problem with combat commander

[jessejw]

Can anyone help me with a problem i just started experiencing with my series 80 combat commander..the round does not enter the barrel and gets stuck just short of entering the barrel..all it takes to get it back to working is to pull back on the slide and it will load a round..this happens at least once during the emptying of a magazine..(9 rounds)

[mtngunr]

My O1911 does that with one specific magazine (14 times in over 5000rds).....other things obvious to check would be anything causing drag as the round feeds, ie. burred firing pin hole, extractor too tight.....I'd try a different mag first.....is this an historically reliable gun, or is this a new gun, new ammo?

[jessejw]

mags are fairly new..wilson combat mags..the pistol does it with different mags..this gun has been flawless for the 11 years i have been carrying it as a duty weapon..never had this problem before..i can say that i have not replaced anything on the weapon since i bought it (except rubber piece inside the slide) and have fired approx 600-700 rounds through it..any help would be appreciated since this is my duty weapon...

[mtngunr]

hmmm....anything slowing the slide return might cause this...."rubber piece" equals new shock-buff that's too efficient or thick (to allow full stroke)? Perhaps a worn recoil spring? I'm thinking cheap and easy since the gun has been reliable until now......and you're quite sure nothing's changed about the ammo? Even ammo makers change bullet shape with no notice, which can cause problems.....

[jessejw]

i'm quite sure its not the shock-buff..the recoil spring is still the original so i'm hoping thats it..as far as the ammo its doing it with ball ammo, winchester ranger, and speer gold dot..going to the gun show tommorrow here in houston to buy a recoil spring and see if that helps...

[mtngunr]

Shock-buffs DO cause such problems in some guns....all someone would have to do is slightly change its resilience, and a previously reliable gun could suddenly get unreliable...try several springs of different weights, since they're cheap enough, and basic troubleshooting says try it without the shock-buff first, since it didn't have problems until that was changed (if I read your previous correctly?).....

[jessejw]

when the pistol started experiencing this issue the shock buff had been in the gun for some and it had never been a problem..after the problem surfaced i cleaned the weapon and observed that the old shock buff was worn so i replaced it and shot the pistol again..the problem arose again so thats why i think its not the shock buff..basically it malfunctioned with the old and the new shock buff..gonna put in a new recoil spring and then go directly to the gun range to shoot..i will let you know what happens..thank you for your input....

[mtngunr]

when the pistol started experiencing this issue the shock buff had been in the gun for some and it had never been a problem..after the problem surfaced i cleaned the weapon and observed that the old shock buff was worn so i replaced it and shot the pistol again..the problem arose again so thats why i think its not the shock buff..basically it malfunctioned with the old and the new shock buff..gonna put in a new recoil spring and then go directly to the gun range to shoot..i will let you know what happens..thank you for your input....

Gotcha......good luck....meanwhile, check back here for any input from someone who knows more than I do (which is a lot of folks)....for instance, I don't have a clue what the factory weight recoil spring is for a CC....I just am familiar with the full-size guns....

[swampertwo]

Commander recoil springs are 18# from the factory. Were it me, I would get rid of the 'shok buff' in a commander--takes too much of the slide movement away- and use a new recoil spring.

[John]

Get rid of the shock buff, replace your recoil spring, clean up your extractor and its tunnel and check your extractor tension (the article on how to do it is in the Technical Issues forum). Try the pistol again and come back to us.

[PakWaan]

My brand new Gold Cup is doing this also (!), about one out of every 20-30 rounds. This is the same gun that has the problem with the magazine release sending the slide crashing forward. On mine, Colt's technicians told me the slide stop was bad and to send the gun to them for repair. Not sure if the problem is related, since I didn't mention the FTF when I spoke with them since it had only happened once at that point - happened at the range yesterday about 10 times. Thought I'd throw that out there, in case your problem might be caused by the same thing as mine.

I'm going to put in my new Wolff spring and try a Wilson 47D magazine I bought yesterday before I give up and send mine back to them.

[tombstone]

+1 on "get rid of the shock buff." I tried shock buffs in my NRM 1991 Commander and had an occasional FTF. Took it out and never a problem. If you do a search on this forum you will find many opinions about buffers...some folks swear buy them (their gun seems to tolerate them well) and others like me found our guns don't have enough room for them. But the bottom line is, if you maintain proper recoil spring tension, they really aren't needed. The gun will last several generations without it. New 18lb spring and no buff may well fix your problem and as a carry weapon reliability is critical.

[elijdub]

Jessejw, Welcome to the forum! I'd follow John's advice...
Get rid of the shock buff, replace your recoil spring, clean up your extractor and its tunnel and check your extractor tension (the article on how to do it is in the Technical Issues forum). Try the pistol again and come back to us.
...to a "T".

+2 on tossing the shock buff.
I change my recoil springs once/year minimum (always following factory instuctions within the manual). More than likely that's the problem, since i believe it was metioned that the spring hasn't been replaced since the gun was purchased (11years?).

Good luck, and please let us know how it works out.

BTW, :wl: (sorry...had to do it ;)!)

[jessejw]

update on my problem...put in a new 18lb recoil spring and removed the shok buff....went straight to the gun range and the problem got worse...i noticed the ftf rounds were slighly canted down...going to take it straight to a guy named mueshke (hope i spelled it right) here in houston..i hear he is a darn good 1911 gunsmith..let ya'll know how it goes

[swampertwo]

If they're nosing down as you describe, it sounds like the mag spring is weak. I like McCormick Power Mags to preclude that--or +10% springs from Wolff. Tuner swears by the 7 round mags and I have only had problems with 8 rounders that had the weak springs. Just got 2 Delta mags off another forum and both had springs at about 50% of new ones.
Good luck with Mr. Mueschke, I believe he does know 1911s a little bit :D
Jeff

[jessejw]

i am using wilson combat mags that are about a year old..the reason i don't think its the mags is because i haven't had any problems with them and today i used a original colt mag with the same results...

[1911Tuner]

Commander recoil springs are 18# from the factory.

Not. Colt OEM recoil springs in Commanders may hit 16 pounds...but I wouldn't bet on it.

Shock buffs and Commanders don't generally make good dancin' partners. The slide travel is compromised enough quite without the buff.

If the slide won't go to battery with a light bump on the back, it sounds like a 3-Point Jam, but since it only recently started, remove the extractor and clean the channel and the extractor and try again.

Colt's OEM 8-round magazines are basically no more than Shooting Stars with a nice finish and a horsie on the baseplate. I won't allow a Shootin' Star in the yard. Weak magazine springs can be a player in your problem.

[mtngunr]

what has me scratching my head is that this problem developed, rather than preexisted...otherwise, I'd be SURE it was something like a rough breach face, too tight or sharp-edged extractor, chamber needing a bit of polishing, weak mag spring, wrong recoil spring, the shock buff, perhaps barrel/frame overhang, etc.....but most of those problems don't develop....be sure to post when you or your smith figure it out.....as I believe I said earlier, my O1911 has done the same thing 14 times in over 5000rds, and each FTRB happened with the same OEM mag, the other OEM mag running 100%, so the solution to mine was simple....ignore the mag that choked....

[texagun]

I had a similar problem in a LW Commander. Removed the extractor, cleaned the channel, re-adjusted the extractor (perhap most important) and the problem was fixed.
Instruction for adjusting the extractor can be found on this forum.

[elijdub]

Sounds like an extractor problem to a "T", doesn't it? If it's not the recoil spring, and it's not the magazines......
Anyhow, on to the gunsmith... Please let us know what he decides is the cause of the problem...and good luck.

[John]

I see you changed the spring. I don't see you cleaned the extractor. Since the problem appeared all of a sudden, it happens with more than one (hopefully) good magazines and it and it didn't get cured by the new spring, the extractor is the most suspected part.

[jessejw]

just got back from mr. mueschke office..he changed the new recoil spring that i had put in and put in a stiffer one...he also ported and polished the pistol..we test fired approx 70 rounds with better results but still having ftf problems..he seems to think its the mags...the mags are wilson combat 8 rounds that are fairly new and not to mention that they have not given me any problems...anyway, i left the weapon with him and he is going to change out the springs in the mags..i'm just not sure if its the mags...we'll see...does anyone have any suggestions...?

[texagun]

I would suggest you have him check and possibly set the extractor tension.

[EchoBravoKilo]

I would suggest you have him check and possibly set the extractor tension.
+1 x 100!

I had similar problems with a Combat Commander. Went through mags, springs and several handfuls of hair...

Tuned the extractor (less tension) and no more problems. Wish I had done the extractor first.

By the way, Wolff extra power mag springs are terrific as well, and I've gone to Wolff 17# recoil springs for Commanders with no problems.

[elijdub]

+2 (again, again) x 1000! ....on the extractor tension.

I'm surprised that the 'smith didn't suggest tuning the extractor.

[jessejw]

ok thanks for the info guys...i will call and let him know..he comes highly recommended so i don't want to insult the guy..i'll just mention it...i'll keep ya'll updated until i can fix this problem..

[wichaka]

just got back from mr. mueschke office..he changed the new recoil spring that i had put in and put in a stiffer one...he also ported and polished the pistol...


A 1911, if properly set up will run with a 10lb spring, so a stiffer spring is masking a bigger problem.

Ported and polished??????? I've not heard of this....I shudder the thought!

[jessejw]

update on my problem..i think mr. mueschke fixed my problem..sorry it took so long to get back but mr. mueschke was under the weather so it took him a little bit to get to my gun..anyways he put in new Wolff springs in my wilson combat mags..he also did a little more polishing to the barrel and just under where the barrel sits..i believe you call it throating??? and polishing...put approximately 30 rounds through the weapon as fast as i could pull the trigger with no ftf's using ball ammo and winchester rangers...kuddos to mr. mueschke...he's 80 years old and still humping it...

[tombstone]

Excellent...glad the pony is prancing again. Unfortunately, these fine aging craftsmen aren't always replaced by new apprentices learning the trade in this new world of CNC machines and replacement rather than repair philosophy.

[allstop]

My brand new Gold Cup is doing this also (!), about one out of every 20-30 rounds.

My Gold Cup Trophy was doing this (and a few other things), and replacing the 8 round Colt magazine internals with new 7 round internals (spring and hybrid follower) from Tripp Research (http://trippresearch.com/CVS/products/1911/1911.html) solved all of my problems. Click on "UPGRADE KITS".

Also try cycling it slow and watch to see how the round is moving up into the chamber. In my case, a lot of the time the round was jumping ahead of the extractor. In the event the round successfully chambers, in such an instance, the extractor is forced over and around the lip of the casing from the rear rather than from beneath. After a good number of rounds-- and I'm not positive-- I think this will ruin your extractor tension?

Virgil Tripp and friends: if you're reading, using JavaScript in your navigation makes it hard to link directly to product pages.