colt malfunction

[tony99]

I have a 80 series lightweight commander,the other day a friend was shooting it and the gun jammed on most every round,in every jam the next round in the mag, was pointed down in the mag. He changed mags. with the same results,the nose of the bullet would be pushed down in the front of the mag.He worked the gun by hand and it appeared to work properly.Changed ammo , same results jammed.Can someone please advise the items that could cause this problem?

[1911Tuner]

Nose-dive failures to feed are almost always caused by the magazine. The ones that aren't are caused by the feed ramp angle set too close to vertical...which is possible, but not at all likely in a Colt.

Where in East Tennessee? (I've got kinfolks in Kingsport and Bristol, and a good friend in Jo-City) You're within driving distance. Bring it. Me fix double-quick. N/C

[pa_guns]

Hi

A couple of (possibly to basic) questions:

Who loaded the mags? (as in was it somebody's first time)

Are you sure the mags were fully seated?

Was this with factory ammo? (or possibly some reloads that were a bit long)

Bob

[tony99]

Nose-dive failures to feed are almost always caused by the magazine. The ones that aren't are caused by the feed ramp angle set too close to vertical...which is possible, but not at all likely in a Colt.

Where in East Tennessee? (I've got kinfolks in Kingsport and Bristol, and a good friend in Jo-City) You're within driving distance. Bring it. Me fix double-quick. N/C
Thanks 1911 Tuner, But 4 mags where tried,still jammed.It appears the slide is not going back far enough to pick up the next round.I noticed the safety is real easy to push on and it looked like the safety lever was trying to move up when firing but it never locked it up.Also changed ammo,I know one was winchester ball but not sure on the other,but no reloads.Thanks again for responding.Tony

[tony99]

Hi

A couple of (possibly to basic) questions:

Who loaded the mags? (as in was it somebody's first time)

Are you sure the mags were fully seated?

Was this with factory ammo? (or possibly some reloads that were a bit long)

Bob
Thanks pa_guns for responding, In total 4 mags were tried and loaded correctly,the mags were seated and we changed ammo and one brand was winchester and not sure on the other but no reloads,as I told 1911 Tuner it appeared that the slide was not going back far enough to pick up the next round and I also noticed that the safety was pretty easy and it looked to be moving upward a small bit but not enough to catch the slide.Thanks again for your help,Tony

[John]

Is there a shock buff in that gun? Have you replaced the recoil spring lately? If the slide is not moving back as it should, you have to find what's stopping it.

[1911Tuner]

Thanks 1911 Tuner, But 4 mags where tried,still jammed.It appears the slide is not going back far enough to pick up the next round.

When the malfunction occurs...is the breechface behind the case rim...or does it ride over and past the rim and drag on the side of the case?

[pa_guns]

.It appears the slide is not going back far enough to pick up the next round.I noticed the safety is real easy to push on and it looked like the safety lever was trying to move up when firing but it never locked it up.

Hi

If the slide is stopping before it gets past the rim of the round then you are way short in the recoil department. When you cycle the pistol by hand what happens? Does the slide lock up part way back?

The safety is held in by the little spring in the tube on the side of the frame. If the safety is loose then the spring or plunger is probably not doing it's job. The same spring also drives a plunger that keeps the slide lock in place.

Bob

[tony99]

Replaced recoil spring,seemed to fix the problem.The recoil spring was shorter than stock w/buffer.It had a thick buffer,change to thinner buffer and 20 stock spring and it worked find.Thanks for all replies.It is nice to be able to ask someone.Thanks ,again.Tony99

[1911Tuner]

Commanders...due to their reduced slide travel and runup...don't generally fare too well with shock buffers.

Just FYI

[John]

Commanders...due to their reduced slide travel and runup...don't generally fare too well with shock buffers.

Just FYI
In other words, get rid of any buffer in there. And the 20 lbs spring is kind of too strong for the Commander. Try following Tuner's advise on this, get a 16 lbs Government spring and cut it to about 25 coils. Check it in the pistol for binding. If it binds, cut 1/2 a coil more and try it again. The end result is a spring which works just fine for the Commander.

[1911Tuner]

And the 20 lbs spring is kind of too strong for the Commander.

Great googamooga! 20 pound recoil spring??? Can anybody say egg-shaped slidestop pin hole in 5,000 rounds or less?

[pa_guns]

The recoil spring was shorter than stock w/buffer.It had a thick buffer,change to thinner buffer and 20 stock spring and it worked find.

Hi

If it worked when you dropped down to 20 pounds I almost don't want to ask what you had in before :D.

If you are trying to handle high power ammo with the heavy springs and shock buffers that's one thing. Understand though that a heavy load setup probably won't work for normal ammo. It also will be *very* hard on the pistol.

The smaller frame pistols are not quite as flexible as the larger ones. You may want to get back to a more conventional setup. Far fewer headaches that way. (John has probably put me on the "soon to be banned" list for that one ... :D ).

Bob

[John]

(John has probably put me on the "soon to be banned" list for that one ... ).

On the contrary Sir, I thank you for your post, since it is usually only me and Johnny that always advise against the heavier-than-normal springs.

[pa_guns]

On the contrary Sir, I thank you for your post, since it is usually only me and Johnny that always advise against the heavier-than-normal springs.

Hi

It was the "not quite as flexible" part that I was concerned about :D

Bob

[John]

Well, I don't argue on that. The shorter the pistol the smaller its operational envelope, so the slightest thing can drop operational parameters outside that envelope and cause hick-ups. One of the reasons I like the standard-length Commanders (4.25" vs the latest fancy of 4" ones) is that that .25" of additional length means that they are less likely to create problems.

[pa_guns]

One of the reasons I like the standard-length Commanders (4.25" vs the latest fancy of 4" ones) is that that .25" of additional length means that they are less likely to create problems.

Hi

The less room there is in front of the chamber the more trouble you have with a variety of things. Once you get it to the point that the bushing goes away it gets a bit crazy ....

Bob

[1911Tuner]

If it worked when you dropped down to 20 pounds I almost don't want to ask what you had in before

Dropped DOWN to 20 pounds??? Sweet sister of Budda!

Lad...Why do you hate that Colt? The return to battery energies from a 20+ pound recoil spring will crack the frame at the bottom of the slidestop pin hole in quick-time.

[John]

Some people have weird ideas. I had a friend here who was using a 22 lbs spring in his Government model. It cut down double-tap times he thought, but it never occured to him that his poor frame was suffering.

[pa_guns]

Hi

It's pretty easy to fall into the "energy is the same regardless of spring" trap when you are looking at this stuff. Obviously it's not.

A couple of pounds doesn't sound like much at all. You are talking about the weight of another couple of cans of beer. Unfortunately with leverage, acceleration, and a small cross section of metal it gets up to tons pretty fast.

Bob