1911 Mag Won't Drop

[California44]

I have a Commander that after a few magazines, the mag won't drop and needs to be helped out. Also, sometimes the slide won't stay back after the last round. Can anyone pinpoint the probable cause? Maybe I need some new mag springs and a recoil spring???

[Brandon04GT]

The failure to lock back sounds like a magazine springs/recoil springs issue. Any clue what type of mags they are? Or what weight recoil spring you have in the gun right now?

Also, people will tell you to make sure your thumb/hands are not inadvertently holding the slide stop down while shooting.

[SLO1911Fan]

The magazine not dropping is either a mag catch or magazine issue. Does it happen with different magazines/brands?

The slide could be a weak magazine spring, or a poorly fit slide stop.

[osxgp]

I had a Colt Combat Commander that was the biggest pile of junk I have ever owned. No matter what ammo, magazines, or springs I tried; it always malfunctioned. Sorry about that but I had to vent. Back to topic.

I would take it to a gunsmith (who has worked on plenty of 1911s) and have it inspected first. It could be any number of things that are wrong with it. 1) the slide stop may not be correctly fitted. 2) the mag well may need to be polished or reformed. 3) the mag release could be oversized. 4) you may have underpowered mag springs.

Do any of the magazine have scrapes on them; like it is catching on something? Maybe the frame heats up and warps because of a poor quality metal? How old is the gun? Is the gun well lubricated?

Semi auto pistols have a lot of things working in unison to function properly and if one thing is off it can affect the performance and reliability. Without seeing the gun and testing it; it is hard for anyone to diagnose. I'd take it in if it were me.

[redcliff]

I have a Commander that after a few magazines, the mag won't drop and needs to be helped out. Also, sometimes the slide won't stay back after the last round. Can anyone pinpoint the probable cause? Maybe I need some new mag springs and a recoil spring???

Mag springs are the first place to look as the lug on the slide stop engages the magazine follower when the magazine is empty to both lock the slide back and slightly spring load the magazine for ejection.. If you don't know the round count on your pistol its always wise to replace the recoil spring also.

The next place to look would be the slide stop lug/follower interface to see if the follower is slipping past the lug and binding, sometimes due to spread magazine feed lips. Removing the slide assembly and reinserting the slide stop and empty magazine may help you get a better idea of the problem.

Colt Combat Commanders and LW Comanders are among my favorite 1911's, as I've been shooting them for almost 40 years now with great reliability and accuracy.

[new1911]

what kind of magazines and followers are they? Does the follower ride fwd on the last round like CM mags?

[limitdown]

As mentioned above, the slide not locking back is usually a problem with the magazine-spring and/or the follower.

If many different magazines aren't dropping, then :
- The magazine boxes have scratches or blemishes on the sides, causing it to catch against the trigger bow
- The trigger bow is not properly shaped

If the trigger bow is not properly shaped, it will get even more out of shape when heated.
The solution is the buy a new trigger/trigger-bow, or remove the trigger bow and lightly hammer it back into shape using a known-good magazine as a "template".

[Simi-Surfer]

Had a similar problem and changed out the magazines. Problem stopped immediately. Seemed to only be the Stainless Steel magazines that had Colt 45 stamped on the bottom.