1911 feed ramp

[PJ Hardtack]

One of my R1's occasionally fails to go into battery after the first shot, preventing 'double taps'. Two 'smiths have had a go at it and found no cause.

I gave the gun a thorough cleaning and found a 'divot' at the bottom of the feed ramp you could see and feel with a fingernail. It almost looked like a hit from a centre punch.

Taking the advice of the 'internet xsperts', I wrapped emery cloth around a dowel to do the work and only used the Dremel for the final polishing with a polishing compound. Once the bluing had been removed, the problem was very easy to spot.

Yes, I was careful not to alter any angles or remove metal that I can't put back. Now I gotta shoot it to prove it. I'll letcha know .....

This was a first for me and I found it a little nerve wracking. I've seen too many good guns butchered by Bubba ......

[PJ Hardtack]

Took it to the range and the problem persists. Single rds fire OK, but after a double tap, the next chambered rd does not fire.

Ejecting that rd, I saw that the 200 SWC nose gets a small nick, indicating some roughness remaining. I presume that this might be the issue, somehow preventing a trigger reset.

I stripped the gun at home and did some more polishing. I blackened the feed ramp and looked for signs of contact. Ejected rds showed just the merest mark on the bullet nose.

Then I tried some dummy 230 LRN and they showed no sign of marks on the bullet ogive. Some live fire with 230's seems to be the next step.

This may turn out to be a RN/Hardball gun, which wouldn't break my heart. That's hat it was designed to shoot.

[August]

Saw an R1 at the Big Match this weekend that ate it's drop safety mechanism..  Lots of little pieces.  Gun was made totally inoperative -- couldn't even get it open.  What a mess.

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[Hedley Lamarr]

Might look at the magazine feed lips, could certainly be part of the problem.

[PJ Hardtack]

We have six 1911's in this household, a mix of Ruger SR1911's, R1's and Colt Gold Cup. Pray tell - what is a "drop safety mechanism"?

I run a dozen stainless Chip McCormick mags at any given time. They work fine in all of the guns. It is just this particular R1 that chokes on double taps with 200 SWC's.

I haven't fired it since I last worked on it, but IIRC, when I put it in the hands of the 'smiths who checked it out, I gave them each a box of 230 RN and they reported no malfunctions.

[Pettifogger]

I think you are on the right track.  Look at the ammo.  LOTS of stock 1911s simply do not have their feed ramps chamfered for SWC ammo.

[Coal Creek Griff]

I also think you're on the right track.  If it was mine, I'd also eliminate the possibility of binding of the slide rails or the barrel link as well as making sure that the recoil spring is adequate.  Those can compound with a rough feed ramp, but the likely culprit is still a rough ramp or a feed ramp that isn't shaped/angled properly for the chosen bullet.

Disclaimer--unlike Pettifogger, I'm not, nor have I been a gunsmith.  In the past, however, I was a 1911 armorer for a law enforcement agency.

CC Griff

[PJ Hardtack]

I think I may have solved it ....

Checking the other two R1's in the house, one has a slightly pronounced casting groove below the angled feed ramp and on the other it's barely there. Both guns feed RN and SWC's flawlessly.

I had reduced it considerably on the problem gun, but it was still there.  So I went at it with a fine diamond grit polishing bit on the Dremel, polished it and now you have to look hard to see it.

The gun feeds both RN and SWC dummies now without making more than a mere rub on the tip of the nose of the SWC's. I checked one of the other R1's and it does the same thing - a slight rub.

Only one way to prove it now ..... I really hope I've found the solution as the gun has almost '0' slide to frame movement and shoots to the sights.

[Montana Slim]

I think your on track.
I start & end the job with a dremel....but use a very fine grit, followed by a buff. High polish will resist corrosion pretty well too.

Next up is shooting the gun enough to loosen it up. I'm not familiar with your flavor of pistol, but the NM models I've acquired (via a former Army NM builder) are always extremely tight & don't give reliable feeding until firing a 400-500 hundred rounds.

I'd start with those RN hardball loads for the first few hundred rounds (at least), then try some SWC. My favorite pistol was really tight from the start, but years later it now feeds light 200gr SWC's really well.

I'm trying to give you an excuse to have to shoot it some more. 
Regards,
SLim

[PJ Hardtack]

I don't need much incentive to do so! The R1 in question hasn't had 500 rds through it, more like 250.

Both my wife and I are into "Wild bunch", IPSC and IDPA. We each own three 1911's and she just bought a SS SR9 for IDPA.

Life is short. You gotta do what you enjoy while you can.

[PJ Hardtack]

Just got back from the range - frustrated. Shot three loads - 230 LRN, 225 LTC and 200 LSWC's out of a proven 'control' gun, box stock R1 except for long trigger. All were loaded with 4.2 Titegroup and functioned perfectly.

With the problem gun shooting each of those loads, I could get off a double tap, the gun would go into battery but the trigger had not reset, requiring that the slide be pulled back short of ejecting the chambered rd.

I'm almost ready to concede defeat. Two pistol 'smiths have had a go at it and found nothing wrong. I'm beginning to doubt that they test fired the gun at all.

I've owned and shot 1911's since the mid-70's when "Combat Pistol Shooting" was just getting started, so I know my way around the type. I've never encountered such an obstinate 1911 before, and I've seen some pretty awful clunkers that worked perfectly.

[Hedley Lamarr]

Swap barrels between your two R1's.
That will narrow it down if it is truly a barrel / feed ramp issue.

[Coffinmaker]

Nah.  Melt the sucker down and make ya a swell paper weight.  Oh, forgot, you still use paper?? 

Coffinmaker

[August]

the gun would go into battery but the trigger had not reset, requiring that the slide be pulled back short of ejecting the chambered rd.

Two pistol 'smiths have had a go at it and found nothing wrong.

I'll say it again, the drop safety is a real Rube Goldberg on those things.  Now that you mention "trigger reset", it's either the Schwartz safety or the disconnector.  I watched one of the best, living 1911 pistol smiths struggle to clear one of those at the big show last weekend, as I've said.  The drop safety was shattered and stopped the gun completely and in a way that took about a half hour to clear.  You got MTM parts in an MTM frame -- each piece has to be closely inspected at this point.

[PJ Hardtack]

OK - I'll bite .... what's a "drop safety"?  "Schwartz safety"? 

Never heard of these parts, but I'm willing to learn.

[Gabriel Law]

...as am I!

[PJ Hardtack]

It has been suggested to me that the double reciprocating flurbaflap might need a little tweaking, but only after the "drop safety" and "Schwartz safety" issues have been eliminated.

[Pettifogger]

It has been suggested to me that the double reciprocating flurbaflap might need a little tweaking, but only after the "drop safety" and "Schwartz safety" issues have been eliminated.

+1 

(Series 80 grip safety activated firing pin block,)

[Coffinmaker]

Melt it down 

Coffinmaker

[PJ Hardtack]

Not a bad idea, but I can't. It's registered and I have to be able to account for it to the rcmp.

We don't have property rights in Canada (No, I'm NOT kidding!) and we can't own ANY firearm without the express permission of Big Brother, stringent background checks and up to 10 years for not observing all the niceties re: paper work, etc.

Doesn't work as a crime deterrent but the gummint and the anti-gunners don't care. Be warned, America .....