"Loaded" Question

[JP4LSU]

Noob here. Been browsing the forum for a few weeks.

I am about a 2 weeks old in 1911 ownership.

Brief background:

I've always owned a gun or two of some sort but have never been an active shooter. Well all that is changing and I'm starting to shoot more and more and I'm starting to accrue a hand gun or two and maybe a rifle or two in the future.

I bought a SA 1911 Loaded and am pretty disgusted at myself or at the gun.

I have been getting FTE's on almost every clip and it usually occurs on the 2nd or 3rd to last shell in the clip. At first I used 230 FMJ reloads at the range with 2 Wilson Clips.

I thought it may be the reloads so I put Remington 230 grain bullets through it and more of the same. I also thought I maybe breaking my wrist too much or limp wristing it but I really don't believe I'm letting my wrist break too much. I've changed my grip after watching Todd Jarret video online but that didn't help any either.

I am going to let a guy at the shop shoot it and see if it happens to him. If it does I'm sending it to SA for work.

First, I would like to hear any thoughts or experiences that you guys might have.

Second, I would like to know what else you guys would have done to the gun if I do indeed send it back, to make it a better gun.

I was thinking of having trigger work done, since I think it is a bit heavy, maybe a magwell, polish the feed ramp.

Any suggestions on what improvements would be good for the Loaded model?

Thanks for the information and help, look forward to learning from the pros here.

[Jolly Rogers]

Hey jp4lsu. The Loaded SA is a good gun. Ultimately you will get it working. If it has to go back ...SA will make it right. Few questions first. Is the gun new? Are the mags fresh as far as springs? Some 45s are very sensitive to the mags used. Do you have any SA oe mags to try? Some guns love Wilson 47s but they may be too uncontrolled in releasing the rounds for your particular gun. If you read a lot of the forums you will find most of the recent thoughts steer owners away from polishing up the feed ramp due to the possible change in the feed ramp angle. Save this for a last ditch try to fix your problem and only let a experienced hand get near the ramp:-) I'm sure others will add questions to help figure this out for you. Be patient. JR

[JP4LSU]

Thanks Jolly.
To answer your inquiries:
-The gun is new (150 rounds total now)
-I put 2-3 clips worth of bullets through the gun with SA OEM clips. I then stepped out of the lanes bought 2 new Wilson Mags and went back to shooting. Similar results occured.

Thanks for the advice on polishing the ramp. I would probably only let SA polish it. I really don't believe it is the problem. I was just thinking about it to maybe make the gun run a little smoother. But you the ramp looks really smooth and semi polished. I don't know if there is much benefit of making it much more smoother.

[BillC]

From what I here SA customer service is pretty darn good. It’s unfortunate you’re having problems.
IMHO you should send it back to them, I would. I wouldn’t like it, but I’d do it.
Make’m fix it. At least have them look it over.

[ghawk249]

LSU, I have had mine for about 2 years. I had some problems at first, but it has run like a champ since then. I do agree the trigger pull is to heavy, so I had my gun smith lighten the trigger to 4lbs. I believe the gun shoots better than I do. I also used the loaded coupon to get the adjustable rear sight. I use this gun mostly for IDPA matches.

[Black Jack]

I had a coupled of FTF when I first got my Loaded. Changed the recoil spring and never had another problem. This is a quick and easy thing to do without attempting to work on the pistol itself. If however, you are also planning on having other work done I agree with the other postings, send it back to SA and have them correct it. While it is there have them do the rest of the work you want.

SA has a GREAT reputation for customer service and warrantee work!

[Tom]

My guess, since you've experienced the same problems with both the standard Springfield magazines (which are good quality magazines) as well as the Wilson magazines, is it is the extractor. Might be too much/not enough tension. We have articles on the Forum's main page on how to test and adjust extractor tension if you'd interested. Otherwise, a quick trip to Springfield will set things right.

[JP4LSU]

Tom,
This is what I was afraid of. I probably won't mess with the extractor myself since I haven't done it before. My rookie knowledge will show here, but how is the extractor in tension? What puts tension on the extractor?

I will probably just send it in. This will give me a good reason to have other work done on it.

[CCH]

I had the same problem and sent it back to Springfield. The first new extractor they sent it back with didn't work either so they sent me another one in the mail that I installed that had had something done to it (grinding/polishing) that seems to be doing the trick although I am getting a very small amount of severely deformed brass (case mouth crushed on opposite sides). No more FTE though. From perusing the board the most common suggestion is to replace the Springfield with an after market extractor for best results. It's really not hard to do yourself.