Convincing 1911 Pistols To Function

Despite the modern trend to highly reliable and well designed 1911 type handguns, we still see the occasional problem in feed reliability. Some of the problem comes with the current crop of foreign produced budget pistols. They are minimal handguns at best but everyone has to start somewhere. These pistols are affordable and give many shooters on a tight budget a taste of the 1911’s good handling. There are also budget grade domestic products that are not sterling examples of the gunmaker’s art.

Some of these pistols are reliable only with full metal jacketed round nose ammunition. I have examined a few that would not feed round nose hard cast 230 grain lead bullets. As for hollow point ammunition, anything other than the Cor Bon Pow- RBall is out of the question. Many of these pistols are purchased for personal defense and the user just doesn’t understand why it will not feed anything stuffed in the magazine. There is also the question of poorly made ammunition from south of the border or the Pacific Rim.

All this makes for poor utility and customer dissatisfaction. Some trade up to a better pistol but others come to us for the tried and true feed ramp polish. Looking at the whole picture, ensuring reliability may be a complex issue. It isn’t as simple as a feed ramp polish as the magazines, barrel hood and the ramp itself are all part of the issue. And it isn’t just the foreign produced pistols.

The Auto Ordnance GI pistol is recommended for ball ammunition only but anyone who shoots enough needs to handload, and the most popular accuracy load for .45 ACP handloaders is a cast 200 grain semi wadcutter bullet. I have worked the Auto Ordnance and older Colt pistols to ensure reliability. Convincing these bullets to feed properly isn’t an insurmountable problem. Sometimes a minimum of work gets the ball rolling. Why not go ahead and get it all done at once?

Basic magazine modification, ramp polish and barrel hood polish may be done profitably with a high assurance the Below left and center: The author’s personal Auto Ordnance pistol is well worth the money but needed a little shaping up. pistol will feed reliably when you are done. You may as well go ahead with the job and cover all of your bases, including checking the extractor of these sometimes problematical inexpensive or well worn handguns.

Magazines There are two primary magazine feed lip designs on the 1911 pistol. These are often described by different terms but tapered and parallel are the most apt. In one design the feed lips are tapered to an extent and in the other the feed lips run parallel to each other. The tuning that a pistolsmith does is adjusting magazine feed lips for an earlier release of the cartridge case.

This earlier release simply means the cartridge nose comes up more quickly and travels to the chamber more directly with less bouncing over the feed ramp. The only means of doing so with the parallel feed lips is filing the lips. Bending doesn’t work as well. Cut and try modifying and

This Kimber is as good as it gets from the factory. Above center: If you make a mistake in cutting the feed ramp, EGW produces a frame insert that will save the frame but it is considerable work to install it. Get it right the first time! testing is the only means of doing it correctly. Tapered feed lips in the 1911 magazine may be adjusted with pliers, in one of the few cases in which a gunsmith applies pliers directly to a gun parts as fragile as thin sheet metal magazine lips.

The tapered lips may be adjusted inward to limit release or outward to instigate earlier release. The experienced gunsmith may know just how much to bend or chamfer the feed lip but be certain that due caution is used in chamfering around the magazine feed lip area. If you are ten thumbed momentarily at least you will not ruin a gun, just a magazine. While modern magazines feed the bullet nose more into the chamber, a perfectly adjusted standard design magazine remains the superior product.

Some feel that bumping the nose into the feed ramp helps snug the cartridge case rim into the extractor and do not approve of the new style direct feed into the chamber magazines. In any case the, gunsmith-modified magazines remain the most reliable in my experience. Handloading Tips A gunsmith must understand ammunition and it is best if you have some experience with handloading. Many manuals state that the best overall length for good feed and function is the standard 1.250 inch.

The .45 ACP cartridge case properly headspaces on the cartridge case mouth. Sometimes the extractor controls headspace more than it should but proper headspace is supposed to be on the cartridge case mouth. If the cartridge case is not the nominal 0.898 inch that is recommended, and particularly if the cartridge case is shorter, the extractor will control headspace. This isn’t ideal.

Some experienced handloaders actually load their 200 grain lead semi wadcutter bullets to headspace on the bullet rather than the case mouth, with the shoulder of the bullet slightly exposed from the case. You have to understand this and whether this expedient is working with the product the shooter has on hand.

The bullet edge of the cast semi wadcutter is soft and allows easier feed than an abrupt meeting with the case mouth but the accuracy of the semi-wadcutter bullet, the economy of a 200 grain bullet and the more even hole cut by a wadcutter are all worthwhile despite the work that must be done. With the Oregon Trail Laser Cast 200 and 180 grain SWC bullets, cartridge case that headspaces on the case mouth may be brilliantly accurate.

A magic overall loaded cartridge length number for headspacing on the 1911 seems to be around 1.245 with the 200 grain SWC. If the shooter isn’t loading or using good ammunition there is little we can do to help him. A good start is the Black Hills 200 grain SWC loading.

A competitor will not use factory ammunition because the cost is prohibitive and he likes to tune his ammo the gun but the Black Hills 200 grain SWC is a benchmark of reliability and the overall length, bullet seating and crimp are good examples for anyone to follow. If you use this load to proof the 1911 pistol then you will not be confused by poor handloads. When working with varying overall cartridge lengths be certain the extractor is in tip top shape with a good bevel and proper fit.

The contour of the hook must be right and the extractor polished or the work with the feed ramp and magazines is pointless. When the cartridge case isn’t headspacing on the case mouth but rather on the bullet, the crimp may be tighter. A taper crimp is normally used with .45 ACP loads but it is possible to use a slight roll crimp in some cases. The case will be slightly more likely to move over the feed ramp smoothly with a tighter crimp. Why a stouter crimp on a light target load?

Ignition is more consistent and the full powder burn that is highly desirable is easier to realize. Also—and this is something very few shooters really understand—when .45 ACP cases are loaded many times with light loads they do not necessarily lengthen. Rather, they will be-

Be certain it is up to speed. Above center and At this point it will feed most loads. come shorter and then there is some difficulty in achieving a good crimp. The dies will have to be adjusted to make certain that the proper crimp is applied. Back To Hardware It is possible to improve feeding by working with the feed ramp. The sharper nose of the SWC bullet may not mate with the sharp radius of the 1911 frame ramp.

When you increase the radius of the feed ramp there is a danger of creating excessive exposure of the feed ramp. We all know the dangers of an unsupported case head. The ramp isn’t exactly straight but nearly so and polishing is superior to actual removal of the metal. The 1911 operates on controlled feed. The cartridge jumps up under the extractor when feeding, the extractor hook catches in the case ridge case rim and the extractor leads the cartridge into the chamber. That is why I work the extractor first.

Barrel Hood Look at the barrel hood, particularly the bottom rear corner or ejection port side. The barrel hood rear corner at this point should be slightly chamfered from the factory. Some are and some are not. The corner of the barrel hood will catch bullets with a flat nose at this point on some 1911 pistols. This is an overlooked area that really needs attention. This is a custom modification to a pistol originally designed to feed only 230 grain round nose jacketed bullets.

I have experimented with the bullet nose by marking the bullet carefully to check how it fits. If everything is set up properly there will be a mark on the bullet where the bullet has struck the ramp upon feeding. There may be more than one mark but the mark closest to the nose is where the bullet struck the ramp first. The more you learn about the 1911 the more you will realize that the bullet nose isn’t the single greatest determiner of feeding.

The diameter of the bullet is more important and a fat, short bullet will probably feed better than a skinny long bullet. The closer to the diameter of the original 230 grain ball bullet, the better feed reliability. To ensure feed reliability the feed ramp must be polished over about seventy five per cent of its area, from three to nine o’clock. By carefully polishing the ramp in this manner the sharp nose has less chance of catching the ramp and producing a tie up.

Warnings Brass is creased about 0.25 off the case mouth This is a sign of poor reliability and while the piece may actually be feeding, trouble is coming. Regarding magazine tension, a first round jam with stout recoil springs means you have to increase the strength of the magazine spring, such as using Wolff extra power magazine springs. Breech face polish because sometimes they’re rough. The area around the firing pin channel is often a cause for concern.

Polishing the feed ramp isn’t something to be done lightly. Understanding the 1911, the controlled feed design offers great reliability as long as the ramps have the obligatory 1/32" gap between the two parts. The factory offers a slight bevel to lead the bullet into the chamber. This is fine for the round nose military bullets but leaves something to be desired for jacketed hollow point or flat point semi wadcutter bullets. The bevel should be studied and extended carefully to take up all of the chamber bit.

This shaping is accomplished with a Dremel. First, shape the bevel with the grinding bit then move to the rubber bits with a bit of grit in the rubber. Finish the bevel off with fine abrasive sand paper. At this point a very fine grit of 1200 is a good idea. When you address the barrel throat itself, don’t create something resembling a funnel or allow the cut to go into the chamber. The barrel throat that actually leads into the chamber should be polished but only lightly. Chamfered is the best description.

This polish helps prevent failure to go into battery. Although it has been said that these problems were solved some time ago, I recently worked up a 2011 production Colt Commander that showed this problem. Remember that nothing should be done that reduces case head support. When you look at the 1911 feed ramp under magnifica-

Above center: These 1911 pattern Colts have the small slide window and just may be more difficult to convince to feed than the modern 1911A1. It would not feed Super Vel or the original Federal 185 grain JHP. Sometimes, the right ammo will do the best job. tion you will see plenty of machine marks but these may be smoothed to an extent if not completely erased. Again, polish only. The breech face is sometimes found to be excessively rough.

This roughness may snag a cartridge case as it feeds and snugs into the extractor. The firing pin channel is sometimes in need of a bit of clean up where the firing pin protrudes. Do not forget to clean this channel. I have seen firing pin channels with bits of brass, powder and lead shavings built up. Take a look at the extractor. The claw itself must be of the proper shape, which means sharp and flared.

Although sometimes extractors show no tension at all when tested and work just fine, there should be sufficient tension to hold the case when the slide is stripped from the frame. Ejection ports are an area of concern. While many modern pistols feature the lowered ejection port, all are not created equal. The original slide window stopped about six tenths of an inch above the slide rails.

Lowering the ejection port to about five tenths of an inch above the slide rails offers better function and clearance during administrative handling. However, often the modern pistols with extended or scalloped design ejection ports are not sufficiently polished on the inside of the port. I recently examined a Government Model fitted with along Commander ejector. Never do this. You are asking for the ejector to bump the primer of a loaded round during unloading.

The Government Model 1911 pistol needs the standard ejector, not the Commander ejector. You have to understand the differences in the slide length, the caliber, the load factor and magazine strength. A weak recoil spring is another cause of weak function. The proper magazine spring and hammer spring are essential for 1911 function. Recoil buffers also cause issues. I would never use a buffer in a pistol designed for personal defense.

The 1911 works okay with the recoil buffer in place but the shock buff limits slide travel and it may prevent ejecting a full length cartridge, such as a dud round. For a pistol destined for critical use, shock buffs should never be installed. Whenever work is done on the 1911, a safety check must be done. Cock the hammer, place the pistol on safe and pull the trigger. There should be no movement of the hammer. Take the safety off and the hammer should not fall. The grip safety must also work properly.

The pistol is checked by pressing the trigger with the palm off of the grip safety. The trigger should not move. The trigger should be released when the grip safety is about one half of the way pressed into the frame. AG