Break in question

[kAnJii]

Originally Posted by Hank15

You can't be shooting lower/reduced power loads on a brand new gun...especially if you haven't changed the spring.

Shoot full power factory rounds and put some cycles through the recoil spring. Or just switch to the appropriate weight spring.

The front sight on my buddy's operator 9mm moved in slow motion when it was NIB...

That’s the feeling I got also. Slow motion. Thx.

[kAnJii]

Originally Posted by MosinVirus

OP, have you gone back to shot it more and have the problems gone away?

Also, I asked earlier whether you had problems to extract or to eject.

And as for slide sticking, was it near the rear most slide position or right before in-battery position? Does it stick even when you rack it without a loaded magazine in the gun?

I haven’t been out since that issue but will next month. Like a previous person said, it seem like it slow motion. I thought maybe due to a heavy slide but my sp-01 doesn’t have that issue at all. Yes even moving the slide forward with no mag has a stickiness to it. Gotta say it is a little smoother from racking it but will get some 124g ammo to work it through.

Thx everyone for the advice. Will send it back to SA if still fails.

[Robert1234]

Originally Posted by Lead Waster

.38 super and .40 s&w cartridges have no (or way less) taper. The 9mm is quite tapered. This of course affects the way they sit in a single stack magazine. The nose might tilt a bit more and maybe cause feeding issues.

.38 special in a 1911 is not a common thing as far as I know, not that i’m An expert or anything. I know S&W made the model .52
Which ran exactly one specific load or .38 special with deep seating wadcutters.

I’d think the long cartridge and rimmed case would cause havoc in a 1911 pattern gun. .38 super on the other hand is well suited to the platform.

.38 Special Wadcutter 1911 guns are a Bullseye thing. They are not common, I never said they were. But they can be made reliable. Coonan makes a .357 1911 type gun (not true 1911) that seems to get good reviews. I've never shot or handled one, so if I'm wrong on this, apologies.

But my point is that a 1911 (or any gun) when properly tuned will run whatever ammo you shoot through it. If it only functions with one magazine type or ammo type, fix it so it runs any ammo and any (in spec) magazine.

My other point was that a lot of people who have never owned a 1911 in any caliber other than .45 ACP love to comment on how they're not reliable in any caliber other than .45 ACP. Not sure what they base this opinion on, because Colt has been making 9mm 1911s since like 1949 or so.

I have 1911s in 9mm (the aforementioned rattly, loose Springfield Loaded Target), .40 S&W (an old Kimber I converted) and .45 (Les Baer). All run fine with any ammo I've fed them so far, and aren't magazine sensitive (though to be honest, I've never tried anything but the factory mags and Metalform 10 round mags in the 9mm, they worked, and were super affordable, so I never saw a need to try other manufacturers). I also have three high cap types (two STI types and a Caspian) in .40 S&W and 9mm, and they run as well.

[subscriber]

kAnJii,

If you have failures to eject, but the slide always locks open when the mag is shot empty, then you probably have an extractor problem; rather than short stroking due to friction or under-powered ammo. If the slide closes on an empty mag, under-powered ammo is a likely contributor. If you are using a thick grease on the slide rails, that is probably not helping. Lots of thin oil is the ticket for a new pistol; applied to all mating surfaces; replenished every 100 rounds.

Before you go any further, sign up at the 1911 forum so you can see the images and excellent explanation for how to properly tune 1911 extractors. Start with this thread: https://forums.1911forum.com/showthread.php?t=829865. Almost every type of malfunction has already been covered on that forum. While most tuning info is for the .45, the principles carry over to 9 mm. There are many 9 mm specific thread to be found there too.

Now, remove the barrel from your pistol. Drop every unfired round from the box of ammo you intended to shoot into the chamber, with the barrel held vertically. The case heads must not stick up above the barrel hood. When you invert the barrel, the rounds should drop out under gravity.

If the rounds don't drop in all the way, or stick on barrel inversion, then you need to diagnose if the ammo is oversized or the chamber needs finish reaming. With reloads, the cases are often bulged such that a tight but in spec chamber will see interference. The 9 mm P has a tapered case and chamber. As such, interference may not show until the case is very close to fully chambered.

Reassemble the pistol, but with the extractor removed. If the slide closes without hesitation while feeding your ammo, then the extractor is contributing to feeding jams. Go to the 1911 forum for 1911 specific information on how to fix that...

It is normal for a 1911 slide to hesitate when you close it slowly by hand. The bottom of the stripper rail is simply catching on the disconnector head. While this hesitation bugs some people, it is of no consequence unless excessive. If the slide hesitates when it has about 1/8" of travel left before fully in battery, then that suggests a tight barrel to slide fit. A tight barrel is good for accuracy.

Do not sand, "polish" or lap parts indiscriminately, or the gun's accuracy potential will be reduced. The slide's hesitation should diminish after shooting a few 100 rounds.

When stating that the slide hesitates, it is useful to be very specific about where in the travel this occurs. That makes all the difference in diagnosing the trouble. Else, you may end up taking advice to "polish" parts, before you end up replacing them...

[take two]

Originally Posted by blasterp7

Keep shooting it until you get to about 500 rounds. Mine had a few mag hiccups until about 200 rounds. Now it is working flawlessly!

If you have any problems after 500 SA will fix it. Racking is no were near the same as shooting...

This is Excactly how mine was out of the box, after around 300 rounds of factory ammo it was running smooth. Since then no slide issues, it has been very reliable.

[ap3572001]

My full size , single stack 1911's in 45 acp ( Springfield Custom Shop, Wilson, Les Baer are as reliable as my duty Glocks . No break-in period or special tweaking was ever required. PS. In 1911's I only use premium 230jhp factory ammo , WC 47D SEVEN ROUND magazines and 18LB. recoil springs.

[Lead Waster]

Originally Posted by ojisan

While the ammo checker is not a bad idea, what really matters is the size of the chamber of the gun.
Some guns have tighter chambers where ammo that is "in spec" is still too large...particularly if using lead bullets, not jacketed.
(Lead bullets are usually a couple thousands of an inch larger in diameter than jacketed).
So the best test is drop the rounds right into your gun's chamber to see if they fit in easily.

For example, I reloaded a bunch of 9mm lead bullets.
They fit and functioned fine in my Shield, my Kel-Tec and a buddie's SV9.
They would not chamber in either of two CZ75s that a guy had at the range.
The CZs would only chamber jacketed rounds...the chambers were on the tight side.

Forgive the off topic-ness, but the CZ-75 and Walther PPQs have short throats, not tight chambers. What is probably happeniing is that the bullet profile you are using allows the bullet to contact the barrel rifling whereas the FMJ's ogive is probably pointier. ie; the part of the bullet that is "full caliber width" is farther forward on your lead bullets and touch the barrel beyond the throat so the round won't chamber. The solution there is to change your load to be able to seat the bullet further in.

I'm assuming that by "tight" you mean skinnier chamber, but I don't think that's the case.

And yes, your barrel plunk test would tell you right away if it's the bullets touching the rifling before the round is fully seated.

[Matt P]

My suggestion which costs you nothing is to bench the handgun next time out. Even with the ammunition you have.
A tight fitted handgun absolutely will be more sensitive to grip issues.
I understand you shoot another with no problems. This Springfield just may be more sensitive to not limiting its movement through recoil.
Benching it will add additional support and help you see if it is truly a handgun issue.
Racking the slide will absolutely aid in smoothing out. Pressing the trigger and dry firing with racking the slide each time accomplishes the same as actually firing the gun. You may not move the slide as aggressively but you will absolutely smooth mating surfaces.
Do not just start polishing or adding lapping compound. Why rush what will occur with just normal use of the handgun.
I doubt you have an extractor issue.

Bench it. Try just shooting it off the mag base. Grip it firmly and press the mag base down into the table. Concentrate on just managing recoil vs trying to hit something.

[JB559]

Loaded 9mm here had slight slide hangups when brand new but after probably 100 down all 115gr AE no issues to speak of in a few hundred more rounds.

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