Sig 1911 reliability

[mudriver]

I have a Sig 1911 that I got for competition and it is very accurate and has a great trigger. Not knowing anything about 1911's I got some 200g cast SWC to load and shoot 3 gun. It is very easy to hit my target, but every match i get a fail to feed. It appears that either the cases wont fit or the bullet is hanging up. I'm guessing that the cases are out of spec with the cast bullet 'bulge'.

I was thinking of trying Rainiers which are of less diameter. Am I thinking about this correctly? Are SWCs just too hard for them to feed?

BTW - love this Sig as a shooter!

 

[rduckwor]

I have one of the mid-serial # SIG SS 1911's that I use as my IDPA/USPSA gun.

I load the MO Bullets 200 Gr LSWC in 0.452 diameter. I get a slight case bulge as you described in the brass after loading.

My Sig feeds and fires these just fine without any issues or drama.

My DW CBOB will run them only intermittently due to the tighter chamber.

Two things come to mind with your experiences:

1. Make sure that there isn't excess bullet lube gobbed onto the bullets and /or brass after you load them. That can gum up the works.

2. Magazines: I have only Wilson Combat 47D's (8 rounds) and they have been flawless in the five years or so I have used them.

And yes, Sig makes some good 1911's. Even for a series 80 pistol, my trigger is just great.



Good Luck,

RMD

 

[LiveLife]

I have a railed Sig 1911 TacPac and don't have problem feeding various SWC bullets sized .452" (Dardas, Missouri, Mastercast, Z-Cast, etc.).

The chamber is on the tighter side with very quick start of rifling (almost no leade) so I need to load 200 gr SWC bullets no longer than 1.245" or the shoulder of the bullet will hit the start of rifling. Even with the tighter chamber, finished rounds with .472"-.473" taper crimp will drop in freely and fully chamber.

Although I have not had any feeding issues with factory magazines, I prefer to use Chip McCormick 8 round power mags with stronger mag springs. As 1911Tuner usually suggests, I would first look at the magazine feed lips/followers/springs if you are experiencing any feeding/chambering issues as long as your finished rounds pass the barrel drop/plunk test and will feed/chamber reliably from the magazine when you manually release the slide.

Since you are shooting matches, flawless performance and reliability is paramount or you will lose stage times from stoppages. More care is needed in sorting/processing your brass to ensure your finished rounds' dimensions are within specs for reliable feeding and chambering (I used to chamber check every match round in the tightest match barrel I had to ensure reliable feeding/chambering during matches and many match shooters use Lee FCD to check for out-of-spec/out-of-round). I would also try different magazines and use the magazines that reliably feed your match rounds the best and replace magazine springs as they weaken.

Also, you will likely shoot more rounds for match practice and consider replacement recoil springs. Factory 16 lb springs will quickly become 15 lb springs after a few thousand rounds and will need to be replaced (or you may experience failure to fully chamber/harder recoil issues). I have used 16/17/18.5 Wolff variable power and Wilson Combat recoil springs and when properly matched to your load, they will reduce felt recoil and muzzle flip for faster stage times (not to mention more comfortable shooting) - http://blog.wilsoncombat.com/1911/a-guide-to-1911-recoil-springs-by-wilson-combat/

 

[silicosys4]

I have a 1911 nitron railed, and it had to go back to sig for the same issue.....200 grain cast swc's not fully chambering, needing a bump at the back of the slide to fully chamber. It was bad, wouldn't feed 3 rounds in a row without ftf,
The gun came back running perfectly, the paperwork said the extractor had been adjusted.
I had been sure that the chamber was too tight, but there was nothing said about the chamber, just the extractor

 

[steveno]

I have a Springfield Range Officer with a tight chamber. jacketed bullets have never been a problem but cast bullets if they get much over .452 there will be problems. I got a Lee .452 cast bullet sizer and every cast bullets gets resized to .452 before it gets loaded. that solves the problem

 

[LiveLife]

200g cast SWC to load and shoot 3 gun ... every match i get a fail to feed.

Since the OP is experiencing only an occasional failure to feed, I think the problem may be more related to the consistency of the bullet/reloading components and finished round dimensions.

I am guessing the pistol is fairly new with strong enough springs but you can have issues with new magazines.

I have a Springfield Range Officer with a tight chamber. jacketed bullets have never been a problem but cast bullets if they get much over .452 there will be problems. I got a Lee .452 cast bullet sizer and every cast bullets gets resized to .452 before it gets loaded. that solves the problem

I could have used that advice 20 years ago. Well, it became a none issue when I switched match caliber to 40S&W and shot Montana Gold jacketed bullets.

 

[Blue68f100]

My guess is your OAL is varying due to the way the seating plug contacts the bullet. With LSWC most bullet seaters use the Top or the ogive to set the bullet. With SWC you only want a thumb nail thickness of the bullets shoulder showing above the case rim. You can get a lot a variation just using the ogive and top when seating bullets. If you use a modify seater plug to push on the shoulder they all come out the same length. And you will have a more consistent OAL.

Another thing that happens with LSWC is if you do not expand enough you will have sliver of lead setting on the brass mouth. This can prevent the gun from going into battery.

You will find that the LSWC are very accurate, more so than plated bullets.

 

[mudriver]

Thanks for the help! I'll post results next match!

 

[Speedster00]

I tend to agree with blue. I have a 5" sig scorpion 1911 and it's very picky about oal.

 

[sauer1911]

i'm runnin 3 sig 1911's,TTT, Black Nitron, and all Stainless steel.

230gr fmj rn, 1.20-1.215 oal, 4.2 gr 700x.

with the round nose ammo, I have never had a stove pipe.

I have had some rounds that need the forward bump, but not many.

For shooting in matches, I use new Starline brass, and no problems.

For plinking and target practice I use any brass, as long as it is solid, not damaged.

be safe

 

[jmorris]

Get a casegauge and check every round. In competition any round can cause you the match.

The " plunk" test in the barrel will tell you if the round will fit the barrel but you will still have " mystery" malfunctions. Once you get a case gauge you will find that the ones that fail, more pften than not, do so because of the rim.

Extractors and ejectors, along with the fact that 45 cases will last longer than the head stamp will, cause the problem.

A lot of times, you can just invert a "fail" round in the case gauge and give it a twist and it will pass.

If you want them all to pass there are sizers, roll and push through, that size the part of the case that does not get sized in your normal reloading steps.

 

[ljnowell]

I have a Sig GSR Revolution(manhole slide)1911. It feeds SWC, RNFP, and LRN. Every hollow point too.

What OAL are you loading to?

 

[Constrictor]

My sig 1911 is the jamminest 1911 I have. it is critical on OAL, and wont shoot any ammo I make for all my other 1911's.
Either it needs shorter ammo, or pointier so it passes the plunk test.
Im hoping the sig breaks in eventually because its such a nice looking gun.

 

[ljnowell]

My sig 1911 is the jamminest 1911 I have. it is critical on OAL, and wont shoot any ammo I make for all my other 1911's.

Either it needs shorter ammo, or pointier so it passes the plunk test.

Im hoping the sig breaks in eventually because its such a nice looking gun.

Opposite of my experience, but that happens. If it continues I would send it to Sig for a tune up. Let them figure it out.

 

[golfhack]

It sounds like a specific issue with your gun, or with how you are reloading. I've loaded 200 grain lead SWC (0.452") for my Sig 1911 Tacops. OAL 1.24-1.25". Used them for IDPA and practice - 500 rounds in a few weeks with no issues. Also had no issues using Xtreme 200g Plated RN and lead 230g RN.

Are you using the barrel or a case gauge to check your loads?

 

[BenFoo]

I tend to agree with blue. I have a 5" sig scorpion 1911 and it's very picky about oal.

Mine is as well. Ive found too short an OAL to give me the strange/random FTF the OP is talking about.

Ive never had an issue with factory loads. Only reloads that are short.

 

[LiveLife]

Not all RN bullets have the same nose shape (ogive) and when we are reloading, we need to use the OAL/COL that will not hit the start of rifling. This requires that we use the barrel to determine the max OAL/COL - http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=506678

Below comparison picture shows factory PMC and CCI rounds on the left with longer OAL/COLs but Berry's 185 gr HBRN has different ogive that requires different OAL/COL with some barrels and I need to load at shorter 1.250" for my Sig 1911 with very quick start of rifling with almost no leade. With HSM HP bullet, although loaded shorter, if you "add" the imaginary round tip, you'll see that it matches the RN profile of Berry's bullet next to it.

 

[BenFoo]

WWB (far left)
1.265" - single measurement
No FTF issues in 50


Speer (shorter two)
1.205-1.209" (variance on box of 50)
Random FTF issues in 50. At least 1 per mag


Starline
1.245-1.249" (variance on box of 50)
No FTF issues in 50

 

[rcmodel]

In simple terms.

The round & the bullet profile MUST be long enough so the bullet ogive hits the feed ramp first, then hits the top of the barrel hood, and deflects it down in line with the chamber so it can feed.

Too short, with a different bullet shape won't, and it will jam.

U.S. GI Issue 230 grain RN-FMJ is loaded 1.265" to 1.271" OAL.

JHP is loaded much shorter, but the wider JHP bullet ogive must hit the feed ramp & barrel hood in almost exactly the same time and place.
Or it won't feed.

rc