Failure to Feed

[Joshua M. Smith]

Hi All,

Got a quick question:

I was doing some dry fire practice with my 1911 last night. When I was done, I went to reload.

Using the slingshot method, utilizing the recoil spring and not hanging on to the slide, the first Hydra-Shok hanged on the ramp.

I cleared it and tried it again. Same result.

Tried another magazine. Same result. Different round. Same result.

I had not messed with anything at all, and it shot the Hydra-Shok fine when I test fired it. Hand fed fine too.

I very lightly, so as not to change any angles, gave the ramp a couple swipes with a piece of very fine sandpaper, then cleaned the gun extremely well. (It was already clean.)

It's feeding slick again.

This is the first time it's failed to feed anything, and it concerns me because I can't figure out what happened. I'd been carrying it on my side for about a week, probably like this.

The only thing I can think of is that maybe there's always been a very thin film of lube on the ramp (though I wipe it down very well with a dry cloth after cleaning it, so as not to contaminate the primers) and maybe it needs that to function.

There were no burrs on the feed ramp I could detect. The mags are Wilson 47, no D. Recoil spring is in good shape and should need changed for a while yet. It's an 18# spring, and a swap to a new 16# I had laying around didn't change anything.

Any thoughts?

Thanks,

Josh <><

[John]

You polished the feed ramp before or after the jam?

Also, do you have a FTF (Failure to Feed, the nose of the bullet is stuck on the frame's ramp) or a FTRB (when the nose of the bullet is partially inside the barrel's chamber)?

[Tom]

I certainly don't think the dry firing had anything to do with the failure to feed.

You tried different magazines, which is good. That eliminates them as a possible problem. And switching the recoil spring didn't make any difference, so it is likely not that either.

You said you gave the ramp a few swipes with a fine piece of sandpaper and now it is feeding again. If, as you say, you may have had a little lubricant on the feed ramp and that may have helped with feeding, then I would suspect that the lube is helping mask a real issue, much like people using stronger recoil springs to overcome feeding issues.

So if it is likely not the magazines or the recoil spring, my initial thought might be extractor tension. Have you checked/adjusted the extractor based on our documents in the Technical page on our site?

It's just a thought, and it is certainly something easier to look into before getting into larger problems like barrel links, etc.

[niemi24s]

. . .the first Hydra-Shok hanged on the ramp. Which ramp - frame or barrel?

Or, where the two ramps meet?

Was the rim of the cartridge released from the magazine?

[Joshua M. Smith]

Hi Folks,

It would run straight into the frame's feed ramp and stop.

Right after I posted this, I took some rubbing compound on a rag and really polished it to a mirror finish. Figured it couldn't hurt - the rubbing/polishing compound isn't enough to change the angles unless it's on a Dremel or something (and I figure even then it's doubtful...)

After shining up, it feeds slicker than I ever thought possible, lubed or dry. I guess maybe there was something it was hanging on that I couldn't see. The ramp was somewhat dinged up prior to polishing.

Problem found and solved.

Thanks folks.

Josh <><

P.S. I run an 18# recoil spring because the hammer spring is lighter, and I'm just balancing things out. Thanks again, J.S.

[whiskeycobra41]

Hi Josh,
Something like this would really scare me. How will the mags feed after it has been fired a couple of times and the ramp is dirty? We just went thru some nasty mag problems in this thread:
http://forum.m1911.org/showthread.php?t=58558
Also another thread on "3-point jams". I learned from these threads that the Wilson 47's are for wadcutters not roundnose or HP's like the Hyrdashocks. After finding that out I immediately ordered a couple of Checkmates to test and am waiting for them now. I'll open a thread in the appropriate place when the testing is done.
Just something to think about.
Marc

[John]

Congrats Josh, you may have just destroyed a perfectly good pistol.

http://forum.m1911.org/showthread.php?t=9178

[Joshua M. Smith]

Hello,

It runs well when dirty. The powder grime almost acts like a lube.

This is the first time since it was new that it failed to feed anything, including some really wickedly wide hollowpoints and wadcutters.

Function test went well after polishing, so I think it's going to be OK.

I'll await your thread on the Checkmates. I've never had any trouble with feeding from any magazine, but went with the Wilsons due to reputation. The Wilson mags seem to hang on long enough for a controlled feed (just barely, but it's there).

I'm out of money for anything else gun related, so further experimentation will have to wait.

Thanks,

Josh <><