new loaded pistol jamming?

[magnadawg]

took my new loaded out to the range this weekend to break in and check it out. it did fine with ball ammo but when i got to the jhp expensive stuff it jammed. i was using federal's and corbons in 185 gr. + p's. when inserting mag and releasing slide, it jammed on first bullet. if i took that one out and started again, the next bullet would work. also once it got going it never jammed. only on first bullets. anybody had this and what can i do about it?

[wichaka]

There are some things things that can be causing it.
The top of throat where the bullet breaks over into the chamber is too sharp.
Extractor, barrel link, feed ramp...........

I picked up a Loaded and a Mil-Spec, and they both had the problem.


Throat;
I took some 220grit emory cloth and broke the sharp edge, then polished it out with 320. I also polished the ramp and throat. Don't change the angles here, just smooth the surface........don't change the ramp/throat angle.

Extractor;
There are some threads here from Tuner about proper extractor work, I would suggest you read those and work the extractor.

Feed ramp & throat;
Read the paragraph above.

Barrel link;
Look at the wear on the slide stop pin. Make sure its even. With the barrel removed, put the slide stop pin into the link and rotate it. Make sure it doesn't come in contact with the lower lugs. There should be just enough........let's see how does Tuner put it.......about the thickness of 3-4 pages of paper between the lugs & the pin.

With the slide off the frame, put the barrel in the frame and insert the slide stop intp the frame thru the barrel link, except let the slide stop hang down. Now rotate the barrel from the in-battery position (up), to the link down position (down aganst the frame), there should be no binding.

Let me know how it goes. Tuner is better at writing about this stuff than I am. I just take the gun and work on it, its kinda second nature to me. I've not had to explain things out much. But if you ever need pointers on triggers (hammer-sear), I got you covered there. that's my specialty.

C ya

[magnadawg]

thanks for the info--i'll let you know how it goes. i'll definitely start with throat first. that's what i initially was thinking

[MissingLink]

You really need to look closely at how it jams. This information leads to the root cause of the jam. I have some 10 rounds clips that jam the first round if loaded to 10. The spring is to strong causing these jams. I load them to nine and they work fine. Simple fix.

[1911WB]

In addition to the excellent advice provided by the previous posters try these things: replace the factory mag with a CMC Power Mag or another quality mag; replace the SA extractor with a Wilson "Bulletproof"; replace the recoil spring with a Wolff of the appropriate weight for the loads you shoot (16# for most factory ammo/ 14# for light loads); if you have the ILS system replace the "guts" with regular mainspring components & a 20# mainspring; and if you have a titanium FP, replace with a Brown SS FP & a standard FP spring. Some of these things are related to your problem & some will just make for an overall better pistol. :)

[1911slabsides]

I'm thinking that it may be the magazine. But the other advise you got could only make the gun better even if it is the magazine.

[stans]

Since it is only the top round out of the magazine that is jamming, I am thinking it is probably a magazine problem, although it might be a case of the frame feed ramp not being cut exactly right. Try some different mags first, see if that corrects the problem.

[1911Tuner]

"Jam" is kinda generic. Does the round nose-dive into the ramp and stop...
does it stop at the junction of the barrel throat and top of the ramp...
or does it get part-way into the chamber and stop?

What magazine are you using? 7-round with flat follower...8-round with
split Devel-type Follower? Brand?

Since it only occurs on the top round, I'm inclined to think magazine...or does
it happen on all magazines?

Does the barrel ride the link? IDEALLY...the slidestop pin should lightly contact the forward radius of the lower lug, but as wichaka pointed out, staying off the lug at the radius by the thickness of a sheet of paper is about par, and doesn't seem to adversely affect feeding.

Standin' by...

Tuner

[lil toad]

Mag change first, sand paper second. Seen alot of butchered hand guns because of cheap mags.

[1911Tuner]

lil toad said:

Mag change first, sand paper second. Seen alot of butchered hand guns because of cheap mags.
__________________________

Howdy lil toad, and welcome to the forum.

I'm more likely to go to sandpaper as a last resort. Seen a lotta ramps and throats butchered with sandpaper when used by somebody who didn't understand what they were doin', or didn't know when to stop. Make sure the gun itself is right first...THEN go to the file/grind/cut/sand/stone process...IF...ya know what you're doin'. If not...Ask somebody who does.

Luck!

Tuner

[lil toad]

This is my first day on your forum. I feel like a kid at a candy store. Finally some correspondense(I think that is spelled correctly) with like minded people. Changing the magazine or the extractor is way cheaper than buying an new frame from going overboard on the feed ramp. In my earlier message I was refering to the fact that not everybody can tune these guns properly and often go overboard in their new found gun smithing abilities.

[1911Tuner]

Howdy lil toad,

I know what ya mean...When I first found the pistol forums I thought I'd
died and gone to heaven and met John Moses himself. Keeps my hand in
and keeps me off the streets. This gettin' old and retirin' thing is a real pisser.

On your post...I didn't mean to sound abrupt...I just didn't want a young
fella to see it and think: "Sandpaper! Why didn't I think of that??" and
kill a frame or barrel..then blame you for it.

Back in the late 70s and early 80s, I used to average 2 or 3 pistols a week that had a kitchen table ramp and throat job after the owners had read about it in a gun rag...and proceeded to jump on it with a Dremel until they wouldn't run at all.

It's usually best to leave the ramp alone, unless there's an obvious problem,
and most new throats don't need much more than breakin' the sharp corner at the top and a little polish to reduce the stem bind or three-point-jam...and then look for the real problem.

There are a lot of forums around. This is a good one, and the boss is a helluva nice fella. Check out The High Road when this one gets slow. It's another good one, and it goes like fightin' fire 24/7. If ya get hung up in a problem pistol of the 1911 variety, gimme a shout. Happy to help out if I can.

Luck to ya!

Tuner

[lil toad]

Gotcha old timer.