New to 1911 ?'s

R

Rich I

New member
Wow, it's been a while since I've written to TFL. I recently purchased a loaded, SS Springfield Armory 1911 A1. It's my first 1911. I took it to the range last week and had FTF's with every mag. :( I was told by the salesman/owner of the place it was purchased that it takes about 500 rounds to break it in. I've read on other areas that people have the ramp polished, the barrel throated, replace the recoil spring, etc.. on a brand new 1911 to make it reliable. I can deal with getting new mags - it seems that Wilson, Power Mags or Mec-Gars are the ones most reliable.
Anyway, I'm OK with running a few hundred more rounds through it before having any work done - if necessary. I really dislike the idea of sending it back to the factory and I don't want to void the warranty by having any work done by an outside gunsmith. My question: Is it normal for a brand-new SA 1911 to have so many FTF's when first used? I'm not limp-wristing and the first round is chambered properly.
I'll be happy when it's broken-in and working properly because the thing is really nice-looking and seems to be really accurate. My other .45 is a two-tone SIG P220 which is accurate, nice-looking and was RELIABLE OOTB. ;)

Thanks for any help/info.

Rich
 
Rich I,

I have "broken in" two 1911A1s recently: The exact Springfield model you have and the equivalent Kimber. Both required some "break in", which is not a surprise and is common to many 1911A1s. In both cases -- after <500 rounds -- I experienced zero jams/failures-to-feed.

This said, I suggest the most likely cause of your problem may be the cheap factory magazines that come with Kimbers and Springfields. I use Wilson and McCormick exclusively -- they really seem to eliminate this frequent cause of jams. IMHO, buying a few Wilson magazines (7, 8 or 10 round) is a very smart and cost-effective idea and is likely to eliminate many potential feeding problems.

Enjoy you new Springfield.
 
Try to get 500 through it, and if that still doesn't help call springfield. With my pistol they did their best to fix the prob. They have an 800# and they pay shipping, so you are only out time and no money. I had the same probs with a blued loaded and they tried four or five times to fix it, and wound up refunding me the cost of the pistol. They are not lying about having the best warranty in the industry, I just happened to get a frame with the feed ramp too far forward.
 
I can't pretend to be an expert, but I think it would be important to identify what is failing. Does it fail to pick up a round? Does the round jam in the breech? Is the slide stuck open? (Does "Failure to Feed" mean one of these things or something else and I'm too stupid to know it?)

My new Kimber failed with the slide stuck open several times. The round-nose bullet of the ammo I am using would catch the slide release and push it up as the round was loading causing the slide to lock open. I now use a Wilson Combat magazine which has solved this problem. It forces the top round to a better angle for loading than the cheap bent-steel pusher of the mag that came with my expensive gun did.

What is the purpose of the recommended "break-in" period? Is the idea that the recoil spring is initially too strong to let the slide come back far enough to pick up the next round? Or maybe the slide is too tight, creating enough friction to cause the same effect?

Best of luck to you.
 
There are many reasons for a 1911 to "Break In"... and they are all valid. Even a Les Baer requires a break in period.
I recoment a 500 round break in - but this could go to 1,000 if the gun is tight.
Also, Lithium grease if the gun has troublesom. Especially if the gun is Stainless Steel. If you dont think you need lithium, I recomend Militech... it does quite good and acts as a metal conditioner. I am not sure just what the hell that is - but I have a couple Springfields in stainless in I used the Militech on them with perfect results.

The last thing I want to mention - While I think the Springfields are the best 1911s you can buy in that price range - they also ship with the WORST magazines. Shooting Starz mags are better! Get some Wilson Combat mags ASAP.
The gun should be working great after these little items.
If your going to get the ramp polished - Have the slide rails polished first.
 
My Springfield was reliable OOTB, but I bought it almost ten years ago. Perhaps it needs a break-in, perhaps it's a lemon. My brother in law's best frined had a SIG 9mm that was a jam-o-matic. That sort of thing just happens.
 
There is a common problem associated with SA 1911's. A lot of the feeding problems is due to the little bump that is present on the SA mag followers. Take a Dremel and buzz that little sucker off. Another cause can be the two piece recoil spring guide rod. During firing they tend to loosen up. Simple fix, take some some teflon tape and put it on the threads before you put it back together. Both of these easy fixes took care of the problems my brothers SA Loaded. Not to start a 1911 war, but not all 1911's need reliability work, I have a Charles Daly FS model 1911, with over 600 rounds of ball and Hydrashok and it is still running fine.
 
Thanks for the info and help. I'll look for Militech, apply teflon tape to the threads of the guide rod and of course, get some good mags. At the moment, I'm using Tetra Gun grease on the rails and will clean and lube the mags from SA. I always cleaned and lubed new mags before using them in the past but it slipped my mind this time. Man, I must be getting old.

Regards,
Rich
 
My SA 1911 had similar problems for about 250 rounds, but turned into a super reliable shooter after that.

I did replace the factory mag with two from Colt. (Don't know who manufactures Colt mags). That solved my FTF problems.

Also, your SA "loaded" already has a throated barrell and polished feed ramp. That should not be your problem. I vote for the mags.
 
TetraGrease is the finest gun grease available, perfect for rails and slide stop pin.
Lube other parts (barrel bushing and hood, disconnect, hammer/sear) with BreakFree CLP.

Try other brand ammo. Try (one) different mag. Sent gun back for service.
 
Here's an update: I bought a couple 8-round Power Mags last week and took the SA 1911 to the range this afternoon, along with my trusty P220. The Springfield performed great with the Power Mags! Even the 7-round mags that came with the weapon worked OK. I started to get a few FTF's after 50 rounds or so. I wiped the feed-ramp with a cotton patch and it seemed to get rid of the problem.
The SA 1911 was just a little more accurate than my P220. I've added a match-grade barrel with a compensator to the P220 so it's pretty darned accurate.
So far I'm pretty pleased with the SA 1911. I'm glad for buying one before they started putting the built-in locks on them, although I would have liked a dove-tailed front sight and factory de-horning. Oh well, I live in Cali and this particular model isn't offered for sale anymore - an SB15 casualty. Bummer for others in Cali. ;)

Regards and thanks for the earlier info,
Rich
 
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