1991A1 slow recoil return

[bladeplayer]

Hi folks. Need to rely on your personal experiences with Colt. I was at the range the other day. I picked up some of the Wolf 230 gr. I noticed that on many occasions while the pistol seemed to be operating okay I had to manually advance the slide back to full closed position. I checked to see that I was not limp wristing. When I disassembled the 45, it was a little dry. Have you ever experienced anything like this? As you probably know the 91 vs 11 does not have a full ejector rod. I love the gun, it is pretty accurate, but then again what do I know as I just started really getting to break it in. Any ideas would be appreciated. Thanks. Bladeplayer

[stans]

The steel cased Wolf ammo may be binding on the edge of the chamber or the rim may be binding on the breech face. Wolf ammo works well in some guns, especially those with generous dimensions such as SKS and AK rifles, but tight chambers can cause problems with this type ammo.

[1911slabsides]

Could be a couple of things, I'm going to agree with Stans on the wolf ammo, I've heard good things about wolf but I've also heard bad things. I just pay a couple of extra bucks for a box of ammo and I'm working on not becoming a Wolf Ammo expert.

Not having lube in the slide and frame rails can cause problems but you don't have to put a ton of oil in those areas, just a couple of drops will work.

You may have a weak recoil spring, The chamber may be fouled with carbon,
One of the most common feeding problems (other than bad magazines) on a 1911 is the extractor. There is a possiblity that the extractor is pressing too hard against the rim of the case and causing the failure to feed. I'm guessing that the tension of the extractor has not tightened itself, but what I suspect is that you may have a build up of carbon in the extractor tunnel and is is not letting the extractor expand. You might want to get some gun scrubber and blast the slide around the area of the extractor hook and see if you can knock some of the buildup out. You may want to remove the extractor and clean it out that way also, It isn't a big or difficult job to remove the extractor. Carbon does really build up in that area and I'm betting that things will improve if you clean that tunnel out.

[bladeplayer]

Thank you. I was going through the ammo pretty quick so carbon build up could be the culprit. No FTE or FTF, slide just would not close without nudge. I will scrub it out. I did a few drops of lube, no burrs that I can detect. Will let you know how I make out. Thanks for the help.

[bladeplayer]

Sorry, I will try some better quality ammo as well. Thought I would get away cheap while breaking in the gun and working on my skills. As long as I know what the problem is I can deal with it. Thanks Stan and 1911.

[1911slabsides]

a good deal of it could be just breaking it in. Wolf ammo may be just fine (I'm not trying to start an ammo war with anybody). New guns can be slugish at times, Yours doesn't sound to be anything that can not be handled right at home.

[bladeplayer]

Thanks, I spoke with somebody who is well versed locally. The first words out his mouth was the ammo being "dirty" and the problem was caused by carbon build up. I bought a box of better ammo and will see if I have the same problem after a couple of mags of shooting. Appreciate the help. I bought the stuff because it was cheap and wanted to get some practice in. So at least I got that accomplished. May be time to fine tune the ammo, and start to focus on grouping with the good stuff. Thanks Slab.

[1911slabsides]

Hey, don't thank me, nothing better in the world than a smooth running 1911. If my suggestions help it will be just one more smooth runing pistola. That gun scrubber works pretty well, detail strip works even better, you will get to the point with your 1911 where you can tell by how it looks after 14 and tell if the ammo is right. It's more than just a pistol, it really becomes a part of you after awhile.