Remington Rand feed problems

[LiquidTension]

My buddy has an original RR that he inherited from his grandfather. We took it out a while ago and the thing can't seem to feed more than one round at a time without a jam.

Welp...I grabbed that ol' Dremel and done me a real good ramp and throat job on'er, and she still won't feed.

I'm kidding! I didn't do anything permanent to it. I tried several Shooting Star mags and some other random mags I had. Same problem. The spring felt really weak compared to the other 1911 that was out there, so I swapped them just to see. Same problem.

It looks like the bullet nose is jamming into the barrel ramp. To his knowledge, no smithing has been done to this gun. Ammo was a mixture of WWB 230gr ball, GA Arms 230grn JHP, and Blazer Brass 230gr ball. Ammo didn't seem to make any difference.

I know that most people will frown on tinkering with an original Remington Rand, but right now it's just a paperweight. It has sentimental value and won't be sold, so having some work done isn't going to detract from its value. He would like to keep it as original as possible.

I don't have any pics unfortunately. I'll try to get some this week. What other troubleshooting do I need to do to figure out what the problem is?

 

[LiquidTension]

One other thing, the barrel appeared to be set back slightly so it was overhanging the feed ramp a bit. I'm guessing this is the source of the problem, but how does one correct it?

 

[Jim Watson]

Common fault of a "drop-in" part.

I am NRA Mechanically Inept, so I would hustle over to my gunsmith who would carefully and skillfully set the bottom edge of the barrel forward and reshape the feed ramp.
If you don't know what you are doing, you can dremel your bud out of several hundred bucks.

 

[rcmodel]

More then very likely, the feed ramp in the frame is fine.
It's the barrel throat that has to be moved forward & polished so there is no sharp edge for bullets to catch on.

If that is done, it should feed RN-FMJ fine.
Feeding any & all JHP weights & shapes is another matter, and may take more drastic measures.
JHP ammo had not been invented yet when that old warhorse was designed & built.

And I agree with Jim Watson. If you ain't a 1911 gunsmith, better find one that is.

rcmodel

 

[Jim Watson]

Clarification: When I said "reshape the feed ramp" I meant the barrel ramp. The 1911A1 has a two piece feed ramp, the frame ramp and the barrel ramp. Some people call the barrel ramp "throat" but I reserve that term for the cylindrical area between the chamber mouth and the leade into the rifling.

rcmodel is right, the frame ramp is probably fine and should not be messed with. Stick to ball ammunition.

 

[LiquidTension]

I've been reading through lots of Tuner's posts so I put that part about the Dremel in there. I have no intention of doing anything to the gun myself.

I'm going to try to find another barrel that I can swap out and see if it sits in the same place. If it's in the same place, I guess there's some other area that I need to look at. If the new barrel fits and feeds OK, seems like it would be the original that is the problem.

 

[Bladeandbarrel]

It is likely that the barrel was "arsenal" replaced at one time and the barrel/frame gap is incorrect. easy to fix if you know what to fix.

PS-Don't touch the frame

 

[Al Thompson]

See if Bill has a spare barrel or can take a look at it - and check your email.

 

[1911Tuner]

Somewhere in the distance, I hear those voices callin'...

MAAAAAAAAAAAAGAZIIIINES!

MAAAAAAAAAAAAGAAAAZIIIIINES!

South Carolina, huh? Where at in SC?

 

[pete f]

I think he tried some magazines, and it didn't help/

Just for the sake of the gun, replace the recoil spring when you take it out next, a 50 year old spring can be good, but for a 4 dollar spring is nice to know its good. It might help the round feel, but more than likely its just going to keep the battering down.

 

[1911Tuner]

One other thing, the barrel appeared to be set back slightly so it was overhanging the feed ramp a bit. I'm guessing this is the source of the problem, but how does one correct it?

Ah! Didn't see that part. Sorry.

Yes. That's a problem. It's a pretty simple fix, but a bit tedious to get it right. There are other points to check before proceeding, though. The case head support and static headspace should be gauged to see if you have enough wiggle room to relocate the barrel ramp.

Where in SC?