SA 1911 A1 feed problems

[lonewolf204]

Well I have all the other problems solved on this paticular gun and it shoots real good with round nosed FMJ, But any hollow point or semi wad cutter is a different story. It will shoot 2 maybe 3 then jam. I have worked on the throat, checked the barrel fit and it all looks and measures good. I'm beginning to think it's only going to shoot FMJ bullets. I have two other 1911s in 45 and they shoot about anything I put in them. What now? I would appreciate any and all your coments and advise.

(Shooting factory and reloaded ammo)

[woolleyworm]

Are you shooting handloads only, or factory loads also. For the SWC's, a little longer OAL is sometimes needed to increase reliability. My P220 is finicky about flat nose bullets, after testing with different OAL's, I finally found one that works good enough for plinking. ( just enough to finish off the 200 flatnosed bullets that i had )

If you're having problems with certain factory HP's, buy a box of several different brands and try them out. A little spendy, but well worth it if you're looking for a reliable defense load.

[Inthewind1976]

I have a 1911-A1 pattern .45 that would not feed ANYTHING but FMJ ball when I got it. A retired police officer had "throated" the chamber for the previous owner, another LEO, but just simply didnt have it quite right. It can be a "little tricky" to get the chamber throat angle just right, and to completely deburr and polish the feedramp. I picked up another barrel, and had another VERY COMPETENT LEO friend throat that second barrel, and polish the feed ramp, and to this day, it will feed ANYTHING that I give it to digest. Please understand that I am not knocking your work on the pistol so far; I am just simply stating that it can be ever so slightly tricky to get it "just right" without removing TOO MUCH MATERIAL and leaving the cartridge in the chamber without enough rim support. I picked up the other barrel, because I felt that enough material had already been removed from the original to "further work" it. My 1911 will feed both soft and hard lead round noses, hollow points, the "truncated cone" medium/soft lead 230's that are considered a cheap "ball ammo copy" for inexpensive "bowling pin" practice, etc. Pretty much anything at all; and it will feed it reliably whether the gun is held straight, "TV Gangbanger sideways", or even upside down.

[Shooter45]

Most 1911 feed problems are magazine related. Do yourself a favor and purchase a few Wilson Combat, Metalform or Chip McCormick mags.

If the pistol is a new purchase, did you give it a good cleaning and lube before going to the range ? Do you own more that one mag ? If so, is the problem the same with both mags ?
The Springfield shouldn't need any work on the barrel throat except maybe a little polishing on the feed ramp. Don't change the angle on the feed ramp.

I could go on typing all day but it will be faster for you to read this link.
Pay close attention to the barrel section.

http://www.thefirearmsforum.com/showthread.php?t=36972

[Inthewind1976]

Good point Shooter45. I stick to McCormick Shooting Star 8's for mine.

[lonewolf204]

Shooter, Do you think these mags will be better than the SA factory mags?

[Shooter45]

I have never had a problem with SA mags. Now you were having a problem with wad cutter ammo. I use Metalform Mags for my LSWC ammo and they work everytime. For carry, Wilson Combat. CMC are good mags also.
Always test new mags as I have seen a few different brands, mostly factory, that are pure junk. Carry the mags that work flawlessly in your pistol and use everything else for range mags.

[lonewolf204]

Thanks!

[Hawg]

My last one would feed anything including empty cases. I used WWII and more recent Colt mags.

[lonewolf204]

Shooter, Thanks for the great advise! The issue was the feed ramp. I had polished it, But not good enough. After rereading the link you posted and thinking in over a while I went back and found a rough spot. I polished it smooth. Today it would feed anything I put in it SWC, HP, FMJ (all factory loads) with factory magazines. It will shoot a 3" group @ 25 yards off the bench. Problem solved! Thanks again for all the great sugestions and advise.

[BETH]

ok what does throated the chamber mean?

[jack404]

Beth the chamber is where the round sits while being fired , throating the chamber is polishing it to where its smooth for the round to enter and be extracted without catching

because of hammering actions on semi auto's this may need to be done a couple times over the life of the weapon ( not all need it other dont have impact) to take out the bumps caused by thousands of impacts by the slide of the chamber face

[BETH]

polish it with what Jack

[jack404]

i like diamond paste other folks use specialised tools for the chamber

broaches files wool with carborundum powder, its metal so as varied as there are metal workers, i mount mine in a lathe and do it that way so i can measure it all as i go

[BETH]

your talking about where the ammo sits when u are ready to pull the trigger right?

[jack404]

yep you got it

[BETH]

now you got me wondering if that was what was wrong with my Marlin-hmmmmm

[BETH]

except my Marlin was new but it could be the same problem

[jack404]

marlins do often benifit by a chamber polish , but never muish the hassle is people over do it and make the chamber loose for the ammo , chambers should be tight

adjustments made to the extractors or feed line is preferable than loosening the chamber too much

hard to say without the rifle and experimenting with it Beth

either way they are a good basic rifle and once set up will last several lifetimes ..

you'll be good to go soon enough ..

[BETH]

when i get it back from them i hope they tell me what they found

[Bigbill]

Beth; If you look at the bottom of the barrel on the 1911 were it meets the frame at the chamber you will see a bevel on the barrel were the feed ramp is close to it. When they throat the barrel they bring that bevel thats mainly on the bottom edge and bring it up on both sides of the barrel. This allows the bullet leaving the magazine to align up with the chamber much easier if its a little off center. We can't throat too much because we can throat too deep too. We shouldn't go no more than the throat on the bottom even a little less is better too. Were just removing the edge and making it an angle to guide the bullet better and quicker. Were adding a larger funnel so the bullet will feed faster and be more reliable.

I've learned so far that feeding problems can be the finish on the feed ramp too. The first thing i do with all my new 1911's is to remove the finish on the feed ramp if its present. I remove the finish and polish the feed ramp with a 400grit then a 600grit paper and last i polish it with the simichrome polish with a soft cloth. I remove the bluing and even the nickel finish on the feed ramps. I believe the finish can put the brakes on the round being loaded. Once the feed ramp is clean and polished i will test the brand new 1911 with running at least 500rds of FMJ thru it first. If its flawless for 500rds then i may try hollow points in it since i know its cycling flawlessly with the FMJ's.

Now if it still doesn't feed then i try a different magazine next.

To cover some of the other problems that can happen with the 1911 is stove piping. The last brand new 1911 i repaired would stovepipe 1rd per mag all the time. I found out the extractor needed retuning. Once i adjusted the extractor to the correct tention with the pull gage it feeds flawlessly now.

I hoped i helped somehwhat. I'm no guru I just like to do my own repairs. Bill

[JohnHenry]

I expected someone to mention "limp-wristing" .... I've always heard it is/was a major
cause of Failure To Feed in any semi that has you going "W.T.F."

[Shooter45]

I rules that out fast as he had someone else shoot the pistol and the same problem occured. Same with mags. Several were used. He took a lot of the guesswork out by giving good info.