My previously perfect 1911 has developed a problem...

[Lone_Gunman]

I have a full size 1911 Colt, recent manufacture, I would estimate 1000 rounds through it, none of which were +P. Until yesterday it worked with 100 % reliability, with JHPs and FMJs.

I sent the slide off to have night sights put on by Wilson's, and got it back yesterday, put the gun back together, and went shooting.

Now it is having multiple failures to feed. The slide velocity, as it closes, seems very slow. I can actually feel and see the slide moving its so slow. I can actually get the gun back on target between shots before the slide has fully closed!

The cartridges are occassional getting hung up, and not feeding into the chamber. This has never happened before with this gun.

So what could have happened?

Could my recoil spring have gotten weak?

Any help from 1911 experts would be appreciated!

 

[1911Tuner]

Hmmm....

Howdy Lone Gunman,

Sounds like something's in a bind somewhere. The recoil spring should be okay for another 1,000-1,500 rounds.

When the failure to return to battery occurs...can you put it in battery by pushing on the rear of the slide...or do you have to eject the round and
start over?

Does the slide move freely when the pistol is hand cycled empty...or
does it feel "sticky" ? If you use a shock buffer, try it without one.
Sometimes they spread out, and can put things in a bind even though
they look okay. The symptom is a "Pogo Stick" feel when the slide
is returning to battery.

Did Wilson adjust your extractor tension? Too much can cause the problem that you describe.

Last...Is the gun clean? If there's a crud build-up in the frame, just behind the dust cover, it can keep the barrel from going fully to bed, and create
a little stem bind. Clean that area and retest it. Clean the breech face
and around the extractor hook too. The extractor channel shouldn't be
gunked up after only a thousand rounds...but if you've fired a lot of
dirty ammo, it may be.

Check these things and try it again. If it's still doing it, get back to me.

Luck to ya!
Tuner

 

[PCRCCW]

I agree with 1911 tuner...its not likely anything they did would effect your gun in this way.....with pinching or binding. On the strange chance the sight installation put different stress's on the slides previously existing physical qualities....it could theoretically cause binding. But I doubt it.

Shoot well

 

[dleong]

Perhaps I'm reaching a bit here, but when new sights are installed, does the slide have to be clamped in some kind of work vise? If so, is it entirely possible that excessive pressure from the vise may have somehow distorted the rails on the slide?

Like I said, I'm reaching here...

DL

 

[Old Fuff]

This is highly unlikely, but possible. They may have squeezed the slide in a vise when they mounted the sights, especially if they dovetailed the front for a new sight.

Field strip the pistol, remove the barrel assembly and recoil spring guide, and then put the slide back on the frame and hand-cycle it while feeling for any binding.

 

[1911Tuner]

Squeezed Slide

Good point dleong, and surely possible. Try the slide like Old Fluff
suggested. If there's a tight spot, you can probably use a little
fine lapping compound to effect a "re-fit" on the slide/frame. I
would like to think that a smith working for Wilson Combat would
be careful to mount the slide in a mill vise with a block of steel
between the rails to prevent closing it up...but we can never be too sure.

If this is the case, you can try making a slurry from CLP Breakfree and
J&B Bore Cleaner. Coat the frame rails with it and hand-cycle about
200 times. Unless the bind is VERY tight, that should fix it up.

Put about a half teaspoon of bore cleaner in a small cup, and add CLP to
it until it becomes a paste that will just sag off the end of a screwdriver,
but not drip off.

Coat the frame rails, upper and lower barrel lugs, slidestop pin,
dsconnector rail and the barrel OD/bushing ID, and hand cycle
200-250 times. Flush it out with Gunk Carburetor Cleaner, and
reapply lightly in the frame rails...about like you would use a thin
grease for lubrication. Use a good grade oil everywhere else that you
would use oil, and go shoot the gun.

The slurry is not gritty, and it won't imbed in the steel. It will make
your slide feel like it's running on buttered glass. If the slide isn't
binding, this slurry won't hurt a thing as it only polishes the high/tight
spots.

Good luck with it.

Tuner

 

[BigG]

Mr. Dirt can have a big time effect on the reliability of a pistol. The breechface needs to be clean and the extractor/firingpin channels need to be cleaned out at least every 1000 shots. Everybody else covered most of the possibilities.

 

[mete]

If it worked before Wilson but not after Wilson I would suspect that Wilson put it in a vise to do the sight work and clamped down too hard bending the slide. The cure would be to put lapping compound on the slide rails and work back and forth until the slide moves freely. Clean off the lapping compound thoroughly.

 

[Lone_Gunman]

1911 Tuner:

The slide would go into battery with a tap to the back.

When cycling the slide on the frame, without the barrel or recoil spring in place, it definitely feels "stickier" than when I do this to my other 1911s.

The gun is clean.

I dont use a shock buffer.

I think you and others may be right that the slide got knocked out of spec somehow while sights were installed.

I will try the lapping compound idea. Is the formula you posted, using CLP Breakfree and J&B borecleaner, a way to make a lapping compound? I was looking at Brownells website and they sell lapping compounds in various grits. Should I use that instead? If so, what grit amount?

thanks in advance for the advice

 

[1911Tuner]

Lapping compound

Howdy Lone Gunman,

The J&B/CLP slurry is a polishing instead of a lapping compound.
The lapping compound from Brownells is about 14 bucks a pound, and
you'd need only a tiny bit to lap the slide rails to the frame. Try the
slurry first, and if it doesn't do the trick, get back to me. Check your
PM's...

---Edit--- SInce the slide moves freely on the frame, it doesn't seem like
a clearance issue. I suspect the extractor is the bug here.
Tuner

 

[Dave T]

If Wilson screwed it up, they should fix it. I would call them and explain the problem and politely ask that they return the slide to the functional dementions it had when you shipped it to them.

PS: I'm not bashing Wilson here, I have a couple of their guns and love them. They should stand behind their work and it is pretty obvious they did something (pinched the rails in a vice no doubt) that screwed up this gun's functional reliability. They should fix it.

 

[mete]

Lapping compound consists of abrasive and oil, don't add anything else. Start with a medium grit, lap until you can push the slide front to back without too much force. Clean thoroughly and lube the rails then see if the slide will move easily. Repeat if necessary.

 

[1911Tuner]

One other thing

Lone Gunman,

Remove the extractor, recoil spring and plug. Leave the barrel and
bushing in place. Load a magazine with 3 or 4 rounds and see if
it will feed and go to battery with a medium brisk push on the back of the
slide with your thumb. If it will, put the extractor back in and repeat.
If it hangs up, the extractor tension is too high. Might be the problem...

---Edit---
Check the extractor channel itself. If there's gunk built up behind the
extractor hook, it can make it hard for the extractor to cam open and
let the rim under it.
Tuner

 

[Stevie-Ray]

I had that problem with my Mark IV after a sight install, years ago. Polished the rails with Flitz, and it went away.

 

[Lone_Gunman]

what is flitz?

 

[USA-1]

I agree with DaveT, let Wilson fix the problem.

 

[Lone_Gunman]

if the lapping compound idea doesnt work, then i will send it back... but I would rather not have to send the thing off again if i can help it.

 

[Stevie-Ray]

what is flitz?

Metal polish of choice for all things gun, years ago. Don't know if it's still manufactured or not.

 

[Cthulhu]

www.flitz.com
Great product!

 

[Lone_Gunman]

UPDATE: Problem Solved....

I used some lapping compound (600 grit) on the slide and frame rails, then cleaned it up and lubed it.

Took it to the range today... 100 hydroshocks, 100 fmj's, no failures to feed, so problem looks SOLVED...

Thanks for the advice, 1911 tuner and others.

 

[4v50 Gary]

So, it was what Old Fluff suggested. Compression by Wilson and resolution by Flitz. Thanks for follow-up!