Breaking in a new 1911....

[Geetarguy]

Just bought a new Springfield Armory Loaded (px9109l)...will pick up March 8th....I'm new to handguns. Any advice on how to break it in...what AMMO etc..etc.....
thanks!

[sammy]

Standard ball ammo is just fine. Their are a few manufactures that recommend using hotter ammo such as American Eagle 230g. ball while things break-in. Field strip and get the barrel hood and rails nice and wet. Check the barrel and make sure their are no obstructions. It can't hurt to get a few Wilson 47D or ETM magazines. Most of the reliability problems that plague the platform are magazine related. You need more than 2 magazines anyway. Take it out and run it for around 500 or so rounds before the next cleaning. You should be good to go after that. Don't worry about failures for the first 200 or so rounds. Many 1911's wont run well till they have a few hundred down the pipe. Have fun and be safe!! Sammy

[toby]

^^^^^ This just shoot the crap out of it^^^^^^

[Geetarguy]

Thanks for the info Sammy!!! I'm thinking about going with the American Eagle 230 (a friend also suggested it)...as far as mags...it comes with two but I also bought another to go with it...Wilson Combat...will definitely utilize all the info you have given me...thanks again........

[S dot]

I like to label (sharpie) and load new magazines to capacity as well and let them sit for a night to break them as well. I'm certainly not expert, but I like to think its beneficial, and helps eliminate and identify any potential hiccups.
Nice choice on the Wilson combat mags they are excellent.

Enjoy!!!!

[jptopz]

All good advice so far. I would read the owners manual and get to know you pistol very well. Field strip it, clean it, lube it. Personally I do this than after the first range trip I tear it down to the bear bones and give it a good once over, NOT RECOMENDED FOR A BEGINER! I like to know my guns as well as I can and find out what makes them tick.

[Geetarguy]

JP,,,is field stripping and an tearing down to the bear bones two different things? And why is it NOT for the beginner? Just asking because I really don't know....And thanks to everyone for all the advice.....keep it coming if you got more
thanks...

[iareConfusE]

JP,,,is field stripping and an tearing down to the bear bones two different things? And why is it NOT for the beginner? Just asking because I really don't know....And thanks to everyone for all the advice.....keep it coming if you got more
thanks...

Field stripping just involves removing the slide from the frame, and any easily removable components that don't require tools (like the barrel, guide rod, spring, etc.) Tearing the gun down to the bare frame is completely unnecessary, and is not recommended for beginners because you'll likely remove something, and you won't know how to put it back in properly, causing you to put together a non functional gun that could be potentially dangerous.

Just leave your gun as it is, and shoot it. They were made to go bang right out of the box. I've never done a single "break in" method for any of my firearms, and none have broken or shown a loss of accuracy. You're shooting a 1911, not a precision bolt action rifle, so don't concern yourself with break in. Just shoot standard ball ammo, and you'll be fine.

[damndave]

Just shoot it and hand fun. Clean often and use regular ball ammo.

[Geetarguy]

Cool...thanks guys!!! Any advice on what brand of AMMO is best?

[iareConfusE]

Cool...thanks guys!!! Any advice on what brand of AMMO is best?

Just buy several brands of popular ammo, probably a single box of 50 for each brand. Try them all out, use the one that you feel shoots the best, and functions most reliably. Not all brands or types of ammo will work with every gun. There is no magical brand that works in every gun.

Some popular brands to get you started...:

Federal Champion
Winchester White box
Remington UMC
Blazer Brass/Aluminum
Brown Bear and Wolf (If you don't mind shooting steel, which IMO is fine)
Sellier & Bellot
Fiocchi

[axhoaxho]

I usually stock up the PMC Bronze 230g FMJ ball ammos whenever Cabelas has them on sale, and use them to break in all my 1911's.

For my Kimber's, I run around 500 rounds to break them in, with a little field stripping and cleaning in each 100 rounds for smooth operation. After the 500 rounds break-in period, I would detail strip the slide to clean all the dirts around the firing pin and extractor channels.

And for the 1911 magazines, I usually load no more than 5 rounds in them during the break-in period. After the 500 rounds break-in, I load the magazines full all the time.

As for oiling, I normally run my 1911's a little 'wet' during the break-in period.

Just my personal experience.

Regards,

[Sturnovik]

Just bought a new Springfield Armory Loaded (px9109l)...will pick up March 8th....I'm new to handguns. Any advice on how to break it in...what AMMO etc..etc.....
thanks!

Buy box of FMJ, load magazines while at range and shoot at target. Repeat .

There's your break in recommendations!

[DaveFJ80]

I've run Magtech, Federal, CCI Blazer Brass, and PMC through my Kimber. They all cycle through the gun the same... just fine every time.

The thing to watch for are new magazines. Contrary to what some may say, for me it took about 100 rounds through most of my CMC Power Plus mag for them to break in (1 was fine, 3 needed to 'break in'). Now that I've put more ammo through each mag numerous times, I have full trust in my ammo, mags, and in my 1911.

[Geetarguy]

Thanks for all the advice...will let you all know how it goes once I get it and get back from the range!!!