jaep1911

My Elite Limited so far. Once all intended enhancements were done, I will take a better photo of it.

After 300 rounds, no more problem:) Thanks a lot guys! BTW, I just received a TF mag base along with a grams spring for the factory K-40 mag. At first, the mag did not want to seat completely so I loosened the magwell while having the mag in the gun and tightened the mag well. The mag now seats completely and comes out freely. Right now I can have 20 rounds in it and it is reloadable. I will let it sit for a while and see how it changes. I have read Henning's article about tuning the grams spring and follower (bend the spring to the right) but the kit seems to work without any changes to it. Am I lucky or missing something?

Well, I polished the hell out of the bottom surface and the failure to drop rate has gone from 100% to 10% (3 out of 30 cycles). I now see the light at the end of the tunnel. You guys are PHENOMENAL!!!! Thanks a lot. You can see where the bullets have been contacting in the gun here. And here is my new toy.

Waktasz - it is approx 1.125 ~ 1.130. Light crimp. All went in the gage and actual barrel. Nealio - It is a stock spring. Might be weak? The feed lip opening is 0.385. Pretty parallel. I am using Reinier plated bullets.

Thanks guys. I beveled (approx 0.3mm) and polished it last night but did not polishing the entire bottom surface. I still had the same problem. I can see where the bullets have been contacting inside the gun, from the trigger plunger all the way down to almost the bottom of the magwell. I will polish the bottom surface, shoot more patiently and see how it goes. Cheers

Thanks guys. I will file the edge and see if that resolves the problem. How much bevel are you talking about? 0.5mm?? I do not want to go too far. waktasz - thanks for letting me hold your Tanfo at the ESPS match the other day

pivoproseem - thanks for the interesting idea. Can you explain how the bevel works to prevent this problem from happening? Cheers

It has been two weeks since I got the Elite Limited 40cal and I am loving it. I got my 650XL converted to 40cal and made several dummy rounds for dry fire. When I release the mag after racking the slide (a dummy loaded in the chamber), the mag gets stuck in the gun/ magwell. As I rack the slide to load, the top round seems to push the next round forward in the mag and it holds the mag in the gun. This happens no matter how many dummy rounds remain in the mag. I cannot find any relevant threads. What is the cause for this phenomenon? Any remedy? FYI- Set-up: U-die followed by Dillon factory dies. COL = 1.125 ~ 1.130 Thanks in advance!

I would eventually go down to #11 or so but I would stick with a higher rating spring until I dial my load in. Just ordered a conversion kit and dies. I am still scratching my head - can we really go down to #11 under major PF?

Thanks doc88. I just came back from the first range session with it. Flawless 100 rounds. The recoil was nothing more than what I get from shooting 45acp through my 1911s. I had expected a more 'snappy' recoil from this gun. Totally in love with it. A friend of mine who recently bought a STI limited gun looked at it and asked how much I paid for it. I think he was in shock. The factory trigger, 3.5lbs, and reset felt good. I now do not feel the need to do the trigger job in a hurry. The factory recoil spring was perhaps a bit too stiff so I would go down to 12lbs. What a gun!

Thanks guys for the know-how. Helps a lot!

Thanks again Steffes. I received my Elite Limted (40cal) tonight. My first impression when I picked it up at my FFL dealer was "this thing is HEAVY". I came home and found out it weighed at 46oz with an empty mag inserted. My 1911s weigh at 42oz. I wonder if I could draw this thing out of the holster when it is loaded o 21 rounds! This thing is a beauty. The fit is great. The barrel locks tight. I have read some threads about machining marks, rough edges, shaving, etc. but my gun is in great shape. When I found a 'hair line slit' running from the mag release holes, I freaked out but figured they were there by design. The grip panels have to go as they offer no traction and they are a bit too thick for my hands. The trigger pull is 3.5lbs and pretty crisp. I hosed it with a Slip2000 degreaser and soaked it in EWL oil. I thought about doing more thorough initial cleaning by taking the whole lower apart but the gut looked way overwhelming (hey I am from 1911s!) so I skipped that. I guess she is ready for some break in:) I am very pleased that I jumped on the Tanfo wagon and bought this gun. Cheers

Thank you, Steffes. I should try 180 and 200gr bullet. What powder are you using and how much with the 200 gr bullets?

So, my Elite Limited is coming on Wed and I am getting ready to break it in. I still need to order dies and a conversion kit for my reloader so I want to start with factory ammo. Any input for selections? I hope some decent factory ammo would work with the gun. I am thinking to get some PMC Bronze 165gr (PF=163). Pretty cheap. I have read a bunch of threads here in a bag of info/expertise. I think I know what to get and what to do to the gun over this coming winter. I am super excited:) Cheers

Thanks guys, especially doc88 for your big help through PMs!

Hi there, I shoot in Single Stack but I want to start shooting in Limited too as it looks fun. I do not mind reloading (I actually enjoy it) but having 21 rnds in mags and blast the targets away looks tempting:) Rather than getting a 'standard' STI gun, I am looking into an EAA Elite Limited in 40 cal. I am going to start slowly with a stock gun and gradually mod it as I wish later. I have a few questions for your, seasoned Tanfoglio shooters: I shoot with 230gr RN, hitting approx 170 PF in 1911s (Kimber and Springfield). How does the Elite Limtied in 40cal shoot compared to that set-up when it comes to 'felt recolil', provided that I would shoot with 180gr and achieve 170 PF? Just curious... What modifications would you recommend as a starter? I am not in a hurry now but I want to prepare a budget based on suggestions. I have rather small hands (I wear small gloves). The single stack 1911s are good to go but would the Elite Limited be a problem for small hands? I wish I could handle one but cannot find any. Any other suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks a lot in advance

The squib stops the shot process for you; the slide won't cycle after a squib, the way you get in trouble is when you rack out the squib case and fire another behind it. I had my first squib (maybe..?) this past Sat during a local match and I did not/ could not stop in time. bang bang pew bang... Luckily the bullet did not get stuck in the barrel and the gun did not explode but I am now scared. I will listen and be alerted while shooting from now on but I am not sure if I could react quick enough. I do not reload. I buy remanufactured ammo from a company that is well known among USPSA shooters et al. Shit happens:) Stay safe folks.

I run a 12# variable recoil spring and 17# main spring in my 9mm gun for 130PF. It seems ok. I have tried a 10# recoil spring and had some feeding issue (when the mag springs were newer). Anyone else uses a variable recoil spring in a SS 1911?

I believe that the extractor is a right one for my 45ACP gun but who knows. I got it from Dawson Precision and the package states "45ACP".. Yes, I had to grind the shaft at where the plunger touches. The one on my 9mm gun has been working fine.

I am having the exact same problem with an aftec ext. I have been running my 9mm 1911 with one and it has been flawless. The installation was pretty much drop in and there was no issue holding an ammo. I got a new 1911 (Kimber Custom 45ACP) and bought an aftec ext per my excellent experience. Well, the extractor sits very loose in the channel. I do not even have to push it from the breech side to remove it. It virtually drops right out with gravity. With the springs, the tip does not move far in enough to catch an ammo. There is no resistance from the tip when I slide an ammo in place. I am completely puzzled. I am going to bend it a bit and see how it goes but I thought that the main advantage with the after ext is we do not need to bend it to adjust the tension/ reach. There is always something....

I wish I had read this post prior to the match this weekend.... I had bought four TrippCobra mags and run approx 20 rounds through each mag prior to the match. No issue at all. Was really hard to put 10 rounds in each mag but oh well.. At stage 1, after first two shots, I had a stove pipe. Cleared it and reloaded and had another stove pipe. This repeated with all four mags during stage 1 Never had this crazy jam. While scratching my head, I decided to load only nine rounds in each mag and the jam never happened again. My mags are now sitting on the shelf with ten rounds in them. Let's see....

Oh Hi! Yes, I had a great time shooting as usual. I was shooting with my Beretta 92FS as my 1911 was not "ready" for action. I screwed up two stages big time and the fact that many M/A/B shooters were at the sectional did not help me much:P See you next month (with my 1911).

I practice at Delaware State Pistol Club and for USPSA, I go to Lower Providence, Southern Chester (had a match today) and Eastern Shore. Cheers

Thanks guys. She is gorgeous but I am afraid that she will not stay looking like that for long USPSA is so much fan that it is addictive! Safe shooting. jaep

I was introduced to shooting itself back in Feb this year and started shooting in USPSA Production with a Beretta 92FS immediately. I have had six local matches so far and finally got my first classification this month = C. Could not resist to get a 1911 so got a Kimber Gold Match 2 in 9mm. After having read lots of posts here, I have done some minor enhancements to her and am now awaiting Tripp Cobra mags. I will be shooting in both Production and SS. Hope to meet some of the members at future local matches. This forum is a fantastic place to be. Lots of valuable info from experienced shooters. Maybe too much info but that is better than no info! Thanks for sharing!!!!! Happy shooting! jaep