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making a 1911A1 feed swc bullets
- Thread starter patrickd
- Start date
Unkel Gilbey
New member
A polished ramp isn't always the answer
You could take the throat of that barrel and polish it until it shines like a mirror, and do the same for the feed ramp of the frame, but if those two (together) don't have a smooth transition between them, you're always going to have a problem with feeding SWC's.
Take the barrel (alone) and hold in on the frame and examine this transition. You can even use the barrel link to hold those two in phase. Run your finger tip over this joint. If there's a noticable bump, you have the most likely cause of your problem.
It takes a lot of patience to get this transition right. Wadcutter guns (typically target or bullseye weapons) are notoriously finicky eaters. So it may take some time to get this right.
Good thing is, that once you have this weapon reliably feeding SWC's and HP's, you should still have a weapon that feeds FMJ's all day.
Good luck!
Unkel
You could take the throat of that barrel and polish it until it shines like a mirror, and do the same for the feed ramp of the frame, but if those two (together) don't have a smooth transition between them, you're always going to have a problem with feeding SWC's.
Take the barrel (alone) and hold in on the frame and examine this transition. You can even use the barrel link to hold those two in phase. Run your finger tip over this joint. If there's a noticable bump, you have the most likely cause of your problem.
It takes a lot of patience to get this transition right. Wadcutter guns (typically target or bullseye weapons) are notoriously finicky eaters. So it may take some time to get this right.
Good thing is, that once you have this weapon reliably feeding SWC's and HP's, you should still have a weapon that feeds FMJ's all day.
Good luck!
Unkel
U.S.SFC_RET
New member
Send the gun in to a "very" reputable and respectable gunsmith who knows 1911s inside and out like rogers precision (who has a backlog by the way) and get the Ramp cut correctly to angle. This allows the gun to accept "other than Ball" especially JHPs. Do not dremel it yourself to polish the ramp or you run the risk ruining the frame. A little thousanths of an inch goes a long way when you take it off of the ramp, even when polishing. Too many 1911s find their way to the graveyard when their ramps get "meckled" I hope that this helps.
cntryboy1289
New member
no need for that
You have to have a 1 1/2:1 jump on your ramp to the throat of the barrel. This means the ramp should end and the round has to move forward to catch the throat of the barrel. The distance the jump from the ramp to the barrel should be a ratio of 1 1/2 to 1. If it doesn't have this jump, the rounds other than the round ball can and do stub when trying to bounce up the ramp. You need to open up the sides of the throat as well. If all of this scares you, by all means take it to reptuable smith and let him take care of the work for you.
It isn't big problem to change the angle of the ramp and barrel, but a little bit goes a long way and most likely should be left to a smith or someone that works on their own guns a good bit. Good luck with it, atleast you will know what the smith is talking about when you take it to him if you have to.
You have to have a 1 1/2:1 jump on your ramp to the throat of the barrel. This means the ramp should end and the round has to move forward to catch the throat of the barrel. The distance the jump from the ramp to the barrel should be a ratio of 1 1/2 to 1. If it doesn't have this jump, the rounds other than the round ball can and do stub when trying to bounce up the ramp. You need to open up the sides of the throat as well. If all of this scares you, by all means take it to reptuable smith and let him take care of the work for you.
It isn't big problem to change the angle of the ramp and barrel, but a little bit goes a long way and most likely should be left to a smith or someone that works on their own guns a good bit. Good luck with it, atleast you will know what the smith is talking about when you take it to him if you have to.
Chamfer the back of the chamber and use a taper crimp. Chamfering the chamber is nothing more than extending the feed ramp radius about half way up the sides of the chamber. A very light touch with a rotary tool or an even lighter touch with a round file will do it.
Taper crimping is essential with any bullet. The best bullet I've found is a 230 grain flat point. No square edges to worry about and it gives clean holes in paper.
Taper crimping is essential with any bullet. The best bullet I've found is a 230 grain flat point. No square edges to worry about and it gives clean holes in paper.
Hunter Customs
New member
There's a lot of vaiables that could be taking place that's causing the gun to misfeed. However Could you give a little more information on to what type of misfeeds you are having.
Are the rounds nose diving into the feed ramp?
Are the rounds going into the chamber but not far enough for the gun to go to battery?
Are the rounds just starting into the chamber but wedging between the barrel and the slide?
If possible post all the info you can on the misfeeds.
Regards
Bob Hunter
www.huntercustoms.com
Are the rounds nose diving into the feed ramp?
Are the rounds going into the chamber but not far enough for the gun to go to battery?
Are the rounds just starting into the chamber but wedging between the barrel and the slide?
If possible post all the info you can on the misfeeds.
Regards
Bob Hunter
www.huntercustoms.com
feed trouble
ball ammo or lead round points even some 250 gr flat points i tried will all feed reliably. Any swc or jhp will hang in transition from frame ramp to barrel ramp. Or nose dive into the barrel ramp. None ever make it into the chamber so any chamber polishing is not an issue here. By the way, thanks for all your input.
ball ammo or lead round points even some 250 gr flat points i tried will all feed reliably. Any swc or jhp will hang in transition from frame ramp to barrel ramp. Or nose dive into the barrel ramp. None ever make it into the chamber so any chamber polishing is not an issue here. By the way, thanks for all your input.
cntryboy1289
New member
still need the right jump
Make sure you have the right jump from the ramp to the throat. Like I said previously, if you don't have the correct 1 1/2:1 jump ratio, the SWC will stub and not bounce up correctly into the barrel like they need to do. All rounds have to bounce up the ramp and you have to have the correct jump for the round to bounce up it and land itself in the barrel without binding. Round ball ammo is more forgiving and want stub as bad as the SWC will. The flatness of the SWC will stubh any where it gets a chance to. Just make sure it doesn't get the chance to do this.
I would go back and look at the ramp and make sure there is a gap between the frame ramp and the throat of the barrel. The throat may need to moved back slightly to avoid having the round stub on it. The round will bounce off of the frame ramp and then again before it hits the top of the barrel and goes forward with the slide.
As to the opening up of the throat I referred to, I am not just talking about polishing the ramp or throat. It needs to be actually opened up slightly to give the round a better opening for it to go into. You don't need to open up the top at all and the bottom may just need to be brought back slightly to give a better jump with the sides both opened up.
Make sure you have the right jump from the ramp to the throat. Like I said previously, if you don't have the correct 1 1/2:1 jump ratio, the SWC will stub and not bounce up correctly into the barrel like they need to do. All rounds have to bounce up the ramp and you have to have the correct jump for the round to bounce up it and land itself in the barrel without binding. Round ball ammo is more forgiving and want stub as bad as the SWC will. The flatness of the SWC will stubh any where it gets a chance to. Just make sure it doesn't get the chance to do this.
I would go back and look at the ramp and make sure there is a gap between the frame ramp and the throat of the barrel. The throat may need to moved back slightly to avoid having the round stub on it. The round will bounce off of the frame ramp and then again before it hits the top of the barrel and goes forward with the slide.
As to the opening up of the throat I referred to, I am not just talking about polishing the ramp or throat. It needs to be actually opened up slightly to give the round a better opening for it to go into. You don't need to open up the top at all and the bottom may just need to be brought back slightly to give a better jump with the sides both opened up.
Hunter Customs
New member
patrickd,
Here's a list of things that need to be checked that could very well be causing your problem.
If you are using handloads check the OAL. For SWC ammo I always found 1.245 OAL to work best in most guns and mags. As for JHP the OAL will depend on the shape and length of the bullet. Also inspect the brass for bulges or bad dents that may cause the problem.
If you have not already done so and you are using more than one mag to conduct your test number your mags so you can be sure that it's not just one mag causing the feeding issues. Mags with parallel lips .500 long have more of a tendency to want to nose dive rounds, this takes place most often on the first round being fed from the mag.
Check the feed ramp in the gun for the proper depth and angle. It's not that uncommon to find feed ramps that are short or with incorrect angle even in factory guns. Guns with short feed ramps or incorrect angle will feed ball ammo fine in most cases, but will not feed JHP or SWC ammo reliable.
On guns with the standard 1911 extractor polish and tune the extractor. I like about 20 oz of tension on my extractors.
Check the breech face in the slide. If need be polish and true the breech face.
Barrel timing is another issue that needs to be checked.
What weight recoil spring are you using? Also make sure the recoil spring is installed with the closed end against the recoil shield of the spring guide.
Make sure the bottom of the barrel chamber does not over hang the feed ramp. The proper distance from the feed ramp to bottom of the barrel chamber is .030.
Let us know how everything turns out.
Regards
Bob Hunter
www.huntercustoms.com
Here's a list of things that need to be checked that could very well be causing your problem.
If you are using handloads check the OAL. For SWC ammo I always found 1.245 OAL to work best in most guns and mags. As for JHP the OAL will depend on the shape and length of the bullet. Also inspect the brass for bulges or bad dents that may cause the problem.
If you have not already done so and you are using more than one mag to conduct your test number your mags so you can be sure that it's not just one mag causing the feeding issues. Mags with parallel lips .500 long have more of a tendency to want to nose dive rounds, this takes place most often on the first round being fed from the mag.
Check the feed ramp in the gun for the proper depth and angle. It's not that uncommon to find feed ramps that are short or with incorrect angle even in factory guns. Guns with short feed ramps or incorrect angle will feed ball ammo fine in most cases, but will not feed JHP or SWC ammo reliable.
On guns with the standard 1911 extractor polish and tune the extractor. I like about 20 oz of tension on my extractors.
Check the breech face in the slide. If need be polish and true the breech face.
Barrel timing is another issue that needs to be checked.
What weight recoil spring are you using? Also make sure the recoil spring is installed with the closed end against the recoil shield of the spring guide.
Make sure the bottom of the barrel chamber does not over hang the feed ramp. The proper distance from the feed ramp to bottom of the barrel chamber is .030.
Let us know how everything turns out.
Regards
Bob Hunter
www.huntercustoms.com
Harry Bonar
New member
1911/semi-wadcutter
Dear Shooter:
There is no problem in getting your 1911 feed these - send it to Bob Hunter for a reliability package!
Harry B.
Dear Shooter:
There is no problem in getting your 1911 feed these - send it to Bob Hunter for a reliability package!
Harry B.