1911 Failure to Battery Issues

[Lifeon2whls]

So I have a full size 1911 RIA that's been starting to act up on me. I've had the gun for a few years and put about 2500 rounds through it to date. I've been using it to shoot IDPA and never had an issue with it until a few months ago when I would get to the fourth or fifth stage and the gun would start to fail to go into battery (maybe a 1/8th of an inch or so). This would happen either on the first round into the chamber or somewhere as I was firing a string. I strong hit to the back of the slide would get the slide to go into battery. At the time I was shooting lead cast bullets and was thinking that the lead build up during the match was the cause as well as the fact that I still had the original recoil spring (the gun was cleaned/oiled prior to each match).

I swapped all of the springs, gave the gun a good cleaning and switched over to FMJ factory ammo. I ran another IDPA event this weekend and on the last stage (after about 120 rounds) the run had two FTBs.

I am wondering if anyone else has run into this issue with a dirty 1911 failing to go into battery and what was done to fix it. From what I have been reading, I may need to tune my extractor as it may be putting too much tension on the round - hence the FTB. I'd greatly appreciate any other thoughts.

[mr2ndamendment]

I'm not the be-all-end-all expert on 1911s, but I've built several from the ground up and have amassed a decent knowledge of the system (while also amassing large bills to pay for all the proper jigs and tools!). Spent a lot of range hours with them and carry one every day.

Anyways, with what little qualification I can provide, I'd say it sounds like an extractor issue. Rock Islands are internal extractors of course, and the classic 1911 internal extractor does need to be beveled, polished, and tuned just right in about 9 different locations/ways I can think of right now without busting out my Hallock's.

Assuming you're running at least a 16lb gov't recoil spring, the chamber is fully polished, the feed ramp and barrel throat are properly cut/polished, and the barrel is scrubbed clean (especially the chamber) and you're using quality FMJ 230 grain ammo, then it's probably the extractor. In most cases running an 18lb spring will help prevent failures to battery in this circumstance, but it's only masking the real problem rather than addressing it head-on, and most the time anything more than 16lbs in a 5" 1911 is overkill (unless you shoot +Ps all the time).

It may have lost proper tuning and could be clamping down on the round too tight, creating a situation where the rim of the cartridge isn't sliding up into the claw like it should but rather the extractor is battering itself on the rear of the cartridge, creating a failure to go into battery by about 1/8". Bill Wilson's extractor test involves taking the slide off the gun and remove the barrel. Then slide a standard 230 gr cartridge up into the claw of the extractor. It should be "limp" with a slight downward angle and should require ~5lbs of downward force to free the round from the extractor. If you're having problems sliding the round up into the extractor and it's taking more than about 5 lbs of force to push it down and out of the grip of the extractor, this would usually confirm this theory.

Advice: Their customer service is pretty spot-on from my experience, I'd contact them, getting a call tag via email, and send it out. They'll get it running for you. They will replace it with another one of their in-house extractors which very well may lose tuning again in the future, although it'll take lots of rounds to get there.

If you don't want to do that, order a quality series 70 extractor from Ed Brown or another quality maker and take it to a gunsmith to get it properly tuned. I've ordered many extractors from various makers in the past but the only one I've ever been able to pull out of the package, insert into the gun, and it works perfectly was an Ed Brown but that's just my experience. Good luck!

[Mr. Patis]

I had the same problem..I changed the spring to a 18lbs spring from wilson and solved my problem and it made the gun shoot a little softer too.

[REDdawn6]

Call customer service. Send back , wait for gun to return fixed !!!

[nahpungnome]

My FTRB issues were due to my extractor. You probably need to get yours re-tuned, or better yet get a better part and tune it.

[Lifeon2whls]

My FTRB issues were due to my extractor. You probably need to get yours re-tuned, or better yet get a better part and tune it.

Thanks, someone's offered to help tune the gun. If that doesn't solve the issues I'll send the gun back to RIA and have them fix the gun.

[Mute]

If you haven't tried newer magazines or new springs in your mags, give that a shot as well.

[bwhited]

Your symptoms bring to mind two issues.
The first thing I would check is the barrel. It could have some lead build up where the case of the mouth sits when in battery. A pick will ensure that area is clear of lead.
The other thing to check is the extractor. It could just be dirty. I have seen a 1911 that had occasional issues just because the extractor needed to be pulled out and cleaned.
These are two quick and easy things to do that just might solve your issue.

[rm1911]

Along those lines, is there a rhyme or reason or some consistent pattern? I notice some (well, more than some ) of my brass is not always in the greatest of shape. We all scrounge for brass at the range and some is better quality or condition than others. I notice some of the brass, around the rim and case head might be a little less than stellar. That's something to consider as well. Sometimes reloads aren't always top quality brass.

[mr2ndamendment]

Along those lines, is there a rhyme or reason or some consistent pattern? I notice some (well, more than some ) of my brass is not always in the greatest of shape. We all scrounge for brass at the range and some is better quality or condition than others. I notice some of the brass, around the rim and case head might be a little less than stellar. That's something to consider as well. Sometimes reloads aren't always top quality brass.

Truth. Used to work at a big range/gun shop in SoCal, before we made our own reloads our supplier would sometimes give us stuff that had thin walls and tore-up rims. Cases keep getting longer as you reload of course, so as you trim after re-sizing the walls get thinner and thinner. We would purposely amp down our powder charges to make recreational rounds go downrange while putting less wear on our rental guns, which would help, but after enough time you got to throw brass out.

Some guns tear up brass more than others, some ejectors and extractors are hell on brass. Always watch what you're feeding your guns!