1911 first outing and question

[psychophd]

[ojisan]

The Blazer is a little lower powered so it is not pushing the slide back far enough for the slide stop to catch the slide notch.
This may improve after the gun gets broken in some more.
If after the gun is fully broken in, and the Blazer still does not work perfect, stop using Blaser if slide lock back is important to you or drop your recoil spring weight down a pound or two.
But for now I would just shoot it some more, do not change anything yet.
Oh, do be sure the slide rails and other parts are properly lubed, new guns may not have lube in all the needed places.

[psychophd]

Thanks Ojisan - out of curiosity, how many rounds would you consider “fully broken in?”

[SkyHawk]

I agree, run a few hundred rounds to break it in before assessing.

[Mr. Blue]

I also have a Springfield MCO. Great gun. I haven’t had this issue with it, but have had this issue with my Springfield Loaded Target 9mm. For me, it wasn’t the ammo. I have fired 5000 rounds+ Of everything through both. The issue I had was not the ammo, but rather my hand pressing on the slide stop. Therefore on the last round, as I gripped the gun and the slide stop, it would send the slide home.

Take the gun apart, removed the recoil spring and barrel. Lube the rails thoroughly and cycle the frame and slide a few hundred times. This is a great way to further break in the gun.
You mentioned you ran 50 rounds of blazer and had this issue. Was it on every magazine? Thats not a very large sample size of an issue. As said previously, shoot about 750 rounds through it before tinkering around. There is no specific round count that deems a gun “fully broken in”. Production guns have tiny inconsistencies in their parts. Tool markings, loose tolerances etc. my Dan Wesson was noticeably broken in at 500 rounds. ALWAYS lubricate that firearm. Lucas gun oil works great. Use a dedicated gun oil as well. Also, be careful not to scratch the frame when putting the gun back together. I have a video explaining a modification you can do. Just click on my youtube link below. If you have any questions at all with the MCO, I’d be happy to help. Good pick up!

[psychophd]

Thanks all! I’ll see if the issue persists after a few more hundred rounds. Out of curiosity, Ojisan, if both brands are 230 grains, how is Blazer a lower power? Are they not calculated/weighed the same way? Or some design differential? Just curious.

Mr. Blue:
I agree, not that many rounds through, so small N-size. But, 50 rounds of Blazer with 4 factory mags, none locked back. About another 150 rounds of Fiocchi, all four mags, no problems. Both were 230 grains, both factory rounds. I did have the slide no locking back due to my hand placement problem with another pistol, but find it odd that the problem didn’t occur when I switched ammo.

Definitely will lube up with gun oil and clean every time - I do that with all my firearms (no snickering). I’ll DM if I run into any problems and check out your YouTube channel.

Thanks again all.

[Epaphroditus]

Welcome to the club!

Before you know it ....

[ojisan]

Out of curiosity, Ojisan, if both brands are 230 grains, how is Blazer a lower power? Are they not calculated/weighed the same way? Or some design differential? Just curious

Often you will find that budget oriented ammo (Blaser & many commercial reloads) use the minimum powder amount to just barely meet industry specs.
Less powder means cheaper for them to make and lower power for you.

Fiocchi ammo is known for being pretty strong and the fact that the gun locks back all the time with the Fiocchi tells you that it is more powerful ammo than the Blaser.
You might even be able to feel the Fiocchi being a little snappier or have a little stronger recoil.

[boopiejones]

[CWL]

What everyone says is spot-on.
Rather than "power" which can't be measured, the more common way is to measure "muzzle energy" of how many fps a specific round will generate. The higher the muzzle energy, the more potential damage a bullet may do to a target.

Blazer is purely a practice/plinking ammo and likely uses lower quality/less propellant in their loads. You'd never want to use Blazer for SD/HD but it's fine on the range for practice.
OTOH, some ammos like Fiocchi come loaded to European CIP standards, which are "hotter" than US ammunition loads. It'll definitely cycle your Springfield.

[Tarmy]

Well, you have caught the dreaded can’thavejustone disease that touching a 1911 will give you. Welcome to the fun club!

Previous posts have covered most things…and I’ll add, run that gun wet. Shoot. Lube and repeat…

[TomReloaded]

Do you have the internal lock in the mainspring housing? That will cause some unusual problems in general and should be replaced with normal 1911 parts and springs.

Usually lock back is a magazine issue. It's weird your ammo does it in the same mag. My pos promag never locks back.

[hermosabeach]

250-500 rounds for broken in

When you disassemble, you will see where surfaces show break in wear.

It’s the final polishing on a new Gun - use.


The real question- if a self defense Gun - 250 rounds without a malfunction and then firing 100 rounds of self defense Ammo with no issues.



Magazines are the common cause of problems…. Buy great quality spare mags

[Mr. Blue]

You are on it. It does sound like an ammunition issue since the issue was consistently connected to the ammo.

[Verdha603]

Pretty much in agreement with the other's here; while I don't like the fact the 1911 is an anomaly in almost requiring a break in period for reliable function depending on which manufacturer and model your using, it is what it is.

Most issues tend to stem from poor ammunition, poor magazines, or the manufacturer overlooking the basics like polishing the feed ramp when it comes to reliability issues. From the sounds of it you only seem to have an issue with the slight locking back on lower pressured loads. Shoot some of the higher pressured stuff like Fiocchi, get some spare quality magazines (Most of the time the safest trifecta is factory original magazines, Chip McCormick, and Wilson Combat magazines), and put a couple hundred rounds through it to see if that solves the problem.