Broken Springfield Stainless Slide!

It is not several versions of the same story. I just had mine break last Friday and there were accounts of similar things happening earlier. There is a thread on it at the 1911 forum :

Something I'd never thought I'd see....


I still plan on using SA products, just thought it was worth a mention that some slides seem to be defective.
 
CaptianHoek, I agree with you. It looked like pot metal to me. I've not checked mine but I will now, and I'll also check the paperwork to see if the slide is made from bar stock. Their is no reason for a slide to break where it did [that I can think of now].
 
As nearly as I can tell from dates, handles, pics, etc. there are about five individual cases (six if you count blades67's friend who has noticed a crack) between TFL and 1911forum.com. I can't find one of the threads on 1911forum.com, but I distinctly remember the pictures as I was considering a Springfield at the time and the pictures were somewhat traumatic!

As I said, all appear from pics and descriptions to be stainless steel. There is a chance one of them is being reported by more than one person (ie. the shooter and an observer) since one seems to have happend at a match event.

Shake
 
Just out of curiosity....Is there any indication of the bottom of the slide hitting the frame/dust cover?
 
...this doesn't make me feel good about my brand new 2001 Springfield Armory 1911A1 "Loaded" model in stainless steel... I wonder if they'll "fix" my gun before it breaks and injures someone? Or if they'll do a "recall" on the gun? If they don't recall the gun, it could be a class-action suit... or worse...
 
Texture at the broken edges looks very much like that of a Smith 696 of mine with low round count of cowboy loads. Cylinder did not blow out.....it split in two verticaly and half went to each side. That plus massive wear problems with a 686 cured me of ever buying a "stainless" gun again. Unless stainless part is designed specificaly for that material, strength will be markedly less compared to that of the same part made from 4340 medium carbon ordinance steel. The stainless looses out in hardenability, tensile strength and yield strength.

Sam
 
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What's the commonality among the broken guns? From a same lot? From 2001 models? Stainless steel?

I've got a SA full-size 45 in SS, which I bought a couple of years ago. I wonder...

Skorzeny
 
Originally posted by C.R.Sam:

Texture at the broken edges looks very much like that of a Smith 696 of mine with low round count of cowboy loads. Cylinder did not blow out.....it split in two verticaly and half went to each side. That plus massive wear problems with a 686 cured me of ever buying a "stainless" gun again. Unless stainless part is designed specificaly for that material, strength will be markedly less compared to that of the same part made from 4340 medium carbon ordinance steel. The stainless looses out in hardenability, tensile strength and yield strength.
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Hi Sam,

Were you using reloads when your cylinder split in two?

What did S&W say and/or do when you told them about your unfortunate accident?

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On this Springfield failure, it may be a bad batch of castings with porosity problems.

-Mk.IV
 
What Sam said. Stainless is tricky. It CAN be very tough, but it has to be treated right.


Kinda like women that way. :D
 
MK IV....commercial cowboy...quite light, shot was on target, recoil and sound not abnormal.

Replaced it after bout six months and finally goin through a director. Some of the folks there are great and some seem a bit substandard. Was getting stonewalled till Terry Murbach of Cor-Bon helped me. Wasn't even usin their ammo in that gun. Good folks.

Seemed more like a fall apart than a blow up. Did NOT blow out through chamber....rather split through chamber, center of cylinderand out through a lower chamber. Left the center pin and star out in the cold and in place.

Over 50 yrs of sellin and workin on smiths, have seen a few blow ups....this was unique to me.

Sam....if it ain't broke yet, let me play with it.
 
I always shy away from stainless steel swords because the chromium in the steel makes the whole structure much more brittle. So thus far I've had no plans of buying any stainless steel firearms because of my experience with bladeware. Up until now I've been regarded as being paranoid...but now we have at least 6 cases of stainless steel fracture...I wonder if it was just the heat treating or what...

Dan
 
"Just a 'Bad Lot', SUUUURE ...

Springfield explained the FUBAR-type complications with my new Compact the same way, by saying it was just a bad lot of 20 pistols. Must be what they tell everybody. I felt this was bullcrap, especially after they sent it back (after keeping it 2 months) and it still wouldn't function.

I am convinced their main problem is the inferior Brazillian materials. Too bad, I really liked it otherwise and did everything I could to get it to work.
 
About 1,000 rounds so far thru my SA stainless compact and no sigh of anything like this. Would a serial number give a clue on date of manufacture and/or the batch of possible bad slides?
 
I just shot about 150 rounds through my brand new Springfield fullsize stainless, and I'm happy to report that it shows no signs of cracking (so far...).

It fired all 150 rounds without much problems, but I did have problems with the last round in the magazine on three occasions (I'm using the factory 7 round magazines that came with the gun).

The spent casing from the last round would fail to eject out of the open, locked back action, or the slide failed to lock back and the empty casing would be keeping the slide open by being jammed between the breech face and the corner of the barrel. I couldn't understand why the "drop-free" magazine wouldn't come down, nor even be pulled out, until I saw the stuck case.

Thus begins my initiation into the world of the 1911!

Sam
 
Springfield

Well, I've carried my Springfield M1911A1 .45 SS for six plus years (on the job) and have fired it hundreds, if not thousands of times. I've fired everything from Blazer target loads to Black Tallon/Hydra-Shock full power loads. No problems.
I tend to agree that some factory screwed up somewhere in the manufacturing process.
Also, all the photographs I've seen appear to be the "inhanced" version of the Springfield, anyone know different?
SF
Clem
USMC Retired
 
I own two Springfield 1911s but this thread makes me glad, that I chose my Kimber when I wanted a stainless slide on a two tone 1911. I don't think that I will seriously consider another of their products at least not in stainless.
7th
 
I examined mine while cleaning after putting a hundred rounds through it again at the range yesterday afternoon. No signs of metal fatigue or cracks, thankfully. I'd hate to have it break on me...it shoots like a champ.
 
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