds through it. Also load up the mags to full and leave them full for a week or so. This may help with the mags if new.

 

[Zerodefect]

Kinda. The tighter and rougher the machined finish on the barrel, bushing, and slide the more a breakin is required. K has a real rough finish that can clearly be felt by dragging a fingernail down the outside of the barrel. Not really a big deal as it'll smooth out a bit in 500 rounds.

DW, EB, LB spend alot more time on that last finishing cut than K, SF, RR do. They're super tight, but with a smoother finish. No breakin truely required.

My point is it isn't just tightness, but overall friction that the machined finish has alot to do with. Also there is no shame in useing a Wolff 18.5 recoil spring while your 1911 is new and then go back to the 16 pound spring when it smooths out.

 

[Ryano]

@Skipsan, yes the mags were fully loaded when the ftf's occurred. I tried loading them a few rounds short and they are working about 90% of the time this way. When I said I reracked it, I meant that after the round would jam at the base of the feed ramp, I would pull the slide back and release. This usually chambered the round correctly. I did try bumping the back of the slide, but it had no effect.

@Hondo, I was using 230gr FMJ WWB, 230gr JHP Gold Dots, and Corbon DPX JHP (not sure of weight).

I am starting to think it is mag related, as a few of you have suggested. With the mags fully loaded out of the pistol, I can see the rounds nose dive as I push each individual one out of the mag. This happens for the first 3 rounds or so, then they come out nose up as they should. Gonna leave them loaded to capacity for a few days as jmstevens suggested. Thanks for all the tips.
RyanO

 

[Johnny Lightning]

same issue

I have the same exact 1911 w/ the same issue...if you would like to call it an issue. When I first took my new Springfield loaded w/ parkarized finish to the range I could not get it to load the first round if cocked back and then releasing the slide. Most of the time it would get about half way into battery and stop. I almost always load it w/ the slingshot method and never have any problems....although some times I still try the slide release and now that it is broke in it almost always goes into battery. When it was new I noticed a hangup when slowly riding the slide into battery to the point i could actually have the slide hangup at this spot about a third of the way into battery. That has also gotten better to the point where there is still a "bump" but will not hangup now that it is broken in. The only autos that I trust to go into battery w/ the slide release are my 2 Glocks...never an issue there....but I still love the feel of my Loaded 1911!

 

[tjbeck]

Ryano, Buy a couple hundred more rounds and see if the problems persists. If it does talk to Greg at Bud's he'll look it over quick for you and see if he can fix it if its a simple problem like extractor tension etc. If it still doesn't work call Springfield. I had to send in my 1911A1 Loaded, because it would fail to go into battery in the middle of a magazine. From door to door it took 8 days and it ran like a champ after that.

 

[Skylerbone]

Send it back to Springfield, period. There is a reliability period with any firearm, there is a barrel conditioning period but there should not be a break-in period. Sounds like Springfield already took care of the "broke-en" part and it is on them, for the $800 or so you spent, to get to fix-in.

 

[ColtPythonElite]

What he said^^^. It should run correctly right out of the box. My Loaded did.

 

[DCF]

My SA 1911 loaded ran perfectly too for the first 300 to 350 rounds. I detail strip, polish everything that I feel comfortable to polish, clean and lube the entire gun before I use it. All the action feels smoother and clean up the trigger as well.

I used MFS, Federal champion, Winchester white box, Fiocchi JHP, Herter's steel case and they all function fine.