Trouble with new AO

[17remfan]

Hi thought id run this by you people for advice.My friend bought a new AO a few months ago . At first, it functioned fine but after maybe 500 rounds he started getting FTBs.The pistol needs the slide pushed by hand that last 1/4-3/8" to close it.This happens nearly every mag.He has the factory mag and he got one other aftermarket clip.Still FTBs.I told him to put in a fresh recoil sping he has a wolf 17.5 variable in the gun now and an 18. I told him to try to 18lb spring.I think the heavy spring would be a bandage fix.Also he was shooting the gun dry I got him to oil it up some.He will try the gun again with 18 spring and gun recleaned.Is there any chance the gun will smooth out on its own??I told him to shoot the beans out of it .

[stans]

Well, seeing as how it was running fine and now doesn't, I'd say something is wrong. Running the gun with no lubricant can certainly induce problems. One thing I would check it the barrel link, see if there is a lot of play between the link and link pin and if the slide stop hole in the pin has become elongated.

[Hawkmoon]

When attempting to trouble-shoot problems that mysteriously appear, it's important to eliminate as many variables as possible.

For example: Did he by any chance change to a different brand or type of ammunition?

[triggercontrol]

"Also he was shooting the gun dry "

Generally speaking, how often does he clean his gun thoughroully.?

[17remfan]

Thanks for the suggestions.Lets see,my friend always shoots Winchester white box ammo and has been shooting this all along.On Your advice,i told him to try some differnt ammo .He has some speer lawman wich always runs perfect for me.I have cut back on my use of bore brushes to but i told him to run a brush through the barrel this time. I think its silly not to lubricate a handgun.Hopefully i was able to get him in the habbit of doing that.He kept the 17.5lb spring in the gun so we will have to see if cleaning it will help.We should be going to the range tomorrow so ill keep you all posted on the results .. thanks for the help .also tomorrow we will check for and egg shaped hole in the barrel link area or other abnormal wear marks ect .

[17remfan]

With regards to how often the gun is cleaned, i would say nearly every time he shot it .Gun scrubber spray and a tooth brush as well as patches down the barrel are used.Im curious to see if an ammo change to cci speers would help . Generally though,the winchesters are a great performing and consistant ammo.

[triggercontrol]

I have the basic WWII Parkerized and the Medallions and have never had a problem with thousands of rounds accross the entire .45ACP type & brand spectrum.
Have him re-examine how well polished the feed ramps are and keep the gun moderatly lubricated. This is the key.

[17remfan]

Just back from the range tonight . The new AO was retested again and the problem seems to have gone away. I think it just needed some extra rounds through it to help smooth it out.After two intial hicups,the pistol ran fine.I like the fit of the slide to frame on this gun as well as the over all workmanship.The trigger pull is hard though at about 6 lbs.

[chuckshoun]

You haven't responded that your friend is now a believer in oiling pistols, and knows where to oil. Any comments?

[17remfan]

Even though i tell my friend to oil the gun up on all friction points and that oil will not hurt the gun .I see he had it on the dry side again.I use a great oil called Walleys . Its very lite 0il and leaves the gun nicely lubed. Wish i could say he lubes the gun well but it looks dry to me. You can lead the horse to water but you cant make it drink .

[jam]

Hi everyone i am the guy with the auto ordnance 17remfans friend yes i do oil my gun very lightly but i am still not convinced that was the problem these are things i did before i tried it again except this time i had a stove pipe so i think think the skip mcormick mag is no good so i ordered a new mag from thompson today we have to see how that works

1-I put a brush through the barrel
2-I polished the barrel ramp lightly
3 i spray the slide and frame with wd-40 then blew gun out with compressor

I have a S&W 910 the gun shoots so bad when oiled but i guess different acts different

Do 1911 need time to break in i know the factory shoot about 500 rounds before they release it


thanks for the help

[triggercontrol]

1.Gunslick or Outers Phosperous brush on a pistol rod with a dip in nitro with 5 reps and then with Hoppes #9 ,5 reps. as well. Subsequently place two patches through to dry, one after another.

2. Use a Kleenbore nylon dual head brush to get all the build up out of the recessed areas of the slide. Hit it with a spray of Gunkout or Strikehold. Dry off with quality rag, cotton recommended.

3. Polish the feedramp with a very light emory cloth. Place a DROP!!! of Outers or Gunslick oil on the feed ramp. (literally a drop!!). Wipe off with cloth.
The surface should be mirror bright if possible!.

4. Now, when you are finished that, make sure you take apart your primary magazines and clean the springs and the interior as well. Reassemble well., test springs with a 5 round depression.

5. You should always use a light to moderate amount of oil. I recommend the brands above, but some folks like WD40, my contention has always been, that if its not meant for use in gun, don't use it. I prefer to use things that are gun specific, obviously emory cloths are an exception.

[Hawkmoon]

3 i spray the slide and frame with wd-40 then blew gun out with compressor
Are you not aware that WD-40 is NOT a lubricant? WD-40 is for drying out wet automobile distributors. That's what the "WD" stands for: "Water Displacer."

So you spray your gun down lightly with a non-lubricant fluid that's a decent solvent for removing whatever lubricant might have gotten on there, then blow dry it with compressed air just to make absolutely certain that any remaining vestige of lubricant has finally been removed -- and you wonder why you have problems?

I apologize for my sarcasm, but I see WD-40 being misused in so many ways by so many people that I JUST CAN'T TAKE ANY MORE!

[triggercontrol]

Yup!!, agree 100%, as I stated in my number #5 above.

[chuckshoun]

Use FP-10, or Breakfree to lubricate your pistol. By your standatds, oil the dickens out of it, especially the barrel/bushing interface, the frame rails, the bottom of the slife behind the chamber, and all those little "titties" sticking up on the slide and the frame.

When you shoot the pistol, it will throw off the oil it doesn't need. However, if you shoot more than 75 rounds at a shooting session, field strip the pistol and re-oil. If you don't keep the pistol oiled, it is just like running your car withour oil and you wouldn't do that, would you?

As an afterthought, whoever told you to shoot the pistol without oiling it?

[brianinca]

1911's were designed to be lubricated, can't imagine why you wouldn't maintain a gun and then wonder why you have problems. And no, the factory doesn't put 500 rds through your new gun before you get it.

As for when and where to use WD-40, a previous poster was absolutely correct that it is a Water Displacement formula. In fact, it was invented by and still produced on the California coast under contract to the US Air Force. Vandenberg AFB is on the coast and subject to fog, making Atlas and Minuteman missiles very unhappy. Since at LEAST the early 1960's WD-40 was used to safely displace water from missile electronics (remember tubes?). My grandfather worked there for a decade, and introduced me to the wonders of high temp lithium grease for wheel bearings, WD-40 for removing sticky labels, Velcro strips, and aluminum foil duct tape when I was a little kid.

Quite reasonably, the company making WD-40 recommends it for all sorts of things that ought not be treated with WD-40 (e.g. fishing reels, guns, electric model trains, guns, locks, guns, etc).

The current milspec lube/cleaner is BreakFree CLP - works fine, use it in good health.

Regards,
Brian in CA

[17remfan]

Good post there.I wanted to add that i think these new AOs are really pretty nice.I think once you work out a few bugs they make good low cost knock around pistols.Ill have to ask Joe where he came up with that 500 rounds to test each gun " I want that job haha" :D

[desertmoon]

Hi everyone i am the guy with the auto ordnance 17remfans friend yes i do oil my gun very lightly but i am still not convinced that was the problem these are things i did before i tried it again except this time i had a stove pipe so i think think the skip mcormick mag is no good so i ordered a new mag from thompson today we have to see how that works

1-I put a brush through the barrel
2-I polished the barrel ramp lightly
3 i spray the slide and frame with wd-40 then blew gun out with compressor

I have a S&W 910 the gun shoots so bad when oiled but i guess different acts different

Do 1911 need time to break in i know the factory shoot about 500 rounds before they release it


thanks for the help


Okay, Jam....welcome to the 1911 world. By your posts you seem to be a bit of a neophyte to handguns or guns in general....and that is NO problem!! We always need more shooters in the fold, so welcome to the world of the 1911.

First, some guns do need a bit of break in time when they are new. Some guns don't.

To help break in ANY new gun it is always a great idea to familiarize yourself with it before you shoot it. The very best way to do this is to get the manual, field strip it and clean and oil it. Trust me when I say that MOST GUNS LOVE A BIT OF OIL. Now, as a couple of the other guys have noted, WD40 is not oil, it is Water Displacement chemical. If your pistol ever takes a dip in the drink you can use WD40 to clean out the water...then hit her with the compressor. You can even use WD to clean off the crud after shooting and cleaning with proper solvents if you want. I do this. Clean it with air afterwards.

NOW, it's time for the oil. There are many oils out there for guns and you DO want to specifically use a gun oil. Other oils may turn to lacquer with time or may actually harm the finish or construction of the weapon. SO...only use GUN oil. There are many on the market...some good...some not so good. If you stick with Break Free, FP-10, Tetra Oil, Slip 2000 or some of the other major oils you will be fine. Even though these are a bit expensive, a good oil will last you a long time....you don't need much.

Just put a few drops on a rag and wipe the surfaces of the gun's main components down as to give it a very fine coat of oil. Then on each of the slide rails of the frame put one drop. Put a drop on the barrel link and a drop on the slide stop pin. That's the one that goes through the link hole. Put a little drop on the barrel bushing and a couple drops on the spring and put her back together.

Also, I do highly recommend you change the recoil spring to the Wolff 18.5 lb spring. It soaks up the recoil of factory ammo much better and makes the gun a bit snappier.

You will find that by cleaning and oiling BEFORE you use a new gun and by cleaning and oiling at least every 500 rounds, most guns will give you a lot less trouble.

As for that poor Smith and Wesson of yours.....well, I am a big Smith Revolver fan. I have owned a few Smith and Wesson Autos before...that's why I ONLY own Smith revolvers now. ;)


Enjoy your 1911!!!!! I hope this info helps you a bit....

[Digbush]

When I had my FFL I ordered four AO pistols for different folks. AO simply does not manufacture a good quality 1911. They need to be re-worked in a major way.

[NYCMedic]

How long ago was that? (Post KHAR ARMS?)

[Digbush]

a few years back.

[NYCMedic]

They say that a lot has changed since the khar takeover. I have fired the "custom" models (steel and aluminum) and they were not bad. Only fired 200 rounds but no problems.

[Southman]

I have an old A/O West Hurley edition (made way before Kahr took over). In my opinion, Auto-Ordnance Corp. has been given a "bad rap" for a long time. I don't know how many different people have owned this old piece. Someone tried filing down the edges, (another maybe?) stuck a Colt's barrel into it. It never fails me and most of the time put's them into the ten ring. I can't say that for the Beretta's I've owned.
Southman