$@%*^ 1911, What now???

pyral · 07-26-2004, 05:05 PM

Alright, I have been playing with this thing for several months now (since March I think) and once I work one problem out, another seems to arise.

First off the firearm is a Century Arms Chief 1911 in .45 acp.

The first problem was every few rounds as the slide came to its complete rear most position while cycling a round it would catch and fail to load the next round. The gun was equipped with an extended slide release and after reading a few websites recommendations, I swapped the original slide release for an Ed Brown stainless (standard, not extended) slide release. This seemed to have fixed the slide catching while cycling rounds.

Second problem, for some reason I was having problems with every couple of rounds chambering all the way into the chamber. Still haven't figured this one out after four boxes of ammo through it. Ran a different brand of ammo through it today and no jams or failing to chamber completely, may have just been the ammo but time will tell.

Third, as I was disassembling the gun for cleaning one day, I noticed the recoil buffer on the guide rod had a semi circular cut where the recoil spring rests upon it. Now I know this is a sacrificial part which is to be replaced as they wear, so I was not concerned. Granted this was only after about 750-1000 rounds and I was under the preminition that they were to go for around 5k, no biggie though, I just ordered more (Ed Brown by the way). Today was the first time I have shot the gun since I installed the new buffer and as soon as I returned to the house I disassembled and started cleaning. Once I got the guide rod out I noticed right away the the new buffer has the same circular cut as the old one but after only 50 ROUNDS!!! .

Can someone please tell me something that makes sense on this one? Am I shooting too light a recoil spring?? Anything please. I am about to the point of throwing this thing out the window. And yes, I know, I should have bought a better name the what I have now.

charlie brown · 07-26-2004, 05:14 PM

Only thing I could suggest would be to...

Quote:

Anything please. I am about to the point of throwing this thing out the window.

Yep you said it right there. Get rid of it and buy an SA or Para (or a Colt if you can come across one

).

I don't have a clue what to tell you about the other problems, except that the whole gun may not be built right and is causing even good quality parts to fail prematurely.

Rottweiler · 07-27-2004, 05:12 AM

Problems 1 and 2 can be blamed on poor quality machining,lousy quality control ect. Problem 3 is probably a sharp edge hammering on the same spot over and over.The sharp edge shouldn't be there so it could be the same issue as 1 and 2. A good gunsmith could clear up these problems but would probably be as much as selling the gun and buying a better quality one.

This is a case of you get what you pay for. Charlie Brown has the right idea, SA,Para, Colt, Kimber or my personal choice - SIG gsr

Charlie, Is that a photo of Lamoylle sp? canyon?

Briman · 07-27-2004, 05:53 AM

Get rid of the recoil buffer first and get a standard guide rod/recoil spring setup - only costs around $20- recoil buffers don't belong in 1911s and will only give you headaches unless everything else is perfect on the pistol.

Try different magazines- I would try Metalform and Wislon first.

pyral · 07-27-2004, 06:51 PM

Actually Briman, that was the first thing I did when I had feeding problems was to upgrade to Wilson Combat magazines.

I have pretty much made up my mind to rid myself of the problem and try my best to get a Kimber. Kinda tired of trying to fix and replace parts so that it will work to the standards of others.

Thanks for the replies fellas

frizzellr · 07-27-2004, 08:13 PM

pyral, if you are looking for a reliable, accurate 1911 for mainly target shooting and secondary role as self defense, let me suggest the Dan Wesson Pointman series. They are a little less than the Kimber and come out of the box with all the bells and whistles already on them. Might be worth taking a gander at anyways.

Stalker6 · 07-27-2004, 09:09 PM

I think that you'll spend alot of money and time trying too rebuild this pistol into a decent working model. I would suggest a Springfield.

whiskeysnoot · 07-28-2004, 08:38 AM

You cured your first problem properly. An extended slide stop is prone to engaging if you shoot with a high thumb hold. Notice that most all carry pistols nowadays have the standard slide stop?

Your second problem is probably ammo related. Since the .45 ACP headspaces on the case mouth, the ammo you were using might have been overcrimped causing a taper at the mouth instead of a flat surface to headspace against. I created this problem for myself when I first started reloading.

As far as the shok-buff, I agree with the guy that told you to get rid of it.

cardboardkiller · 07-28-2004, 12:36 PM

Like everyone else here has said, dump the buff. In addition to getting rid of the buff try going up or down a pound on the recoil spring. Shoot it with the stock spring, if you still get some FTF's change it. I run 15lb springs in all my .45's but I tune for my loads.

HighDesertWolf · 08-11-2004, 04:52 AM

Quote:

Get rid of the recoil buffer first and get a standard guide rod/recoil spring setup

deffinately get rid of the recoil buffer when the 1911 was originally designed it didnt have one, the recoil buffer is a stupid trend Colt started, I dont know why other then they were trying to perfect perfection, the 1911 is a rugged design and works best when everything is kept to the basics.

The best lower priced 1911 you can buy would either be a charles daly or a springfield government model again both guns are as basic as it gets. Oh and forget kimber, kimber 1911's are the only gun that keep my cousin in business, he is a gunsmith and constantly has kimbers in his shop seems like the only guns he works on are kimbers. He tells me the kimbers are the jaguars of pistols. Constantly need to be tuned.