1911 having problems Help!

[em9sredbeam]

I have a Taurus pt1911 alr that is having some problems chambering rounds. The first two times I took it out it had no problems minus peppering me with the jackets of cheap ammo. The last time I took it out, with the same ammo it was not closing the slide all the way and fully chambering the next round. I had to tap it to get it to close. The only difference I can think of from the other times I shot it was that it was much cooler outside. Do I need a new recoil spring? I bought the gun used so I do not know the real round count.

The other problem I was having was the first round in my magazine if it was fully loaded would take a nose dive and jam instead of sliding up into the chamber. It did It with chip power mags, the factory mag, and wilson combat mags. What can I do about that? I do not know how old the magazines are. Is it the gun or mags? Do I need to have the feed ramp worked on?

[Matt P]

Call around your area and see where you can take it to have a qualified gunsmith look at it.
What is your own level of ability to work on the pistol. If limited, then see above.

I found one of your tag lines in your signature entertaining.

[redcliff]

Since we don't know how old the recoil spring is, there's no good way to rule that out as the problem. Get a new one and clean and lube the pistol well and see what happens and report back. Check your ejector while you're at it, there are some complaints about mushroomed heads or cracks on them on PT1911's, and clean the extractor channel too.

What ammo are you using? Does your feed ramp appear rough or is it smooth and polished. You may want to bring a box of decent ammo (230gr FMJ) next time to compare results with what you normally use.

Or, you can take it to a smith and have him do all of the above plus some extra reliability work

[ojisan]

Life is hard, all I get to do here on this forum is follow along behind Redcliff and agree with what he has posted.

IARC (again).

[HPGunner]

I'm guessing extractor tuning is required. If your getting a face full of shell casings while shooting it's either too tight or too loose. Loose extractors results in erratic shell ejections and failure to extract because the extractor claw doesn't have a good grip on the shell casing. Too tight extractors can cause failure to feed issues because the extractor is not getting around the lip of the round being fed thus the slide wouldn't close.

Check out this link to help you check your extractor and tune it if it's not in spec. http://www.m1911.org/technic2.htm

Magazines makes a difference too. 1911's are picky about magazines. Start labeling and figuring out which mags are causing problems and which mags are it's favorite.

Lastly - there are a few opinions about this, but sometimes if you run a heavier recoil spring weight it improves reliability a bit. Try a few different weights between 15 and 18 lbs to see which ones run the best for the gun. Although I'd check if everything else is running fine with a standard 16lb. (government size 45acp) spring first before trying other heavier or lighter recoil springs.

[redcliff]

I'm guessing extractor tuning is required. If your getting a face full of shell casings while shooting it's either too tight or too loose. Loose extractors results in erratic shell ejections and failure to extract because the extractor claw doesn't have a good grip on the shell casing. Too tight extractors can cause failure to feed issues because the extractor is not getting around the lip of the round being fed thus the slide wouldn't close.

Check out this link to help you check your extractor and tune it if it's not in spec. http://www.m1911.org/technic2.htm

Magazines makes a difference too. 1911's are picky about magazines. Start labeling and figuring out which mags are causing problems and which mags are it's favorite.

Lastly - there are a few opinions about this, but sometimes if you run a heavier recoil spring weight it improves reliability a bit. Try a few different weights between 15 and 18 lbs to see which ones run the best for the gun. Although I'd check if everything else is running fine with a standard 16lb. (government size 45acp) spring first before trying other heavier or lighter recoil springs.

While I don't disagree that the OP's pistol may benefit from extractor tuning and profiling (and I'm often suggesting the same thing on a new out of the box pistol that FTF's) I find it strange that the OP's pistol worked on the previous range trip but doesn't now if it was the extractors fault, but certainly can't rule it out. Generally extractors loosen up over time unless crud in the extractor channel pushes on the extractor which is why I suggested he clean the channel.

Additionally cases getting kicked by the slide at the shooter are often caused by extractor clocking or ejector profile; hence the suggestion he examine his ejector while it was disassembled especially in light of the reports of "soft" ejectors mushrooming and ejectors coming loose or cracking on the PT1911's.

Since the OP's pistol had issues with factory, Chip McCormick and Wilson magazines I'm inclined to look elsewhere for his problem(s).

[redcliff]

Life is hard, all I get to do here on this forum is follow along behind Redcliff and agree with what he has posted.

IARC (again).

Sorry Ojisan, I need to get a life apparently or make better use of what I have left of mine

Gonna go run some errands, you are on duty!